Senator Josh McLaurin (D-Atlanta) accepting the Golden Elephant award in the State Senate on Monday. Courtesy: Georgia State Senate.

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 majority caucus’s Golden Elephant, a token honoring a legislator’s commitment to conservative values, to a Democrat. In a cheeky demonstration of the sometimes-surprising camaraderie in the Upper Chamber, Leader Gooch awarded the gilded pachyderm to Senator Josh McLaurin (D-Atlanta) in appreciation for McLaurin’s efforts to end debate on SB 180, the “Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act” (presumably to allow the Senate to move on to other business on a polarizing issue where votes were unlikely to change) and amend SB 507, creating an “America First” license plate, to instead honor a certain former President of the United States (presumably for the entertainment of everyone watching in the halls). Senator McLaurin accepted the award with amusement, and Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones observed that if you “get one far enough to the left and one far enough to the right, they're gonna meet one another at some point in time.”

Monday also kicked off the week of friends and future friends, also known as qualifying week. Incumbents and hopefuls alike crowded the second floor of the State Capitol to put their names in the hat for this year’s state and federal elections. While several legislators have already announced their retirement over the last several weeks, we will be watching to see who qualifies — and who does not — in the #GoldDomeReport.

In this Report:

• Committee Reports
• New Legislation
• What’s Next

Committee Reports

Senate Health and Human Services Committee

The Senate Health & Human Services Committee, chaired by Senator Ben Watson (R-Savannah), met to consider two measures on Monday:

• HB 1078, authored by Representative Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah), amends Title 49 to establish and implement the Georgia Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). The program is intended to identify additional opportunities within Georgia's Medicaid program to provide comprehensive, integrated acute and long-term healthcare services to qualifying individuals who require skilled nursing care so that such individuals can continue living in the community.

Petrea presented the bill to the committee, noting that a number of other states have similar programs. The committee recommended the bill DO PASS and be sent to the Rules Committee.

• HB 1083, authored by Representative Bruce Williamson (R-Monroe), amends Title 37 to extend grace periods applicable to the Department of Community Health for creation and promulgation of rules and regulations relating to residential mental health programs. The bill also extends the grace period for adult residential mental health programs to obtain licensure.

Williamson presented the bill to the committee, which recommended the bill DO PASS and be sent to the Rules Committee.

Senate Finance Committee

Chairman Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome) called the Senate Finance Committee to order Monday afternoon to discuss the following measures:

• HB 946, authored by Representative Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville), amends Title 48. The measure is similar to Senator Shelly Echols (R-Gainesville) measure but has one significant difference. Currently, TSPLOST requires 100% participation from cities. If a city chooses not to agree, the referendum can continue. The other difference is that this is a six-year tax versus a ten-year in the Senate versions. The measure received a DO PASS recommendation.

• Kyle Wingfield, Georgia Public Policy Foundation, provided a presentation on taxes. He explained our neighbor state and who Georgia often competes with. Just because the state is doing well from a tax rate standpoint does not mean there should be complacency. Economists are in agreement that certain taxes create harm or benefit. Wingfield highlighted four scenarios. The first is accelerating the income tax cut. Second is eliminating the corporate income tax over five years. Third is cutting tax expenditures across the board. Fourth is lowering the income tax credit by $500 million.

New Legislation

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

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

What’s Next

The General Assembly will reconvene for Legislative Day 30 on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at 10 a.m.

The House Rules Committee has not set a Rules Calendar for Legislative Day 30.

The Senate Rules Committee has not set a Rules Calendar for Legislative Day 30.