Crossover Day in Atlanta has come and gone and now legislators are poised to pass several bills that made it past the 28 legislative day deadline and they include everything from COVID-19 relief to citizen’s arrest.
The fiscal year budget for 2022 has passed the House and includes an additional $2.7 million in funding for adult substance abuse, $6.5 million for adult mental health services, $3.5 million to create 625 slots for Georgia’s Child Care and Parent Services (CAPS) child care assistance program and $1.5 million to fund maintenance of the Department of Public Health’s vaccine management system.
MORE: How do bills become laws in Georgia.
Several bills have made it through the House and Senate that provide COVID-19 relief such as Senate Bill 200 which will ensure that small businesses will be able to remain open to the public during states of emergency if the businesses are able to adhere to health guidelines and the Governor’s executive orders.
The bill is specifically aimed to prevent municipalities and other government entities from preventing the normal operation of businesses and employment in an emergency such as the pandemic.
House Bill 112 extends liability relief and immunity from COVID-19 liability to healthcare providers, facilities and businesses for another year. The original law passed in 2020 is set to expire in July.
A rather curious bill, House Bill 586, extends tax exemptions to what are called “important industries” in Georgia. This omnibus bill extends the sunset date for sales tax exemption on personal property in relation to what are vaguely called “regionally significant projects,” adds a tax exemption towards museum tickets or tickets to fine arts events held in state-owned or nonprofit venues, extends a tax exemption for concrete mixing while in transit and repeals the sunset date for the sales tax cap on certain boat purchases.
So, now is the time to buy a boat, or maybe just museum tickets.
Another major bill dealing with education, Senate Bill 59, is expected to crossover to the House. The bill, if passed, would provide federal Qualified Basic Education Act funding for each full-time equivalent student within a local charter school.
This bill establishes a per pupil funding “weight” for local charter school students. It seeks to ensure school districts allocate a proportionate share of federal funding to local charter schools and it requires districts to provide facility stipends to these facilities.
The tragic death of Waynesboro native Ahmaud Arbery in 2020 brought about House Bill 479 which repeals sections of a law first passed in 1863 and will revise the grounds for arrest and detainment by a private citizen.
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This bill provides a “shopkeeper’s exemption” to retail and food service establishments across the state as well as their agents and employees in the case of a crime happening on their premises, but takes away the ability for a private citizen to detain someone under citizen’s arrest.
The bipartisan committee that pushed the bill through released the following statement:
“Originally crafted in 1863, the state’s current law allows for gross negligence within our judicial system, as seen in the case of Ahmaud Arbery’s senseless murder in 2020. Under this proposal, protections would be put in place for business owners; it clarifies the authority of law enforcement officers, and it does not infringe on our citizens’ right to defend themselves or others from harm.”
Other more local initiatives such as raising the salaries for the elected members of the Richmond County Board Of Education were not subject to Crossover Day and could be decided as late as the last day of the session, which is called Sine Die.
Scott Hudson is the Managing Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
