Georgia’s 160th General Assembly officially convenes today for a 40-day session. Keep an eye out for these major topics to be addressed:
- Tax Cuts: Lawmakers appear poised to pass Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposal to accelerate Georgia’s income tax cut by lowering the income tax rate to 5.39% this year.
- Prosecutor Oversight Commission: Republican senators pre-filed retooled legislation to bypass a court ruling that blocked implementation of a new oversight board for local prosecutors that the General Assembly passed last year.
- Certificate of Need: Lawmakers will debate legislation to modernize (or perhaps even repeal) Certificate of Need (CON) regulations in the effort to best ensure access to high-quality and affordable healthcare throughout Georgia.
- Parental School Choice: A controversial choice bill passed the Senate last year but failed in the House. It will be an uphill climb but look for a renewed effort if the bill is revamped.
- Election Integrity: There appears to be a growing effort to eliminate QR codes from ballots, increase audits and fix other vulnerabilities within the state’s election system.
- Tort Reform: Georgia has been labeled by reform proponents as a “judicial hellhole” in America. There will be a concerted effort, led by the governor, to curb frivolous lawsuits.
- Crime: GOP lawmakers are pushing new bills to toughen penalties in the fight against Georgia’s violent criminal gang crime.
- Increased Infrastructure Funding: Look for a significant allocation of billions of dollars from the state’s surplus reserve fund to boost funding for roads and other important infrastructure projects throughout the state.
