The Georgia General Assembly reconvened for the 10^th week of the 2023 legislative session on Monday, March 13. During these final days of session, my colleagues and I have turned our focus toward reviewing Senate legislation that passed before the Crossover Day deadline last week. As such, we were extremely busy considering Senate bills in our respective House committees, and we passed a number of these bills on the House floor last week.

On Tuesday, the House passed Senate Bill 3, or the “Reducing Barriers to State Employment Act of 2023,” to help attract more prospective state employees with different educational and professional backgrounds. The state and private sector are competing for top talent. This bill encourages our state agencies to avoid creating artificial barriers that limit our ability to attract the best candidates, especially for positions in emerging fields that may not have existed a few years ago.

Additionally, the House passed legislation to protect vulnerable senior citizens in Georgia from falling victim to financial exploitation. Senate Bill 84 would require investment advisors or supervisory professionals to notify the Secretary of State’s Office if they suspect that an adult over 65 years old with mental or physical incapacitation, dementia, or Alzheimer's disease is being exploited financially. Unfortunately, the financial exploitation of vulnerable senior citizens is not uncommon, and HB 84 would help the state identify and stop perpetrators of this type of financial abuse.

The House also passed SB 90, carried by Senator Clint Dixon and Representative Clint Crowe, includes provisions added by the House designed to protect our neighbors from unscrupulous individuals who trick Georgians into long-term agreements that have the effect of holding homeowner properties ransom.

I also want to share that the House passed bipartisan Senate legislation to ensure that Georgia children can set up lemonade stands in their neighborhoods without a permit. Senate Bill 55, also known as the Lemonade Stand Act, would allow children to sell non-consumable goods, pre-packaged food items and non-alcoholic beverages, such as lemonade, without requiring permits, licenses or incurring taxes as long as the annual revenue is less than $5,000. Lemonade stands are a cherished tradition for Georgia children, and this legislation would allow these young entrepreneurs to operate without the hassle of permits and taxes.

In other news, Governor Brian Kemp signed House Bill 18, or the Amended Fiscal Year 2023 (AFY 2023) budget, this week. Set at a revenue estimate of $32.56 billion, this finalized amended budget includes many of the House’s priorities to support economic development projects, public safety initiatives, as well as recruitment and retention efforts for our public workforce. HB 18 immediately went into effect upon the governor’s signature and will direct our state spending through June 30, 2023. You can learn more about how state funding will be spent in the remainder of this fiscal year here.

This week, Gov. Kemp also signed into law two other House bills to support Georgia taxpayers. First, the governor signed House Bill 162 to provide a one-time income tax refund to Georgians who filed returns for both the 2021 and 2022 tax years. Gov. Kemp also signed House Bill 311 to give local governments an optional temporary tax relief mechanism for local property damaged by a natural disaster, such as a tornado or hurricane. An assessment of the damaged property would be required before being eligible for temporary tax relief, and local governments would not be required to implement this temporary tax relief. I will keep you updated on which bills the governor signs into law in the weeks and months ahead.

We completed our work for the week on Thursday, March 16, which marked Legislative Day 35. My colleagues and I will return for our last full week of session on Monday, March 20. As we continue to work with the Senate to ensure the final passage of meaningful legislation, I encourage you to contact me with any questions or concerns you might have about legislation before we adjourn on March 29.