Floyd school board raises pending in General Assembly

Floyd County Board of Education members would see their pay to $1,000 a month this year, under legislation filed in the Georgia General Assembly late last week.

State Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-rome, is the lead sponsor of House Bill 649, which is also backed by Reps. Eddie Lumsden, R-armuchee, and Matt Barton, R-calhoun.

School board members first discussed the increase with lawmakers in January. Their last raise was in 2019, when the salary went from $400 a month to $600 a month. The bill calls for the bump to $1,000 — plus expenses for travel outside the county — to be effective the first day of the month after it is signed into law.

If approved, it would match the raise for Rome City Commissioners, which was passed last year and will take effect Jan. 1, 2024. Rome City Board of Education members will get an increase to $500 a month at the same time.

Local legislation like HB 649 is not subject to rules for Crossover Day, which is Monday. At that point in the 40-day session, bills that have not passed at least one chamber of the General Assembly are dead for the year (unless the provisions can be attached to a bill that has crossed over).

The 2023 session is scheduled to end March 29.

Dempsey also dropped another new bill last week that is unlikely to make the deadline.

HB 654 would allow local governments to impose a surcharge of $1 a ton for auto shredder residue when a public waste facility is operated by a private entity. It would apply to the waste left over after the metal is removed from shredded vehicles and major appliances.

Lumsden has two insurance-related bills already in the Senate. His HB 541 is ready for a full House vote. It would add U.S. Postal Service vehicles to the “move over” list. Drivers who don’t move over a lane when the lights are flashing during a mail delivery, or slow down if that is impossible, could get a $250 ticket.

Floyd County’s Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-rome, also submitted two new bills last week. SB 163 modernizes regulations for craft brewers; SB 164 updates licensing requirements for advance practice registered nursing.

Because this is the first year of a two-year General Assembly term, bills that don’t pass this year can be taken up where they left off next year.

Senate Press Office / House Media Services Below: Above: Dr. Brad Bushnell (center) of Harbin Clinic was the Senate Doctor of the Day on Monday, Feb. 27. He’s photographed with Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Sens. Chuck Hufstetler, R-rome, and Kay Kirkpatrick, R-marietta, and his children Sarah Beth and Bo, who served as pages for Hufstetler and Kirkparick. State Reps. Eddie Lumsden (right), R-armuchee, and Matt Barton, R-calhoun, confer on upcoming legislation Thursday, March 2, in the Georgia House.

House Media Services State Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-rome, speaks with House Majority Whip James Burchett during a lull in the Georgia House proceedings Thursday.