This is an informal rundown of the legislative happenings. These bills are from the most recent legislative day – 2/24/21, or Day 22.
The House of Representatives passed the following measures, all of which now head to the Senate:
HB 179 – Rep. Beth Camp
LINK → https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59103
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
- Creates a special license tag for armed forces to go to ‘Support Our Troops, Inc.”
- Updates the special license tag for breast cancer (was a 2020 bill that didn’t move) to reflect pink ribbon – money to go to Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education, Inc.
ISSUES:
PASSED: 165-0
HB 286 – Rep. Houston Gaines
Postponed from Day 21
LINK → https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59296
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
- Prohibits local governments that have their own county police department from slashing the budget by more than 5% than the previous year unless anticipated revenues decrease by 5% or more and in that case, it cannot be decreased by more than the % decrease in anticipated revenue
- Prohibits factoring in one-time budgetary capital expenditures from the previous fiscal year (this is going to be a discretionary nightmare)
- Also requires that the rolling average for a 10 year period does not reflect more than a 5 year decrease
- Adds the same provisions for municipalities so long as the municipality employees more than 10 full-time or part-time officers.
- Allows for an exemption to the above if:
- The county slash ensures the same level (or more) of law enforcement services will be provided by either the sheriff or another local governing agency
- Transitions between volunteer and paid firefighter operations
- In the event the county was court-ordered to provide some service it was not previously providing and there is an alteration in the budget
- Does not apply to consolidated governments,
ISSUES: Critics of the bill say the legislation would interfere with the authority of the local governing agency to make tough but often times necessary budget restrictions while bill proponents say it is an imperative boundary to prohibit elected officials at the local level from ‘defunding the police’ in a political move.
PASSED: 101-69
HB 292 – Rep. Noel Williams
LINK → https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59329
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
- Addresses county boards of equalization
- Strikes code section requiring the board members to have 20 hours of appraisal instruction and equalization processes and procedures
- Current code section requires the training in the first year of every term.
ISSUES: Private businesses and license holders are required to take continuing education.
PASSED: 165-0
HB 306 – Rep. Stan Gunter
LINK → https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59348
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
- Gives corporate boards of directors the ability to hold meetings for shareholders on a 100% remote basis
- Unless the bylaws specifically prohibit that action
- When there are remote meetings, proxies of shareholders and shareholders are still counted present, can vote, and can participate in the meeting as if the meeting was in person
- Requires that remote meeting votes and actions must be maintained on the record.
ISSUES:
PASSED: 169-0
HB 455 – Rep. Tim Barr
LINK → https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59650
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
- Changes O.C.G.A. 20-2-188
- Allows local school boards to use 8-passenger vehicles (or smaller) to transport students for school-related activities
- Dictates the State Board of Education (the unelected unaccountable appointed Board) to set minimum standards and requirements for transporting in smaller cars/vehicles.
- Must include vehicle maintenance, repair, etc.
- Requires insurance for the vehicles and for the students traveling in the vehicles, but the amount of insurance in event of injury or death is up to the local school board
ISSUES: None.
PASSED: 165-1 (Rep. Lewis-Ward)
HR 142 – Rep. Gerald Greene
LINK →https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59589
WHAT THE RESOLUTION DOES:
- Conveyance of state properties bill
- Annual & procedural.
ISSUES: None.
PASSED: 172-0
HR 143 – Rep. Gerald Greene
LINK →https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59590
WHAT THE RESOLUTION DOES:
- State easement bill (non-exclusive)
- Counties included: Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Harris, Macon, Montgomery, Murray, Paulding, Polk, Rabun, Talbot, Troup, Walton, Ware, and Washington
- Annual & procedural.
ISSUES: None.
PASSED: 170-0
The Senate passed the following measures:
SB 51 – Sen. Bruce Thompson
LINK–> https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59141
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
- The Dexter Mosley Act
- Authorize home study students in grades six through 12 to participate in extracurricular and interscholastic activities in the student’s resident public school system
PASSED: 39-15
SB 89 – Sen. Butch Miller
LINK–> https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59310
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
- Requires that the position of chief elections assistance officer be an employee of the SOS that is appointed and serves at the pleasure of the Georgia State Elections Board
- outlines the experience the person must have in order to be appointed
- Outlines process for recruiting assistance ‘coaches’
PASSED: 35-18
SB 100 – Sen. Ben Watson
LINK–> https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59365
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
- observe standard time year round instead of daylight savings
PASSED: 46-7
SB 119 – Sen. Tyler Harper
LINK–> https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59472
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
- Amends code section for burning woods, eliminating the requirement to obtain a permit to burn leaves, yard debris, etc unless it is otherwise prohibited under the law (state or local ordinance)
- Assigns liability for damage to the person who is burning
PASSED: 53-0
SB 148 – Sen. Chuck Hufstetler
LINK–> https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59556
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
- Creates the “2021 Special Council on Tax Reform and Fairness for Georgians and the Special Joint Committee on Georgia Revenue Structure”
- The legislature believes that it has been ‘many years’ since there was a study on the state tax structure and there may be more efficient ways to structure everything.
- Requires that the Council study the state’s revenue structure and make a report of its findings and recommendations for legislation to the Speaker and Lt. Gov by January 10, 2022
- Requires the House of Representatives to draft a resolution in 2022 with the recommendations of the committee and those considered bills would go directly to the Joint Committee for approval or not. Without additional committee action, if given the green light from the joint committee, they would go straight to the House floor for a vote with no amendments permitted and would up/down vote only (same process for Senate)
- Since it entirely circumvents the traditional process for bills, these would be read 3x
Members of the Council (who would study) would be as follows:
- Three economists to be appointed one each by the Gov, Lt Governor, and the Speaker of the House;
- Governor Brian Kemp;
- A nonpartisan fiscal expert jointly agreed to by the minority leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate;
- The 2021 chairperson of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the 2021 Georgia state director for the National Federation of Independent Business;
- Two members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and two members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
- The president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and
- The commissioner of the Department of Economic Development
Committee members in the legislature would be:
- The President Pro Tem of the Senate and the Speaker Pro Tem of the House;
- The majority leader of the Senate and the majority leader of the House;
- The minority leader of the Senate and the minority leader of the House;
- The chairpersons of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Committee on Ways and Means;
- Two members of the Senate to be appointed by the President of the Senate, one from the majority party and one from the minority party; and
- Two members of the House to be appointed by the Speaker, one from the majority party and one from the minority party
PASSED: 34-20
SB 157 – Sen. Bill Cowsert
LINK–> https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59619
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
- Creates a new code section: OCGA 10-1-393.16
- Prohibits the deceptive practice of musical performance groups advertising and appearing as the recording group without the recording group’s permission or denoting that it is a salute or tribute performance
- Makes it illegal to advertise or sing/play song or production by using any false, deceptive, or misleading affiliation, connection, or association between a performing group and a recording group without the express authorization of the recording group unless a member is present, unless it’s clear in all ads it’s a tribute, or the person is permitted to do it under registrant of US trademark
- Each act is its own violation
PASSED: 54-0
HB 265 – Rep. David Knight
LINK–> https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59265
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
- Annual Internal Revenue Code update
- Takes into account federal code changes and weaves them into the Georgia code
- This year, in particular, changes are federal regulation tweaks to charitable contributions, deductions, and the removal of floors for some amounts of income.
- More procedural than real legislative action.
PASSED: 53-0
This bill now heads to the Governor’s desk.
