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Veterans / Military
A rare moment, with a unanimous vote in favor of passage, came in the form of the Senate Bill 358. This bill allows reimbursement of certain training costs to U.S. military who participate in basic law enforcement training. While funding must still be appropriated to allow this program to move forward, passage of this bill is a great step toward encouraging veterans who have called Georgia home to consider a second career working within our law enforcement agencies. This bill further demonstrates our commitment to those men and women who have served our nation honorably in our armed forces.
Agriculture
Food banks throughout our state provide an important service to fellow Georgians in need of basic essentials. They not only serve the needy but can also be a critical part of responding to disasters around our state as well. There have been a number of legal, regulatory, and financial barriers to food banks being able to turn directly to Georgia farmers to help provide the food they distribute to Georgians in need. Senate Bill 396 which the House gave final passage to last week addresses these barriers by setting guidelines that help food banks negotiate discounted prices with Georgia farmers. It also sets a framework that would allow the Georgia House and Senate to appropriate funds in the upcoming Fiscal Year 2023 budget to assist food banks that want to purchase fresh produce to do so, which also would insure surplus products harvested by Georgia farmers are not wasted. This bill passed with a bipartisan vote in the House.
Healthcare
Those suffering from a chronic illness, which requires prescription medication, can attest to how frustrating and frightening it can be to wait for the insurance company to give payment approval to needed medication. This is not only an issue for patients, but this process also creates needless administrative tasks that waste the time of health care professionals. To address this, the House passed Senate Bill 341 which will allow a patient to receive this authorization once a year, instead of every 30, 60, or 90 days which is too often the case even for patients with chronic illnesses who require ongoing treatment. The bill carves out certain drugs from this streamlined process that can be habit forming like opioid analgesics and benzodiazepine.
Education
The House also passed Senate Bill 226, which will require school boards to create a complaint resolution policy so that parents may submit concerns about inappropriate content harmful to minors being made available at school. So that complaints are not simply filed away and never reviewed, SB 226 further requires that the principal or an employee designated by the principal investigate the complaint and confer with the parents.
Parents throughout our state have expressed concern about public school rules requiring their child wear a mask two years after the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. This concern has grown as more scientific study raises significant questions about the efficacy of mask wearing in school settings to stop the spread or transmission of COVID-19. The House reacted to these concerns last week by passing Senate Bill 514, the Unmask Georgia Students Act, which prohibits local public schools from making or enforcing any rules that require students to wear face masks, unless the rule allows parents to opt their children out of such a rule.
Tax Reform
Georgians rightfully continue to be concerned about the expenditure of their taxpayer dollars with companies run by China. The House passed Senate Bill 346, which will require companies seeking to do business with the State of Georgia to certify that they are not owned, operated, or affiliated with the government of the People’s Republic of China. Providing a false certification would result in civil liability along with being prohibited from bidding on future contracts with the State of Georgia. Importantly this bill does not impose any such requirement regarding the government of Taiwan.
Senate Action
Following our Crossover Day deadline, the Senate went to work on our respective House Bills under consideration. The priority, like any given session, was focused on the 2023 Fiscal Year budget, also known as House Bill 911. We are pleased to report that HB 911 received passage last week, with a few changes on the Senate side. Because of these changes, a conference committee will be appointed to resolve the changes before HB 911 comes before the House and Senate for final passage. In other Senate action, House Bill 385, which will allow retired educators to return to Georgia classrooms without forfeiting their state retirement benefits also passed. Finally, House Bill 1064, which exempts military retiree income from Georgia income taxation passed and now heads to Governor Kemp for further consideration. This bill is another important step to making Georgia the premier destination for military retirees.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Governor Kemp signed two bills to provide Georgians with significant tax relief last week. House Bill 304 immediately suspends the excise tax on motor fuel through the end of May 2022. You cannot drive far without noticing the spike in gasoline prices that have increased due to several factors, including the war in Ukraine. House Bill 1302 creates a one-time tax credit for Georgians using $1.6 billion from the Amended Fiscal Year 2022 budget. Single tax filers will receive a $250 refund, head of household filers will receive a $375 refund, and those who file jointly will receive a $500 refund.
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