Sen. William Ligon: Gold Dome Update: Week 9

The Georgia General Assembly is in the very last days of the 2014 Legislative Session. While many people refer to the last day as Day 40, it is also known as Sine Die.

With only two days remaining in this year’s session, the General Assembly will work carefully to consider a number of House bills before they achieve final passage on the Senate floor and head to the Governor’s office. Here is a look at some of the bills passed this last week.

HB 153 authorizes local governments to propose Special Purpose Local Option Sales Taxes (SPLOST) of less than one cent. This fractional penny SPLOST will not apply to education local option sales taxes.

HB 658 ends the Georgia estate tax, more commonly known as the “death tax,” and any requirements for related estate tax returns on July 1, 2014. Currently in Georgia, any property or assets transferred to others at the time of death is taxed on the fair market values of the item or property.

HB 777 enacts the Interstate Boating Violator Compact, an agreement between states that allows the home state to treat a boating conviction of one of its residents in another state as if the conviction had occurred in the home state. HB 777 allows the Department of Natural Resources to suspend a person’s privilege to operate a water vessel for violations of laws outlined in the Interstate Boating Violator Compact. The bill changes the effective date of criminal boating violations to January 1, 2014.

HB 790 expands the responsibility of the Georgia Forestry Commission to enforce timber theft laws by allowing commission foresters and firefighters, along with investigators, to issue citations for cutting or carrying away of timber of another landowner.

HB 702 administers the placement of a historic granite monument on State Capitol grounds. The monument would specifically include the Preamble to the Georgia Constitution, the part of the Declaration of Independence which states that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” and the Ten Commandments.

HB 1080 provides for the placement of a statue of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the Capitol grounds, subject to the availability of private funds and intellectual property rights.

HB 838 prohibits any person from transmitting unauthorized nude or sexually explicit photos or videos of another person to the internet.

HB 933 extends the current state sales tax exemption on the sale of equipment used in the maintenance or repair of aircraft not registered in Georgia. Under current law, this exemption is set to expire on June 30, 2015, and this bill will make the exemption permanent.

HB 958 includes the extension and revision of certain entertainment tax credits, food donation tax exemptions and back to school sales tax holidays.

HB 943, known as the Cancer Treatment Fairness Act and Required Coverage for Autism Spectrum Disorders, requires health insurance policies providing coverage for intravenously administered chemotherapy to ensure the same level of coverage for orally administered chemotherapy. The bill was amended to require insurers to cover children six years of age or younger diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The bill also requires insurers to cover children six years of age or younger who are diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

It has been a pleasure to serve as the voice of the 3^rd Senate District at the Capitol during the 2014 Legislative Session. If there is anything I can do for you, please feel free to contact my office. For more information regarding a specific piece of legislation, you may access the Georgia General Assembly website at http://www.legis.ga.gov/.