Crossover Day is coming to Georgia

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Today is March 15, or Crossover Day, at the State Capitol. It is a voting marathon that often lasts into the evening.

Expect plenty of Jimmy John’s and pizza deliveries to your state government headquarters.

Why it matters: It’s a deadline lawmakers have set themselves to get most bills through a chamber in time for them to go into effect before the end of the legislature’s few weeks.

Yes but: State officials and senators can later circumvent this deadline by cutting and pasting bills into others that have passed.

Here are some of the bills we’ll be watching for polls:

  • Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act: Georgia is one of 12 states where wrongfully convicted people have no opportunity to receive compensation for their unjustly served time behind bars. This bipartisan proposal would change that. More background here from the Georgia Recorder.
  • Another electoral law: This controversial Republican proposal would give the Georgia Bureau of Investigation original jurisdiction to investigate election-related activities, allow anyone to inspect paper ballots, and (less controversially) make threatening a poll worker a crime.
  • Protecting Government Employees from Retaliation: A bipartisan bill to protect local government officials from retaliation for reporting sexual harassment or testifying in a sexual harassment proceeding. Such employees could file a civil lawsuit in the event of such retaliation.
  • Expansion of the State Medical Cannabis Commission: Several House and Senate bills seek to restart Georgia’s stalled medical marijuana program. It’s been legal to use medical marijuana oil in Georgia for seven years, but citizens haven’t had a legal way to buy it.
  • “Don’t say gay” bill: A bill drawing comparisons to a controversial measure in Florida would ban discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation in private school classrooms in the elementary school.
  • Conditions of the state senators: A bill to extend the term of state senators from two to four years beginning in 2024.
  • Granting of family compensation in the event of suicide: The bipartisan proposal would classify suicide as comparable to killing on duty for law enforcement officials, firefighters, EMTs, state prison guards and state highway employees.
  • Legalization of horse racing: A proposed constitutional amendment to legalize horse racing in Georgia is due for a vote in the state Senate. A similar proposal has passed the Senate before but has stalled in the House of Representatives.
  • In honor of Georgia’s Original 33: The bill would create a memorial on the Capitol grounds to honor the original 33 black lawmakers who were expelled from the General Assembly at the end of Reconstruction.

A question for our Gold Dome residents: What time do you think the votes will be tonight?

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