As the clock ticks down on the session of the 2023 General Assembly, legislators are passing bills with major impact on the state. Late Thursday, on the 38th day of the 40-day session, the Senate passed amended legislation by a 44-5 margin that will raise legal weight limits on trucks in Georgia carrying certain types of cargo in certain areas of the state. The Senate Transportation Committee made some changes to the bill that reduced the scope of the original bill.
HB 189 by Rep. Steven Meeks, R-Screven, will now have to go back to the House for an “agree” after clearing the Senate. The original version of the legislation that came out of the House would let commercial trucks exceed the current legal weight limit of 80,000 pounds by 10 percent – for a total of 88,000 pounds – on roads other than interstate highways, which are subject to federal restrictions. The original bill also would have applied to all commercial trucks but the House changed it to allow for trucks carrying logs, agricultural products and livestock, granite, concrete or solid waste.
The Senate then reduced the bill’s scope further by removing granite, concrete, and solid waste from the types of cargo eligible for hauling at 88,000 pounds. Under the Senate version, the bill would restrict the weight exemption to trucks hauling loads within 75 miles of the point of origin and would prohibit trucks above the 80,000-pound weight limit in metro Atlanta.
The Georgia Department of Transportation, as well as city and county officials, have opposed the legislation, saying heavier trucks would do more damage to highways and bridges. Local officials fear heavier trucks will cut through on local roads even where they are barred.
In other news Thursday, members of the House of Representatives approved a bill that will give workers time off to participate in early voting or on election day. Senate Bill 129 by Sen. Rick Williams, R-Milledgeville, expands on a state law that already allows two hours off on election day. Under this bill, workers could take unpaid time to vote either on election days or during three weeks of early voting. The bill passed on a 161-9 vote,
“Hopefully this will make it easier for people to get away to vote,” said state Rep. Rob Leverett, R-Elberton, “It just ensures that people are not prevented from voting because of work.”
The bill would also require audits of at least one statewide election after primary, runoff and special elections, and would give counties two more hours — until midnight on election night — to report how many ballots have been cast and change the language on absentee ballot applications that says “THIS IS NOT A BALLOT.”
The legislation now goes back to the State Senate for an agreement.
The House also passed a bill that would prohibit government agencies from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination to access government facilities or services. SB 1, by Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, removes the repeal date from a measure enacted last year by lawmakers that barred the use of a person’s
COVID vaccine status to prevent access to government facilities, services or licenses. The law included an automatic repeal date of June 30, 2023.
The bill passed by a 99-69 margin – mainly among party lines. It now goes to the governor for his signature.
