Legislators completed Day 20 yesterday, and we are now at the halfway point of this session. They are in recess today and are taking off Monday for Presidents’ Day, then they will be in session Tuesday through Friday.
The Senate unanimously passed their version of the amended FY 2016 $23B budget on Wednesday. It will now go to conference committee where they should come up with a compromise fairly quickly. In his budget presentation to the Senate, Appropriations Chairman Jack Hill remarked there were few differences between House and Senate versions of the budget. He also noted that the Ga. Lottery Corp. is sending a record amount of over $1B to the HOPE scholarship and pre-k programs for the first time ever.
The Senate also passed Sen. Jesse Stone’s revisions to the state’s current garnishment law (SB 255). This bill requires creditors to inform debtors that Social Security benefits, welfare and workers’ compensation cannot be garnished. It was favorably reported by the House Judiciary committee yesterday.
On Thursday, the House unanimously passed the Speaker-backed “pastor protection” bill that provides legal protections to pastors who do not want to perform same-sex marriages (HB 757).
The House also passed Rep. Alan Powell’s “move over” bill (HB 767) that would add stopped utility service vehicles to the list of vehicles for which drivers must move over one lane or slow down and be prepared to stop. It has been assigned to the Senate Public Safety committee.
The House Judiciary Non-civil committee held its second hearing on Rep. Allen Peake’s cannabis oil legislation (HB 722). This bill would allow the state to license up to six cultivators for medical marijuana and would allow doctors to prescribe for patients with 17 specified diagnoses. Opponents of the bill testified at the hearing on Monday and Rep. Peake committed to continue revising the bill to address their concerns, for example employers’ concerns about having drug-free workplace designations.
Senator Steve Gooch introduced a resolution to create a joint study committee on high-speed broadband access for all Georgians (SR 876). This resolution was assigned to the Senate Economic Development & Tourism committee.
Rep. Mike Cheokas introduced the “Honorable Jimmy Carter Cancer Treatment Access Act” (HB 965) that would prohibit insurance companies from mandating that patients first fail to respond to other treatments before trying new treatments.
Rep. Chad Nimmer introduced a bill to exclude sales taxes on Super Bowl tickets, as well as other major sporting events expected to generate revenue of more than $50M, when a Georgia city is the host for these events (HB 951). This bill has the support of Governor Deal as well as Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.
The Dept. of Revenue released upbeat revenue information for January and the first seven months of the state’s fiscal year. There was an 8.9% growth rate over last year which meant a $1.02B rise in collections. The increased motor fuel taxes, from the transportation bill that passed last year, were responsible for the largest share of the growth. Motor fuel tax collections have increased 59% over last year and vehicle title ad valorem taxes have increased 15.2%. Income taxes grew 6.7% for individuals and 6.5% for businesses while sales tax revenues stayed relatively flat.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact any of us if you have questions or need information on any legislative issue. All bills can be found on the state’s legislative web site, and live action can be watched in the House and Senate chambers when they are in session.