Your Georgia Desk:
The 2014 Legislative Session: Off and Running
By: Sen. Frank Ginn (R – Danielsville)
Every January, legislators from across the state convene at the Georgia State Capitol to set the course for Georgia’s future. The morning meetings come early and the nights spent revising legislation are long, but any time spent making our great state a better place is time well spent. Because 2014 is the second half of a legislative biennial term, bills that did not pass in 2013 are still eligible for consideration in addition to the new bills introduced this year – which means legislators have a significant pile of work (literally, when you think about the stacks of printed bills on our desks…) ahead of us.
That said, we quickly got down to work on Monday, January 13, the first day of the legislative session. 2014 will be the year of a shorter, more efficient session for several reasons. First, there is pressure to reach Day 40 earlier than previous years because of a shift in election qualifying dates. Georgia is now required to have at least 45 days of absentee balloting before the date of a runoff or primary election where a federal candidate is on the ballot, which means qualifying for public office will begin on March 3, 2014 and run through March 7, 2014. Second – and more importantly – a shorter legislative session saves Georgia taxpayers a substantial amount of money.
The shift in election qualifying dates has not only encouraged a shorter legislative session, but it brought the first piece of legislation to the Senate floor in 2014. House Bill 310 has passed the Senate by substitute and if enacted, will revise the schedule of state and local candidate elections to correspond with federal candidate election dates. Maintaining two separate election calendars places a heavy burden on state resources and would likely require a costly update to technology infrastructure. By combining the two calendars into one streamlined schedule, the state will be able conserve both state resources and taxpayer dollars.
Governor Deal also presented his annual “State of the State” address during the first week of session, highlighting the steps our state has taken to preserve our state’s fiscally responsible reputation. As a result, Georgia has added approximately 217,000 new jobs to our state in the past three years; the state unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been in five years; our “rainy day fund” has grown by 518 percent over the past three years; and Georgia is one of only ten states that still maintains a AAA bond rating from all three major agencies. The federal government doesn’t even have that distinction.
Although Georgia still faces its share of challenges, the Governor’s proposed budgets for FY 2014 Amended and FY 2015 provide a positive outlook towards the future. Governor Deal has proposed a budget increase from $19.9 billion in FY 2014 to $20.8 billion in FY 2015, including a large funding increase for K-12 and Higher Education initiatives. I look forward to sharing a closer and more in-depth look at Governor Deal’s budget proposals and Georgia’s economic outlook in a future column.
Senate committees have already started meeting to review bills moving through the legislative process, and I am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving as chair of the Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee. This year, we will continue our work to pass pro-business legislation that encourages economic investment in Georgia for all industries and businesses, both large and small.
Please let me know if you have plans to visit your State Capitol over the next few months. Groups who are interested in visiting the Capitol should call my office at 404.656.4700 to set up a date and time. I look forward to welcoming you during your visit!
I am honored and humbled that you have placed your faith in me to represent District 47’s best interests at the Georgia State Capitol. Please feel free to contact my office at any time to talk about pending legislation or address other concerns in our district – my door and phone lines are always open.
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