[March 28, 2016] | On Thursday, March 24, the 2016 legislative session came to an end when the House and Senate completed the 40th and final legislative day, also known as ?sine die.? Sine die is a Latin term meaning, ?without assigning a day for further meeting.? My translation??We are done.? When we convened for the final two days of session this week, (which ended up being four days due to meetings), we gave final passage to a number of bills; and we worked late into the night both days to ensure that important legislation for Georgia had every opportunity to be considered this year. Why it takes so long is that we are hearing Senate bills that have come out of our House committees and doing something called ?agrees? and ?disagrees.? This is when we work with the Senate to get to a point were we both can agree on the new bill. It is tedious work, and you have to be very careful reading and understanding what everyone is up to before you vote on it.
Of all of the legislation passed by the General Assembly this session, the most important was House Bill 751, which establishes the State budget for Fiscal Year 2017 and which received final, overwhelming approval in the House by a vote of 171-1 during the last week of session. The final version of HB 751 resulted from the work of a House and Senate conference committee where conference committee appointees from both chambers met to work out the differences between each body?s versions of the budget. As the only piece of legislation that we are constitutionally required to pass each session, the Fiscal Year 2017 Budget will guide all State spending from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017. I will do an article just on the budget for next week.
SB 18 presented by Rep. Richard Smith, passed by a vote of 164 to 0. This
measure requires the Technical College System of Georgia to grant academic credit to active duty military or veteran students for college-level learning acquired through course work related to their training and experience from their military service. SB 230 presented by me, Rep. Rick Jasperse, District 11, passed by a vote of 164 to 5. This measure is titled "The Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act." It will allow the Governor, in times of emergency or a natural disaster, to utilize Voluntary Health Practitioners from outside the State of Georgia to provide disaster relief and emergency care. It further requires the Department of Public Health to maintain a registry to monitor and confirm the licensure and good standing of each volunteer. SB 323 presented by Rep. Robert Dickey, District 140, passed by a vote of 166 to 2. This measure expands the non-public disclosure provision in the Code for the Department of Economic Development. It restricts the disclosure to other state agencies of the details of active economic development projects. Last week receiving the "Do Pass" recommendation in the State Properties Committee meeting was SB 327. This measure, which was presented by Rep. David Clark, passed by a vote of 95 to 71. It will prohibit any entity of the State of Georgia from entering into a contract to provide goods or services with an individual or company that is engaged in a boycott of Israel. This week's terrorist bombings in Brussels are a poignant reminder of how important to the security of our nation our relationship is with Israel, our strongest ally in the Middle East. Receiving the most debate was HB 1036 by Rep. Bill Hitchens, which passed by a vote of 116 to 48. This measure establishes the "State Commission on Petroleum Pipelines" to study the use of eminent domain in the acquisition of property. The Commission is to complete its work by December 31, 2016. It suspends the power of eminent domain for petroleum pipelines through June 30, 2017. It further suspends the issuance of all permits and licenses from the State, even if the petroleum pipeline company already owns the land or easement through June 30, 2017. There were compelling arguments on both sides of this issue. The gavel finally fell at 11:50 PM ending Legislative Day 39.
Thursday, March 24, 2016, was Legislative Day 40, the last legislative day for the 2016 Georgia General Assembly. We had two Debate Calendars and three pages of Agrees/Disagrees still to accomplish. SB 416 presented by ME (!) Rep. Rick Jasperse, District 11, passed by a vote of 160 to 0. This measure creates within the Georgia Bureau of Investigation a "Fusion Center" to gather intelligence reports from local and state agencies about suspected threats, both criminal and terroristic. It will analyze the information and provide assessments to Jim Butterworth, Director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and federal officials if the possibility of threat is determined.
SB 304 presented by Rep. Scott Holcomb, was agreed to by a vote of 167 to 0. This measure will require Georgia law enforcement to find and count untested sexual assault evidence (Rape Kits). Upon final passage late in the evening, the House broke into thunderous applause. The original measure HB 827 (Pursuing Justice for Rape Victims Act) had been blocked in the State Senate, but after strong vocal support from women's advocates and victim's groups it was added to SB 340. HB 216 by Rep. Micah Gravley, was agreed to by vote of 146 to 20. This measure will allow workers' compensation benefits to Firefighters in the event they are diagnosed with cancer, if it can be proven it was directly linked to the profession of firefighting. HB 783 by Rep. Bruce Broadrick, Dalton, was agreed to by vote of 167 to 4. This measure was amended to include Rep. Allen Peake's original legislation dealing with cannabidiol oil. It expands the conditions for which THC oil may be prescribed for treatment and sets a maximum of 5% by weight of tetrahydrocannabinol. This failed to be agreed on in the Senate. The final measure to be adopted by the 2016 Georgia House of Representatives was SB 258, which was Agreed to by vote of 163 to 0. Rep. Geoff Duncan amended SB 258 to include HB 919, which passed the House by a vote of 137 to 30 back in February. This measure provides $100 million in tax credits to individuals and corporations who donate to Rural Healthcare Organizations that participate both in Medicaid and Medicare and provide healthcare to primarily indigent patients. It is an effort to provide some financial relief to our struggling rural hospitals; I want to congratulate Rep. Geoff Duncan on his perseverance. Good job!
Of course there are other bills that passed that day including my HB 1060, which clarifies a lot in the carrying of weapons. I work hard on Second Amendment legislation and on Healthcare issues in the General Assembly every day.
It was a bittersweet day for me as many of my friends in the Georgia House of Representatives went to the "Well" to announce their retirement and to bid us farewell. During my tenure here I have made some good friends. You work very closely with some of these folks so they feel like family. We share each other's joys and each other's sorrows. The men and women that serve under the Gold Dome are truly fine Georgians who care deeply about our state.
Now that these bills passed both the House and Senate, and the General Assembly?s 2016 legislative session has adjourned sine die, the future of these bills are currently in the hands of Governor Deal. As stipulated in our State Constitution, the Governor has 40 days to sign or veto the legislation. This means that any bill or resolution that the governor has not vetoed by Tuesday, May 3, 2016, will become state law in the coming months.
Although session is over, I hope that you will continue to contact me with any questions or concerns that you might have regarding your State government. If you have any questions about these potential changes to state code or if you have any suggestions for future legislation, I hope that you will contact me. You can reach me at my Capitol office at 404-656-7857, or by email at rick.jasperse@house.ga.gov. Additionally, I will be spending a lot more time in the district now, so feel free to contact me locally at 770-893-2039.
Thank you for allowing me to serve as your Representative.