Georgia House approves ban on 'vaccine passports' for local governments
ATLANTA - "Vaccine passports" may soon be against the law in Georgia.
The Georgia House of Representatives voted Tuesday to approve a bill than bans state agencies, city and county governments, and local school districts from requiring their staff members or the public whom they do business with to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
"We are protecting people from having to show their vaccine passport at the door of the Department of Driver Services to get their driver's license or to go into a court building to file a deed," explained state Rep. Bonnie Rich, R-Suwanee, who carried the measure in the House.
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Rep. Rich, who said she is vaccinated, argued that choice should be left up to individual Georgians and their families in consultation with their doctor.
"The fundamental responsibility of government is to protect its citizens," said state Rep. Billy Mitchell, D-Stone Mountain. "And the two inventions that have sustained and prolonged and certainly protected human life are the purification of water and vaccinations."
The bill was aimed at two metro Atlanta cities that, at least at one time, had policies requiring their employees to be vaccinated or undergo regular COVID-19 surveillance testing.
In August 2021, the City of Brookhaven implemented a policy requiring non-vaccinated employees to test weekly. A spokesperson said that requirement was later dropped and is no longer in effect.
The City of Decatur and City of Decatur Schools did not respond to requests for comment about their policies.
"We do have a couple of jurisdictions that have implemented vaccine mandates and there has been talk of others," said Rep. Rich. "Of course across the country in other jurisdictions we are seeing it happening and this bill is to just establish that in Georgia that is not going to happen. It is important to note, though, that there is a one-year sunset, because we understand that things can change rapidly in the midst of a pandemic."
If passed, the law would be automatically repealed on June 30, 2023.
The bill would not stop the governor from requiring vaccines as part of his emergency powers.
The legislation originated in the Senate, but because the House made some changes, it will require another Senate vote before it can go to the governor's desk.