Governor signs bills championed by Anavitarte during legislative session
State Sen. Jason Anavitarte recently marked the signing of two bills he helped champion during the 2023 session of the Georgia General Assembly.
House Bill 340 guarantees Georgia public school teachers are scheduled to have a daily planning period to use for lesson planning, grading and other tasks. Senate Bill 93, meanwhile, codifies the directive from Gov. Brian Kemp to prohibit the use of TikTok and other similar applications on state-owned devices.
Anavitarte, R-Dallas, represents Polk and Paulding counties. Kemp signed both bills during a ceremony on Tuesday, May 2, in Atlanta.
Sponsored by state Rep. John Corbett, R-Lake Park, HB 340 was carried in the Senate by Anavitarte. It applies to those who teach kindergarten to 12th grade and is aimed at addressing teacher burnout.
“The bill takes a bold stance to protect and stand for our teachers,” Anavitarte said in a post to Facebook after the signing.
A state Department of Education report published last year recommended guaranteed planning periods as one measure that could help address teacher burnout.
According to Anavitarte, the bill requires teachers to be given a daily planning period longer than half of their regular class periods in addition to their lunch period and included in their number of hours worked.
Senate Bill 93, which cleared the Senate in the final days of the session, was sponsored by Anavitarte and was grateful for the response to the bill in the General Assembly.
“I am proud of my colleagues on both sides of the Capitol for overwhelmingly supporting this legislation,” Anavitarte said in a release following the bill’s approval. “In the digital age, even seemingly benign applications by foreign adversaries can present a serious espionage threat. This legislation will keep Georgia on the forefront of this domestic security concern and proactively block malware from sensitive state computer systems in the future.”
TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, Byte Dance, and there is concern that its ties to the Chinese government could expose sensitive state data to a foreign government.