Crossover Day 2020 at the State Capitol came and went last Thursday with the announcement that lawmakers were suspending the session indefinitely out of an abundance of caution for coronavirus.
The Senate recessed a little before dinner time, and the House went on until midnight. A number of bills made the crossover deadline, but many were left sitting in limbo. One of the biggest, and most controversial bills, not surviving crossover dealt with legalized gambling in Georgia.
The House wrapped up without taking a vote on a constitutional amendment that would legalize three forms of legal gambling including casinos, pari-mutuel betting on horse racing and sports betting. Across the hall, the Senate did not take up a bill that would have allowed sports betting in the state.
Another bill that failed to make crossover was House Bill 440, which would have raised the age from 17 to 18 for juvenile court jurisdiction. It was substituted with language that would create a Juvenile Justice advisory Council to make recommendations to the Legislature regarding the resources required to implement the change in jurisdiction. But the new language did not give counties a seat at the table on the advisory council and the bill failed to make it out of the House Rules Committee.
House Bill 1086, which would have stayed all civil actions on all asset forfeiture until the underlying criminal case was concluded, also stalled.
Other bills not making it out of Chamber on Crossover Day:
● A bill that would raise Georgia’s tobacco tax did not survive Crossover. Georgia’s tax is one of the lowest in the nation. Proposed legislation to impose an excise tax on vaping products for the first time was shot down on the House floor on the evening of Crossover Day.
● A bill that would require all Georgians to wear seatbelts – including those riding in the back seat — was on the Senate calendar for a vote on Crossover Day but was not taken up before Senators left for the evening.
● Two bills introduced by House Democrats that allowed for college athletes participating in revenue-generating sports to be paid failed never even got a hearing in the House Higher Education Committee.
● The Right to Farm Act did not survive after running into opposition from farmers. Environmental groups argued it would make it harder to keep out large agricultural operations such as chicken houses and pig farms that generate offensive smells and pollute nearby waterways.
