Tag: georgia

Georgia Governor Signs Bill Granting Immunity for Harms Caused by Pesticides and Fertilizers

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed SB144 into law, which has also been referred to as an immunity bill for agrochemical businesses that sell pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. The bill states, “a manufacturer cannot be held liable for failing to warn consumers of health risks above those required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.” The Georgia legislature passed the bill and was awaiting Kemp’s signature, which he finalized on Monday.

Georgia became the second state in the nation to provide manufacturer immunity for harm caused by pesticides after North Dakota signed a similar bill into law last month. Bayer has been handling tens of thousands of lawsuits related to cancer allegedly caused by Roundup, a product that Bayer owns after the agrochemical corporation purchased Monsanto in 2018. In April, The HighWire reported about Bayer’s recent court loss in which the company is required to pay over $2 billion for causing a man’s non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but the high payout amount is expected to be appealed. This case was conducted in a Georgia courtroom.

The EPA is still awaiting a court decision regarding its most recent evaluation of glyphosate’s effect on human health. The EPA currently states, “No risks of concern to human health from current uses of glyphosate.” The EPA website also states, “No evidence that glyphosate causes cancer in humans.”

Meanwhile, the passage of SB144 in Georgia means a farmer cannot sue Bayer for harms allegedly caused by Roundup because the product contains the label required by the EPA. The label states, “Keep Out of Reach of Children CAUTION See [back/ side] [panel/ booklet/ label] for [additional] first aid and precautionary statements. Alternative Text: [See container label for [complete] use directions, first aid and precautionary statements.]”

Bayer issued a statement applauding the Governor for signing the legislation. The statement said, “The signing of SB 144 by Governor Kemp demonstrates that Georgia stands with its farmers, who work tirelessly to produce safe and affordable food for communities throughout the state. We thank Governor Kemp and the legislators, farmers and ag groups that supported this important piece of legislation.”

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Georgia governor signs law banning funding for gender transitions in prison

Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation banning the use of taxpayer funds for gender “transition” procedures for prison inmates, declaring it a “common-sense step.”

Senate Bill 185 states that “no state funds or resources shall be used” for “(s)ex reassignment surgeries or any other surgical procedures that are performed for the purpose of altering primary or secondary sexual characteristics; (h)ormone replacement therapies; and (c)osmetic procedures or prosthetics intended to alter the appearance of primary or secondary sexual characteristics.”

Exceptions would be made for “medical conditions where such treatments are considered medically necessary” unrelated to gender dysphoria or sex reassignment; rare cases of “medically verifiable disorder of sex development, including individuals born with ambiguous genitalia or chromosomal abnormalities resulting in ambiguity regarding the individual’s biological sex”; “partial androgen insensitivity syndrome”; or weaning off hormone replacement therapies that were underway before incarceration.

“Taxpayer dollars should not be used for procedures like this, and this legislation codifies that common-sense step,” Kemp declared just before signing the bill at a public event, WMAZ reported.

“A budget is a reflection of our priorities, and by voting red, we are signaling that our priorities lean more toward paying for sex reassignment surgeries than budget dollars for teachers, pre-K students and for law enforcement, which is why in my mind SB 185 is a common-sense piece of legislation for our constituents,” Republican state Rep. Scott Hilton said last month in the floor debate over the bill, WABE added.

In recent years, there has been growing concern around the world over placing men who claim to be women in female prison populations that has proved to be a means of both securing lighter treatment during incarceration and gaining easy access to women to prey upon. Transgender status also has the potential to be exploited to avoid incarceration entirely in some cases, as seen in Wales when a man who identified as a woman received a suspended sentence keeping him out of prison despite physically assaulting two partners within days of each other on the grounds that he would be “vulnerable” behind bars.

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Georgia Former Democrat Congressional Candidate Who Called for Trump’s Assassination ARRESTED in Multi-State Child Sex Trafficking Sting

Carl Sprayberry — a former Democrat candidate for Georgia’s 139th House District — has been arrested as part of a sweeping, multi-agency child sex trafficking operation known as “Operation Lights Out.”

The sting, conducted between April 25 and April 28, resulted in the arrest of 19 suspects accused of attempting to exploit children online, according to WTVM.

Sprayberry, 32, who once ran for state office and publicly called for the assassination of President Donald Trump in a social media post, is among those charged with human trafficking.

In February 2025, Sprayberry tweeted:

“Donald Trump has committed an act of High Treason. Should Congress refuse to take action, he will be killed by the people, as per the Second Amendment’s existence.”

He followed up with another chilling post, implying that a Secret Service agent “should shoot him,” referring to President Trump, and declared, “It’s time to kill Trump.”

Statements like these are not just dangerous—they are criminal. Sprayberry should have been immediately arrested by the Secret Service. How someone openly threatening a President remained free — until now.

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The Remarkable Rags-to-Riches Story of Stacey Abrams

By her own admission, Stacey Abrams has made a number of “personal financial missteps” in her career. Despite a history marked by bill collectors, tax liens, and ethics investigations, the Georgia politician and Democratic Party activist has managed to amass a small fortune – while working most of her career in the not-for-profit sector.

Financial records show that when she first entered statewide politics in 2018, she reported a net worth of less than $109,000. By 2022, the last year she had to publicly file a financial report, it had grown to more than $3.2 million. Abrams is probably even better off than that, thanks to her latest venture: Rewiring America, which uses federal funds to provide low-income people with free electric appliances. 

The green-energy startup hired Abrams as senior counsel in 2023 after she helped secure federal funding for the nonprofit by putting together an umbrella group that applied for and won grants totaling $1.9 billion from the Biden Environmental Protection Agency, according to a podcast interview she gave last year. Those funds were frozen last month by the Trump administration while it investigates the grant application and award process along with Congress. 

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Georgia man accused of threatening to kill Tulsi Gabbard and her family

AGeorgia man is facing federal charges of threatening Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and her family, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Northern Georgia.

Aliakbar Mohammad Amin, 24, of Lilburn, is accused of sending threats that included statements, “You and your family are going to die soon” and “I will personally do the job if necessary,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Monday.

One statement said, “Prepare to die, you, Tulsi, and everyone you hold dear. America will burn,” the federal agencies said.

Amin sent the messages between March 29 and April 1, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Investigators said they found social media threats, including an image that showed a firearm pointed at Gabbard. A second one showed a firearm pointed at Gabbard and her husband.

Amin is being charged under Title 18, United States Code, Section 875, which covers threats made across state lines.

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Democrat Lawmakers in Georgia Stage Walkout to Protest Bill Stopping Taxpayer Funds for Transgender Surgeries for Inmates

Democrat lawmakers this week staged a walkout to protest a measure that would effectively stop taxpayer dollars from going toward transgender surgeries for inmates.

The walkout occurred at the state Capitol on Wednesday, as Democrats took issue with SB 185. The reader summary is as follows:

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 5 of Title 42 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to correctional institutions of state and counties, so as to prohibit the use of state funds or resources for certain treatments for state inmates; to provide for the adoption of rules and regulations by the Board of Corrections relating to such prohibitions and exceptions; to provide for a definition; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

According to reports, this would include funds going toward “gender-affirming” care for prisoners, which is leftist speak for surgical mutilation, puberty blockers, and hormone therapy.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who has made a name for herself standing up against illogical pro-transgender policies catering to the far-left, shared the video of the walkout with the caption, “Did anyone let them know not to come back?”

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Josh McKoon Fundraiser Referred To The FBI

The Georgia Record has become aware of contact between multiple sources in Georgia and FBI offices stationed in Georgia.

One such source reports that the FBI has been made aware of circumstances surrounding McKoon’s fundraising dinner held in November 2023.

McKoon is employed as General Counsel for the Technical College System of Georgia, hence he is a State employee.      His LinkedIn account confirms that he has been employed in this role since 2020.

McKoon was elected to Chair the Georgia Republican Party (Now referred to as the “Georgia Republican Party, Inc.”) at the GOP State Convention held in June 2023, approximately 5 months before the aforementioned fundraising dinner.

The promotional announcement for the Dinner shown above indicates the option of paying $5000 to be seated at a table with Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, $3000 to be seated at other tables, or $1000 to attend a reception only.

The FBI was reportedly contacted concerning questions surrounding a current state employee, recently elected to GOP office, raising funds via an event which seems to provide access to himself and/or potentially the Lt. Gov. of Georgia.

Also of note is that Josh McKoon is listed as “Josh McKoon for Georgia” on the promotional announcement.   Many candidates, as they run for office, utilize various descriptions such  as “for Georgia” or “4 Georgia”  during their campaign.

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Mysterious death of mother ‘murdered’ at a sleepover: Tamla Horsford died after ‘falling from a balcony at ‘football moms’ slumber party’ – six years on, her family are still looking for answers…

The unsolved death of a mother from Georgia who fell from a balcony at a ‘moms’ slumber party’ in 2018 has left people baffled as it’s picked up on TikTok six years later.

Tamla Horsford, known as ‘super mom’ to her five children, was found lying face down in the backyard of a party hosted by a fellow ‘soccer mom’ in Forsyth County.

Initially, authorities deemed her death accidental. But now, as Tamla’s family continues to search for answers, new theories are emerging.

According to Rolling Stone, the event was being held to celebrate the birthday of Jeanne Myers, who had invited a group of mothers (most of whom she’d met through a local youth football league).

To avoid drinking and driving, the guests planned to stay the night, and Tamla arrived with a gift of a bottle of tequila and a small overnight bag.

As the party started, the women drank as they watched an LSU-Alabama College Football game. Meanwhile, Jeanne Myers’s boyfriend Jose Barrera and another guest’s boyfriend, Tom Smith, watched football in the basement (despite that the party was supposed to be a women’s only event).

As the only habitual smoker, Tamla stepped onto the balcony several times for a cigarette, also smoking some marijuana (with reports saying Myers herself admitted teasing her for doing so and asking her to stop, branding her the ‘female Bob Marley’).

Tamla also drank some tequila, but did not, by all accounts, appear inebriated.

After watching the game, the men joined the women, with the group playing the game Cards Against Humanity.

The guests who planned to leave started making their way home at 11:30pm, say reports.

Police interviews say that Tamla was still awake after Meyers and Barrera retired to bed at around 1:30am. It is said that Bridget Fuller saw Tamla – the last person to see her alive – before Fuller was picked up by her husband at around 1:47am.

Fuller claimed that Tamla was eating a bowl of gumbo, planned to have a final cigarette, then go to bed herself. 

Data from the the home security system shows that at 1:57am, the back door opened, closed, then opened again for the final time. 

It was not until the next morning, at around 8:45am, that Myers’ live-in aunt, Madeline Lombardi, saw something in the garden: it was Tamla, who was unmoving and face down.

Commentators have noted that rather than call 911, Madeline Lombardi said a prayer before waking Myers.

Reports claim she told Myers there was something wrong with her ‘friend from the islands’ (Tamla, who had been born in the Caribbean moved to the US when she was just 11-years-old).

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Georgia Antidoxing Bill Could Criminalize Everyday Criticism

Will publishing someone’s name or workplace online soon be illegal in Georgia? Last week, the state Senate overwhelmingly voted to pass an antidoxing bill that would punish a wide range of common online speech by up to a year in jail. While the bill aims to protect individuals from having sensitive information—like their Social Security numbers or addresses—published without their consent, it goes far beyond such private information.

The bill is a “law against criticism of any kind,” Andrew Fleishman, a criminal defense attorney who testified against the bill, told Reason. “It means that if I act with reckless disregard for the possibility that it might cause you mental anguish or economic harm of $500 or more, I am criminally liable, up to a year in jail. And that’s for using not just your name, not your Social Security number, not your address, but anything that could lead someone to that.”

The bill passed on March 6 in a 52–1 vote. The bill defines doxing as a crime that occurs when a “person intentionally posts another person’s personally identifying information without their consent and does so with reckless disregard for whether the information would be reasonably likely to be used by another party to cause the person whose information is posted to be placed in reasonable fear of stalking, serious bodily injury or death to oneself or a close relation, or to suffer a significant economic injury or mental anguish as a result therefrom.”

According to the bill, prohibited personal information includes anything from posting a person’s name, birthday, workplace, “religious practices of affiliation,” and “life activities” to their biometric data or a “sexually intimate or explicit visual depiction.” As a result, the bill is incredibly overbroad in terms of what speech it prohibits. 

“So if I said ‘Emma Camp is a crappy journalist,’ yes, that makes me liable under law. But if I just said ‘there’s a lady at Reason I don’t like,’ that could also do. That’s crazy,” said Fleischman. “This is a law that has a million bad applications and maybe one good one.”

Fleishman isn’t the only one concerned that the bill violates the First Amendment.

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Georgia Senate Passes Bills To Expand Medical Marijuana Access And Limit THC In Hemp Beverages

Three bills changing the way Georgia regulates hemp and medical cannabis have cleared the Senate ahead of Thursday’s Crossover Day deadline. The votes on the bills are some of the only ones this session that didn’t fall cleanly along party lines, with Senate Republicans divided over expanding medical access to cannabis and members of both parties split over new regulations on recreational hemp products.

Medical cannabis

Senate Bill 220, also known as the “Putting Georgia’s Patients First Act,” passed in a contentious 39–17 vote after more than an hour of debate in the Senate. Like its counterpart in the other chamber, House Bill 227, the bill replaces the term “low-THC oil” with “medical cannabis” in Georgia code, removes requirements that certain medical diagnoses like cancer or Parkinson’s disease be “severe or end stage” and adds lupus to the list of qualifying health conditions.

Unlike the House version, SB 220 removes an existing prohibition against vaping cannabis oil and raises the percentage of THC that medical cannabis products may contain from 5 percent to 50 percent.

The bill was amended on the floor to include a provision allowing caregivers to pick up medical cannabis from pharmacies. Three other amendments aimed at reducing the amount of THC allowed in medical cannabis, removing the provision that allows for vaping, and removing PTSD and intractable pain from the list of approved diagnoses failed during a series of floor votes.

Hemp bills

Two bills aimed at strengthening hemp regulations in Georgia passed the Senate in decisive votes on Crossover Day, seeking to limit recreational use of marijuana as the chamber simultaneously eased restrictions for medical use.

Marietta Republican Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick’s SB 33 subjects chemical compounds like delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) and other cannabinoids to testing and labeling regulations that were added last year under SB 494. It passed in a 50–6 vote.

In her speech from the well, Kirkpatrick said her bill is aimed at cutting down on unregulated hemp products from China and other countries.

“This bill is not a ban,” Kirkpatrick said. “It’s a consumer protection bill that is not intended to impact processors that are already testing and labeling their products appropriately. It’s intended to make sure that consumers buying these products are clear on what they’re buying.”

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