A bill designed to protect citizens from having nude photographs or material distributed to the Internet without their consent was approved in the Georgia House of Representatives.

Rep. Kevin Tanner's intimate harassment bill, which passed 168-3 and would make the act a criminal offense, is now awaiting a vote in the Senate.

"This is a very important piece of legislation that I'm proud to author, because it addresses an issue that many people have fallen victim to. Passage would give law enforcement the ability to prosecute this type of crime then," Tanner said.

The 2014 Legislative Session, which is now more than half way complete, has been a busy few weeks for the sophomore lawmaker.

In addition to the intimate harassment bill, Tanner also authored major bills that passed earlier this month.

House Bill 741, which passed 161-1 in the House, stems from an issue Dawson County faced a few years ago when a developer petitioned to dump partially treated waste on property near the North Georgia Premium Outlets.

"This is especially important for the Dawson County community," Tanner said. "This issue originated when I was county manager, and I've worked on it since then to give local communities a local voice in regards to sludge application."

The bill would give local governments and their citizens a say in where sludge can be placed in their communities. It would also require any public hearings on matters of sludge application to be held in the county where land is located, contrary to current law that does not regulate such a criteria.

Tanner's second bill that passed in the House on Feb. 10 aims to correct an issue involving local option sales tax distributions after the manner in which the tax is split was ruled unconstitutional in 2013.

"Lumpkin, which I represent, is one of 35 counties affected by last year's Supreme Court decision," he said.

Tanner was among a group of state representatives with backgrounds in local government asked to sit on the panel to address the problem.

"It was a great honor to be asked to carry the legislation on their behalf, and I'm glad to see it pass the House floor," he said.

The bill was adopted 170-0 in the House and now moves to the Senate.

Early in the session on Feb. 6, a bill Tanner introduced to make it less costly for those serving on active duty in the United States military to be able to obtain a Georgia hunting license also passed without dissention in the House.

Throughout the session, Tanner will continue the tradition of meeting over breakfast with local community members to discuss issues that affect Dawson County residents.

His next informational meeting will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Ryan's in Dawsonville.

The weekly meetings, which will continue throughout the legislative session, give residents of the district an opportunity to meet and discuss issues with their representative in Atlanta.

Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, has announced that he will also be available to answer questions during this week's breakfast.