GA Legislative Watch | Week Three

January 28, 2023
Friendly Amendment, GLW, In the News

GA Legislative Watch

By Molly Mcloughlin & Rebecca Wallace ● Jan 28, 2023
Smart Brevity™ count: 4 mins…1,068 words

Day 8 of the General Assembly ended what was a seemingly quiet week but for the musical chairs as members moved offices and furniture.

32 legislative days to go. Download the calendar here.

Side note 👏🏽: Congratulations to our own Howard Franklin for being appointed to the board of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, which serves as the voice for the business community at the Capitol.

1 big thing: Roll in the polls

An AJC/UGA poll was released and revealed voters’ views on a wide range of topics — from elections to abortion. Here’s some of the highlights:

I voted! From the center of the political universe and voting rights debate, more than 90% of respondents said voting was pretty easy this cycle.

75% of respondents said they waited less than 10 minutes in line.
The 2021 election law made 42% feel more confident about the state’s election system and 25% said that it diminished their confidence.

On the marijuana front, 53% said they are in favor of legalization for both recreational and medical use compared to 43% in 2017.

72.9% of Republican voters support medical use of marijuana and 37.5% support recreational and medical use.

Georgians favor compromise from elected officials over sticking to hard line principles — by 54.3%.

Spin the wheel. The AJC poll has 48% of voters saying Georgia should legalize gambling of professional sports — with 37% opposing.

A pro-casino lobby poll determined that 60% of voters favor sports betting and 66% support casinos.
Our thought bubble: After years of debate, the electoral landscape for gambling and sports betting is finally ripe for legislation to get serious consideration.

Moving up the presidential primary in Georgia is backed by 42% of voters, while 40% oppose and 17% remain undecided.

Money to spend. The state’s record $6B surplus will be the center of one of the biggest debates this session.

48% of voters want it spent on things like education or health care.
41% said give it back to the people through tax refunds.

Go deeper in the poll results.

2. Notable and wishful legislation

The State of the State address was Gov. Kemp’s wishlist for the session:

a loan repayment program for healthcare training, new funding for medical residencies, and TANF benefits for pregnant women;
new penalties for human trafficking and gang recruitment; and
more money for teachers, the Quality Basic Education fund, and the HOPE scholarship.

The other side: Dems say Kemp’s proposals don’t go far enough and he’s being stingy with surplus dollars that could be used for Medicaid expansion and more raises for state employees, law enforcement and teachers. Go deeper.

Lt. Gov. Jones and Senate Majority leadership shared their priorities: amping up electric mobility, giving out learning loss grants, lessening degree requirements for state employees, and more telehealth services for rural and underserved communities.

Fresh out the hopper:

HB 48 would make District Attorney and Solicitor-General elections nonpartisan and eliminate the primaries for each.
SB 15, one of many bills introduced to protect abortion rights, would repeal Georgia’s abortion ban and further expand access.
The Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act, HB 70, and its Senate companion SB 20, would require insurance providers to notify patients if out-of-pocket costs are more than $100.
Our thought bubble: This is the latest in a line of similar bills dropped every year. Is there reason to believe it’ll pass this year?

The ROI for special interest tax breaks is coming in to question as House and Senate leaders turn over every stone in search of ways to reduce income tax rates.

3. In other political news . . .

Georgians vying for medical cannabis will get relief as the Access to Medical Cannabis Commission finally approved the governing rules to sell it here.

Suburban youth poverty rates increased by nearly 7% in DeKalb County and more than 2% in Gwinnett and Clayton Counties, exceeding the state’s average of 1%.

Yes, but: Atlanta Public Schools’ youth poverty dropped by 4.7% in 2021 after dropping almost 9% the year prior.
Why it matters: We’ll be following how population analyses factor in to the housing debate, education funding, and more. Go deeper.

Georgia’s unemployment is historically low at 3% compared to the national rate of 3.5%.

The Atlanta region’s is even lower at 2.6% — equal to the lowest rate of the late 90s boom.

What they’re saying: “While the national economy has been solid, the picture here is even brighter,” said Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson.

Rep. Mike Glanton (D-Jonesboro), resigned after serving 14 years creating a fifth vacancy in the General Assembly.

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter introduced the decades-old proposal to replace federal income tax with a national sales tax and it’s getting a little play — by House Speaker McCarthy at least — with a possible committee vote.

No surprise. It’s payback time for McCarthy.

4. Leadership changes, but also changing

New delegation chairs for Fulton, Gwinnett, and DeKalb Counties — Sonya Halpern (D-Atlanta), Nikki Merritt (D-Grayson) and Kim Jackson (D-Stone Mountain) respectively — are all women of color.

The big picture: This impressive slate is yet another tell-tale sign that the 2023 Georgia General Assembly is the most diverse in history.

Nigeria in the House. Speaking of diversity, the number of Nigerian Ga. legislators went from 0 to 5 this year with the elections of Rep. Solomon Adesanya (D-Marietta), Rep. Segun Adeyina (D-Grayson), Tish Naghise (D-Fayetteville), Gabe Okoye (D-Lawrenceville), and Phil Olaleye (D-Atlanta).

Majority Whip James Burchett announced his reappointment of Rep. Rob Leverett (R-Elberton) as the Chief Deputy Whip. He also appointed the following members to the Majority Caucus Whip Team:

Reps. Victor Anderson (R-Cornelia), Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins), Brent Cox (R-Dawsonville), Clint Crowe (R-Jackson), Joseph Gullett (R-Dallas), Leesa Hagan (R-Lyons), Derrick McCollum (R-Chestnut Mountain), Matt Reeves (R-Duluth), Devan Seabaugh (R-Marietta) and Bill Yearta (R-Sylvester).

5. What’s next

Can you hear me now? As has been the norm during the Legislature, Senate Regulated Industries will hear an update next week on the state of broadband in Georgia.