It was one of the quickest Crossover Days in recent history Monday as lawmakers worked feverishly to get their bills passed through one of the chambers. Some of the state’s most controversial bills stayed alive with passage, but others didn’t survive.
Senators gave their okay to a resolution that SR 675, which would provide for a Constitutional Amendment that would make English the official language of Georgia. Resolution sponsor Sen. Josh McKoon (R-Columbus) called it “a common sense resolution,” that follows a similar state law adopted in 1996.
“I can’t imagine that anyone would want to deny the right to Georgia citizens to vote on having English as the official language,” said McKoon, prior to the 39-14 vote.
Wording in the constitutional amendment would provide “that official state actions be in English” and “to prohibit any language other than English be used in any documents, regulations, orders, transactions, proceedings, meetings, programs or publications” as well as “to prohibit discrimination, penalties or other limits on participation against persons who speak only English.”
According to McKoon, Georgia is one of 31 states that have state laws stipulating government use of English, but there are loopholes in Georgia that this constitutional amendment would close.
“English is the tie that binds us as Americans. That’s why it is gratifying that the Georgia Senate today passed Senate Resolution 675,,” said ProEnglish Executive Director Robert Vandervoort, in a press release issued after the vote. “This legislation enhances better communication and saves significant taxpayer money by reducing burdensome translation costs.”
The measure now goes to the House of Representatives.
The Senate also approved SR 756 which would change the structure of the Georgia tax rate, despite strong opposition from Democrats. Republican Sen. Judson Hill’s legislation would reduce taxes for the residents of Georgia from 6 percent to a flat 5.4 percent.
“We need to do all we can to reduce the tax burden on Georgia’s hardworking families, and my Tax Relief Act does just that,” said Sen. Hill. “Revising our current tax law would allow Georgians to keep more dollars in their pockets and make their own decisions on whether those dollars should be saved, invested or spent.”
The House sent Rep. Allen Peake’s cannibis oil bill to the Senate by a 152-8 vote. Peake (R-Macon) said the bill “moves the ball forward but falls short” of what he had hoped to accomplish this year.
Originally, HB 722 would have allowed for a state-sponsored program to grow, cultivate and manufacture medical marijuana in Georgia, but that was stripped from the legislation after opposition from law enforcement.
The bill does add several disorders to the list of diseases that qualifies for the state program. However, patients still have to risk arrest by travelling across state lines to get the medication.
Rep. Randy Nix, (R-LaGrange) voted for the legislation, but said prior to the vote that he had struggled with the bill.
“This is most conflicted vote I’ve faced in 10 years,” Nix said. “My heart says vote ‘Yes.’ My head and gut say we’re going down the wrong road.”
Supporters for destination resort casinos in Georgia will have to wait at least another year after Speaker David Ralston announced Monday that legislation to legalize them would not get a vote during this year’s legislative session.
HR 807 would have asked voters to amend the state constitution to legalize up to four casinos, two of which would be in Metro Atlanta. HB 677 would have set the rules and guidelines for the casinos, including the provision that at least 90 percent of taxes and fees from the casinos go to fund the HOPE scholarship.
The Senate passed SB 6 which would create a special Georgia driver’s licenses and ID cards for immigrants who have been granted deportation deferrals and work permits through the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.
