Senate President Pro Tempore John Kennedy (R-Macon) speaks as the Senate Republican Caucus unveils its priorities for the 2023 Legislative Session on Thursday.

The General Assembly adjourned for the week on Thursday, allowing legislators to return home to their districts for a three-day weekend and lobbyists to use Friday to catch up on all those emails from clients they have been ignoring all week. The Monday-to-Thursday work weeks, which will continue for most of the rest of the 2023 Legislative Session, have been warmly welcomed by almost all under the Gold Dome. But be on the lookout for gripes as committee schedules get compressed, pushing meetings earlier and later into the days, and grumbles when committee chairmen commit the sacrilege of scheduling meetings on Friday. Rest assured, our team won’t be taking any days off between now and sine die.

Before leaving town, the Senate Republican Caucus held a press conference outlining its priorities for the session. After introductions by Lt. Governor Burt Jones and President Pro Tem John Kennedy (R-Macon), Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) outlined the Caucus’s goals:

• Bolstering opportunity and innovation in our state’s economy (e.g. prudent income tax reform, tax credit review, supporting and implementing the new taxpayer and homeowner relief initiatives, and groundwork for the electrification of transportation);
• Cultivating an educated workforce (e.g. improving graduation rates, getting students to read at grade level by third grade, implementing learning loss grants, and assessing degree requirements for state employment);
• Creating safer communities (e.g. imposing serious penalties for the recruitment of youth for gang activities, implementing aggressive bail bond reform for violent offenses, and enhancing school safety); and
• Supporting health and wellness for families and youth (e.g. expanding telehealth services, increasing support for foster families and children, and expanding benefits for income-eligible pregnant women).

The Senate Republican Caucus is obviously on the same page with Governor Brian Kemp with a number of its priorities, and you’re always on the right page with the #GoldDomeReport.

In this Report:

• Committee Reports
• New Legislation
• What’s Next

Committee Reports

House Education Committee

The House Education Committee, newly chaired by Representative Chris Erwin (R-Homer), met for its organizational meeting on Thursday. Chairman Erwin opened the meeting by recognizing the leadership of the Committee’s outgoing chairman Representative Matt Dubnik (R-Gainesville), who was elevated to Chair of the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee but still serves on the Education Committee. Chairman Erwin explained that his first priority is school safety, and he will be focused on policies that put students first. He also introduced the Committee’s new Vice Chair, Representative Scott Hilton (R-Peachtree Corners), and new Secretary, Representative Lauren Daniel (R-Locust Grove).

After the Committee members introduced themselves, the Committee adopted its rules unanimously. Chairman Erwin also announced the two subcommittees for the Committee, Curriculum, and Policy:

Public testimony will only be taken in subcommittee meetings, but the Chairman does have the discretion to change that practice if necessary and appropriate. Chairman Erwin said the Committee would work to be as transparent as possible.

House Ways and Means Committee

Chairman Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) called the first full committee meeting to order and had the new members introduce themselves. A couple of noteworthy changes include the Department of Revenue’s legislative liaison is Austin Gibbons and the House Budget and Research Analyst handling this Committee is David Hartman. The Committee also adopted its rules for the session.

The Committee heard a presentation from the Department of Audits. As a reminder this Department has 250 employees and oversees all the fiscal notes and tax incentive reports for the General Assembly. The Department in its broad powers and responsibilities looks at financials, performance, fiscal note processes, fiscal certification on retirement, equalized tax digest, and the transparency website. This Department does approximately 200 audits annually and provides more than 300 opinions.

With the passage in 2022 of SB 6, the Department has generated 9 of 10 reports requested. They did utilize outsourced research entities – which were institutions of higher education. The reports generated were written by academic economists. Four things were to be included in the report: 1) net change in revenue; 2) net change in state expenditures; 3) net change in economic activity; and 4) net change in public benefit.

Chairman Blackmon announced subcommittee chairs would be named soon.

House Judiciary Committee

The House Judiciary Committee, newly chaired by Representative Stan Gunter (R-Blairsville), held its organizational meeting on Thursday morning. After introductions of the Committee members, the Committee adopted its rules. Prior to adoption, the rules were amended to specify that substitutes and amendments from the author must be submitted at least two hours in advance of a meeting, but the Committee can still entertain its own amendments at any time. The Committee is expected to meet on Tuesday afternoons and Thursday mornings going forward.

Senate Regulated Industries Committee

The Senate Regulated Industries Committee, chaired by Senator Bill Cowsert (R-Athens), met on Thursday to review the final report of the Study Committee on the Electrification of Transportation. The Study Committee was co-chaired by Representative Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper) and Senator Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega), and Senator Gooch walked the Committee through the Study Committee’s findings. There were a number of issues reviewed by the Study Committee.

How do we charge electric cars? Fast chargers will be expensive. Convenience stores want the opportunity to offset losses of gasoline sales by offering sales of electricity, and that is a part of the recommendations so that convenience stores may sell electricity by the kilowatt. Who will own the charging stations? There are funds available for funding stations, and GDOT is working on how to push the funding forward using $150 million. There are requirements relating to the placement of these charging stations (e.g. no more than 50 miles apart). Another issue is parity for the taxes to be paid for gasoline versus electric vehicles – so there has been discussion about taxing kilowatts used etc. There were also some public safety issues contemplated – these emerged after the hurricane. Magnesium engine blocks and electric engine fires are a concern as they are difficult to put out, and generally require foam to put out the fires. The Department of Insurance and EMS will be required to get involved regarding these fires but it may be a chemical suppression mechanism needed. There is disagreement was around whether the power companies should be in the business of selling electricity for these vehicles - there was discussion about whether perhaps a separate entity was needed so as to prevent cross-subsidization.

The Committee will next meet on Tuesday, Jan. 31, to review broadband expansion, looking at the progress made in the last 18 months.

Senate Public Safety Committee

The Senate Public Safety Committee, chaired by Senator John Albers (R-Alpharetta), met for its first meeting of the year on Thursday. After introductions by its members and adoption of the committee rules, the Committee heard one measure:

• SB 11, authored by Chairman Albers, is the “Georgia Fights Terrorism Act.” The bill amends Title 35 to provide for concurrent jurisdiction by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in cases involving the identification, investigation, arrest, and prosecution of an individual or groups of individuals for violation of state laws concerning domestic, cyber, biological, chemical, and nuclear terrorism.

Chairman Albers presented the bill to the Committee, explaining that it would allow state law enforcement to respond to incidents of terrorism instead of waiting on assistance being requested by local law enforcement. Jill Travis of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers testified and noted that the legislation refers to “state laws concerning domestic, cyber, biological, chemical, and nuclear terrorism”, but there are no state laws relating to cyber, biological, chemical, or nuclear terrorism. The Committee voted to strike “state” before “laws” to eliminate this issue, and the Committee recommended the bill DO PASS by Committee Substitute.

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 is in adjournment on Friday and will reconvene for Legislative Day 9 on Monday, Jan. 30 at 10 a.m. EST.