Georgia House to resume committee meetings online
♦ Speaker David Ralston lays out a timeline for resuming work halted by the coronavirus.
ATLANTA – The Georgia House of Representatives is gearing up to resume a 2020 legislative session interrupted in mid-march by the coronavirus pandemic.
In a letter to House members and staff dated Thursday, Speaker David Ralston notified committee chairs they may begin holding online meetings on Monday.
If all goes as planned, the House staff would report back to work in the state Capitol on May 18, and inperson committee meetings would resume on May 19.
“We remain mindful that the coronavirus still poses a risk, and we will alter our policies and procedures accordingly,” the speaker wrote. “Guidelines for employees will be provided in advance of a final decision on the staff report date. … [Inperson committee] meetings will be subject to the provisions of any applicable public health directives.”
Two local Republicans chair House committees. Rep. Katie Dempsey of Rome heads the human resources budget subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee and Rep. Eddie Lumsden of Armuchee took over the top slot of the Insurance Committee this year.
Ralston, RBlue Ridge, indicated he is working with Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, the Senate’s presiding officer, to set a date to resume the legislative session. Duncan has expressed a preference for returning to the Gold Dome in mid-may, but Ralston states in the letter he is anticipating lawmakers will reconvene on June 11.
Whenever lawmakers gavel in, it will be Day 30 of the 40-day legislative session. The most pressing business will be adopting a state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
The House approved a $28.1 billion spending plan on March 10, three days before the session was suspended indefinitely. But all bets are off because of the financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic — from the need for additional health-care services to the massive loss of state tax revenue resulting from thousands of businesses shutting their doors and laying off workers.
An Atlanta-based think tank released a report last week suggesting the state is facing a fiscal 2021 budget shortfall of up to $4 billion.