The 40 day period after the end of the legislative session for the Governor to sign or veto bills ended on August 5th. After vetoing 14 bills in 2019, Governor Kemp only rejected four bills from the 2020 legislative session. Each veto received an accompanying statement describing the primary reason for disagreeing with the legislation which passed both houses of the Georgia Legislature.
The vetoes are as follows:
- House Bill 935 which would have created the Recorder’s Court of Gwinnett County. The bill was vetoed at the request of the bill’s sponsor.
- House Bill 991 which would have created the Healthcare Transparency and Accountability Oversight Committee. The Governor vetoed the legislation out of an apparent concern for the separation of powers. In part, he argued that the Committee would supplant the authority of the Board of Public Health and would blur the lines between the General Assembly and the Executive branch given such boards are considered to be part of the executive branch of government.
- Senate Bill 306 which would have enacted the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact was vetoed by the Governor in part because the Georgia Occupational Regulation Review Council did not review and approve the legislation as is statutorily mandated and additionally, there was no fiscal analysis to determine associated costs.
- Senate Bill 504, which would create a referendum in Glynn County on the question of whether or not to abolish the Glynn County Police Department was vetoed because the Governor signed a similar, binding bill calling a referendum on the same topic.
The Governor issued one signing statement on House Bill 105 concerning disagreements as to whether the bill would create a tax exemption for income received as payments from a federal disaster relief or assistance grant program. The Governor noted that it was not clear whether or not the bill passed both houses with the same language. As such, he is calling a special session to rectify the situation.
The Governor signed several significant pieces of legislation including Senate Bill 359 which limits most negligence suits related to COVID-19 as long as companies follow social distancing, disinfection and other safety protocols outlined by public health officials, House Bill 838 which grants police new protections related to “bias motivated intimidation,” and a bill that will allow for home delivery of alcohol. The Governor previously signed into law the Georgia Hate Crimes bill.
Finally, the Governor has stated that he intends to call a Special Session of the General Assembly to clear up any technical concerns over HB 105, which grants a state tax exemption on federal aid received by Hurricane Michael victims. Under the Georgia Constitution, a Special Session can only deal with those issues specifically cited by the Governor in his official call; however, there is speculation that the Governor may add additional issues to the list of items the General Assembly can address, in particular the Budget. Therefore, stay tuned!
