Your Georgia Desk:
TOLLESON: Update from the Capitol
By: Sen. Ross Tolleson (R- Perry)
The 2014 session officially came to an end late Thursday as the Senate adjourned Sine Die. The term “Sine Die” is Latin for “without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing,” therefore, when the gavel came down on Thursday night, the General Assembly adjourned until January 2015. Legislators and staff remained busy working until the midnight cut-off time to deliberate over 50 pieces of legislation.
On Monday, the fine people from the Georgia Peanut Commission hosted PB+J Day at the Capitol. This is always a special treat as we are nearing the end of session and the days are long as we work past dinner time and late into the night. The Georgia Peanut Commission is a great organization that provides Georgia a huge economic stimulus, as peanuts account for more than 20% of the state’s agricultural income and the industry contributes more than 50,000 jobs in Georgia.
As the hour grew late, the House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 296, the Jekyll Island bill. SB 296 sets a maximum acreage limit of 1,675 acres of developable land; a 78 acre increase from the already 1,597 acres of developed land on Jekyll. The bill would change the previous existing law from a 35 percent limitation, which caused ambiguity due to tidal changes, erosion and other natural changes. After hours of collaborative work between invested parties, it is a great achievement to see this bill get to the Governor’s desk. Jekyll Island is a treasure of Georgia’s coast and this bill strives to ensure it will remain that way for future generations.
On Tuesday, members of the Senate and the House came to a compromise during a conference committee on the $20.8 billion Fiscal Year ’15 budget. The budget encompasses state spending from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015 and is a 4.6% increase from last year’s budget. It is a immense responsibility of legislators to construct the budget, a point of pride for our state as we are mandated to pass a balanced budget, unlike the federal level. After spending countless hours in Appropriations meetings, the General Assembly carefully analyzes each line item to ensure each cent is spent responsibly. The FY ’15 budget accounts for around $916 million of the new revenue for education expenses that will help finance enrollment growth, disseminate more funds to local school systems and increase opportunities for technical education. The budget also allocates $35 million to complete the state’s portion of the $652 million Savannah Harbor project.
The next step in the legislative process is to transfer all passed bills to Governor Deal’s desk for his review. By law, once the bill is transferred to the Governor, he may sign the bill into law or veto the bill. During the legislative session, he has six days to deliberate the bill, after session, he is given 40 days from Sine Die to consider action on all passed legislation. If the General Assembly does not agree with the veto, they may override the decision with a 2/3 vote and the measure will then become a law. If no action is taken with the bill, then it automatically becomes a law after the 40 day time period.
Since the legislative session has come to an end, I will be spending more time in the district working on behalf of you. If there are any issues you wish to have addressed, I would love to hear from you. I look forward to continuing my service on behalf of my constituents in the 20th Senate District. Georgia is on the right track. I am confident that the steps we took this year will mean lasting prosperity for future generations of Georgians.
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