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:

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

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