The pace at the Georgia House is
picking up. Crossover Day, the day a bill must pass one chamber to be
considered by the other this session, is Thursday, March 7th. Committees are
meeting more frequently, the number of bills receiving a hearing is growing,
and the Rules Calendar is getting longer.
Last week the House passed two
pieces of Ethics legislation on Monday.
HB 142 relates to
the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance (Ethics)
Commission and modifies requirements for lobbyists registration and disclosures, regulates
lobbyist spending on Legislators, and restores rule-making authority to
the Commission. HB 142 passed 164-4 and is now in
the Senate.
HB 143 changes
provisions to campaign
contributions and disclosure reports revising both local
official reporting as well as mandating that contributions to
Legislators between January 1 and the first day of the Legislative
Session be reported within five days of the beginning of that Session.
HB 143 passed 167-0 and goes to the
Senate.
The House unanimously passed HB 242 a comprehensive
Juvenile Justice Reform bill.
By the time we reached Friday,
legislation concerned beer.
HB 99 the Home Brewer's
Rights Bill authored by Rep. Jason Spencer passed
easily with a vote of 151-4. I co-signed
this bill that legalizes home-brew competitions, permits the transportation of
home-brewed beer to the competitions, and raises the maximum amount of beer a
person can brew yearly from 50 gallons to 100 gallons (200 gallons if two
people of legal drinking age live in the household).
Next Week
The House is in session on Monday
and Tuesday, we are adjourned Wednesday, and return for Crossover Day on
Thursday. Monday's calendar is published
here. A few bills on interest include:
HB 124 a Sunday Sales
fix providing that a failure to approve package liquor sales on Sunday would
not nullify the prior approval of package beer and wine sales.
HB 125 streamlines the
licensing and citizen verification process dealing with immigration.
HB 361 reiterates that
Georgia is a "right to work" state and provides annual renewal of any
authorization to deduct union dues from employee paychecks.
HB 362 provides that governmental public works contracts shall not be required to use union labor.
HB 159 passes House Ways
& Means Committee
HB 159 my Property Protection Bill passed
the Ways & Means Committee
and is now pending before House Rules. This proposal
that simply says "taxes and only taxes should appear on our property
tax bills" is gaining support. I am pleased that in addition to the
55,000 Georgian's that are members of Americans for Prosperity-Georgia, the
Real Estate Trade Group including the Georgia Association of REALTORS, Mortgage
Bankers Association, Georgia Credit Union League, and Community Bankers
Association among others is actively supporting passage. This week the NFIB,
National Federation of Independent Business added their support. There remains
much work and a long way to go, however, I am gratified that support is
growing. HB 159 is sound public policy and prohibits the use of our property
tax bills as a debt collection tool for tack-on fees.
HB 512
Safe Carry Protection Act hearing Monday afternoon
HB 512 the Safe Carry Protection Act
will be heard before the Public Safety Committee on
Monday afternoon at 3 PM in room 415 of the Coverdell Legislative Office
Building.I strongly support HB 512 and I anticipate it will come to the floor
for a vote quickly.
As always, I remain
appreciative that you allow me to serve as your state Representative. I
encourage you to contact me with any comments or questions you have about the
legislation being considered at the state Capitol. You can reach me at
my Capitol office at 404-656-0254 or on my cell at 404-966-5804 or via
email at brett.harrell@house.ga.gov.
Thank
you,
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