The legislative spotlight now shifts to Gov. Nathan Deal, who will move into high gear signing bills passed by the Legislature.
Brian Robinson, Deal’s spokesman, told InsiderAdvantage Georgia that the governor’s office will have numerous bill-signing events, beginning this week. The governor has 40 days to decide whether to sign or veto a bill. If he takes no action, the bill automatically becomes law. Laws go into effect July 1.
Deal has already signed 18 bills, and the output will rise with the session over. Last week, Deal quietly signed a controversial bill that gives him more control over the state’s Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Environmental groups opposed House Bill 397, which puts the commission under the supervision of the state Department of Agriculture and increases the governor’s power in making appointments to the agency’s board.
The governor said the legislation would streamline environmental regulations for business development. But the Georgia Sierra Club said the law will make the commission less independent.
Along with the $21.8 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2016 and transportation spending and medical marijuana legislation, several other high-profile bills await Deal’s signature.
House Bill 71 would increase transparency for the state Board of Pardons and Paroles. The legislation requires that the board inform a victim when an offender has sought a pardon or parole.
Deal is also considering a bill that would give about $110 million in state tax credits for community development projects and business startups. Half of the credits would go to the Georgia “New Markets” program for insurance companies and other firms investing in low-income communities and small businesses, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The other half of the credits would give long-term funding to Invest Georgia, a state venture capital fund.
New Markets program supporters claim it will provide development capital in low-income areas, while critics say it’s a new version of CAPCO programs, which profited out-of-state capital firms, or CAPCOs, without providing promised jobs.
The Invest Georgia portion of the legislation was added in the Senate. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle is a main proponent of the the fund, which was launched in 2013 and received an initial $10 million last year. The Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce made full funding for Invest Georgia one of its legislative priorities.
Another controversial proposal sent to Deal, Senate Bill 101, gives legal authority for establishing 25-foot buffers along salt marshes. Initially the legislation by Sen. Ben Watson, R-Savannah, was criticized as too friendly to developers, but environmental groups now support the bill. The legislation was needed after Environmental Protection Division Director Jud Turner last April issued a memo overturning policy requiring a 25-foot buffer of vegetation along the marsh. No law required the buffer, and Turner took the action because of the possibility of lawsuits involving construction of a boat ramp near Savannah.
Beskin cites support: Freshman Rep. Beth Beskin, R-Atlanta, drew conservative fire for voting in the House Judiciary Committee for an anti-discrimination amendment that led to the tabling of the religious freedom bill. Senate Bill 129 by Sen. Joshua McKoon, R-Columbus, didn’t make it to the House floor.
Beskin, in her first public explanation of her vote, says on her Facebook page that her constituents overwhelmingly back her decision.
“After that vote, I received more than 1,000 emails and phone calls,” Beskin said. “My constituents almost uniformly supported my vote to include the anti-discrimination provision, and for that I am deeply grateful.”
Beskin, an attorney, said that before the vote she studied the history of religious freedom legislation. “As a Christian, I reread all of Jesus’ words. I consulted with many faith leaders, both those supporting RFRA as well as those opposed,” she said.
While Beskin’s 54th District is strongly Republican, it includes business groups and liberal intown-Atlanta neighborhoods that oppose the religious freedom bill. The district encompasses Buckhead, home of hotels, restaurants and corporate offices. The district also has a sizable gay population.
While Beskin was elected in the 2014 primary, receiving 59 percent of the vote, her Democratic opponent, Bob Gibeling, a gay activist, got 5,237 votes. Another opponent, independent Bill Bozarth, gathered 1,941. Those numbers show that Beskin could face a strong Democratic opponent in the next election if she voted against the anti-discrimination amendment, while facing less risk from a more conservative primary opponent than in other GOP districts.
