Gold Dome Report — Legislative Day 15
Friday, February 11, 2022

The General Assembly took a half day on Friday after a full week of floor debates and committee proceedings. Although the House and Senate addressed a collective six measures on their floors, legislators made quick work of their work and adjourned by lunchtime to head home and enjoy an unseasonably warm February afternoon. Before departing, however, the House signed off on its version of the Amended FY22 Budget in HB 910 and sent it to the Senate for further consideration. That consideration will begin early on Monday, with Senate Appropriations hearings scheduled to begin at 7 a.m.

Upon adjournment, bystanders were blown aside by the mass exodus of legislators and lobbyists to the parking deck, although the accelerated air could have actually been coming from the House hopper, where Representative Don Hogan (R-St. Simons Island) dropped his LEAF Act yesterday. HB 1301, the Landscape Equipment and Agricultural Fairness Act, bars local governments from regulating or prohibiting the sale or use of gas-powered leaf blowers within their jurisdictions. The candidate for State Marsupial could not be reached for comment on this latest head scratcher of a bill, but we hope you enjoy this example of the landscape lobby at work as you breeze through today’s #GoldDomeReport.

In this Report:

  • Floor Action

  • New Legislation

  • What’s Next


Floor Action

The House of Representatives took up the following measures on Friday:

  • HB 910 - Supplemental appropriations; State Fiscal Year July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022. PASSED (152-4)

  • HB 1011 - Motor vehicles; amber strobe lights; permitting requirements; exempt low speed vehicles. PASSED (152-0)

The Senate took up the following measures on Friday:

  • SB 281 - Sheriffs' Retirement Fund of Georgia; increase in dues; provide. PASSED (50-0)

  • SB 343 - Retirement; prohibition of granting postretirement benefit adjustments to any individual who became a member on or after July 1, 2009; remove. PASSED (50-1)

  • SB 352 - Professions; issuance of expedited licenses by endorsement for certain licenses to spouses of firefighters, healthcare providers, and law enforcement officers who relocate to the State of Georgia; provide. PASSED (50-0)

  • SB 396 - Georgia State Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); rename such program the Georgia Grown Farm to Food Bank Program (F2FB). PASSED (49-0)

New Legislation

The following legislation of interest has been introduced in the House:

H.B.1302

Income tax; one-time tax credit for taxpayers who filed returns for both 2020 and 2021 taxable years; provide

GA Rep. Josh Bonner (R-GA-072)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/61968

H.B.1303

Education; transition a pilot program for elementary agricultural education to an ongoing program

GA Rep. Robert Dickey (R-GA-140)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/61969

H.B.1304

Georgia Caregivers Act; create

GA Rep. Lee Hawkins (R-GA-027)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/61970

H.B.1306

Social services; personal identification cards for children entering foster care; provide

GA Rep. Carolyn Hugley (D-GA-136)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/61972

H.B.1307

Georgia Utility Facility Protection Act; revise

GA Rep. Penny Houston (R-GA-170)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/61973

H.B.1308

Insurance; allow plan sponsor to consent on behalf of an enrollee to electronic delivery of all communication

GA Rep. Noel Williams (R-GA-148)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/61974

H.B.1309

Georgia Urban Farming Youth Initiative Act; enact

GA Rep. Mandisha Thomas (D-GA-065)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/61975

H.B.1316

Insurance; basic coverage of mental wellness services; provide

GA Rep. Yasmin Neal (D-GA-074)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/61991

H.B.1319

Georgia Student Finance Authority; provide for Georgia LEO Scholarship grant

GA Rep. William "Bill" Werkheiser (R-GA-157)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/61997

H.B.1320

Revenue and taxation; Internal Revenue Code and Internal Revenue Code of 1986; define terms and incorporate certain provisions of federal law into Georgia law

GA Rep. David Knight (R-GA-130)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/61998

H.B.1321

Commerce; litigation bar on governmental entities regarding certain statewide opioid litigation; provide

GA Rep. James Burchett (R-GA-176)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/61999

H.B.1322

Public utilities and public transportation; deployment of electric vehicle charging equipment; provide

GA Rep. Alan Powell (R-GA-032)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/62000

H.B.1324

Health and insurance; clarify that the prudent layperson standard is not affected by the diagnoses given

GA Rep. Beth Camp (R-GA-131)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/62002

The following legislation of interest has been introduced in the Senate:

S.B.485

Statute of Frauds; agreements with a value in excess of $10,000.00 shall be in writing; provide

GA Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-GA-027)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/61951

S.B.486

Agricultural Commodity Commission for Propane; full or partial remote communication with regard to public hearings; provide

GA Sen. Tyler Harper (R-GA-007)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/61960

S.B.487

Insurance; diagnostic breast examinations shall not be treated less favorably than screening mammography for breast cancer with respect to cost-sharing requirements; provide

GA Sen. Sheila McNeill (R-GA-003)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/61977

S.B.492

Public Utilities and Transportation; the deployment of electric vehicle charging equipment; provide

GA Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-GA-053)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/62018

S.R.480

National Cancer Prevention Month; recognizing February

GA Sen. Ben Watson (R-GA-001)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/62009

S.R.488

Georgia's career, technical, and agricultural education programs; career technical student organizations; educators; honoring

GA Sen. Chuck Payne (R-GA-054)

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/62017

What’s Next

The General Assembly will convene for Legislative Day 16 on Monday, February 14.

The House is expected to consider the following propositions on Legislative Day 16:

  • HB 963 - Controlled substances; Schedule I and IV; change certain provisions

  • HB 1028 - Cobb County; Board of Education; change description of districts

  • HB 1089 - Revenue and taxation; certain violations of registration requirements for motor vehicles operated by motor carriers; increase penalty

  • HB 1134 - Crimes and offenses; prosecute offenses involving criminal gang activity; provide for concurrent authority

  • HB 1154 - Cobb County; Board of Commissioners; change description of districts

The Senate is expected to consider the following propositions on Legislative Day 16:

  • SB 84 - Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund; certain communications officers shall be eligible for membership in such fund; provide

  • SB 316 - Stalking; a person 18 years old or older who commits the offense of stalking against a minor shall be guilty of a high and aggravated misdemeanor; provide

  • SB 341 - Healthcare Services; guidelines for the prior authorization of a prescribed medication for chronic conditions requiring ongoing medication therapy; provide

  • SB 364 - Telephone Service; class action suits and for damages against certain persons for violating provisions relating to telephone solicitations; provide

  • HB 907 - Elections; dates for special elections; question related to sales and use taxes for transportation; revise provisions

 

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