Early Thursday morning, legislators in the State Capitol wrapped up their 40th “legislative day,” bringing the first year of the two year legislative session to a close. Any bills that failed to pass this year will have to wait until next January when the session’s second year comes to order. Now, legislators and stakeholders will wait for Governor Kemp to determine which bills he will sign and which, if any, he will veto.
As day turned into night, many high-profile bills were left stranded in the House or Senate. Even bills with the governor’s support behind them did not make it across the finish line before “Sine Die,” a Latin term meaning “without a day” used by Georgia legislators to signal the end of the session. Below, you will find a recap of the chaos under the Gold Dome during the legislative session’s final day.
FY ’24 Budget
You will often hear legislators joke, “the only thing we have to do is pass a budget,” which is technically accurate. The legislature is constitutionally mandated to pass a budget outlining the expenditures relative to the estimated revenue for the upcoming fiscal year. As of Wednesday morning, however, the House and Senate Budget Committees had not come to an agreement. Key to the chamber’s conflict was a line item allocating $105 million to the Medical College of Georgia to assist with the proposed university hospital’s takeover by Wellstar Medical System. Wellstar has been in hot water with legislators since their announcement last fall that they would be shutting down Atlanta Medical Center with almost no warning, leaving the city with only one Level 1 trauma center.
In the end, the committees were able to hash out their differences, cutting the $105 million allocation by $66 million and delivering teachers, state employees, and many law enforcement officers a $2,000 raise. The pay raise would bring the average Georgia teacher’s salary to $61,000 – the highest in the Southeast. The House and Senate also agreed with Governor Kemp’s proposal to fund HOPE scholarships at 100% for the first time since 2011. Lastly, the budget will fund a $1.25 million Georgia State Patrol satellite post in Buckhead with up to 20 troopers from the motor unit and Nighthawks DUI Task Force. The Governor is already aware of some changes that will be needed to adjusted in January for this year’s new budget such as more Medicaid funding.
“Zuckerbucks” Bill Stops Counties from Receiving Outside Donations to Help with Elections
One of the day’s most contentious debates concerned SB 222, which looks to prevent counties from receiving outside grants to help with elections. The bill responded to a $2 million grant DeKalb County received from the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence, an organization with ties to Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Democrats argued that the bill disproportionately affected large urban counties, which typically vote for Democrats, due to the more expensive nature of their voting operations. State Senator Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) hit back at Republicans accusing them of wanting to force Democratic voters to wait in long lines and prevent “blue counties” from having the funds needed to support proper election management. Republicans like State Senator Ed Setzler (R-Acworth) insist the measure supports fairness and prevents “engineering election outcomes.”
The bill passed the Senate on a party-line vote and is now on Governor Kemp’s Desk, where he will likely sign it into law.
House and Senate Compromise on Truck Weight Legislation
Around midnight on Thursday morning, the House and Senate came to an agreement that would allow for heavier trucks on Georgia’s roads over the next two years. Earlier on Wednesday, both chambers insisted on sticking to their version of the legislation and appointed a conference committee. To sort out the differences. The legislation that passed in each chamber was wildly different. The House version allowed trucks with a wider variety of products to carry more weight. The Senate, however, looked to introduce sunsets and restrictions that would allow the heavier weight for a moment while enhancing enforcement.
In particular, the Senate bill limited the higher weights to ag and forestry products, restricted the truck’s travel to within 75 miles of its origin, sunset the provisions after a year, and allowed local police to enforce truck weight restrictions alongside the Department of Public Safety, the only agency that currently has enforcement power. While House leaders insisted that local police would not be able to enforce truck weight limits, Senate leaders thought the reticence to the proposal indicated truck owners were likely skirting current limits.
Ultimately, both parties compromised, making the Senate’s restrictions more acceptable. The final bill allows higher weights for trucks with ag and timber products, expands the travel restrictions to within 150 miles from the truck’s origin, and sunsets the provisions after two years instead of one. The compromise does allow local police officers to enforce truck weights, but only on local roads, not highways or interstates. The 80,000-pound maximum still applies to local roads in metro Atlanta.
School Choice Vouchers
School choice advocates suffered a defeat on the House Floor Wednesday night (89-85) as some rural Republicans joined Democrats in defeating a proposal to provide each family a $6,500 voucher if they chose to leave some public schools for private or homeschooled education. The relatively new method, known as an education savings account, allows parents to spend the money on education-related expenses outside of the traditional private school tuition subsidy. Only students in the lowest-achieving 25% of public schools would have been eligible. Opponents of the legislation feared the measure would wreak havoc on already struggling schools by diverting some of their allotted funding.
School choice advocates have pushed similar legislation for years but have never gotten this far. While the bill passed the Senate and had the governor’s vocal support, it could not overcome opposition and will have to wait for a likely revival next January.
Medical Cannabis Bill Falters After Massive Rewrite on House Floor
House Bill 196 steadily moved along the legislative process this session, seeking to reform the process by which medical cannabis grower’s licenses are issued in Georgia and expand the current number of licenses. The measure grew out of discontent from companies who bid on grower’s licenses through the established process and lost but are now suing the Georgia Medical Cannabis Commission as well as the Department of Administrative Services. The bill underwent several rewrites during the session but quickly grew from 12 pages to 54 during debate on the House floor Wednesday afternoon. Changes would have given Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper (R) oversight over the medical cannabis program and authorized up to 20 production licenses, a significant increase.
The Senate rejected these changes as much of the language was new to the discussion and not vetted by Senate committees. The measure could reappear next January.
Mental Health Bill Fails to Pass the Senate
House Bill 520 looked to build off last year’s herculean mental health legislative overhaul by addressing a shortage of providers and streamlining inter-agency communication. The bill had the full support of the State House, Speaker Jon Burns, and Governor Kemp but could not pass a Senate committee before the final gavel.
While a small provision from the legislation was attached to a successful bill, multiple representatives expressed their disappointment at the bill’s demise. State Representative Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) called the bill’s failure “pure politics,” joining the speculation that the legislation was a hostage in response to Senate priorities that did not pass the House.
State Senator Brian Strickland (R-McDonough), the bill’s sponsor in the Senate, vowed to address the concerns next year.
Sports Betting Fails to Cross the Finish Line (Once More)
After all major sports betting bills failed to pass their original chamber by crossover day, stakeholders and advocates co-opted HB 237, a measure celebrating Lyons, Georgia’s Soap Box Derby, into a vehicle for sports betting. Despite a significant effort and pressure from all involved parties, the bill could not pass through the Senate.
After Governor Kemp indicated he would be willing to support limited sports betting, many thought this might be the year the measure finally passed. Now, stakeholders will return to the drawing board to try and formulate a new strategy for legalizing sports betting in Georgia.
