Funds for Dougherty in state budget

ATLANTA — As the Georgia General Assembly barrels toward the final day of the 2016 legislative session Thursday, Dougherty County will receive more than $5 million for local projects while Gov. Nathan Deal confronts one of the most controversial decisions he’s faced since he took office in 2011.

The General Assembly passed the state’s $23.7 billion 2017 budget on Tuesday. Included in that budget is $2 million for the Northwest Library renovations, and $2.1 million for furnishing and fixtures for Albany State’s new fine arts center. The university will break ground on the new 89,000 square foot facility on April 12.

Earlier in the session the legislature included $1.1 million in its supplemental budget to help fund moving the National Guard Armory on Monroe Street to MCLB-Albany.

Deal has House Bill 757, also known as the religious liberty bill, sitting on his desk awaiting his signature or veto.

Originally known as the Pastors Protection Act, over the past two years HB 757 morphed into the “Free Exercise Protection Act.” The bill states “religious officials shall not be required to perform marriage ceremonies, perform rites, or administer sacraments in violation of their legal right to free exercise of religion.”

The bill was passed by the House and Senate last week, sending it to Deal for his signature.

Under terms of the bill, religious officials will not be required to perform same sex marriages if it conflicts with their beliefs. The bill would also protect faith-based groups from having to rent their facilities for events they deem objectionable.

Since then Deal has been inundated with calls from opponents of the measure, including Hollywood heavyweights Disney and Marvel, the NFL, Apple, Intel, among others, to veto the bill. Supporters of the bill says it confirms their religious values while opponents say it is discriminatory in nature and might be unconstitutional.

State Sen. Greg Kirk, R-Americus, a primary sponsor of the measure, held a news conference Tuesday where he defended 757.

“The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, balances religious exercise against the government’s compelling interest,” Kirk said. No one really knows, without enduring a lawsuit, what the outcome would be on any given issue, Kirk said. “Georgia is not a state of intolerance. We are a great people. The real question is will our state and nation going forward be a state and nation that is intolerant of those who express a sincerely held belief that marriage is between a man and a woman? And will expression of that belief in the workplace or marketplace lead to sanctions by local, state or federal government in the name of tolerance? I say no.”

“That’s not the America that I grew up in, and by the governor signing this bill into law, it preserves freedom.”

Deal has until May 3 to make a decision.