SAVANNAH, Ga. () — Georgia lawmakers have been working on passing a new bill to support local shrimpers, but with a little over a week before adjournment the bill was hit with a change.

House Bill 117 would require all restaurants in Georgia to disclose, in writing on their menu, if their shrimp is foreign imported. It was introduced by State Representative Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) and co-sponsored by Al Williams (D-Midway), Rick Townsend (R-Brunswick), Buddy DeLoach (R-Townsend) and Lehman Franklin (R-Statesboro) back in January.

In February, the bill passed 165-7 in the House and moved on to the Senate, where an amendment was added in the Senate Committee on Interstate Cooperation.

Committee chairman Senator Colton Moore (R-Trenton) proposed an amendment that would require imported chicken and beef to be disclosed alongside shrimp. It passed with the amendment.

When reached out to Sen. Moore, he said that he amended HB 117 to include chicken and beef for the same reasons that Rep. Petrea wanted a bill for shrimp.

“Georgia is the chicken capitol of the world and our beef taste better than foreign beef,” Moore said.

Rep. Petrea told that he has a substitute going to the Senate Rules Committee and it will pass including shrimp only.

The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah).

Petrea previously spoke with  about HB 177 and said that in his opinion, the shrimp industry locally is suffering from unfair trade practices.

The state legislative session adjourns on April 4.

You can read the amendment here:

You can read the original bill here: