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Tax Reform
Sine Die brought forth history as we passed House Bill 1437, the Georgia Tax Reduction and Reform Act of 2022. This bill is a step in the right direction where our income tax policy is concerned. The bill is expected to save Georgians an estimated $1 billion annually beginning in 2024. Stipulations of this legislation are as follows:
- Eliminates personal income tax brackets, replacing them with a single, flat rate of 5.49 percent.
- Tax rate would gradually decrease each year until it reaches 4.99 percent under certain circumstances.
- Eliminates the current standard deductions.
- Increase the personal exemptions to $12,000 for single and head of household taxpayers.
- Increases exemptions to $18,500 for joint filers which gradually increases through 2030.
- Increases the amount of earned income allowed to be included in the retirement income exemption to $5,000.
- Creates a $10,000 cap for state and local taxes allowed to be deducted.
Our slow but steady, conservative fiscal approach has paid off as we are finally in a place to make these cuts, while our state continues to stand on solid ground where our economic health is concerned.
Healthcare
In search of meaningful solutions to the current mental health crisis, our General Assembly went to work, passing sound policy to ensure our citizens have fair access to affordable mental health resources.
House Bill 1013 also known as the Mental Health Parity Act will make it much easier for Georgians to gain mental healthcare coverage as it requires coverage to the same degree as physical care coverage. Stipulations of the bill are as follows:
- Authorizes workforce development initiatives for mental and behavioral health professionals.
- Expands transparency and accountability mechanisms for consumers.
- Enhance resources and tools for frontline responders and communities.
- Allows state agencies to collect important data to evaluate the effectiveness of these comprehensive changes.
HB 1013 was signed by Governor Kemp on April 4 and will go into effect this year.
In continuation of these efforts, we also passed Senate Bill 610. This bill seeks to improve how we fund programs that support Georgians who are enrolled in Medicaid, including individuals living with disabilities and those who struggle with mental health conditions. SB 610 instructs the Department of Community Health to submit waiver requests to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services to allow private mental health institutions to qualify for Medicaid reimbursement, allowing Georgians to receive more affordable treatments.
Veterans Support
The House also passed Senate Bill 87, the Senator Jack Hill Veterans' Act, to provide an avenue for Georgians to donate to college scholarships to our veteran community. Under the bill, taxpayers would have the opportunity to use a portion of their income tax return to make a voluntary contribution to the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) Foundation. These funds will allow TCSG to expand its efforts to support veterans, suffering service-connected disabilities, who are seeking technical degrees. It is an honor to support our heroes who have sacrificed so much to ensure our freedoms are kept intact.
Public Safety
We are pleased to continue support of our Law Enforcement Officers through the passage of Senate Bill 361. This bill, also known as the Law Enforcement Strategic Support Act or LESS Crime Act, would establish a tax credit for Georgians who make contributions to 501(c)(3) law enforcement foundations that support local police departments across the state. With these donations, law enforcement foundations can determine various ways to distribute funding based on need. Further, Taxpayers would be allowed a 100 percent income tax credit for qualified donations to law enforcement foundations. We are thrilled that SB 361 will create a way for citizens and businesses to give back to their local law enforcement agencies as they work tirelessly to keep our communities safe.
Our fight to END IT continued through the passage of Senate Bill 461. SB 461, would add human trafficking-related crimes to the list of crimes that are not eligible under law for an unsecured judicial release, meaning these criminals could not be released from jail without paying bond. Under the legislation, human trafficking offenses would only be bailable before a superior court judge, which would make human trafficking offenses equal to other severe crimes within Georgia.
House Bill 1188 will keep dangerous child predators behind bars for a longer period of time. HB 1188 clarifies that under Georgia code, each act of child molestation and sexual exploitation must be charged as separate crimes. This bill will also make it a crime for any high-risk sex offender to access or use a commercial social networking website to communicate or gather information about a person who the offender believes is under 16 years old and make it illegal for these individuals to impersonate a minor. This crime would be considered a felony under Georgia law and would result in a prison sentence from one to 10 years and/or a fine up to $10,000. HB 1188 sends a strong message that Georgia will not tolerate predators, or anyone who seeks to harm children.
We also passed Senate Bill 441, the Criminal Records Responsibility Act, which will work to close loopholes in our criminal justice system. The main portion of this legislation would task the Criminal Case Data Exchange Board to set statewide standards for the courts as they submit, maintain, and preserve criminal records, as well as improve the electronic transmission of vital criminal data between state and local agencies. This bill would also help the courts adopt an automated system for victims to be notified about certain situations related to their case.
Stand with Ukraine
The passage of Senate Bill 562 further demonstrates our commitment to stand with Ukraine by prohibiting companies that are owned or operated by the governments of Russia or Belarus from working with our state government. Under this bill, any company that submits a bid or proposal for a state contract would be required to certify that it is not owned, operated, or affiliated with these governments.
Budget News
We are please to report that we did complete our only constitutional obligation of passing a balanced budget. Set at $30 billion, House Bill 911 has been sent to Governor Kemp for his final signature into law. Among top budget items are allocations towards mental healthcare initiatives, pay increases for our educators, workforce incentives to ensure the future of our economic health. Because the budget is so in depth and deserves more attention than given in a paragraph, we will be sending a full budget update in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I encourage you to visit the multiple resources on our General Assembly website if you are interested in learning more.
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