There were quite a few interesting bills to cross the house and senate floor during Georgia’s most recent legislative session last month. Among them were multiple bills regarding body cameras and the use of drones for surveillance. Just as interesting though is the fact that none of these high tech measures passed. They will likely be modified and voted on again in the near future.
As of March 20, 2015 the Georgia senate and house of representatives have voted on several bills. One in particular that would have affected worth county was House Bill 32. Which would have required body cameras on law enforcement officers. Sylvester police have already taken steps toward body cameras. The bill was introduced by Representative Billy Mitchell who is a democrat from stone mountain. The bill does not provide language as to how law enforcement would pay for body cameras. However, the bill failed to pass.
With the increasing rise of technology, there are several bills that address the issue of drones in Georgia trying to be passed. House bill 5 was entitled “Georgia Drone Law.” The bill would have set up regulations on when and where both law enforcement and private citizens could have used drones. The fear being that drones will invade privacy and this bill would have protected citizens privacy. However, this bill also did not pass.
Senate bill 179 would provide anonymity for lottery winners. However, there’s a catch. The bill would require the winner to pay 25 percent of their winnings back to the lottery in order to be awarded anonymity. The lottery is subject to the Open Records Act. This bill would make it the first time some one could pay for anonymity.But, like the other bills to cross the floor in the most recent session, this bill did not pass.
