What a day under the Gold Dome! The budget, hate crimes legislation, tobacco tax increase efforts, CON amendments, etc. All of these issues are enormous decisions to be made by lawmakers. The day kicked off early as Committees moved into third gear as the end is nearing for the 2020 Session. As you might expect, more amendments are being proposed and added to moving bills in an effort to get issues addressed. Meanwhile, there is still no clarity around the proposed “end date” for this year’s Session. 

Tomorrow, the full Senate will address HB 793, the state’s spending plan for FY 2021. Once the appropriations proposal clears the Senate, the House will decide whether to disagree. We anticipate a Conference Committee will be appointed to hammer out differences. Be sure to follow along at #GoldDomeReport for any updates. 

In this Report:

• Notable Floor Action 
• Committee Reports
• Rules Calendars for Legislative Day 34

Notable Floor Action

House
HB 1029 passed on June 17, 2020 and Minority Leader Trammell moved to reconsider its legislative action on HB 1029 (this legislation addresses Twiggs County probate court judge elections). The motion lost 63-95 and the House failed to reconsider its action.

Minority Leader Trammell had previously served notice on HB 1030 (this legislation addresses Twiggs County chief magistrate court judge elections) to reconsider the House action on the bill. Today, Minority Leader Trammell asked to withdraw that request. It was withdrawn and not reconsidered.

In a morning order, Representative Josh Bonner acknowledged the work of the Georgia National Guard in responding to COVID-19 and civil unrest, noting thanks to those who are always ready, always there.

Representative Alan Powell (R-Hartwell) and Representative Rick Williams (R-Milledgeville) honored their friend, a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives, Rusty Kidd who died on June 2, 2020. The late Representative Kidd served as an independent rather than a Republican or Democrat. He came from a long line of public servants and Representative Powell described his friend as one with a large heart but also a “character.”

The House took up these measures on their House Rules Calendar:

• SB 249, by Senator John Albers (R-Roswell), seeks to address the Peace Officers’ Annuity Fund in Chapter 17 of Title 47. In part, it permits jailers to participate in this fund. This legislation was postponed until the next legislative day. 
• SB 372, by Senator Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia), is legislation which proposes modernization of the laws regarding the Department of Public Health. This legislation was carried in the House by Representative Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta). It updates the standing order for Naloxone, the drug to address individuals who are experiencing a drug overdose, so that first responders are permitted to have this drug. Additionally, in current law regarding Georgia’s dangerous drugs, in Title 16, Naloxone is only permitted to be distributed by a dispenser and this law will permit its distribution from a licensed wholesaler or distributor. Further, it changes the requirements concerning the State’s management of vital records in Title 19 to require those be kept up to age 125 rather than 100 before being sent to archives. The House passed this bill 157-2; the bill moves to the Governor’s desk for review.
• SB 377, by Senator Burt Jones (R-Jackson), seeks, at the request of the Department of Insurance, to address elevator inspections in buildings. The changes are made in Titles 8 and 33. The inspections will take place once in every 12-month period rather than once in every 6-month period; however, these inspections are to take place every six months.in buildings governed by Article 2 of Chapter 9 of Title 32. The bill passed with a vote of 134-27. It moves back to the Senate for its consideration of changes made to the bill in the House.
• SB 144, by Senator Lee Anderson (R-Grovetown), seeks to provide in O.C.G.A. 48-11-4(c) for the issuance of special event tobacco permits to licensed dealers authorizing off-premise sales of certain tobacco products at special events at temporary locations. Senator Anderson indicated that this permission would help the Masters Golf Tournament event. This bill passed with a vote of 152-9 and now moves to the Governor’s desk for review.
• SB 295, which was previously held until the next legislative day, was brought forward. It amends Titles 15 and 48 addressing courts and fees charged. It was before the floor in the form of a Committee Substitute. This bill passed 159-0. It requires the Senate to agree to the changes before moving to the Governor’s desk for review.

Senate

The Senate took up the following measures today on the floor: 

• HB 823, sponsored in the Senate by Sen. John Albers (R-Roswell), revokes a commercial driver’s license for individuals convicted of human trafficking. Sen. Albers explained that bill was brought as part of the First Lady’s agenda to end human trafficking. The bill passed by a vote of 48-0.
• HB 983, sponsored in the Senate by Rep. Burt Jones (R-Jackson), makes revisions to the state’s sexual offender registry for individuals that reside in a hospice, nursing home, or residential health care facility. This bill passed by a vote of 50-0.
• HR 326, sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Tyler Harper (R-Ocilla), dedicates a GDOT district office building in Tift County in honor of Roger C. Dill. This resolution passed by a vote of 52-0.
• HB 545 was removed from the table and subsequently resulted in a lengthy debate in the chamber. The bill, sponsored in the Senate by Sen. John Wilkenson (R-Toccoa) would limit the cause of action for agricultural nuisance. Multiple amendments were proposed for the bill including a small language change, the addition of an effective date, and a clarification that the bill does not preempt existing regulations from EPD and the US EPA. This bill passed as amended by a vote of 29-21. 

Committee Reports

Senate Judiciary Committee
The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Senator Jesse Stone (R-Waynesboro), met on Wednesday afternoon to consider three bills:

• HB 555, authored by Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton), amends Title 17 to require that any warrant for the arrest of a public child welfare case manager for an offense alleged to have been committed while in the performance of their duties be issued only by a judge of a superior, state, or probate judge. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS and be sent to the Rules Committee.
• HB 865, authored by Representative Mitchell Scoggins (R-Cartersville), is an update to Georgia’s Probate Code. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS and be sent to the Rules Committee.
• HB 912, authored by Representative Bert Reeves (R-Marietta), was presented with assistance from DFCS Director Tom Rawlings. The legislation contains some consolidated efforts on foster care. Director Rawlings explained the new portions - priorities of the child welfare community and Governor's office:
  • Section 1 - HB 971 ensures collection of data on children coming into the child welfare system from other systems (delinquency and CHINs) so as to better track those children
  • Section 2-4 - SB 335 passed the senate but incorporated prioritizing parental rights hearings so as to accomplish quickly; Section 3 ensures every 12 months that a DFCS case manager is checking with youth 18-21 that they are still eligible (from 60 days to 12 months like federal law); and Section 4 encouraged to do more providing a clear pathway working with private CPAs for casework service
  • Section 5 - HB 912 commonsense approach to make sure that foster parents who have been vetted and deemed to be good people to become certified foster parents and provided discretion under prudent parenting so that they can pick babysitters and this establishes time frames for those sitters over age 18 for 72 hours not more than twice per month. It allows those parents to help care for themselves - rest and relaxation.

The Senate Judiciary Committee gave this legislation a DO PASS recommendation. It will be carried by Senator Brian Strickland (R-McDonough) going forward.

Senate Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security Committee
Senator Bruce Thompson (R-White) and his Committee met early today taking up a few initiatives. Some of those included these:

• HB 819, by Representative Bill Hitchens (R-Rincon), proposes in O.C.G.A. 40-5-36 to authorize the issuance of veterans' licenses to any person who is a United States citizen and resident of this state who served in the military for an ally of the United States during a time of war or other conflict. This legislation specifically will assist a group of Korean veterans who reside in Gwinnett County. The legislation received a DO PASS recommendation.
• HB 914, by Representative Heath Clark (R-Warner Robins), seeks changes in Title 43 to provide for military spouses licensed in other states the ability to practice certain professions and occupations to obtain a license by endorsement to practice in this state. Representative Health remarked that several professions were provided reciprocity by Governor Kemp during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the military personnel are only here in the state for two or three years and the licensing process is difficult. He also noted that employers do not want to hire these individuals because of training involved. Further, these military spouses have between four and five times the national average of unemployment. Representative Clark also noted that the Air Force looks at two things when they are locating missions: 1) school choice and 2) military spousal licensure processes. This legislation received a DO PASS recommendation.

House Special Committee on Access to Quality Healthcare
The House Special Committee on Access to Quality Healthcare, chaired by Representative Mark Newton (R-Augusta), met today to consider two measures. 

• SB 313, authored by Senator Dean Burke, MD (R-Bainbridge), was presented in the form of a Committee Substitute, LC 33 8422S. This bill mirrors HB 946 which Chairman Knight passed out this year. It amends Chapter 64 of Title 33. According to Senator Burke, the two have worked together on these bills (the two bills are identical), indicating the need for reform. This bill addresses pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs) and appeals of medications. Physicians must be in the same practice area when making a decision for a PBM. It also clarifies that the Department of Community Health and its audit processes. A concern was raised about proprietary and confidential information. 340B claims are carved out. PBMs are the owner of information and not the Department of Community Health or Department of Insurance. Further, drug rebates are addressed in the bill. There is a prohibition for spread pricing for government plans. Co-pay accumulator only applies to generic drugs. Implementation dates are addressed. Chairman Knight expressed his thanks on the legislation so as to push forth one of the strongest measures in the country on PBM transparency. Kash Trevedi spoke on behalf of the PBM association; the association opposed the bill. Jesse Weathington on behalf of the Georgia Association of Health Plans also spoke in opposition of the legislation. A motion was made DO PASS; that motion carried.
• SB 483, authored by Senator Matt Brass (R-Newnan), requires that DCH must provide Medicaid reimbursement at 100% of cost for any behavioral rehabilitation joint venture in the second year of the operation of the venture. Additionally, the bill specifies that any proceeds from the rural health tax credit shall not count against a hospital's cap. Senator Brass explained that this bill uses the idea of a “swing” bed to allow hospitals to utilize other beds for behavioral health purposes. Section 2 was presented by Representative Hatchett which was a part of HB 1032 and it addresses ambulatory surgery centers which are not required to have a CON; they operate under a letter of determination. These ASCs do not have operating rooms to provide services. Representative Spencer Frye (D-Athens) asked if this could be accomplished via the rulemaking process rather than legislatively. Representative Hatchett also requested to make an amendment to Section 3 of the legislation to require part 1 of the bill be approved by CMS before it can go into effect. Tim Kibbler from the Alliance of Community Hospitals spoke against Section 2 of the bill. He explained that he believes many of the issues facing the state’s healthcare environment can be dealt with by fixing the reimbursement process and without touching CON issues. Ethan James from the Georgia Hospital Association stated that this bill is “nothing more than a CON loophole”. Vic Moldovan, with Holland & Knight, provided some history on the procedure rooms and ambulatory surgery centers. If a pain center, endoscopy or vascular center ASC, they are licensed as ASCs by the state and the architectural update is unnecessary. Representative Spencer Frye (D-Athens) likes the underlying portion of the bill, the original language from Senator Brass, and believes that the Committee should take out lines 61-77 and write something so that the procedure rooms do not have to pay attention to the architectural guidelines. Representative Hatchett promised there was no “back door effort” with CON as the language was contained in HB 1032 which passed the House. Chairman Parrish (R-Swainsboro) indicated he had some confusion and asked for some clarification. Chairman Nix (R-LaGrange) asked to hear from the Department of Community Health and its opinion on this bill. Representative Patty Bentley (D-Butler) indicated the part of the bill addressing mental health was the most important aspect for her. Chairman Nix proposed an amendment to eliminate lines 59-77 of the Substitute. The amendment failed by a 5-5 vote; the bill received a DO PASS recommendation with a vote of 7-3.

Senate Finance Committee
Chairman Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome) and his Committee took up these measures:

• HB 949, by Representative John Carson (R-Marietta), LC 44 1664S – Department of Revenue “Internal Revenue Code” and “Internal Revenue Code of 1986”. The Committee rolled up HB 949 and HB 846 into a new Substitute. That bill received a DO PASS recommendation.
• HB 807, by Representative Martin Momtahan (R-Dallas), presented LC 43 1575S - Revenue and taxation; allow businesses to provide affidavits of certified public accountants in lieu of tax returns . This legislation addresses gross receipts. It seeks to impose a methodology. After receiving a motion for the bill to DO PASS; the bill was held for further review.
• HB 1035, by Representative Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta), presented LC 43 1630S - Sales and use tax; certain tax exemptions; repeal sunset provisions. This bill received a DO PASS recommendation.
• HB 1037, by Representative Matt Dollar (R-Marietta), presented LC 43 1629S - Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act; moving certain sound recordings from qualified production activities to production expenditures. While on the agenda, this bill was not taken up at today’s meeting.
• HB 846, by Representative John Corbett (R-Lake Park), presented LC 43 1586S - Revenue and taxation; interest paid on refunds of overpayments of taxes and past due taxes shall be equal to the bank prime loan rate. This legislation was combined with the Internal Revenue Code update bill (see above).

Rules Calendars for Legislative Day 34

The Senate is expected to consider the following measures on Friday for Legislative Day 34:

• HB 578 - Human Services, Department of; review of certain law enforcement conviction data with regard to persons seeking to become volunteers, interns, students, or employees; provide (JUDY-1st) Dempsey-13th 
• HB 793 - General appropriations; State Fiscal Year July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021 (APPROP-19th) Ralston-7th
• HB 966 - Conservation and natural resources; regulate the harvest and sale of palmetto berries (AG&CA-7th) Burchett-176th
• HB 987 - Health; additional measures for the protection of elderly persons; provide (HHS-17th) Cooper-43rd