Your Georgia Desk:
HARPER: Update from the Capitol
From Sen. Tyler Harper (R- Ocilla)
The 2014 Session of the Georgia General Assembly has officially adjourned Sine Die, meaning we have concluded our 40 day Legislative Session for the year. We accomplished many great things for Georgians and the 7th District this session, including a balanced budget, additional funding for educational institutions right here in South East Georgia and Second Amendment protections, to name a few.
On the last day of the 2013 legislative session, a bill that would have substantially protected and enforced the Second Amendment rights of all Georgians failed to receive final legislative approval in the late night hours. Supporters of that bill, including myself, were extremely disappointed in the outcome, but we committed ourselves to making sure a stronger Second Amendment protection bill was brought back in 2014.
This year, once again on the last day of the legislative session, a measure to reinforce the right to lawfully carry a weapon once again came up for a vote in the Georgia General Assembly. However, this year was different, and the Georgia General Assembly got it right. In the late night hours, both legislative chambers approved HB 60, a comprehensive weapons carry bill that is now waiting for the Governor’s signature. This is a huge step forward in our efforts to expand 2nd Amendment rights in Georgia.
The finalized version of HB 60 includes the following provisions:
- Prohibits the restriction of the lawful possession of firearms in public housing (unless required by federal law/regulation)
- Allows the use of silencers for hunting only on personal private property, or private property where the owner has given explicit permission for another individual to hunt with a silencer
- Permits weapons to be legally carried in bars, but allows property owners/lessors to refuse entry or remove any person carrying a weapon
- Weapons are banned in churches unless leadership decides to “opt-in” and allow weapons to be carried on the premises
- Reduced fines for violators who are licensed and lawful weapons carriers
- Allows schools to give written authorization to certain individuals who are allowed to carry weapons on school property, at school functions or within school safe zones
- Eliminates the requirement that license holders get re-fingerprinted when renewing a license and also expands the ability for private vendors to conduct fingerprint screenings
On Tuesday, members of the Senate and the House came to a compromise during a conference committee on the $20.8 billion state fund budget for Fiscal Year ’15. The budget encompasses state spending from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015 and is a 2.9% state fund increase from the Amended FY 2014 passed budget. It is an immense responsibility of legislators to construct the budget. A point of pride for our state is we are required 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 every penny is spent responsibly. The FY ’15 budget accounts for around $535 million of the new revenue for the Department of Education that will finance enrollment growth and provide more funds to local school systems to reduce austerity, and a $16 million increase to Technical Education in the Technical College System of Georgia. The budget also allocates $35 million to complete the state’s portion of the $652 million Savannah Harbor project.
There were several other prominent bills on the Senate floor during the final week of the 2014 legislative session including:
HB 983: I was honored to carry and lead the passage of HB 983 in the Senate, an important piece of agricultural legislation. HB 983 clarifies the Georgia Agriculture Tax Exemption program by defining what is to be exempt from sales taxes when purchased for use in agriculture. The bill also outlines the tax exempt status of contractors.
HB 772: This legislation requires applicants and recipients of public assistance to complete drug tests in order to receive benefits, and also requires electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards to display a photo of the recipient. Unfortunately, the fraudulent use of public assistance and other benefits is on the rise. HB 772 is meant to reduce this activity and ensure benefits are going to those who are truly in need.
HB 697: This bill creates the Zell Miller Grant, a new subprogram of the HOPE program. The Zell Miller Grant will cover full tuition for students who achieve and maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA and are enrolled in a certificate or diploma program. Based on current enrollment numbers, the Zell Miller Grant will cover approximately 16,000 students attending schools within the Technical College System of Georgia in FY 2015. HB 697 also allows taxpayers to contribute to nonprofits created by the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) to aid students with education expenses through Georgia income tax return forms. The funds collected will be equally distributed to the GSFC nonprofits.
SB 386: protects sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers, taxpayer ID numbers and financial account numbers, included in court filings. SB 386 clarifies that where Social Security numbers, taxpayer identification numbers, and/or financial account numbers are included, only the last four digits of any such number may be included in the filing.
HB 914: requires the Department of Human Services (DHS) and child protection agencies to acknowledge the receipt of a report made by a school employee of suspected child abuse. DHS also must disclose to either a school counselor or the school principal whether the suspected child abuse was confirmed by an investigation.
I am humbled you have placed your faith in me to represent the constituents of District 7 at the Georgia State Capitol. Since the legislative session has come to an end, I will be spending more time in the district working on behalf of you. Please feel free to contact my office at any time to address any concerns you may have or any issues in our district – my door and phone lines are always open.
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