This year, midnight will probably mean midnight. Probably. This year’s adjournment resolution specifically states that the last day of the session – Sine Die – will end “no later than 12:00 Midnight.” Perhaps last year’s near 2:00 a.m. finish was too much for legislators. The midnight finish does not seem to have impacted some of the delays – some might even call it procrastination – on certain bills that will result in a very busy Thursday at the Capitol.
There are at least 41 bills eligible for the calendar in the Senate tomorrow and the House will consider dozens more (including resolutions, there are more than 100 bills up for consideration by the House) . Those noon adjournments back in January suddenly loom a little larger as both Chambers will rush to the finish to decide numerous smaller items (which, to those being affected, are probably not so small) and some major items – such as final votes on the budget, transit, distracted driving and voting machines.
Some of the pressure on the voting machine may have eased after the House Governmental Affairs Committee passed HR 1699 on Tuesday. For good or ill, the legislature is renowned for being cautious to action, preferring to form a study committee – or two – to examine an issue before taking the plunge and creating new law. HR 1699 would create a Joint Study Committee on the selection of Georgia’s future voting systems for “secure, accessible, and fair elections.”
Legislators who may be wary of the specifics of the current voting machine legislation, SB 403, now have an out via the study committee to delay the final decision. The study committee would also undoubtedly receive plenty of public input to wade through before bringing back the legislation next year. If you want to put on your pundit hat, SB 403’s chances for passage are low while HR 1699’s chances are pretty good.
Governor Deal’s announcement of a bond sale for transit on Tuesday should help ease the passage of House Billl 930, which would allow metro Atlanta counties to impose a 1-cent sales tax for transit expansion. It would also create the Atlanta Transit Link, the ATL, which would take over for GRTA and work to streamline and coordinate transit operations across a metro region that currently has numerous separate authorities operating individual transit agencies.
Online sales taxes, a long discussed action at the Capitol, may also finally see passage on Thursday. The Senate passed HB 61 on Tuesday, which would require retailers that have a gross revenue of at least $250,000 or 200 sales a year in the state of Georgia to collect and remit sales taxes. With some minor changes from a similar House bill last year, it is expected to pass the House and head to the governor’s desk. It would apply to all sales made on or after January 1, 2018. With federal tax changes and other unforeseen increases in Georgia revenue, the sales taxes would be another boost to the state coffers.
It being Sine Die, you really never know what might happen, so stay tuned as Insider Advantage unravels what went on over the next couple weeks.
