GA Legislative Watch | April 9, 2022

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GA Legislative Watch

By Molly McLoughlin • April 8, 2022
Smart Brevity™ count: 3 mins…849 words

It was eerily quiet during most of Sine Die, but when the sun went down all the hot button bills came out. Here’s a look at what passed, what failed and what to watch out for next year.

What passed on Sine Die

With approving a budget being the only requirement of the General Assembly, HB 911 was passed in the last hour of the session. Here’s where the $30.2 billion is going:

• $2,000 raises for teachers
• Increase retention rates with raises for state law enforcement and state employees
• Improve mental health care access and facilities
• Address workforce shortages for physicians and nurses
• Eliminate recession-era higher ed institution fees

New laws affecting municipalities:

• HB 923 caps the per diem allowance available to directors of certain development authorities and lays out the enforcement procedures for ethics code violations of authority members.
• HB 1405 revises provisions related to judicial review of zoning decisions; provides for requirements for zoning decisions by boards or agencies using delegated powers; and requires review procedures relating to appeals of quasi-judicial decisions.
• HB 893 extends the sunset on hazardous waste management fees to 2027.
• HR 1149 creates the House Study Committee on Regulation, Affordability, and Access to Housing.

Sales tax: HB 1291 provides for a sales tax exemption for high-tech computer equipment hardware.

Cultural issues: HB 1084 indicates certain divisive concepts that are prohibited from being taught in schools. At the last minute, a provision on transgender girls in sports was tacked onto the divisive concepts bill that leaves the decision up to the Georgia High School Association.

Labor: HB 389 establishes new criteria for determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

Right to farm:HB 1150 rebalances property rights in favor of farmers when there are disputes with neighbors over traffic, pollutants, noise or other environmental problems.

What Failed on Sine Die

Sports betting: SR 135 proposed a Constitutional amendment to provide for sports betting in the state, while SB 142 would’ve legalized it.

Stalled medical cannabis program: HB 1425 incurred several last minute changes that led to it failing by only one vote in the Senate. We’ll see if the governor steps in.

Pay Raises: HR 842 would’ve established a standard salary for state legislators equal to 60 percent of the state’s median household income and authorized salary supplements.

• Despite this measure failing to receive two-thirds support in the senate, HB 824, which increases legislators’ pensions, passed just after midnight.

What’s next: Gov. Kemp has until May 14 to sign or veto legislation, although, anything that made it to his desk will become law, whether he signs it or not.

Big Political News

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was officially confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice. She earned a bipartisan vote with support from Senators Mitt Romney, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. The seat, currently held by Justice Stephen Breyer, will open up when the court’s term ends, likely by June or July.

We have a commitment. Gov. Kemp and David Perdue agreed to three debates leading up to the contentious Republican gubernatorial primary election in less than two months. They’ll go head to head on

• April 24 with WSB-TV,
• April 28 with WTOC/Gray TV in Savannah,
• and May 1 with the Atlanta Press Club and Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Heading to a runoff. Neither Republican Mitchell Kaye, nor Democrat James Dustin McCormick received a majority in the East Cobb special election to replace state Rep. Matt Dollar during his lame duck term. Dollar resigned during the legislative session to take a job as deputy commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia.

Endorsement news. Fair Fight PAC has backed Bentley Hudgins for an Atlanta-based House district that Stacey Abrams once represented and is now held by outgoing state Rep. Bee Nguyen.

• The PAC picked Hudgins over several other contenders including Saira Draper, who headed the voter protection initiative at the Democratic Party of Georgia before stepping down to run for the open seat.

State Rep. Calvin Smyre, the longest serving member of the Georgia General Assembly, delivered his farewell speech to the House chamber he’s called home since 1974. Before taking off to the Dominican Republic as U.S Ambassador, he made sure Juneteenth officially became a paid state holiday.

What to Look out for Next Session

Even with the mad dash into early Tuesday morning, legislators left the General Assembly with several unanswered questions on the table. Thus, we’re likely to see critical issues reemerge like:

• Buckhead cityhood movement,
• sports betting,
• EV charging and manufacturing infrastructure, and
• medical cannabis production.

Until then, election season will be in full swing.

👋 Farewell for now . . . We hope you enjoyed our inaugural🍾 Legislative Watch newsletters as much we enjoyed putting them together each week. (Judging by the consistently high open rates and the overwhelmingly positive feedback for each edition, we suspect you did! 🥂)

We’ll be back with updates as 2022 rolls on. In the meantime, 👀 watch for our Ohio River South Quarterly newsletter 📰 📥 arriving in your email soon.