This is an informal overview of legislative events. This update is from the last day of legislation – 2/27/23 or the 24th day
All of these bills now go to the Senate for review.
HB122 – Congressman Lee Hawkins
SHORTCUT → https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/63751
REPLACEMENT: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20232024/215533
WHAT DOES IT:
- This is the Georgia Achieving A Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act
- Adds both the Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Commissioner and the Community Health Commissioner to the Board of Directors of the Georgia Higher Education Savings Plan Trust Fund (which reports to the Division of Administrative Services).
- Also add a person who has a disability, is a parent of a disabled person, or is a disability advocate
- Removes the $325,000 cap on the Savings Trust Fund and expands it to the “reasonable maximum to be determined by the Board based on current and projected educational spending.”
- Eliminates the current Georgia ABLE Program Corporation upon the enactment of the bill as the tasks and proponents will feed into that plan
- Transfers everything to the board of The Higher Education Savings Plan Trust Fund including contracts, obligations, assets and property
ISSUE: Is it appropriate to allow unelected appointees, without accountability to the public, to award an amount that is not convened by an elected body or person?
PASSED: 167-0
HB 147 – Rep. Will Wade
SHORTCUT → https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/63797
WHAT DOES IT:
- Create the Safe Schools Act
- New code section OCGA 20-2-209.1.
- Calls on PSC to work with GEMA, DJJ, GPSTC to create an “anti-gang endorsement” for certified personnel to receive certification after completing a youth gang activity program.
- Must be done by the end of 2023
- PSC must then determine which certified personnel are required to complete the training
- Then encourage post-secondary institutions that teach teachers to include this topic in their curriculum
- Also updates code section ti that requires public schools to conduct at least one “Intruder Alert” / Active Shooter exercise per school year
- The exercise must be based on the GEMA guidelines
- Parents must be given the opportunity to withdraw their children from the exercise
ISSUE: This will do nothing to prevent youth gangs from participating. Gangs are a cultural thing. You can’t be stopped in a school. In addition, they burden educators with a government-backed plan to identify and “prevent” gangs as if that program were the most up-to-date information on the market. The GGA can’t even compete with all the bath salts that are produced. Assuming that a government agency will be able to keep information fresh enough to enlighten other employees, even law enforcement sees this as a moving target is simply misguided.
I know this is the governor’s initiative and you can’t vote against it, but the soapbox derby bill will have a bigger impact on life than this one.
PASSED: 148-20
HB220 – MP Rob Leverett
SHORTCUT →
SUBSTITUTE: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20232024/214742
WHAT DOES IT:
- This allows condominium owners to seek injunctive relief as their first form of legal protection, instead of the current process
- Only after they let you know
- Specifies that no notification is required when the violated rules/issues pose a clear and imminent threat
- Nor is it required in cases where subsequent discharge would not be prudent as the matter would be contentious at that point.
ISSUE: HOAs and condominium associations are dangerous beasts, but people choose to join them and get the government they deserve.
PASSED: 144-22
HB 237 – MP Leesa Hagan
SHORTCUT → https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/64000
WHAT DOES IT:
- Declaring Southeast Georgia Soap Box Derby the Official Soap Box Derby of the State of Georgia
ISSUE: Thank heaven! I wasn’t sure how the state would continue to operate without explaining it like that! Getting a green only because it doesn’t hurt, not because it’s a good bill or a good use of time.
PASSED: 168-0
HB254 –MP David Jenkins
SHORTCUT → https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/64037
REPLACEMENT: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20232024/215505
WHAT DOES IT:
- Amends the law of Georgia on designating newspapers as a legal body
- Also defines the statutory body as 100 paid copies per county issue
- THEN, if there is no legal body with this distribution:
- The Probate Judge, Sheriff and Superior Court Clerk (or a majority of the 3) may appoint a “provisional judge”.
- If another newspaper is founded and meets the circulation standard, the “provisional judicial body” is automatically dissolved.
- Increases the prices for the publication of legal organs:
- Legal ads increase from $10 to $15 for the first 100 words for the first 4 insertions
- After that, the amount increases from $9 to $14 for every 100 words inserted
- Creates a new section of code – OCGA 36-80-29
- Allows counties/cities to post legal notices in prominent places on their website or on a common statewide website
ISSUE: Probate judges in the low-circulation counties often don’t have to be attorneys, meaning no one with legal knowledge (the sheriff doesn’t count on civil cases) is involved in the proceedings. In Screven County, they had to do that, and they royally screwed it up…then they had to go back by destiny and do it all over again. Statutory organ laws generally need to be reviewed as most districts with statutory organ problems do not have websites.
PASSED: 166-1 (Trey Kelly)
HB268 – MP John Corbett
SHORTCUT → https://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20232024/HB/268
SUBSTITUTE: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20232024/215022
WHAT DOES IT:
- Creates a new section of code – OCGA 35-6A-16 – that creates new duties for the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
- Urges the CJCC to create a law enforcement/task force grant program, where funds are available, to:
- prevent/reduce theft of automotive parts
- Prevent/reduce motor vehicle crime
- Hire personnel to target prevent/reduce/investigate motor vehicle related crimes
- Purchase relevant equipment and training materials for the above
- The grant is awarded following a recommendation from the Georgia Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Advisory Board
- Allows the CJCC to accept funds from the federal government to further this “cause”.
- Also private donations and gifts
- If you’re wondering why you’ve never heard of the Georgia Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Advisory Board, that’s because it won’t be formed until the second half of this legislation
- It’s basically a duplicate of CJCC boards, Georgia Public Safety Boards, etc…all the entities that already do law enforcement stuff…plus a few auto gurus
ISSUE: Creating more government through law enforcement to do something law enforcement is already doing is not the solution. Worse still is creating more government through an appointed board.
PASSED: 162-7
HB440 – Rep. Doug Stoner
SHORTCUT → https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/64462
WHAT DOES IT:
- Defines “unlabeled ready-to-use glucagon”
- These prescriptions are used to treat severe hypoglycemia in one dosage form in emergency situations
- nasal administration and by injections
- These prescriptions are used to treat severe hypoglycemia in one dosage form in emergency situations
- Allows public and private schools to stock up on site
- Allows schools to assign one person to be responsible for supplies in case of emergencies
- Allows schools (public and private) to get manufacturer OR third party products for FREE or at discounted prices below the FMV
- Then task the Georgia DOE with establishing rules for the maintenance and operation of these stockpiling programs as if bureaucrats had any idea how to identify, manage, or store these recipes.
ISSUE: The state should not negotiate free/discounted medicines for anyone – especially private institutions. This will also drive up costs for other consumers.
PASSED: 169-0
HB 444 – Rep. Matt Reeves
SHORTCUT → http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20232024/HB/444
WHAT DOES IT:
- Covers the lis pendens code section, which are the official public notices that a property has a pending court case or claim attached to it
- They are ineffective until they are issued by court order
- Also requires the clerk to keep a list of active pendencies (unless they are the result of domestic relationships).
ISSUE:
PASSED: 171-0
HB480 – Rep. Lehman Franklin
SHORTCUT → https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/64555
WHAT DOES IT:
- Amends OCGA 34-9-261 on Employee Compensation Payments
- This increases the weekly max of $725 → $800
- Amends OCGA 34-9-262
- Also increases temporary/partial disability from $483 → $533/week
- Amends OCGA 34-9-265 on employment benefits paid to a spouse when the spouse dies
- Increases the maximum from $290,000 → $320,000
- Also adds a provision requiring the claimant to provide the person who dies with proof that they were a “dependent” in order to collect money
- This only applies in cases where there is no surviving spouse or dependent child.
- Living together, financial dependency is not assumed and must be proven
- The language is “continuous and open” in a relationship
- Prohibits payment unless they have lived together in that state for at least 3 months AND financial dependency cannot be solely for room and board.
ISSUE: Seems like collecting extramarital relationships opens more doors with unintended consequences than it solves.
PASSED: 154-15
