Legalized gambling measures head list of Crossover Day victims
sive legislation was shelved by a narrow margin on Crossover Day.
♦ Tobacco, vaping taxes – A bid to raise Georgia’s tobacco tax, one of the nation’s lowest, went nowhere as usual in the General Assembly. Legislation to impose an excise tax on vaping products for the first time fared better, but it was shot down on the House floor on the evening of Crossover Day.
♦ Dreamers – Legislation to offer in-state tuition to Georgia’s public colleges and universities to undocumented Georgians protected from deportation under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was killed in a Senate committee the day before Crossover Day.
♦ Adoption – A Senate bill allowing faith-based adoption agencies to deny services in Georgia based on religious preferences failed to get through the Senate Judiciary Committee. Opponents argued it would discriminate against foster parents of various sexual orientations and gender identities that don’t conform with the agencies’ religious or moral beliefs.
♦ Title pawns – A bill capping rates charged by Georgia’s auto-title pawn industry cleared the Senate Finance Committee but failed to reach the Senate floor for a vote.
♦ Seatbelts – Legislation requiring Georgians to wear seatbelts no matter where they are sitting in a motor vehicle – not just the front seat – was on the Senate calendar for a vote on Crossover Day but was not taken up.
♦ Paying college athletes – Two bills introduced by House Democrats early in the session calling for college athletes participating in revenue-generating sports to be paid failed to get a hearing in the House Higher Education Committee.
It’s worth noting that nothing is ever irrevocably dead in the General Assembly until lawmakers adjourn for the year. If supporters are determined enough in the session’s waning days, they often can find bills that are still alive on which to attach their legislation.
With 11 days remaining in the 2020 session when lawmakers return to the Capitol from the recess forced upon them by the coronavirus, there will be plenty of time for such gaming of the system.
The Georgia Senate passed legislation Tuesday, March 10, aimed at expanding the number of students with special needs in Georgia who could qualify for scholarships to help them attend private schools.
Critics frame the measure, Senate Bill 386, as a voucher program likely to funnel state funds from needy rural schools and give families with more financial means a leg up to enroll their children in private schools.
Since 2007, Georgia students with physical or mental disabilities who have specialized education plans have been able to qualify for state-funded scholarships to help offset the costs of tuition and transferring to a private school.
Last year, nearly 5,000 students received scholarships averaging around $6,300 per student to enroll in private schools at a total cost to the
Legislation introduced into the state Senate this week (March 2-6) is calling for more sunshine when lawmakers draw new congressional and legislative district maps next year based on the 2020 Census.
Democrats say greater transparency in the redistricting process would help head off any potential attempts at gerrymandering by the state’s majority Republican leadership.
In Georgia, the majority party in either chamber of the legislature has the upper hand in drafting and passing district maps with redrawn borders. Republicans have enjoyed a majority in both the 180-mem