Thursday was Crossover Day. As usual, some things that expected to “cross” never made it and others cruised across to the other side of the aisle to be considered in the last month of the legislative session ahead.
House Bill 638 would allow MARTA buses to install cameras to ticket vehicles parked in bus-only lanes. The idea is to help enforce the prohibition of stopping or parking a motor vehicle in a designated bus lane. The bill passed and will move to the Senate for consideration.
Rep. Deborah Silcox (R-53 Atlanta) sponsored the bill, joined by a host of Democrats from Atlanta and one Republican from Dallas, presumably with some constituents who commute into Atlanta and take advantage of the transit system – or at least do not like getting stuck behind downtown transit.
Among other big news on Thursday, Governor Brian Kemp kicked off Crossover Day by signing the state’s $40.5 billion amended 2025 budget, including more than $860 million for Hurricane Helene damage, including expenses for debris removal and infrastructure repair.
HB 111 would accelerate tax cuts originally approved in 2022, reducing the income tax rate for individuals and corporations from 5.39% to 5.19% for 2025. The bill passed 110-60, an overwhelming margin for a tax bill which split Democrats, with 20 voting in favor of the bill. Depending on certain financial benchmarks, the rate would fall to 4.99% by 2027 — two years ahead of the original schedule.
Another one of the biggies on tap for Crossover Day were bills related to sports betting. In what has now been nearly a decade long effort, sports betting seems to have failed again. None of the bills that attempted to legalize sports betting passed, despite some heavy hitters – such as all of the major professional sports teams – getting on board to support betting with the dangling carrot of millions of dollars in tax revenue.
A controversial bill about DEI measures that was bound to make headlines also failed on Crossover Day. SB 120 would have withheld funding or state-administered federal funding to any public school or college that has DEI policies. Specifically, the bill says “public schools, local education agencies, and public postsecondary institutions shall not promote, support, or maintain any programs or activities that advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion.” This would include “any effort to promote or promulgate any training, programming, or activities designed or implemented with reference to race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation.”
Clarence Thomas fans will also be disappointed with the results from Crossover Day. Another attempt at getting a statue built in honor of the Georgia native and Supreme Court justice failed, despite an effort to move the statue from the Gold Dome grounds to the Nathan Deal Judicial Center across the street.
