Legislative Action - 2010 Session of the General Assembly

State Budget

HB 947 is the amended budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2010. The $17.1 billion plan is reduced from the original $18.6 billion budget approved last year for FY 2010, which ends June 30. The amended budget reduces state QBE funding to local school systems by another $300 million. Signed by Governor.

HB 948 is the new $17.9 billion budget and reflects an overall revenue reduction of more than $3 billion from two years ago. Public school funding through the QBE formula is slashed by another $527 million. Nearly $800,000 in funding for the Georgia Council for the Arts, which had been eliminated in the previous House budget, was restored by the Senate and remained in the final report. The new fiscal year begins July 1, 2010. Passed House and Senate.

Transportation

Under HB 277, Georgia will be divided into 12 regions, each of which will hold a referendum in 2012 for a special 1 percent sales tax to be used for transportation improvements within that region. Individual counties cannot opt out of the funding plan, but a "roundtable" of local elected officials can decide not to hold a tax referendum in their regions, whose boundaries mirror those of Georgia's regional commissions, including the 10-county Atlanta Regional Commission. The bill also gives MARTA more flexibility to spend its sales tax revenues on new projects, a beginning step to helping the transit agency address a $120 million budget shortfall. Passed House and Senate.

SR 821 is a constitutional amendment that would allow the Department of Transportation to sign multi-year contracts for highway projects. Passed House and Senate, awaits final approval by voters in November.

Taxes and Fees

HB 1055 increases registration, licensing and user fees on more than 80 services provided by the state, bringing in approximately $96 million. The increased costs to citizens affect a broad range of fees, including civil court filings, business registrations and specialty car tags. The bill also includes a 1.45 percent tax increase on hospitals and their patients, which will generate approximately $169 million and two minor tax cuts, one of which phases out the state's 0.25-mill property tax over five years, and the other of which eliminates the retirement income for Georgians 65 and older. Signed by Governor.

HB 903 extends Atlanta's hotel-motel tax to generate funding for a new domed stadium or renovation of the Georgia Dome to keep the Atlanta Falcons in downtown Atlanta. Passed House and Senate.

HB 1023 gives a small tax credit to businesses that hire unemployed workers and reduces the state capital gains tax if the state has $1 billion in reserves. Passed House and Senate.

HB 1069 makes several changes to tax laws: it eliminates the refundable portion of the low-income tax credit, re- authorizes Atlanta to charge a penny sales tax for water and sewer projects, creates a tax break for "angel investors," and includes a tax credit on the purchase of energy-efficient appliances and water-saving fixtures. Passed House and Senate.

SB 206 will require an annual review of the effectiveness of tax breaks granted by the state. Passed House and Senate.

SB 346 requires that all property owners be sent a valuation of their property each year; they will also have a longer period to appeal the valuations. Passed House and Senate.

HB 1405 creates a special committee, which includes Perdue, economists, and business leaders, to develop recommended changes in the state's tax system. These changes will be presented to the General Assembly next January. Passed House and Senate.

HB 1093 requires local governments to collect data from businesses applying for a license with the information going to Department of Revenue to help the state track and collect unpaid sales taxes. Passed House and Senate.

Public Safety

SB 308 expands the number of public areas where persons with firearms licenses can carry guns. Guns will be allowed in parks and historic sites, parking lots of universities, courthouses and jails, as well as in bars with the owner's consent. It would eliminate the ban on guns within 1,000 feet of schools and colleges. Passed House and Senate.

SB 291 authorizes the carrying of firearms in some areas of airports. Passed House and Senate.

SB 360 bans motorists in Georgia from texting while driving. Passed House and Senate.

HB 23 bans teenagers from talking on cell phones while driving. A violation of either law, if signed by the Governor, would result in a fine of up to $150 and one point on the driver's license of the offender. Passed House and Senate.

SB 458 removes the exemption in Georgia's seat belt law for drivers and passengers in pickup trucks. Passed House and Senate.

HB 571 allows low-risk inmates to petition the courts to be removed from the sex offender registry after completing their sentences, including those who are disabled, confined to hospice care or who were convicted in "Romeo and Juliet" cases of consensual teen sex. A judge could approve or deny the petition. Passed House and Senate.

HB 1322 restricts media access to crime scene photos. Passed House and Senate.

HB 1021 prohibits the use of the plant Salvia divinorum A (sage), which has similar hallucenogenic effects to LSD when it is smoked. Passed House and Senate.

Education

HB 908 allows local school systems to increase class sizes over the next three years. Passed House and Senate.

SB 427 establishes the Georgia Foundation for Public Education, the purpose of which is to solicit and accept contributions of money, services and property to support educational excellence in Georgia. Passed House and Senate.

SB 250 requires the state Department of Education to develop an anti-bullying policy that can serve as a model for local school systems.The policies will include age-appropriate consequences for bullying in grades K-12. Passed House and Senate.

SB 299 gives school systems more flexibility in handling violations of "zero tolerance" discipline policies. Passed House and Senate.

SB 521 was Gov. Perdue's proposal to evaluate and pay teachers based on standardized test scores. Passed Senate but failed in House.

SB 361 would have authorized school vouchers for foster kids, children of military service personnel and the severely disabled with special learning plans. Failed to get out of committee.

SB 319 expands the definition of a textbook to encompass computer devices such as electronic books. Passed House and Senate.

SB 84 will revamp school board regulations and authorize the governor to remove poorly performing school board members. Passed House and Senate.

HB 977 provides that no state funds can be used to give a pay raise to a local superintendent or other school administrator in a year when teachers and non-teaching employees are furloughed. Passed House and Senate.

Health Care

SR 277 gives Georgia voters a chance to approve a reliable funding mechanism that would help enhance the state's trauma care network. The proposed constitutional amendment would implement a $10 fee on auto license tags to bring in $80 million each year for a trauma care trust fund. Passed House and Senate and awaits final approval by voters in November.

SB 418 creates a database to monitor the sale of prescription and over-the-counter drugs such as Ritalin, Xanax, most pain medications, sleep aids and any product containing pseudoephedrine. Passed House and Senate.

HB 1268 extends the time period (an additional 15 months) for continuation of COBRA health insurance coverage. This is part of a federal act where 35 percent of the premium cost will be paid by the federal government. Passed House and Senate.

SB 316 enables persons who are under age 65 but are eligible for Medicare because of disability or end-stage renal disease to obtain Medicare supplemental insurance coverage for dialysis. Passed House and Senate.

HB 1184 and SB 407 would have allowed out-of-state insurers to sell healthcare policies in Georgia. HB 1184 passed the House, and SB 407 passed the Senate, but both bills failed to pass the other house.

HB 994 authorizes the Department of Community Health (DCH) to establish and revise the regulatory fees it charges various healthcare entities. DCH picked up several healthcare regulatory functions from the old Department of Human Resources when DHR was reorganized two years ago. Passed House and Senate.

Environment

SB 370 implements a number of water conservation measures, including requirements for low-flow plumbing devices in newly constructed homes and buildings, an outdoor watering restriction and other measures. Passed House and Senate.HB 406 allows the development of new reservoirs in south Fulton County and around the state. Passed House and Senate.

HB 244 includes the governor's proposal to sell a portion of the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) loans on Wall Street in order to raise some $290 million to help balance the budget. These loans are valued at $676 million. GEFA loans are made by the state to local governments at low interest rates to finance infrastructure projects across the state. Passed House and Senate.

SB 486 was an attempt to require administrative law judges to defer to state environmental officials in the granting of pollution permits. Failed to pass.

HB 1199 allows the Department of Natural Resources to raise operating funds through private donations. Passed House and Senate.

SB 474, known as the "road kill bill," allows motorists who kill a bear or deer with their vehicle to keep the carcass. Passed House and Senate.

HB 1301 and SB 462 would have regulated inter- basin water transfers of 100,000 gallons or more. Both bills failed to get out of committee.

SB 321 would have allowed private corporations to build and operate reservoirs for drinking water purposes. Passed Senate but failed in the House.

SB 380 authorizes the development of an emergency water supply plan for Metro Atlanta and allows GEFA to make loans for the expansion of reservoirs. Passed House and Senate.

Other Issues

HB 39 proposed a $1-per-pack cigarette tax increase. Failed to get out of committee.

HB 168 continues the state's Universal Access Fund, a subsidy for rural telephone companies, and will create another subsidy fund that provides more money for small telephone companies. The bill also allows small telephone companies, if they choose, to be re-regulated by the Public Service Commission. Passed House and Senate.

HB 540 makes administrative changes to the state's election laws and authorizes a governor to bypass the attorney general in seeking voting rights pre-clearance of election law changes by the U.S. Justice Department. Passed House and Senate.

HB 869 would have allowed the Legislative Services Committee to order furlough days for legislators because of budget constraints. Failed to get out of committee.

HB 926 removes limitations on state- chartered banks so that they can renew loans with their largest borrowers more easily. Signed by Governor.

HR 1177 was a constitutional amendment that would open the door to the legalization of horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering in Georgia. Failed to get out of committee.

HB 1233 requires utilities to provide the money for hiring experts to testify before the PSC on rate cases. Passed House and Senate.

HR 21 was a proposed constitutional amendment to carve out a portion of north Fulton County as a new "Milton County." Failed to reach the House floor for a vote.

SB 17 doubles the fines for late reporting and other violations of campaign disclosure rules, demands more timely reporting of expenditures by lobbyists and makes sexual harassment by legislators a punishable offense. Passed House and Senate.

SB 57 would have cracked down on lending practices that contribute to mortgage fraud. The bill passed the Senate but failed in House.

SB 296 changes the name of the state Office of Treasury and Fiscal Services to the Office of the State Treasurer. Passed House and Senate.

SB 371 authorizes the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate mortgage fraud. The bill would also grant the GBI subpoena power to investigate fraudulent real estate transactions. Passed House and Senate.

SB 374 creates an Economic Development Council to provide oversight of the state department of economic development. Passed House and Senate.

SB 406 would have allowed online voter registration. Passed Senate but failed in House.

SB 523 puts Georgia's sports and music halls of fame, now located in Macon, up for sale. Passed House and Senate.

SB 529 was a push by Georgia Right to Life for legislation making it a felony for doctors to perform an abortion if the patient disclosed she was having the procedure because of objections to the race or gender of the fetus, or because she was coerced. Passed Senate but failed in House.

SR 1013 was the Governor's proposal for the Commissioners of Agriculture, Insurance and Labor as well as the Superintendent of Schools to be appointed, rather than elected, in the future. Failed to get out of committee.

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