Governmental Affairs Terry Mathews: 404-310-4173 [email protected] Sco: Maxwell: 404-216-8075 [email protected] The following informaEon 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 #5 Week Ending February 12, 2021 Midyear Budget Sent to Governor The House and Senate agreed on the $26.5 billion midyear budget Tuesday and sent it to the Governor for signature. In a rare occurrence, instead of forming a House/Senate conference committee to sort out differences in the bill, the House agreed to the Senate changes, then added one amendment of its own. The Senate then formally “Agreed to the Senate Substitute as Amended by the House” and sent the bill to the Governor. The big news emanating from final passage was the House addition of a $1,000 bonus for the state’s 57,000 employees who make less than $80,000 annually. The Governor, Lt. Governor and Speaker all agreed the raises could be funded with federal dollars intended to stimulate the economy and replace funds states lost due to the Coronavirus pandemic. (State legislators, who are paid $17,342 for what are considered part-time jobs, will not receive the bonus.) Another bright budgetary note came with the January Department of Revenue report showing a 7.5% increase in state tax receipts compared to January 2020. It was a welcomed figure as officials worry that the amount of money returned to taxpayers over the next few months will exceed previous years’ totals. Election-Related Solutions in Abundance While it has been hotly debated as to whether any significant malfeasance occurred during the recent elections in Georgia, there is no shortage of bills aiming to fix what may or may not be broken. We’re tracking a total of 32 (and counting) election “solutions” that have been introduced this session. The House set up a special committee to handle the issue, while the Senate referred theirs to the Ethics Committee, which doesn’t typically have a long agenda. It will take some time to see which ideas for “election integrity” make their way through the entire vetting process. Right to Visit is Debated A three-hour committee hearing on the Right to Visit Act illuminated the difficult situation in which hospitals and nursing homes find themselves during the COVID pandemic. The bill requires such facilities to allow at least two designated visitors for each patient/resident for two hours daily. Legislators heard heart-felt pleas from those who couldn’t visit ailing loved ones during their final hours. But, they also heard from representatives of care facilities who explained the difficult fight to keep patients safe. One speaker pointed out that despite all the efforts to get people to wear masks, some people who came to testify at this hearing failed to do so. Once someone is in the room with their loved one, their actions cannot be controlled, endangering staff, patients and ultimately, the entire community. No vote was taken, but hallway seers predict some version of the bill is likely to eventually pass. Liability for the spread of COVID remains a concern, not just for care facilities, but for all business interests. HB 112 (Trey Kelley-R) passed the House 99-68 last week, extending for one year certain immunities to liability claims against businesses emanating from the pandemic. Legislative Days Scheduled The General Assembly has set its meeting schedule for Legislative Days 13 through 25. They meet Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week, then convene all five days the following week. Legislative Day 25 will be on Monday, March 8. First Dose Numbers Grow Gov. Brian Kemp put out a weekend press release touting that as of Feb. 12, nearly 665,000 seniors had received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The state has now administered 75% of the total doses shipped to the state by the federal government. Manufacturing Process . In Process Is that simply a big, funny-looking truck on the road in front of you, or is it a manufacturing process . in process? HB 122 (John Corbett-R) extends the sunset date to 2026 for the sales tax exemption for manufacturers of concrete. It turns out that the turning cylinder on a concrete truck is, indeed, actually manufacturing concrete as it drives towards its destination, mixing the cement, sand, aggregate and water necessary to concoct the finished product. Thus, the mobile processing facility qualifies for the sales tax exemption given to other equipment used in manufacturing. The bill passed out of the House Ways & Means Cmte. Reapportionment Figures to be Late As the decennial U.S. Census was conducted in 2020, this is the year for the Georgia General Assembly to reapportion both state house and Congressional districts. In short, the boundary lines of districts will be redrawn in order to keep a roughly even number of residents within each district. But, there’s a fly in the ointment. The Census Bureau announced last week that they would not release the requisite data to the states until September 30, creating a tight squeeze for states to do their often hard-fought political calculations and hold a special session to approve the new districts. Next Week While the General Assembly meets in full session on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week, one important committee will hold hearings at 2:00 p.m. on Monday. The House Appropriations Human Resources Subcommittee will take testimony from five agencies regarding their respective requests in the FY22 budget. Other Appropriations subcommittees will do the same as the week progresses. 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. 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 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. Status: Referred to Human Relations & Aging Cmte, Hearing Only HB 363, Relating to elderly protections (Rep. John LaHood-R) Relating to crimes and offenses, so as to revise definitions relative to the protection of elder persons; to remove enhanced penalties for certain offenses against persons 65 years of age or older or employees, agents, or volunteers at long-term care facilities; and to provide for related matters. Status: Referred to Judicial Non-Civil Cmte Business HB 112, To provide for certain immunities from liability claims (Rep. Trey Kelley-R) To provide for certain immunities from liability claims regarding COVID-19; extend for one year. Status: Referred to Special Cmte on Access to the Civil Justice System, Passed Cmte, Sent to Rules Cmte, Passed House, Sent to Senate, Referred to Judiciary Cmte SB 55, To create the Family Medical Leave Fund (Sen. Gloria Butler-D) To create the Family Medical Leave Fund; to provide for contributions to such fund; to provide for the promulgation of rules and regulations by the Department of Labor. Status: Referred to Insurance and Labor Cmte City & County Governments and Regional Commissions HB 60, Georgia Educational Scholarship Act (Rep. Wes Cantrell-R) Relating to education, so as to provide for the establishment of educational scholarship accounts; to provide for qualified education expenses; to provide for qualifications for students to participate in the account program. Status: Referred to Educational Cmte HB 98, Conditions for meetings to be held by teleconference (Rep. Eddie Lumsden-R) To provide conditions for meetings and public hearings to be held by teleconference in emergency conditions. Status: Referred to Governmental Affairs Cmte, Passed General Government Subcmte, Passed Cmte, Pending Rules Cmte HB 107, Workforce Development Board Meetings (Rep. Carolyn Hugley-R) Local workforce development board to conduct meetings via teleconference. Status: Referred to Governmental Affairs Cmte HB 150, Public utilities and public transportation (Rep. Bruce Williamson-R) Relating to public utilities and public transportation, so as to prohibit governmental entities from adopting any policy that prohibits the connection or reconnection of any utility service based upon the type or source of energy or fuel. Status: Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Cmte HB 374, Public water or sewer providers tax exempt (Rep. Houston Gaines-R) Relating to sales and use taxes, so as to exempt from taxation local authorities providing public water or sewer service. Status: Referred to Ways & Means Cmte HR 130, Transfer of Forsyth County from Georgia Mountains RC to the ARC (Rep. Lauren McDonald-R) A Resolution ratifying the action of the Board of the Community Affairs approving of the transfer of Forsyth County from the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission to the Atlanta Regional Commission. Status: Referred to Governmental Affairs Cmte SB 59, Charter School funding for full-time equivalent students (Sen. John Albers-R) Relating to elementary and secondary education, so as to provide for additional QBE funding for each full-time equivalent student within a local charter school; to provide for a maximum amount of such funding available to each local charter school.