Topics of conversation today under the Gold Dome covered a variety of policies from vaccine availability and distribution, to the FY 2021 Amended Budget, and casinos and horse racing. Georgia schools are pressing for vaccines for the teachers and staff while the Department of Public Health has ratcheted down vaccine distribution to at least one county for their taking educators “out of order.” Late yesterday, Senator Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) placed in the hopper his legislation establishing the Horse Race Commission, SB 30.

Meanwhile, the House tackled its first major bill with the passage of a Committee Substitute on HB 80 with a vote of 149-20, our state’s spending plan for the remainder of this fiscal year.

All this and more is ongoing as committees ramp up to establish their rules for operation and the consideration of legislation.

The House returns tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. And the Senate reconvenes tomorrow at 10 a.m. But not before starting with Appropriations Subcommittee hearings on HB 80 beginning before sunrise in the Capital City.

Stay tuned for more of the #GoldDomeReport as we finish out another busy week of Session.

In today’s Report:

• House Passes AFY 2021 Budget
• Committee Reports
• New Legislation

House Passes AFY 2021 Budget

As HB 80 made its way to final passage, there were some inquiries from the members on the floor around the cuts to behavioral health spending in the amount of $91 million in HB 793 (the FY 2021 Budget) and Chairman Terry England (R-Auburn) stated that many of those cuts were in areas outside of the Department of Justice of Settlement, statutory requirements and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities mission. There were also questions regarding full funding of education and expanding Georgia’s Medicaid program (which the State has declined to do). England did remind members that there had been millions of federal dollars which have helped offset work and in instances exceeded the reductions and noted that there was at least $250-$400 million needed for a state match with the 90/10 match requirements for Medicaid (if the state moved to expand). Additional statements were made around spending $38 million for school buses which could have been used to help increase the numbers of NOW/COMP waiver slots for those with disabilities and use of Georgia’s $2.7 billion “rainy day” fund to help meet needs. Ultimately the bill passed by a margin of 149-20 and now heads over to the Senate for what looks to be a continuation of the (almost) record setting pace by the state’s budget writers.

Committee Reports

Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee
Chairman Larry Walker (R-Perry), in his new role in the Senate, held an initial meeting of the Session. After introductions of the new members to the Committee, Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black spoke to the Committee. Commissioner Black noted the regulatory work which his Department undertakes and in particular the work around “public health.” Commissioner Black stated that the new antimicrobial products the public is seeing are actually pesticides and regulated by the Department of Agriculture; he further stated that in regulation terms there are what are referred to as Section 18 (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”) )efforts to allow for the emergency uses of pesticides (the initial one was for anthrax after 9/11) and now there are seven such Section 18 reviews underway in an effort to address COVID-19. Commissioner Black also mentioned his Department’s work on industrial hemp and the new Federal Register’s release of proposed new rules.

Following Commissioner Black, Dr. Nick Place, new dean of the University of Georgia’s (“UGA”) Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, spoke to the Committee. Dr. Place is new in his job at UGA but he provided some details on his own background — he is a native of Pennsylvania and has been an agriculture educator for many years — he’s worked for Penn State, University of Florida and University of Maryland. In part, his work has been extension programs. He reminded the Committee that UGA has a presence in all 159 counties. Technology, innovation and entrepreneurship are important to him as is “precision agriculture” which is needed to keep Georgia’s agriculture industry the number industry in the state. Further, he highlighted the needs for a poultry science building at UGA and a state-of-the-art greenhouse.

The Committee adopted its Rules for the session without discussion. There are nine members on this Committee; a quorum is five members.

House Ways and Means Committee
Chairman Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) held the first meeting of the House Ways and Means Committee. The Committee adopted its Rules without discussion.

Room 403 will be used for future Subcommittees which will meet on Tuesday and Wednesdays. Subcommittee assignments will be forthcoming. Testimony will be submitted in writing for the most part.

New Legislation

The House read and assigned the following legislation to committee today:

• HB 132, authored by Representative Mesha Mainor (D-Atlanta), amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-31.1 to require each county board of elections to adopt and adhere to written operating procedures approved by the State Board of Elections. The bill also contains reporting requirements for local boards of elections to inform the State Board of Elections about voter registration issues and complaints. The bill also creates a legislative oversight advisory board in each county to provide local boards of elections with feedback and suggestions. This bill was referred to the House Special Committee on Election Integrity.
• HB 134, authored by Representative Victor Anderson (R-Cornelia), amends O.C.G.A. § 50-14-3 to exclude conversations about cybersecurity contracting and planning from open meeting requirements. This bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
• HB 135, authored by Representative Rick Williams (R-Milledgeville), amends O.C.G.A. 31-10-15 to require physicians caring for patients at their time of death complete, sign, and return the medical certification of the cause of death simultaneously with the transfer of the body to the funeral director or other person assuming custody of the body. This bill was referred to the House Health and Human Services Committee.
• HB 145, authored by Representative William Boddie (D-East Point), amends O.C.G.A. 17-4-20 to create new use-of-force standards for law enforcement officers. The new standards require nonviolent force before any use of physical force. The bill also outlines the specific allowable escalation structure for use of force. This bill was referred to the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee.
• HB 146, authored by Representative Houston Gaines (R-Athens), amends O.C.G.A. § 45-20-17 to provide for paid parental leave for state employees including any full time employee of the executive, legislative, and judicial branch or local board of election. The employee is given a total of 120 hours of paid parental leave per year. Each employing entity is required to create its own rules for the administration of the paid parental leave. Employees are required to work continuously for six months before becoming eligible for parental leave. This bill was referred to the House Health and Human Services Committee.
• HB 147, authored by Representative Heath Clark (R-Warner Robbins), amends O.C.G.A. § 41-1-31.1 to permit individuals licensed in other states to receive a license by endorsement if the individual: establishes residency in the state, holds a current license to practice the occupation in another state prior to relocating and the other state has substantially similar requirements to obtain a license, is in good standing in the other state, and passes an examination to demonstrate knowledge of the laws and rules and regulations, of the state specific to practice. This bill was referred to the House Regulated Industries Committee.
• HB 150, authored by Representative Bruce Williamson (R-Monroe), amends O.C.G.A. § 46-1-6 to prohibit local governmental entities from adopting policies that prohibit the connection or reconnection of any utility service based on the source of energy or fuel. This bill was referred to the House Energy, Utilities, and Telecommunications Committee.
• HB 154, authored by Representative Bert Reeves (R-Marietta), amends Title 19 to provide revisions to the state's foster and adopted children laws. This bill was referred to the House Juvenile Justice Committee.
• HB 155, authored by Representative Erica Thomas (D-Smyrna), amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690.1 to raise the minimum age of education from 16 to 17. This bill was referred to the House Education Committee.
• HR 42, authored by Representative Beth Camp (R-Concord), recognizes and commends 2021 Georgia Superintendent of the Year, Dr. Michael Duncan. This resolution was adopted.
• HR 50, authored by Representative Matt Dubnik (R-Gainesville), recognizes February 1-5, 2021 as National School Counseling Week. This resolution was adopted.

The Senate read and assigned the following legislation to committee today:

• SB 28, authored by Senator Bo Hatchett (R-Demorest), amends multiple Code sections in Title 15 and Title 19 to revise juvenile intake proceedings and juvenile intake officer training requirements. The bill also creates a new list of actions associated with temporary restrictive orders. The bill grants juvenile courts the ability to hear evidence, including hearsay evidence, to determine permanency decisions for child placement. This bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• SB 29, authored by Senator Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas), amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-381 to require photo ID verification for absentee ballot requests. This bill was referred to the Senate Ethics Committee.
• SB 30, authored by Senator Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta), amends Title 50 to provide for pari-mutuel horse racing in the state. Specifically, the bill creates the Georgia Horse Racing Commission to administrate the licensing and regulation of a maximum of three equestrian facilities. Each facility must be at least 125 miles from the closest facility. All equestrian facilities must hold races on at least 60 days a year. The bill also sets forth a competitive bid process for the award of the equestrian facility licenses. This bill was referred to the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee.
• SB 31, authored by Senator Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome), amends O.C.G.A. § 31-8-320 to create a pilot program developed to test the potential use of a regulated pool of charity care credits through a simulated charity care exchange. The charity care trading system shall operate from January 1, 2022 through December 30, 2022. The system is based on a charity floor for each health care facility calculated by its pro-rata amount of total state charitable care. Once a facility has surpassed its floor, it may sell credits through the exchange to facilities in return for funding and to aid other facilities that have not met their floor. This bill was referred to the Senate Finance Committee.
• SB 33, authored by Senator Clint Dixon (R-Buford), amends O.C.G.A. § 51-1-56 to grant a cause of action to victims of human trafficking against their perpetrators. This bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• SB 34, authored by Senator Clint Dixon (R-Buford), amends O.C.G.A. § 19-12-1 to allow victims of human trafficking to initiate legal name changes. This bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• SB 38, authored by Senator Elena Parent (D-Atlanta), amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-381 to allow any elector to request absentee ballots for all future regularly scheduled elections. This bill was referred to the Senate Ethics Committee.
• SB 39, authored by Senator Harold Jones (D-Augusta), amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-216 to allow individuals with felony convictions to register to vote. This bill was referred to the Senate Ethics Committee.
• SB 40, authored by Senator Jen Jordan (D-Atlanta), amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386 to require that the opening and processing of absentee ballots begin the second Monday prior to election day. This bill was referred to the Senate Ethics Committee.
• SB 42, authored by Senator Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga), amends O.C.G.A. § 20-14-33 to stipulate that school climate determinations do not include student discipline data. This bill was referred to the Senate Education and Youth Committee.
• SR 22, authored by Senator Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta), recognizes and commends the Multi-Agency Alliance for Children. This resolution was adopted.
• SR 23, authored by Senator John Albers (R-Roswell), recognizes and commends Hemophilia of Georgia. This resolution was adopted.