Georgia Senate Backs Away From ‘Draconian’ Sexual Harassment Rules Changes
Early in the legislative session, Republicans in the Georgia Senate passed ethics rules changes that made it more difficult for accusers to file harassment complaints. On Friday, the Senate backtracked on some of those restrictions by approving a bipartisan compromise.
David Goldman / Associated Press file
On the second day of the legislative session, Republicans in the Georgia Senate passed a batch of ethics rules changes that made it more difficult and riskier for accusers to file harassment complaints.
Democrats opposed the changes.
On Friday, the Senate backtracked on some of those restrictions by unanimously approving a bipartisan compromise. Leaders from both parties acknowledged the compromise had been in the works all session.
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who serves as president of the Senate, said the rules changes came as a surprise to him, and he made adjusting them a priority this session.
“I walked into the Senate my second day and there had been a rules change, which I don’t believe matched with where we need to be,” Duncan said in an interview. “This has been a great effort that the Democrats and Republicans have worked together.”
“We as a body, as a Senate … this should be our No. 1 concern,” said Sen. Jen Jordan, who drafted the compromise. “Because no matter what party you’re in, it really is about the institution and making people feel that government works, that we’re not trying to hide stuff, and we’re not trying to protect each other, especially when someone’s doing something wrong.”
While introducing the new resolution, Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan applauded the bipartisan effort “to improve our Senate rules.”
He said he was proud of the work and noted it took some extra time because the chamber was busy “addressing the needs of 10.5 million Georgians.”
The new rules allow complaints to be filed within four years of the alleged conduct, as opposed to two years. Before this session, the rules included no time limit. The first change also exempted lawmakers in an election cycle, and the compromise removed that.
“One of the biggest concerns was we didn’t want to give anybody cover just because we were in an election cycle,” Jordan said. “The whole point is to be as transparent as possible and to give people a way to complain legitimately and take care of a concern.”
Prior to the session, “reasonable grounds” were required to file a complaint. The more restrictive changes required “substantial credible evidence” to exist for the complaint to proceed. That’s now switched back to “probable cause.” Jordan said that’s because requiring that evidence “wasn’t fair. Basically, it would probably have blocked every complainant from moving forward with a legitimate complaint against a senator.”
The compromise also addressed transparency concerns in the previous rules. Now, once “probable cause” has been found by the Senate Ethics Committee, all confidentiality is lifted and the complaint is made public.
Duncan said he made it clear early that this was a priority.
“I spoke to both the majority leader and the minority leader and said I wanted to immediately begin a dialogue between the two sides to get this right,” he said. “This was not a partisan policy issue. This was a policy issue that involved each and every person here in the Senate, and there was going to be no room to not get this right.”
Jordan gave Duncan credit for pushing this behind the scenes and said there was a clear need for change.
“Honestly, the rules were so bad. They were so draconian, and they were so inconsistent with the whole idea that we were trying to put rules in place to be fair.”
“It’s one of those moments that we can say we worked together to make a change, and I say thank you, and the women of this chamber also thank you,” said Democratic Sen. Gloria Butler on the Senate floor.
Underlying the original rules changes was the story of former state Sen. David Shafer, who faced an official sexual harassment complaint about a year ago.
A longtime lobbyist alleged Shafer demanded sexual favors in exchange for a bill passage in 2011. The Senate Ethics Committee dismissed the complaint.
The original rules changes also addressed disruption in the Capitol. It left Senate leadership broad power to “take any action deemed necessary to maintain decorum” in the chamber, lobby and “immediate environs.”
That, too, Democrats took issue with.
State Sen. Nikema Williams was arrested in the state Capitol last fall during a protest in the rotunda, on the grounds that she and others were disrupting the chambers in session.
In the new version, “environs” was limited and clearly defined as the chamber, anteroom and cloakroom. In response to the rules compromise, Williams, a Democrat, said, “It’s progress, but we still have a ways to go before our citizens feel welcome in their state Capitol.”
Under the rules compromise, the use of cameras is still banned in the Senate gallery.
Top Stories
