Sen. Rick Jeffares: Gold Dome Update: Crossover Week

Your Georgia Desk:

Monday, March 3, marked the General Assembly’s annual Crossover Day – the final day a bill can be considered in its primary chamber before moving to the opposite chamber. As required by Georgia law, we worked to adopt a broad range of legislation and passed 27 bills prior to the midnight deadline.

Although the Georgia Senate saw many of its priorities adopted on Monday night, these bills will now face their final litmus test –the Georgia House of Representatives. Upon passage in the House, all bills will travel to the Governor’s desk for final approval. As a refresher, all bills that are unsuccessful this year will need to be re-introduced in 2015 since this is the second half of a biennial term.

In total, the Senate passed 35 pieces of legislation this week. After bills began making their way over to the House for further review, the legislature narrowed its focus on passing a fiscally-responsible budget for FY 2015. On Day 33, the Senate approved $20.8 billion in funding for the FY 2015 General Budget. The General FY 2015 budget was immediately transferred back to the House because of small line item changes made by the Senate. If the House approves these changes, the bill will go to Governor Deal’s desk for his signature. If the House holds firm to their version of the bill, a conference committee made up of members from both chambers will be appointed to work out the differences.

One of the Senate bills continuing its way through the legislative process in the House is Senate Bill 326. I sponsored this bill to allow members of the Private Colleges and Universities Authority to meet via teleconference. Since the Authority is comprised of members from around the state, including five elected officials from the Georgia General Assembly, members will now be given greater flexibility to meet through speakerphone or webcam. SB 326 received approval from the House Higher Education Committee this week, and I am hopeful this bill will receive full consideration before the Day 40.

A bill that I’ve been working on for the past two years is now on its way to the Governor’s desk for signature. Senate Bill 117, or the Georgia Utility Facility Protection Act, makes improvements to the “Call before You Dig” Program to protect our state’s buried utility facility infrastructure. This legislation is critically important to maintaining our state’s underground utilities and preventing service interruptions due to excavation accidents.

Other notable bills receiving a Senate vote this week include:

Senate Bill 333 clarifies that property owners are not adversely affected by listings on the Environmental Protection Divisions’ hazardous site inventory.

Senate Bill 361 creates the Georgia Geospatial Advisory Council in order to provide reliable geospatial data, which includes flood map modernization.

Senate Resolution 896 establishes the Joint Study Committee on the Georgia Legacy Program to examine funding possibilities for the protection and conservation of the state’s natural resources and land.

House Bill 135 provides that a person bringing a lawsuit against a city or town must provide the municipality with written notice of the specific amount of monetary damages being sought within six months from the date of the incident.

House Bill 176, also known as the Mobile BILD Act, would streamline regulations and requirements governing previously-approved local cell phone towers and other wireless facilities. This legislation is focused on attracting broadband companies who are interested in making Georgia their home and standardizing cell phone tower regulations statewide.

With only five legislative days remaining in the 2014 Legislative Session, the Georgia General Assembly is finally in the homestretch. As always, it is an honor and a privilege to represent District 17. If you have any questions or concerns about pending legislation, please feel free to contact me anytime by phone or email.