Local lawmakers making progress ahead of crossover

Three of state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler’s sponsored bills have passed the Senate and two more by the Rome Republican have cleared committees and await full floor votes.

Other members of Floyd County’s legislative delegation have bills in various stages of progress. They have through March 6 — two weeks — to pass at least one chamber of the Georgia General Assembly or the process stops until next year.

Hufstetler’s flurry of activity came Thursday, before the legislature adjourned until Monday morning. His SB 47, which adds vaping to the list of tobacco products banned for use in public spaces, was assigned to the House Public Health Committee.

That’s also when the full Senate adopted his SB 56 and SB 84. The first creates a deferred compensation benefits plan for county tax commissioners; the second aims to protect elderly and disabled adults from financial exploitation. They’re headed to the House for action.

His SB 46 and SB 111 also passed out of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee Thursday, although in modified forms.

In SB 46, Hufstetler initially wanted to require pregnant women be tested for HIV and syphilis at three stages, including at the time of delivery. The committee’s version gives her the option of refusing the tests. His SB 111 adds anesthesiologist assistants to the professions licensed by the Georgia Composite Medical Board, but with less authority over medications than Hufstetler originally proposed.

State Rep. Eddie Lumsden, R-armuchee, introduced a new bill Thursday. His HB 459 would allow the GBI to submit felony juvenile arrest records to the FBI. HB 346, filed earlier last week, allows certain cases concerning the probate of wills to be transferred to superior court.

Lumsden also has two insurance bills awaiting full House votes.

State Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-rome, has HB 213 through its committee as well. It calls for school systems that provide health information to parents and guardians to include flu information as early as kindergarten instead of sixth grade.

Floyd County’s other delegates, Sen. Colton Moore, R-trenton, and Matt Barton, R-calhoun, have legislation awaiting hearings by committees.