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Calendar options dwindle for special session of Legislature

Timing is becoming a problem if Gov. Brian Kemp calls the special legislative session he said earlier this month was needed to fix legislation critical to victims of Hurricane Michael in 2018.

“It’s going to be really hard to do that before the election,” Kemp told WGAU radio in Athens. “I don’t think anyone wants to see that happen.”

Two people who definitely fall into that category are House Speaker David Ralston and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who have been critical of the idea, in part because they feared a special session would rob GOP lawmakers of crucial time for campaigning before the Nov. 3 election. It would also prevent them from collecting campaign cash because fundraising is taboo for lawmakers during a legislative session.

Other lawmakers questioned the need to spend state money — conducting a special session would cost $40,000 to $50,000 a day — when the Legislature could fix the measure in question, House Bill 105, when it opens its regular session Jan. 11, only 69 days after the election.

Besides, there’s so much else for a legislator to do. Between the election and the opening of the regular session, there’s Thanksgiving and Christmas and possibly a big bowl game of interest to many of Georgia’s college football fans.

Then there’s the question of whether HB 105 really needs to be fixed.

Kemp said Aug. 5 that he thought the special session was necessary because of “legitimate questions” involving an incorrect tracking number in the measure, which granted a state tax exemption on federal aid to Michael’s victims and also included a 50 centsper-ride fee on ride-share, taxi and limo services. But Rick Ruskell, the General Assembly’s legislative counsel, said he was asked about the issue that Kemp cited before the bill was passed and that he believes no fix is needed.

Whether the special session happens could depend on whatever else Kemp, who as governor has control over the agenda, wants to get done. When he signed HB 105 into law, and mentioned the possibility he would call back legislators to work on the measure, he also noted that “such special session may also be timely to address other budgetary and oversight issues.”

That generated talk that Kemp, who at the time was feuding with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over coronavirus restrictions, might want to put the city’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport under state control.

Others thought it could mean the governor wanted to do more work on the state budget after lawmakers in June approved $2.2 billion in spending cuts — including $950 million from k-12 schools — because of the coronavirus recession. But since then, revenue collections have been stronger than expected — which Kemp’s office has attributed to the governor’s decision to open Georgia’s economy early from the COVID-19 shutdown.