iAfter a week of hearings on Governor Kemp’s proposals for the Amended FY23 and FY24 budgets, legislators returned to the State Capitol on Monday for Legislative Day 5…and more budget hearings. The House is wasting no time getting to work on the Amended FY23 spending plan, known as the “little budget”. Its eight appropriations subcommittees completed their initial hearings on Monday, only ten days after the release of the amended budget proposal. With adjournment sine die just over nine weeks away, there’s no time to dawdle if the General Assembly is to complete its only constitutionally-mandated task — approving the State’s spending plans before the final gavel falls.
While appropriators are busy with the budget, most other legislators are still getting organized and finding their desks. The hoppers are still relatively empty, moving boxes are still being shifted from office to office, and committees are still getting organized. But the Office of Legislative Counsel (“OLC”) is stoking fear of what may be to come. According to OLC, as of January 20, its lawyers have drafted 920 bills and 129 resolutions for legislators. With fewer than 100 measures introduced to date, there could be a deluge of legislation to come. We’ll try to keep you afloat in the flood with the #GoldDomeReport.
In this Report:
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House Appoints Committee Leadership, Members
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New Legislation
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What’s Next
House Appoints Committee Leadership, Members
House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) and the Committee on Assignments completed its work of appointing House committee leaders and members last week. New chairs for the House’s committees are listed below, and a complete list of the committee leadership and members can be found here.
| Agriculture & Consumer Affairs | Chairman Robert Dickey (R-Musella) |
| Appropriations | Chairman Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin) |
| Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee | Chairwoman Penny Houston (R-Nashville) |
| Education Appropriations Subcommittee | Chairman Matt Dubnik (R-Gainesville) |
| General Government Appropriations Subcommittee | Chairman Marcus Weidower (R-Watkinsville) |
| Health Appropriations Subcommittee | Chairman Darlene Taylor (R-Thomasville) |
| Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee | Chairman David Knight (R-Griffin) |
| Human Resources Appropriations Subcommittee | Chairman Katie Dempsey (R-Rome) |
| Public Safety Appropriations Subcommittee | Chairman Bill Hitchens (R-Rincon) |
| Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee | Chairman Clay Pirkle (R-Ashburn) |
| Banks & Banking | Chairman Noel Williams (R-Cordele) |
| Budget & Fiscal Affairs Oversight | Chairman Steven Meeks (R-Screven) |
| Code Revision | Chairman Bill Yearta (R-Sylvester) |
| Creative Arts & Entertainment | Chairman Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton) |
| Defense & Veterans Affairs | Chairman Josh Bonner (R-Fayetteville) |
| Economic Development & Tourism | Chairman Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) |
| Education | Chairman Chris Erwin (R-Homer) |
| Energy, Utilities, & Telecommunications | Chairman Don Parsons (R-Marietta) |
| Ethics | Chairman Buddy DeLoach (R-Townsend) |
| Game, Fish, and Parks | Chairman Trey Rhodes (R-Greensboro) |
| Governmental Affairs | Chairman John LaHood (R-Valdosta) |
| Health | Chairman Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville) |
| Higher Education | Chairman Chuck Martin (R-Marietta) |
| Human Relations & Aging | Chairman Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) |
| Industry & Labor | Chairman Bill Werkheiser (R-Glennville) |
| Information & Audits | Chairman Steve Tarvin (R-Chickamauga) |
| Insurance | Chairman Eddie Lumsden (R-Armuchee) |
| Interstate Cooperations | Chairman Mark Newton (R-Augusta) |
| Intragovernmental Coordination | Chairman Beth Camp (R-Concord) |
| Judiciary | Chairman Stan Gunter (R-Blairsville) |
| Judiciary Non-Civil | Chairman Tyler Paul Smith (R-Bremen) |
| Juvenile Justice | Chairman Mandi Ballinger (R-Canton) |
| Motor Vehicles | Chairman John Corbett (R-Lake Park) |
| Natural Resources & Environment | Chairman Lynn Smith (R-Newnan) |
| Public Health | Chairman Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta) |
| Public Safety & Homeland Security | Chairman J. Collins (R-Villa Rica) |
| Reapportionment & Redistricting | Chairman Rob Leverett (R-Elberton) |
| Regulated Industries | Chairman Alan Powell (R-Hartwell) |
| Retirement | Chairman John Carson (R-Marietta) |
| Rules | Chairman Richard Smith (R-Columbus) |
| Small Business Development | Chairman Mike Cheokas (R-Americus) |
| Special Rules | Chairman Steven Sainz (R-St. Marys) |
| State Planning & Community Affairs | Chairman Karen Mathiak (R-Griffin) |
| State Properties | Chairman Gerald Greene (R-Albany) |
| Technology & Infrastructure Innovation | Chairman Todd Jones (R-South Forsyth) |
| Transportation | Chairman Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper) |
| Urban Affairs | Chairman Brian Prince (D-Augusta) |
| Ways & Means | Chairman Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) |
Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) announced a new Special Committee on Healthcare Policy at Eggs and Issues and later in a press release. This committee will be chaired by Representative Butch Parrish (R-Swainsboro) and be comprised of the health committee chairs.
New Legislation
The following legislation of interest has been introduced in the House:
| H.B.26 | Right to Breath Act; enact | Rep. Mandisha Thomas (D-065) | |
| H.B.32 | Quality Basic Education Act; no high school which receives funding shall participate in sports events that does not utilize instant replay in Championship games; provide | Rep. Demetrius Douglas (D-078) | |
| H.B.35 | Georgia Ports Authority; provide for powers; expand arrest authority of officers | Rep. Bill Hitchens (R-161) | |
| H.B.37 | Community Health, Department of; mitigate potential loss of Medicaid coverage caused by discontinuation of Families First Coronavirus Response Act; provide | Rep. James Beverly (D-143) | |
| H.B.38 | Community Health, Department of; utilize appropriations for purposes of obtaining federal financial participation for medical assistance payments; provisions | Rep. James Beverly (D-143) | |
| H.R.12 | Leadership in Georgia's counties; combat housing insecurity and homelessness; urge | Rep. Mandisha Thomas (D-065) |
The following legislation of interest has been introduced in the Senate:
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S.B.4 |
"Blind Persons' Braille Literacy Rights and Education Act"; enact | Sen. Gail Davenport (D-044) | |
| S.R.9 | Together Georgia; recognize | Sen. Larry Walker (R-020) | |
| S.R.10 | Easterseals Georgia; recognize | GA Sen. Larry Walker (R-020) |
What’s Next
The General Assembly will reconvene for Legislative Day 6 on Tuesday, January 24 at 10:00AM.
