GA Legislative Watch | Week Four

February 4, 2023
Friendly Amendment, GLW, In the News

GA Legislative Watch

By Molly Mcloughlin ● Feb. 3, 2023
Smart Brevity™ count: 4.5 mins…1,115 words

Legislative days 9-12 are behind us, leaving 28 more days.

Download the calendar here.

One fun thing: More than 1,800 bills and resolutions have been drafted by legislative counsel so far.

1 big thing: The South courts the DNC

Atlanta is a top contender to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention, in no small part due to the support of other southern states.

NBC News reported that 60 southern officials signed a letter to the White House, including the mayor of Houston – a former host city candidate.
What they’re saying: Landing the DNC would set the stage for Democrats to be competitive not only in Georgia, but in neighboring red and purple states.

An insider’s view: Ohio River South’s very own Howard Franklin is helping lead the ChooseATL 2024 bid team. “The enthusiasm for Atlanta’s convention bid doesn’t stop at state lines. We’ve hosted several events to drum up support in the nation’s capital, and the buzz about Atlanta has reached a fever pitch with politicos across America.”

The big picture: It wouldn’t be a surprise if either party chose Atlanta for its convention, since Georgia has become the center of the national political and elections landscape.

Georgia drew $1.4B in campaign funds since 2020 and prominent national figures from both sides.
And all that was before our re-elected governor won by an impressive margin and began receiving frequent mentions as a potential future national candidate.

“Some of the most surprising (and encouraging) support comes from republican leaders and lobbyists in Georgia’s state house, who see the convention as an economic boon for Georgia and an opportunity to counter-program during the 2024 election,” added Howard.

Our thought bubble: The RNC already announced Milwaukee for its 2024 convention — which happens to have been the site of the DNC 2020 convention. If the Dems #ChooseATL in 2024, might the RNC follow the DNC once again in 2028?

2. Off to the races

In the spirit of historic efficiency, the House approved Kemp’s $32.5B mid-year budget, HB 18, within the first quarter of the session. It includes a nearly $1B property tax cut – the first of likely many wins for the governor.

The one-time exemption on the value of Georgians’ homes is estimated to save homeowners an average of $500.
Zoom out: Following several years of full coffers, the budget will increase spending by 7.8%, or $2.36B.

House leaders also filed legislation to provide a $1B income tax rebate, another key priority of the governor.

The Senate approved their first bill with SB 11, which would expand the GBI’s jurisdiction to crimes related to terrorism.

Proposals to legalize sports betting and destination resorts (read: casino gambling) have returned.

While the Senate won the race to drop the first bill, SB 57, we expect the House to introduce a legislative vehicle next week. Many capitol observers expect more willingness on the part of state lawmakers to advance this issue outside of an election year. We’ll keep our eyes on the ball!

The long-awaited state takeover of the health insurance marketplace for Obamacare has begun.

GOP leaders are hoping that SB 65, sponsored by Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah), will take it to the finish line.
The replacement for the marketplace is still unclear, but Gov. Kemp says blocking healthcare.gov and further promoting private insurance would provide more coverage for Georgians.

The annual truck weight debate has commenced. Local governments and large Georgia companies will face off over whether the weight limit should be raised to 90K lbs. from 80K lbs.

The debate comes as Gov. Kemp’s pandemic era executive order to allow trucks to haul up to 95K lbs. will sunset Feb. 9.
Local governments are responsible for maintaining the back roads that many high volume truckers take and see the increased weights as a financial and safety burden for them and their taxpayers.

Reconnecting restaurants with their customers. The bipartisan SB 34 chaired by Sen. Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) would ensure clean vehicles, prohibit false advertisement of relationships with restaurants, and implement more stringent packaging and container requirements.

It was birthed out of last year’s Senate study on the unregulated and ever evolving industry. Go deeper.

“Not one for drama,” Sen. Matt Brass (R-Newnan), the new Senate Rules Chairman paid homage to his predecessor Sen. Jeff Mullis by continuing the tradition of a walk-up song as he entered his first meeting of the session.

Check out the Top Gun-themed video montage and costume (thanks @MayaTPrabhu).

3. In other political news . . .

Green light on public safety training center

As the affordable workforce housing discussion stays at the forefront of state and local government, Atlanta leaders want to subsidize housing for police, firefighters, and corrections officers in the areas they serve.

City Councilmember Amir Farokhi introduced legislation to donate up to $500K from the American Rescue Plan to the Atlanta Police Foundation. The Atlanta Apartment Association would help administer the subsidy.

“Held together with duct tape and chewing gum,” says Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat of the current overcrowded Rice St. jail.

This was after a study was released that found the county will need a jail nearly 4 times its size within the next 25 years.
With a $2B price tag and a county general fund budget less than 1/2 the size, major questions on how and when this revamp will happen.
What they’re saying: The longer they wait, the more expensive and dangerously overcrowded it will be.

Atlanta’s Public Safety Training Center finally got the green light after DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced the permit approval.

They also signed off on recommendations from a citizen review committee for facility operations, reiterating environmental protections and jobs for local residents. Go deeper.

Poking holes in the Texas-based True the Vote. A federal judge raised concerns over whether the overwhelming number of challenges to the eligibility of more than 364K Georgia voters just before the 2021 Senate runoff amounted to voter intimidation, a violation of the Voting Rights Act.

Jamming up phones in jail. AG Chris Carr joined other state prosecutors in calling on Congress to pass legislation for a cellphone jamming system in state prisons across the U.S.