The Senate and House convene at 10 AM for Legislative Day 36.
The Senate Rules Committee is scheduled to take up HB 142 and HB 143, Speaker Ralston’s ethics bills at 11:30 AM or upon adjournment in Room 450 of the Capitol.
HR 205 by Rep. Jay Neal, sponsored by Sen. John Albers – authorizing the conveyance of certain state owned real property
HB 68 by Rep. Rusty Kidd, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Hufstetler – to revise provisions relating to continuing education requirements for persons licensed to practice orthotics or prosthetics
HB 94 by Rep. Andy Welch, sponsored by Sen. Josh McKoon – damages; reduction of earnings to present value; change provisions
HB 126 by Rep. Mark Hamilton, sponsored by Sen. Renee Unterman – to prohibit any person from knowingly and willfully obstructing or hindering any park ranger in the lawful discharge of such park ranger’s official duties; to prohibit any person from knowingly and willfully resisting, obstructing, or opposing any park ranger in the lawful discharge of such park ranger’s official duties by offering or doing violence to the person of such park ranger
HB 141 by Rep. Edward Lindsey – kidnapping; certain businesses and establishments post a model notice to enable persons who are the subject of human trafficking to obtain help and services
HB 317 by Rep. Sharon Cooper, sponsored by Sen. Renee Unterman – Medical Practice Act of the State of Georgia; administrative medicine licenses
HB 146 by Rep. Tom Weldon, sponsored by Sen. John Crosby – relating to criminal procedure, so as to change provisions relating to the issuance of arrest and search warrants by video conference
HB 155 by Rep. David Knight, sponsored by Sen. Bill Heath – to revise provisions concerning the licensing and operation of shooting preserves; to revise the definition of “pen raised game birds”; to change licensing requirements for shooting preserves; to create a lifetime shooting preserve license
HB 178 by Rep. Tom Weldon, sponsored by Sen. Renee Unterman – to provide for additional powers of the Georgia Composite Medical Board relating to pain management; to enact the “Georgia Pain Management Clinic Act”; to require the licensure of pain management clinics; to provide for requirements for licensure; to provide for denial, suspension, and revocation of licenses
HB 235 by Rep. Earl Ehrhart, sponsored by Sen. Butch Miller – to revise the definition of optometry; to remove the exemption for continuing education requirements for persons practicing optometry who are 65 years of age or older
HB 242 by Rep. Wendell Willard, sponsored by Sen. Charlie Bethel – “Juvenile Justice Reform” to substantially revise, supersede, and modernize provisions relating to juvenile proceedings and enact comprehensive juvenile justice reforms recommended by the Governor’s Special Council on Justice Reform in Georgia; to provide for the Office of the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children
HB 268 by Rep. Buddy Harden, sponsored by Sen. Dean Burke – agricultural products dealers; cotton and eggs from definition of “agricultural products”
HB 287 by Rep. Matt Hatchett, sponsored by Sen. Rick Jeffares – to reassign the Division of Archives and History of the Office of the Secretary of State and transfer governance thereof to the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
HB 345 by Rep. Tommy Benton, sponsored by Sen. Freddie Powell Sims – relating to the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, so as to clarify and consolidate the definitions of the term “teacher”
HB 349 by Rep. Rich Golick, sponsored by Sen. Charlie Bethel – Criminal cases; provide state with more direct appeal rights
HB 473 by Rep. Andy Welch, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Hufstetler – Counties and municipal corporations; add option of fiscal year contracts
| 8:00 AM | EDUCATION & YOUTH Sub Com- School Choice | 310 CLOB |
| 12:00 PM | RULES Upon Adj. | 450 CAP |
| 1:00 PM | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT-CANCELLED | 310 CLOB |
| 1:00 PM | JUDICIARY NON CIVIL | 307 CLOB |
| 1:30 PM | HIGHER ED | 125 CAP |
| 2:00 PM | AGRICULTURE & CONSUMER AFFAIRS-CANCELLED | 125 CAP |
| 2:00 PM | JUDICIARY | 307 CLOB |
| 2:30 PM | APPROPRIATIONS | 341 CAP |
| 3:00 PM | REGULATED INDUSTRIES | 310 CLOB |
| 4:00 PM | HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES | 450 CAP |
| 4:00 PM | TRANSPORTATION | MEZZ 1 |
HR 644 by Rep. Wendell Willard – creating the House Study Committee on Timber Security
SB 11 by Sen. Buddy Carter, sponsored by Rep. David Knight – to reestablish the Georgia Geospatial Advisory Council and provide for its membership]
SB 14 by Sen. Renee Unterman, sponsored by Rep. Tommy Benton – relating to indigent and elderly patients, so as to create a Georgia Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias State Plan Task Force
SB 76 by Sen. Lester Jackson, sponsored by Rep. Bill Hitchens – to create the Returning Veterans Task Force
SB 82 by Sen. Steve Gooch, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Tanner – to change designations from North Georgia College to the University of North Georgia; to designate the University of North Georgia as the senior military college of Georgia
SB 87 by Sen. Frank Ginn, sponsored by Rep. Tom Kirby – relating to marketing facilities, organizations, and programs, so as to repeal the roadside markets incentive program
SB 97 by Sen. John Wilkinson, sponsored by Rep. Sam Watson – to create the Agricultural Commodity Commission for Beef
SB 140 by Sen. Jack Murphy, sponsored by Rep. Howard Maxwell – to include contracts, agreements, and instruments for the repair of certain wear and tear of a motor vehicle to include rips, burns, tears, holes, and punctures to interior fabric or carpet, cosmetic repair to aluminum or painted wheels, and exterior reconditioning of foggy or yellowed headlights within the definition of property insurance in a manner similar to vehicle service agreements or extended warranty agreements
SB 170 by Sen. Judson Hill, sponsored by Rep. Micah Gravley – to add medical identity fraud to the provisions relating to identity fraud
SB 187 by Sen. Judson Hill, sponsored by Rep. Matt Dollar – relating to requirements, procedures, and conditions for verification of lawful presence within the United States, so as to provide exemptions for the board of commissioners of the Georgia Student Finance Commission and the board of directors of the Georgia Student Finance Authority
SR 113 by Sen. Bill Jackson, sponsored by Rep. Jay Neal – authorizing the granting of restrictive easements, nonexclusive easements for operation and maintenance of facilities, utilities, and ingress and egress in, on, over, under, upon, across, or through property owned by the State of Georgia in Barrow, Carroll, Chatham, Cobb, Crisp, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Forsyth, Hall, Henry, Laurens, Macon, Paulding, Richmond, and White Counties
SR 267 by Sen. William Ligon, sponsored by Rep. Jason Spencer – urging the United States Army Corps of Engineers to close Noyes Cut in the Satilla River System
SB 179 by Sen. Hunter Hill, sponsored by Rep. Edward Lindsey – to provide that, if a sealed competitive proposal is requested and price or project cost is not a selection or evaluation factor, no bid bond shall be required
SB 236 by Sen. Burt Jones, sponsored by Rep. Alex Atwood – to require insurers issuing accident and sickness policies in this state to indicate on their premium statement to consumers the amount of the premium increase, if any, attributable to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Remember that raft of local bills from State Rep. Edward Lindsey regarding Fulton County that raised hackles in the House? They’ll be warmly received in the Senate, at least in the office of Senate President Pro Tem David Shafer, who told NorthFulton.com that legislation to “right-size” Fulton County government may be justified now that 85 percent of the County is served by municipal governments.
“We are trying to put appropriate limits on Fulton County’s ability to tax. Our objective now that Fulton County is 85 percent municipalities, we need an orderly consideration of what Fulton County’s role will be in that environment,” Shafer said. “The limitation of taxation will lead Fulton County to examine its priorities.”
Ideologically, the forced diet for Fulton County is not unlike Shafer’s plan to wean state government from the income tax by limiting the income tax rate.
What Shafer is most ardent about is a plan involving two constitutional amendments that will “set the framework” to phase out the state income tax. He is hopeful the amendments will be on the November 2014 ballot.
The first amendment sets a hard cap on the state income tax of 6 percent. That is locked in and the state Legislature could never raise it. The second amendment sets a “soft” cap on the sales tax. It locks that in at the current 4 percent.
“You would not be able to raise the sales tax above 4 percent unless it was either used to pay for infrastructure approved in a [statewide] referendum or the increase is used to reduce and phase out the state income tax,” Shafer said.
Replacing the income tax with a consumption tax will accomplish two goals. Shafer said he always thought taxes should be levied on consumption and not productivity. Second, it would make Georgia more competitive nationally for jobs and new development.
“Two neighboring states, Tennessee and Florida, do not have state income tax now. Phasing that out would certainly make us more competitive with them for jobs,” Shafer said.
Senate Bill 136 by Senators Butch Miller, Renee Unterman, Jack Murphy and others, which reduces the blood alcohol level required for a Boating Under the Influence (BUI) charge to .08, the same level as DUI, has passed the House of Representatives with some changes and will head to a conference committee.
Governor Nathan Deal made Boater Safety part of his “Real Agenda” this session
“We know alcohol in is involved in over 50% of all boating fatalities each year. On Georgia roads, if the operator of a vehicle has a Blood Alcohol content of .08 or higher, he can be charged with DUI. However, you cannot be charged with BUI unless your BAC is .10 or higher. The Jake and Griffin Prince BUI Law that I am proposing will change that. If you are too drunk to drive an automobile, then you are too drunk to drive a boat.”
DeKalb School Board Lawsuit
A spokeswoman said the case will follow the normal course, meaning the justices will have two court terms, or about six months, to make a decision.
The challenge stems from a legal fight between ousted DeKalb County school board Chairman Eugene Walker and Governor Nathan Deal.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Judge Richard Story on Thursday asked the state high court to address two questions raised by the governor’s decision to remove and replace the school board members.
The questions are:
• Does OCGA § 20-2-73 violate the Georgia constitutional doctrine that each school system shall be under the management and control of a board of education, the members of which shall be elected as provided by law? OR
• Does the potential removal of school board members as provided for by OCGA § 20-2-73 exceed the General Assembly’s authority to enact general laws regarding local board of education under Article VIII, Section V?
The high court last year rejected Governor Sonny Perdue’s 2010 effort to rebuild the Warren County school board, but the Legislature in 2011 provided governors with new authority to replace school boards. Meanwhile, a restraining order remains in place in Fulton County that has blocked Deal’s attempts to replace the Sumter County board.
Crazy Blooms Eternal in Snellville
During a Tuesday afternoon hearing, Gwinnett County Judge Timothy Hamil reversed Snellville Mayor Kelly Kautz’s December decision to fire Powell as the city’s counsel, saying its code of ordinances denied her the power to do so. Hamil also dismissed Powell as a defendant in the related lawsuit filed by Kautz against him and councilmembers Dave Emanuel, Bobby Howard, Diane Krause and Tom Witts.
“We always believed we were right,” said Witts, the mayor pro tem. “We just kept being told we were wrong, but we always believed we were right. We have faith in Tony Powell. We have faith that he wouldn’t put us in a position that would turn out bad for us.”
Powell sat alongside the councilmembers in the front row of courtroom 2B Tuesday, as lawyers on both sides of the lawsuit hashed out their perceptions of Kautz’s mayoral powers to terminate a city attorney. Fred Bentley, hired last week to represent Kautz, argued that the appointment power granted to the mayor by the city charter implies the right to terminate as well.
More than once, Hamil expressed his disappointment that all parties couldn’t settle the issue outside of court.
“It’s unfortunate we had to be here,” Councilman Bobby Howard said. “Now we can begin to address all the issues straightforward, ready to go, and we can continue to move our city forward and not be stalled by pointless legal maneuvers.”
Kautz dismissed Powell in December, saying the move was due to over-budget legal fees and the fact that Powell pushed for lawsuits “instead of giving opinions on city matters.” At a January meeting, though, the four councilmembers later included in the lawsuit passed a number of motions and resolutions in support of Powell.
Kautz has appointed several different city attorneys since she took office, including Karen Woodward and Nola Jackson, appointed in December before resigning in January.
Meanwhile, a group calling itself “Gwinnett Ethics” raises questions about whether Kautz can be trusted with her own checkbook, much less the City’s.<
Misappropriation Of City Funds?
My two biggest fears going into this was that the citizens had no idea how irresponsible Mayor Kautz was with her own finances. And that giving her access to the city’s checkbook could be disastrous for the city. The second thing that concerned me was what happened in the case of Shirley Lasseter. In deep financial trouble she became vulnerable to taking bribes. Given the integrity displayed by Mayor Kautz, my concerns means a very close eye needs to be kept on city funds while she is in office. Of course the rest of the leaders can stop her…Right? Keep reading. It gets ugly.
Last Year
She secretly authorized payment of city attorney fees of over $30,000, in spite of the
fact that most of the council members strongly objected to his charges being unjustified and excessive. In December of 2012, she paid the firm of Cruser and Mitchell approximately $1,300 for what was largely personal legal work in defense of her actions in the Marilyn Swinney case. The City of Snellville signed a contract with Cruser & Mitchell in December, 2012, but Kautz paid them for work performed in October and November. Both Kautz and the City of Snellville were defended in the Swinney case by lawyers who were hired by the city’s insurance company. There was no need for the city to pay for an additional attorney for Kautz.While I don’t know if any of these payments were illegal in the strictest sense of the word, they do indicate that the mayor has no problem playing fast and loose with city funds.
I also just found out that Kautz has spent $2,000 of city funds to pay for her enrollment in Leadership Gwinnett, a personal enrichment course.
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