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Mathews & Maxwell, Inc. Governmental Affairs Consulting Terry Mathews: 404-310-4173 [email protected] Scott Maxwell: 404-216-8075 [email protected] The following information is intended for the sole use of the clients of Mathews & Maxwell, Inc. Please contact the principals above to learn more about the services of the firm. Weekly Legislative Report #10 Week Ending March 19, 2021 Omnibus Elections Bill Being Crafted As we predicted last week, changes to Georgia’s election law seems increasingly likely to be addressed in an omnibus bill. Subject to change, that bill appears to be SB 202 that started its journey as a two-pager and is now in the House . or HB 531 that is now in the Senate. Substitute bills aren’t posted until they pass a committee, so the language is not yet available on the General Assembly website. However, legislators say the SB 202 sub is 93 pages long and the HB 531 sub contains 40-plus pages. Based on a presentation by House Special Committee on Election Integrity Chair Barry Fleming (R-Harlem) last week, some major changes are in the works. Among them, it appears Republicans are relenting on weekend voting with language requiring Saturday voting for two weekends during the advance voting period, plus the local option to conduct advance voting on up to two Sundays. Also, drop boxes for absentee voting could be placed outside during declared emergencies, rather than inside of buildings. Absentee voting without an excuse is back in right now, but rest assured, election legislation will very much remain a work in progress until adjournment sine die. Trust Funds Trusted HB 511 creates 12 new Trust Funds designed to enact a constitutional amendment that voters approved last November to direct various fees and fines to their intended purposes. In short, you can now trust that fees collected when you trade in old tires will go into a trust fund that ensures the money is actually spent on solid waste management and cannot be siphoned off into the general budget. Super speeder fines will go into a trust fund that can be spent only by the Georgia Trauma Commission to improve the state’s trauma care network, etc. The bill has made its way to the Governor’s desk and awaits his signature. Foster Families Receive Tax Incentive Last week the U.S. Treasury Department signaled to states that they can cut taxes without penalty under the American Rescue Act if the federal relief money is not used to cover the loss in revenues. HB 114 (Bert Reeves-R) passed the Georgia Senate without debate shortly thereafter. The bill increases the annual tax incentive for adopting a foster child from $2,000 to $6,000. The measure was introduced by one of Gov. Brian Kemp’s floor leaders and has enjoyed bipartisan support since its introduction in January, receiving not a single “nay” vote in either the House or Senate. Have an interest in fostering a child? Visit dfcs.georgia.gov/meet-children. Standard Deduction Increase Passes Another bill raising the standard deduction on state income tax returns to $5,400 (up $800) for a single taxpayer and $7,100 (up $1,100) for a married couple filing jointly was sent to the Governor. But, don’t figure these amounts into your current tax equations. The calculations incorporated into HB 593 take effect when you file returns for tax year 2022. New Labor Position Tabled The House Labor and Industry Committee put the brakes on a bill that would have created a “chief labor officer” housed at the Department of Labor, but answering to the Governor. The bill passed the Senate 32-18, but House committee members had trouble understanding just how the official would interact with Georgia’s elected Labor Commissioner, and more importantly, how Labor Department employees could work under two different bosses. The bill is a result of legislators hearing complaints from constituents about delays and lack of accessibility in relation to the processing of unemployment claims during the pandemic. To make a point, it was co-signed by 35 Senators representing both parties. SB 156 is not technically dead at this juncture, but has been tabled by the committee. Changes to Public Health Organization A subtle but significant shift in authority over county boards of public health is contained in SB 256 (Dean Burke-R). There are 18 Public Health Districts in the state. A few, such as Fulton and DeKalb, are comprised of one county only, while most contain multiple counties, from three to 14. Currently, the District Health Director is nominated by the Commissioner of Public Health but must be approved by each individual county board of health. Under the legislation, the Commissioner would have full authority to appoint the District Health Director who also serves as the CEO of each county department within the District. Proponents argue that finding a District Health Director, who is required to be an MD, is difficult and time consuming, especially if a dozen counties must vet the nominee. They say the system of choosing the Director needs to be a simplified and more concrete line of authority from the state to the districts established. Opponents have testified that taking authority away from local boards could jeopardize their financial support for local operations. Currently, the state sends grant-in-aid funds to counties to run local departments, but many counties also contribute their own funding to enhance programs and activities. The bill passed the Senate 37-14 and last week received a “do pass” recommendation from the House HHS Committee. Unlimited Funding for Leadership Committees A bill headed the Governor’s signature box is SB 221 (Jeff Mullis-R) that allows the formation of leadership committees directed by the Governor and Lt. Governor (and opposing party nominees selected to run against them). Such committees could raise unlimited amounts of cash contributions, even during the legislative session. The House and Senate majority and minority caucuses may also each form two such committees. Contributions would have to be publicly reported; however, a private political action committee could raise dark money, then transfer it to the leadership committee in its own name without revealing the initial contributors. Zell Miller Statue Legislation directing a statue of Zell Miller be placed on the state capitol grounds cleared the General Assembly last week and now awaits the Governor’s signature. Miller, a Democrat, served 16 years as Lt. Governor, eight years as Governor and was appointed by Roy Barnes to serve an unexpired term in the U.S. Senate. Miller is best known for establishing the HOPE scholarship through creation of the Georgia Lottery. However, he also attempted to remove the confederate battle flag emblem from the state flag. His attempt failed, but a new flag was pushed through later by Gov. Roy Barnes, who subsequently lost his bid for a second term. Miller died in 2018 at the age of 86. Funds for the statue would be raised from private sources. Odds and Ends HB 290 that requires hospitals and nursing homes to allow a “legal representative” to visit a patient every day is facing stiff opposition from some in the Senate. Let’s give that one a “stay tuned” status. The bill to extend for another year COVID-related legal liability immunity for hospitals and other businesses, HB 112, is on its way to the Governor’s beginning-to-bulge in-box. The two “time change” bills seem to be in real trouble. Business interests are worried about Georgia ending up abiding by different times than other states. An interesting scenario was concern about employees obtaining child care when a cross-border commute could result in a two-hour time difference. Currently, the House has substituted its own language for the Senate bill (SB 100), and the Senate substituted its own language for the House bill (HB 44). Back to square one as it were. Most legislators seem to be hoping for a uniform time change to be made at the national level. Next Week Next week the General Assembly will meet on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday for Legislative Days 36, 37, and 38. The Senate Appropriations Committee will unveil its version of the FY22 budget at a 10:30 a.m. meeting on Monday. Both Houses have scheduled morning committee meetings prior to reconvening floor sessions at 1:00 p.m. Monday. Tracking List Here are the bills we are tracking. New activity is noted in green. Click on the Bill Number to access the current version of the bill. Bills that are “DEAD” for the 2021 session failed to pass at least one chamber by the 28th day and are noted in red. The 2021 Legislative Session is the first session of the 2021-2022 Term of the Georgia General Assembly. Therefore, bills not passed or defeated during this session will be carried over to the 2022 session. Bills pending in the House or Senate Rules Committees at adjournment sine die of the 2021 session will be recommitted to the committee from whence they came. Sections: Aging Business City & County Governments & Regional Commissions Economic Development Elections Ethics Gaming Government Health – General Hospitals Insurance Pharmaceuticals Taxes Transportation Aging HB 290, Relating to regulation of hospitals and related institutions (Rep. Ed Setzler-R) Relating to regulation of hospitals and related institutions, so as to prohibit hospitals and nursing homes from instituting any policy during a declared public health emergency that limits patients' abilities to be visited by designated family members or friends as a condition precedent to obtaining or maintaining a permit to operate a hospital or nursing home.