25 LC 55 0603
Senate Bill 341
By: Senators Tillery of the 19th, Dolezal of the 27th, Hatchett of the 50th, Bearden of the
30th, Moore of the 53rd and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
1
relating to deceptive or unfair practices, so as to protect the exercise of constitutional rights;2
to prohibit discrimination in the provision of essential services; to provide for public and3
private enforcement; to provide for definitions; to provide a short title; to provide legislative4
findings and declarations; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for5
other purposes.6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7
SECTION 1.8
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Freedom of Speech and Belief Act."9
SECTION 2.10
The General Assembly finds and declares that:11
(1) The freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights are fundamental to our nation;12
(2) Among such rights is the freedom of association, which businesses and citizens of13
this state may ordinarily exercise in choosing to engage or not to engage in business with14
others;15
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(3) However, when the exercise of this freedom of association by businesses that provide
16
essential goods and services would threaten the ability of citizens of this state to freely17
exercise their own constitutional rights, it is imperative that the General Assembly act to18
ensure that the spirit and intent of the Bill of Rights is respected and that the freedoms19
protected therein are preserved for the citizens of this state;20
(4) The ability to obtain financial and utility services is essential to the citizens of this21
state and to modern day life;22
(5) Today, citizens of this state are at risk of being deprived the ability to obtain financial23
and utility services due to such citizens' lawful exercise of their constitutional rights;24
(6) Depriving citizens of this state financial and utility services would put such citizens25
at an extreme disadvantage in carrying out the duties of daily life and would deprive such26
citizens of the enjoyment of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and27
(7) It is, therefore, incumbent on the General Assembly to preserve the ability of the28
citizens of this state to obtain financial and utility services by prohibiting financial29
institutions and utility service providers from depriving such citizens the provision of30
such services based on such citizens' lawful exercise of their constitutional rights.31
SECTION 3.32
The General Assembly further finds and declares that:33
(1) Legislation containing similar provisions of this Act was introduced in the Senate34
during the 2025 regular session of the General Assembly, which was assigned Senate35
Bill 57 as its bill number;36
(2) On March 6, 2025, such legislation failed to achieve the requisite votes to pass the37
Senate due, in part, to concerns that instances of discrimination by financial institutions38
and other essential service providers are rare and that passage of such legislation could39
result in frivolous litigation;40
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(3) On March, 7, 2025, organizations affiliated with President Donald J. Trump filed suit
41
against Capitol One, N.A. alleging that Capitol One debanked such organizations by42
terminating hundreds of accounts such organizations held with Capitol One without43
warning and due to such organization's political affiliations, causing significant business44
interruptions and considerable financial harm;45
(4) On or about March 10, 2025, JPMorgan Chase, in response to credible allegations46
that the company has engaged in debanking practices against its customers, updated its47
code of conduct to protect its customers against future instances of political and religious48
discrimination; and49
(5) Such recent events, together with other instances of discrimination by financial50
institutions, further demonstrate that the citizens of this state are at risk of being denied51
essential services based on their constitutionally protected affiliations and activities and52
that legislation is needed to protect the citizens of this state against such forms of53
discrimination.54
SECTION 4.55
Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to56
deceptive or unfair practices, is amended in Code Section 10-1-397, relating to cease and57
desist orders, civil penalties, judicial relief, and receivers, by adding a new subsection to read58
as follows:59
"(g)(1) In any action brought pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Code
60
section for a violation of Part 10 of this article, the court may, notwithstanding61
subparagraph (B) of said paragraph, impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000.00 for the62
first violation, up to $50,000.00 for a second violation, and up to $250,000.00 for a third63
or subsequent violation and any such action may be brought without providing the notice64
required under subsection (c) of this Code section.65
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(2) If, after investigating a potential violation of Part 10 of this article, the Attorney66
General elects to not issue an order under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code67
section or bring an action pursuant to paragraph (2) of said subsection, the Attorney68
General shall prepare a report providing the reasons for not issuing such order or bringing69
such action and shall publish such report on the Department of Law's public website.70
(3) Whenever the Attorney General has reason to believe that any financial institution71
is violating or has violated Part 10 of this article, the Attorney General shall, in addition72
to taking other actions required or authorized under this part, refer such financial73
institution to the Department of Banking and Finance for investigation of any potential74
violations of Title 7 or the rules and regulations of the department arising from such75
violation of Part 10 of this article."76
SECTION 5.77
Said article is further amended by adding a new part to read as follows:78
"Part 1079
10-1-439.20.80
As used in this part, the term:81
(1) 'Discriminate in the provision of essential services' means, directly or indirectly,82
restricting or terminating the provision of essential services to a person based on such83
person's social credit score or such person's exercise of any constitutional right protected84
by the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, including, without85
limitation, such person's speech, association, religious exercise, or ownership of firearms.86
(2) 'Essential services' means financial services or utility services.87
(3) 'Essential services provider' means a financial institution or a utility services88
provider.89
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(4) 'Established business relationship' means an open account or other existing agreement90
for the provision of essential services.91
(5) 'Financial institution' means:92
(A) A bank or credit union that has more than $2 billion in assets and any affiliate or93
subsidiary of such a bank or credit union; or94
(B) A payment processor, credit card company, credit card network, payment network,95
payment service provider, or payment gateway that has processed more than $2 billion96
in transactions in the most recent calendar year and any affiliate or subsidiary of such97
an entity.98
(6) 'Financial services' means any financial product or service offered by a financial99
institution.100
(7) 'Person' means any individual, partnership, association, joint stock company, trust,101
corporation, nonprofit organization, or other business or legal entity.102
(8) 'Social credit score' means a score or rating determined by an analysis or evaluation103
of one or more the following:104
(A) A person's exercise of any constitutional right protected by the first ten105
amendments to the United States Constitution, including, without limitation, a person's106
speech, association, religious exercise, or ownership of firearms;107
(B) A person's failure or refusal to adopt any policy or make any disclosure relating to108
emissions of greenhouse gases, as defined in Code Section 12-6-221, beyond what is109
required by applicable state or federal law;110
(C) A person's failure or refusal to conduct any type of racial, diversity, or gender audit111
or disclosure or to implement any quota or give any preference or benefit based in112
whole or in part on race, diversity, or gender;113
(D) A person's failure or refusal to facilitate or assist employees in obtaining abortions114
or gender reassignment services; or115
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(E)(i) Except as provided in division (ii) of this subparagraph, a person's participation116
in any lawful business associations or business activities, including, without117
limitation, business associations or business activities relating to firearms,118
ammunition, oil, or natural gas.119
(ii) For the purpose of this subparagraph only, the term 'social credit score' shall not120
include a financial institution's evaluation of the quantifiable financial risk of a person121
based on impartial, financial risk based standards concerning the activities described122
in division (i) of this subparagraph, provided that such standards are established in123
advance by the financial institution and publicly disclosed to its customers and124
potential customers. Nothing in this division shall:125
(I) Require the public disclosure of any information relating to investigations that126
is prohibited from being publicly disclosed under applicable federal laws, including,127
but not limited to, the federal Bank Secrecy Act, the federal Right to Financial128
Privacy Act, and the federal USA PATRIOT Act; provided, however, that any court129
of competent jurisdiction may review such information in camera if permitted under130
applicable law; or131
(II) Limit or restrict the protections afforded under Code Section 7-1-360.132
(9) 'Utility services' means, as it relates to this Code section herein, one or more of the133
following services:134
(A) Electric services;135
(B) Water and sewer services;136
(C) Natural gas services; and137
(D) Broadband services.138
(10) 'Utility services provider' means any private business entity or enterprise that139
provides utility services to retail customers.140
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10-1-439.21.141
An essential services provider shall not:142
(1) Discriminate in the provision of essential services against a person that has an143
established business relationship with such essential services provider; or144
(2) Agree, conspire, or coordinate, directly or indirectly, including through any145
intermediary or third party, with another person or group of persons to engage in activity146
that is prohibited by paragraph (1) of this Code section.147
10-1-439.22.148
(a) A violation of any provision of this part shall constitute an unfair or deceptive act or149
practice under, and shall be subject to the provisions of, Part 2 of this article, the 'Fair150
Business Practices Act of 1975'; provided, however, that enforcement against a violation151
of this part through a private action shall only be brought pursuant to subsection (b) of this152
Code section.153
(b)(1) Any person harmed by a violation of this part may bring an action against the154
essential services provider that committed or is committing such violation to:155
(A) Recover, for each violation, actual damages caused by such violation156
or $50,000.00, whichever is greater; provided, however, that, if the trier of fact157
determines that the violation was willful, it may increase the award of damages to an158
amount up to three times the actual damages caused by such violation or $150,000.00,159
whichever is greater;160
(B) Obtain declaratory and injunctive relief; and161
(C) Recover any costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred in bringing such action.162
(2) No action shall be brought under this Code section concerning a violation of this part163
unless such violation has first been referred to the Attorney General for investigation and164
at least one of the following has occurred:165
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(A) The Attorney General has issued an order pursuant to paragraph (1) of166
subsection (b) of Code Section 10-1-397 concerning such violation;167
(B) The Attorney General has initiated an action in a superior court of competent168
jurisdiction pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of Code Section 10-1-397169
concerning such violation;170
(C) The Attorney General, pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (g) of Code171
Section 10-1-397, has prepared and filed a report providing the reasons for not issuing172
an order or bringing an action under said Code section concerning such violation, which173
shall be admissible in any action brought pursuant to this Code section; or174
(D) Six months have elapsed since such violation was referred to the Attorney General175
for investigation."176
SECTION 6.177
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.178
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