[March 10, 2025] | This past week was what we call Crossover Week. It means a bill must pass the House to be considered by the Senate and the same way with the Senate to the House.
People get excited about their bills wanting them to pass the House so the Senate can consider it before we end in the first week of April. We worked two long days, Tuesday and Thursday to get a lot done, and the rest were filled with committee meetings. It's pretty stressful, because there are some things that are on the floor that you don't like and that don't represent the community that you represent very well. Yes, you have to vote no. And that does frustrate other members.
On Tuesday after a very long day, we still had a committee meeting or two to do, and one of them was very important to me. Answering a request from our community and others around the state, I had written a bill to give our elections superintendent the ability to do a hand accounting if they choose to, of a race in an election.
Some feel they can do it, but some don't think they can, because it's not written in the law that they can. My bill was to fix that; I had two of our Pickens County folks who are very involved in the elections: Chris Mora, the Chairman of our Pickens GOP, and Ed Greathouse who is on the Pickens Elections Board. They came to testify for the bill.
Now, I must really brag on these guys because the bill was scheduled to be heard around 3 o'clock, and it wasn't heard till 7:30. I thank them for their patience. The bill passed out of committee and to the Rules committee. They didn't select it for Crossover Day, but the bill is not dead, and we live on.
We passed a lot of bills, 100+, the two most important have to do with your pocketbook. We did the final passage of the amended budget. Significant dollars for hurricane Helene disaster repair in South Georgia. We also did a lot of transportation and public safety.
The House fulfilled one of Governor Kemp's and my legislative priorities this session with the passage of House Bill 112, which would provide a one-time income tax refund for taxpayers who filed returns for both the 2023 and 2024 tax years. This refund amount would be the lesser of: their 2023 state income tax liability; or a fixed amount determined by their filing status: $250 for single filers or married individuals filing separately, $375 for heads of household and $500 for married couples filing jointly. With an estimated total distribution of $7.6 million, the measure underscores the House's commitment to returning taxpayers' hard-earned money back into their pockets.
I will cover some of the other bills we passed in next week's news article, because this next week will be a slow week for passing bills. We will start hearing Senate bills in committee.
As always, if you want the complete list of what we voted on, just send me an email or call me, and we will get it to you. I encourage you to visit me at my Georgia Capitol office or call me if you have any questions or concerns regarding the bills, the legislative process, or any other measures considered under the Gold Dome.
My Capitol office number is 404-656-7153. My email is rick.jasperse@house.ga.gov. As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as your State Representative.