February 28, 2022, Issue 8

HR688 makes Feb. 23 Ahmaud Arbery Day in Georgia

To go directly to issues you are interested in, click on the following links:

Education Voting & Elections Local Redistricting Healthcare

Utilities Criminal Justice Agriculture Naming New Cities

Signed by Governor Kemp: Redistricting the Gwinnett County Commission  Redistricting the Gwinnett County Board of Education HB383 requires businesses with state contracts of over $100,000 to sign an oath pledging not to boycott Israel. It only applies to businesses with more than five employees. Passed both chambers and on the way to signature: HB1028 and HB1154 to redistrict Cobb County

SB499, Governor Kemp’s Parent’s Bill of Rights, passed the Senate along partisan lines. The bill allows parents access to any and all educational materials used in their children’s school, something education officials claim they already have. Testifying against the bill, ACLU of Georgia Executive Director Andrea Young said that teachers are already over-stretched as they work to close the learning gap caused by repeated COVID-related school closures. HB999 was torpedoed by a mass mailing by a conservative group asking recipients to call legislators and pressure them to support the $6,000 voucher for families to pay for private school tuition rather than sending a child to public school. In what House Speaker David Ralston called “the dumbest thing” he’s ever seen, the move infuriated legislators in the middle of negotiations. The mailer featured Stacey Abrams, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris above a picture of the Republican lawmaker from the recipient’s particular district along with their phone number. The text read: “The radical left want to cancel your right to choose your child’s school.” The bill will move no further, according to Ralston. HB932 gained bipartisan support in the House. It would grant in-state college tuition to refugees from Afghanistan resettled in Georgia last year by waiving the one-year residency requirement. There was no vote on the bill but it could move as soon as next week. SB435 passed the Senate. It would ban transgender girls from participating in sports that align with their gender identity unless there is no equivalent sport offered by their school. This bill has been proposed in previous sessions but had never made it to a vote by the chamber.

HB1318 would allow voters to cast ballots in any county precinct. This is a popular idea among voters that would help remove confusion about the correct polling place following recent, ongoing changes to district maps, precincts and polling places.   A flurry of bills nibble away at fair and transparent elections. SB517 would outline specific qualifications for absentee ballot requests and remove “no excuse” absentee vote requests. It also eliminates absentee ballot drop boxes, and revises required absentee ballot outer envelope information. It removes or revises requirements on how, where and when early voting takes place and further shortens the number of days for advance voting. HB1392 gives the GBI jurisdiction to investigate claims of election fraud, including the ability to subpoena print or electronic documents or devices. Currently only the Secretary of State’s office can investigate election fraud claims. HB1402 prohibits state agencies, governments, officials or their employees from the solicitation and acceptance of funds from private individuals or nongovernmental entity for any purpose related to elections.  SB538 would require that absentee ballots be printed on particular security paper.   SR37 would set term limits for State Senators to four years with a limit of three consecutive terms, for State House members at two years with a limit of six consecutive terms, and for Lieutenant Governor at four years with a limit of two consecutive terms. After being out of office for one year after their maximum terms, they could run again. Currently Georgia Senators serve tow-year terms and Lieutenant Governors have no term limits. Many believe that term limits would bring fresh blood and new ideas to government, counterbalance incumbent advantages and limit the influence of special interest groups. The resolution passed.

SB472 to redistrict the Public Service Commission (PSC) passed out of the Senate. The PSC oversees the cost of electricity and other utilities. PSC has five districts and candidates must live in a district to run for that seat. However, voters state-wide vote on all five seats. Democrats argued that the map was drawn to protect an incumbent and draws a potential challenger out of the district. They also claimed violation of the Voting Rights Act for racial discrimination. Georgia is one of the only states that does not have a regulatory agency overseeing utility pricing. SR TBD will be proposed by Sen. Sheikh Rahman (D-5, Lawrenceville), to require bills for redistricting county commissions and school boards to always be treated as local legislation. This would prevent these bills from being sent to general committees in the legislature without approval from the majority of a local delegation. Circumventing the usual process for local bills, local legislation to redistrict Gwinnett, Cobb, Augusta-Richmond and Chatham counties was moved to general legislation allowing the entire legislature to make decisions about local redistricting.

HB1013, Speaker Ralston’s 74-page Mental Health Parity Act, passed out of committee unanimously. The Georgia Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation developed recommended solutions to funding, workforce, access and insurance issues that hamper mental health and substance abuse services in Georgia. This bill would implement their recommendations. Among other things, the measure: seeks parity in pay for mental health providers compared to other healthcare providers, strengthens workforce development initiatives aimed at addressing a shortage of mental-health workers, helps police departments forced to serve as first responders to calls involving people suffering from mental illness or substance abuse. Calls, texts and chats to Georgia’s mental health crisis hotline have increased 24% since the pandemic began; mental health screenings have soared by 426%; drug overdose deaths increased by 36% between April 2020 and last April 2021. HB1351 would remove prescription drug benefit administration from Medicaid Managed Care Organizations and put it back into Medicaid fee-for-service where most drugs are reimbursed at the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost plus a fair dispensing fee. Pharmaceutical reps testifying in favor of the bill were quite clear that more and more independent pharmacies are closing in communities where their clientele is primarily Medicaid Managed Care because over 50% of medications are reimbursed below the level of the pharmacy’s cost. The bill passed unanimously and goes to Rules. HB1145 would make families of public safety officers who died after contracting COVID-19 eligible to receive money from the state’s indemnification fund. HB1400 would settle a seven-year-old dispute about licensing for medical marijuana production and sales. The bill increases the number of state licenses from six to 22. Registered patients have been allowed to use medical marijuana oil for seven years but there is no legal way for them to buy it in Georgia. HB1192 to make HIV-positive Georgians eligible for Medicaid coverage, conditional on their income and a federal waiver passed with bipartisan support. SB514 passed out of committee. It allows parents to opt out of a mask mandate from their children’s school. A second bill would bar state and local agencies from asking for proof of vaccination status.

HB1322 would require electric membership cooperatives and Georgia Power to charge only the base rate to businesses that operate electric vehicle charging stations. Proponents say it is unfair for convenience store gas stations that add electric vehicle charging stations to have to compete with utility providers that enjoy monopoly power. Only 3% of the state’s existing 1,700 are owned by Georgia Power. The state should receive more than $130 million dollars in electric vehicle chargers over the next five years as part of the infrastructure bill passed by the U.S. Congress.

HB1092 would keep pregnant women convicted of a crime out of prison until six weeks after they’ve given birth. HB1146 would allow the Georgia State Patrol to remove rooftop lights from patrol cars to be replaced by flashing lights on the front, back and sides of vehicles, along with an electronic display that reads “State Patrol.” Opponents fear a rise in speed traps and traffic tickets.

HB500 authorizes a second round of funding for a rural tax credit program. The Georgia Agribusiness and Rural Jobs Act (GARJA) passed with overwhelming support and would provide $60 million in tax credits to companies with fewer than 250 employees in rural areas. This same proposal failed last year after a state audit showed that the jobs generated from the program’s initial round of funding came nowhere close to justifying the loss in tax revenue. HR576 encourages urban farming to help people living in urban areas to grow a more nutritious diet. Many urban residents live in food deserts and must depend on convenience stores for grocery shopping where very few fresh foods are available.

HB1347 would prohibit any newly incorporated city from adopting a name similar to that of an existing municipality. For instance, if Buckhead manages to secede from Atlanta at some point, it can’t call itself Buckhead City.

Important Links

Georgia General Assembly Schedule

Find your Senator/Representative

Under the Gold Dome will be distributed to League members and partners each week that the Georgia General Assembly is in session. It is a product of our Education Fund, allowing us to report legislative facts and activities at the State Capitol. The UTGD Team is comprised of LWVGA staff and volunteers, who will be tracking and reporting on legislation and committee hearings throughout the legislative session.

UTGD Team Editor: Rebecca Rolfes, LWVCGA rebeccar@lwvcga.org Volunteer legislative observers:

Mikayla Arciaga  Julie Bolen Gail Buckner  Blake Caldwell  Mary Kay Clyburn Daniel Eason  Ashleigh Ewald  Jessica Fields  Gina Hill  Sharon Hill  Keona Lynn Jones

Alan Kaufman  M Maguire  Rosemary Mackey  Margarita Moldovan Renee Rubens Jane Thimme  Laurie Tyson Michelle Weston Elizabeth Melville Maxie Kirk Williams

League of Women Voters of Georgia | Website

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