Taylor Votes: SB 416 – Protecting Georgians from Terrorism

Tom’s Vote: YES

Senate Bill 416 establishes the Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center within the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. This center will serve as a fusion center maintaining a terrorism analytical component. Development, maintenance, and operations of the center are vested in the director of the GBI. The director is required to report homeland security activity information to the director of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA).

The center will liaise with the FBI, Joint Terrorism Task Force, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and other local, state, and federal intelligence and law enforcement officials. Membership consists of the director of the GBI, the director of GEMA, the commissioner of Public Safety, the commissioner of Natural Resources, the commissioner of Corrections, the state fire marshal, the attorney general, the adjutant general and state and local fire service, law enforcement, homeland security, emergency management, corrections, and other appropriate agencies and disciplines as determined by the director of emergency management in consultation with the director.

As the world we live in becomes more dangerous from the threat of global terror, this bill facilitates the sharing of intelligence and other information between agencies on the local, state and federal levels. As a former industry member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, I strongly supported this bill which enhances our public safety.