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House and Senate Committee Chairs and Membership Announced
Both the House and the Senate have appointed their standing committee chairs and committee membership, including for the new House Committee on Rural Development and the House Special Committee on Resource Management. There are a few notable changes on committees of importance to ACCG and Georgia counties:
Key New House Committee Chairs:
Key New Senate Committee Chairs:
Click here for a full list of House committees and their membership, and here for Senate committee membership.
Bill Requiring Court Order Before Animal Euthanization Introduced
House Bill 75, sponsored by Rep. Jordan Ridley, establishes that any government agency with custody of a domesticated animal may be held liable for damages of up to $5,000 if its employees/officers fail to exercise due care, resulting in death or injury to the animal. The bill creates a process for euthanization when ownership has not been relinquished, mandating a court order and veterinarian assessment. This requirement may place a substantial financial burden on counties, particularly those without in-house veterinarians, as they would need to rely on external veterinary services.
Staff Contact: Kaylon Day, Governmental Affairs Associate; kday@accg.org
Bill Dropped to Require GDOT to Hold Public Hearings for Local Projects of Significant Impact
House Bill 76, authored by Rep. Stacey Evans, requires the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to hold public hearings concerning local transportation projects of significant impact. These are projects involving major changes to public roads that GDOT constructs, designs, or consults with or on behalf of a county, city, or private entity. This does not include projects that have undergone a local approval process.
Staff Contact: Dante Handel, Associate Director of Governmental Affairs; dhandel@accg.org
Superior Court Judicial Compensation Reform
House Bill 85, by Rep. Rob Leverett, establishes a more standardized approach to judicial salary adjustments. This bill does not establish specific judicial salaries. Instead, the bill removes the set salary amounts for judges on the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Statewide Business Court, new Tax Court and Superior Courts from the Code, replacing them with a statutory maximum salary cap and allowing the specific salary for each court to be set in the annual appropriations process. The cap for each court is set at a percentage of the salary paid to federal district court judges in Atlanta. The cap percentages differ for each court, with the Supreme Court having the highest cap. Additionally, the bill limits the local supplements that counties can pay to superior court judges and phases out these supplements as the state-paid portion of their salary increases.
Staff Contact: Doug Reineke, Governmental Affairs Contractor; dreineke@accg.org
Bill Allowing Commissioners to be Bail Bondsmen Advances
Senate Bill 16, sponsored by Sen. Matt Brass, passed the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee last Friday. This legislation now allows county commissioners and city council members to be directly or indirectly involved with any bail bond business. However, the official cannot issue bonds within the jurisdiction where they hold office. ACCG is neutral on this measure.
Staff Contact: Kaylon Day, Governmental Affairs Associate; kday@accg.org
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