[March 28, 2022] | As I type this, we have about eight days left in this year's session. This is when there are long days and into the evening, trying to come to agreements with our bills and Senate bills and vice versa. It is good we have them check our bills, and we theirs; we find unintended consequences in the bills almost always that we don't pick up on the first time we look at them. Some bills are long and very legal, and as I sit at night and read through them, my highlighter gets used a lot. If you ever watch us on TV, you will see lots of people with papers pointing to them while talking with others. That's a member asking a bill sponsor a question and trying to understand it before a committee meeting or a vote on the floor of the Chamber. We get in some pretty heated discussions and attempts to change bills. I was in one this week on school zone traffic cameras and how the bill sponsor, a Senator, wanted to expand them in Georgia and loosen the regulations around them. Well, I fought hard, but I lost as the committee didn?t agree with me and voted the bill out... Yes; I voted NO! I think I will send all of them the complaints I get from the cameras at Fairmount Elementary.
In the House committees we are hearing the Senate bills that passed their body last week and putting our touches on them (or trying to). The bills then are heard on the House floor if the Rules Committee allows them on the floor. Most are, but every now and then some fail at this point.
A bill we passed will make a few parents happy in our state. Senate Bill 226 would require local boards of education to create a complaint resolution policy for local schools by January 1, 2023, to allow parents or guardians to submit complaints to the school about inappropriate content that is harmful to minors and available to the students at the school. This bill would also require the school's principal or designee to investigate a complaint and meet with the parent/guardian in a timely manner; SB 226 also includes requirements for an appeals process, and it would make any material deemed harmful to minors available online for parents to review.
We passed Senate Bill 493, which authorizes non-judicial foreclosures of time-share estates by an owners' association, and this bill outlines requirements for these foreclosures. This is one many Georgians hope the Governor signs.
The Senate passed an updated version of House Bill 911, for the Fiscal Year 2023 Budget. House and Senate will now continue to work towards a final version of FY 2023 Budget before it receives final passage this week.
Governor Kemp also signed House Bill 1302 into law this week to create a one-time tax credit for Georgians using $1.6 billion in undesignated surplus funds from the Amended Fiscal Year 2022 Budget. Eligible Georgia taxpayers can expect to receive a tax credit based on their 2020 tax filer status. Single tax filers will receive a $250 refund, head-of-household filers will receive $375, and those who file jointly will receive a $500 refund. The Republican-led General Assembly and Governor Kemp did not spend that surplus money, although the democrat party suggested numerous ways to spend those dollars. We trusted you to know best.
During these last days the internet is full of what-ifs and rumors as we work on perfecting bills. I encourage you to reach out if you have any questions or concerns regarding legislation that has been discussed or passed so far. You can reach my Capitol office at 404-656-7153, or you can email me directly at rick.jasperse@house.ga.gov.
As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as your State Representative and legislative voice here at the Capitol.