It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas under the Gold Dome. December 25 may be nine months away, but Christmas trees are appearing everywhere. The most prominent bill so far passed out of the House Education Committee on...more
3/14/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Education Reform ,
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State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
The Georgia General Assembly gaveled back in on Monday, and the rapping in the House had a different but eerily familiar tone. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the late Speaker Tom Murphy’s birth, Speaker Jon Burns dusted...more
3/12/2024
/ Education Reform ,
General Assembly ,
Georgia ,
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State Legislatures
Friday marked the end of what felt like the longest week in legislative history — and the beginning of a three-week sprint to Legislative Day 40. While most lawmakers and lobbyists are eager for adjournment sine die, it...more
3/12/2024
/ Cancer ,
Cannabis Products ,
General Assembly ,
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Medical Marijuana ,
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Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
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State Legislatures
The Georgia House of Representatives took up a veritable smorgasbord of legislation on Thursday. From the establishment of a license plate commemorating America’s semiquincentennial (SB 369), to allowing lifetime appointment...more
3/11/2024
/ Education Reform ,
Employee Benefits ,
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Tax Reform
Show us the money! In an early morning meeting on Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee and its subcommittees unveiled the House version of the FY 2025 Budget. While there are many goodies in the $36.1 billion spending...more
3/6/2024
/ Education Reform ,
General Assembly ,
Georgia ,
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Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Legislatures
While legislators and lobbyists continued to nurse the hangover of Crossover Day, the most unlikely of events unfolded in the Georgia State Senate on Monday. Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) awarded the...more
3/5/2024
/ Bail ,
Education Reform ,
General Assembly ,
Georgia ,
Immigrants ,
Income Taxes ,
Insurance Regulations ,
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State Legislatures
Legislators worked late into the night on Thursday to ensure legislation made the Crossover Day deadline. This #GoldDomeReport offers a recap of all the measures that passed out of the House and Senate and live on to seek...more
3/4/2024
/ Education Reform ,
Food & Drug Regulations ,
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Georgia ,
Healthcare ,
Human Trafficking ,
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Taxation
Thursday carried several distinctions under the Gold Dome. It was Leap Day, the quadrennial opportunity to celebrate those born on Feb. 29. It was Crossover Day, the day we all have to explain to our significant others each...more
3/1/2024
/ Education Reform ,
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Georgia ,
Health Care Providers ,
Income Taxes ,
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State Agencies ,
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Tax Credits ,
Veterans
There may be a calm before most storms, but there certainly isn’t one before Crossover Day in the Georgia General Assembly. Contrary to the popular idiom, House members spent late Tuesday and Wednesday pleading, cajoling,...more
2/29/2024
/ Child Support ,
Controlled Substances ,
Education Reform ,
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Healthcare ,
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Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sexual Assault ,
Shootings ,
Solar Energy ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
No time for fun and games today — the Georgia House and Senate were all business on the final legislative day before Crossover. Each chamber took up numerous weighty issues with vigorous debate but, fortunately, no broken...more
2/28/2024
/ General Assembly ,
Georgia ,
Homeless Issues ,
Immigrants ,
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Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government ,
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Veterans
The Georgia General Assembly kicked off Crossover Week on Monday, intensifying the mad dash for legislators and lobbyists working to ensure their bills pass their origin chamber and live to see Legislative Day 29. Expect...more
2/27/2024
/ Arrest ,
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Patient Access ,
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Wage and Hour
The Georgia State Capitol hallways and hoppers continued to overflow on Thursday. Law Enforcement Day at the Capitol converged with an onslaught of hundreds of charter school students to fill the People’s House with Georgians...more
2/23/2024
/ Education Reform ,
Fantasy Sports ,
General Assembly ,
Georgia ,
Healthcare ,
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Medicaid ,
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Opioid ,
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State Legislatures
Lawmakers worked long and hard today, moving many proposals out of various committees as the clock ticks closer to Crossover Day on February 29. The chambers’ floors were no different. It proved to be Veterans Day in the...more
Take a deep breath — this week is going to be a doozy. With Crossover Day looming just nine days away, committees shifted into high gear on Tuesday as legislators scrape and claw to get their bills and resolutions on track...more
2/21/2024
/ Domestic Violence ,
Georgia ,
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Mental Health ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Natural Gas ,
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State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
There was a sigh that could be heard throughout the third floor of the Georgia State Capitol on Friday as lawmakers worked hastily through their committee discussions and rules calendars. This activity was despite technology...more
2/19/2024
/ Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
Education Reform ,
Gambling ,
Georgia ,
Hemp ,
Human Trafficking ,
Legislative Agendas ,
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Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
With Valentine’s Day out of the way, legislators returned to work on Thursday. But that doesn't mean there was monotony under the Gold Dome. To the contrary, legislators and lobbyists celebrated Lunar New Year Day at the...more
Amidst the madness of the legislative session, it is important to pause and appreciate the melting pot that is the Georgia General Assembly. For example, already this week, there has been legislation introduced to designate...more
Legislators observed Georgia Day on Monday, acknowledging the first immigrants who landed with James Oglethorpe to create the 13th colony a mere 291 years ago. The House of Representatives honored the day by showing a new...more
It appears that cornbread and biscuit lovers can live in harmony after all. Perhaps in an early Valentine’s gift to each other, dissenting factions in the Georgia House of Representatives came together on Friday to pass two...more
It may not be shooting fish in a barrel, but nabbing catfish with a bow and arrow will soon be legal if one Georgia legislator has his way. Representative Jason Ridley (R-Chatsworth) introduced House Bill 1173 on Thursday,...more
It was dogs, docs, and dollars under the Georgia Gold Dome on Wednesday. At the Capitol, Legislative Day 16 marked the convergence of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) Awareness Day, Physicians...more
Although advocates in the halls hoped for a calm, low-key start to the legislative work week on Tuesday, legislators in the Georgia House and Senate had other plans. After pausing on Monday to memorialize the late House Rules...more
All bets were off in the Georgia State Senate on Thursday as the upper chamber took up SB 386, authorizing sports wagering in the state to be overseen by the Georgia Lottery Corporation. The bill originally allowed for sports...more
This year’s edition of tort reform arrived under the Georgia Gold Dome on Wednesday, bringing plaintiffs’ lawyers and civil defense attorneys to the battle lines while onlookers quietly asked Siri, “what is tort reform?” The...more
2/1/2024
/ General Assembly ,
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Legislative Agendas ,
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Tort Reform
The Georgia State Capitol took on a somber tone Tuesday as legislators paused to mourn one of their own. Representative Richard Smith, chairman of the House Rules Committee, passed away unexpectedly in the early morning hours...more