Packaged retail alcohol sales on Sunday, making criminal histories open to the public, preventing foreclosure predators, abortion, and protecting religious expression in schools are some of the issues the Georgia General Assembly will be tackling early on.

Legislators have filed pre-bills to get them in the hopper as the assembly begins on Monday.

On the senate side, Senate Bill (S.B.) 16 would allow local governments to have a referendum on whether to allow packaged retail alcohol sales on Sundays between noon and midnight.

Another senate bill, S.B. 13, would allow a sentencing of life without parole in some non-death penalty cases.

Other senate bills allow for rules in cleaning up areas where there had been methamphetamine sites and mandating that no one on the sex offender registry can run for local school boards.

In the House, one of the first bills submitted every year attempts to outlaw abortion. House Bill (H.B.) 1 regarding abortion was submitted by 43rd District Rep. Bobby Franklin. House Resolution (HR) 5 calling for a “paramount right to life” was submitted by 2nd District Rep. Martin Scott.

H.B. 33 called the Religious Viewpoint Antidiscrimination Act is aimed at allowing students more freedom to express their faith in schools. Co-sponsored by Reps. Tom Rice of the 51st and Austin Scott of the 153rd districts, the bill would force schools to allow public forums and other methods for students to express themselves. It would also allow for students to incorporate their religious ideas into their class work without fear of punishment from a teacher.

Several of the pre-bills filed deal with personal rights. H.B. 42 cracks down on foreclosure predators, those who go to those in foreclosure claiming they can stop it for a fee.

H.B. 17 and 18 are bills under a proposed “Small Business and Jobs Protection Act” and would mean that corporate taxes would be collected after 2010 and that personal property and business inventory would be exempt from ad valorem taxes.

H.B. 10 would allow any private person, business or government agency to check someone’s criminal background without their consent and H.B. 11 would allow for a trial without indictment upon only an accusation in all cases except serious violent felonies that require an indictment.

H.B. 22 requires seat belts be used in pick-up trucks and in the rear seats.

Two bills are aimed at curtailing misuses of technology. H.B 16 would prohibit anyone from tracking a person without his or her consent. That includes GPS systems placed in cars, on phones and in navigator systems. H.B. 38 would prohibit anyone from being forced to allow implantation of a microchip or for someone to be implanted with a microchip without his or her knowledge.

There has been talk around the country about implanting paroled prisoners with microchips to track them and with some hospital or nursing home patients to maintain their health care.