ATLANTA --- Nothing is ever dead at the General Assembly until the last gavel has fallen on the final day, lawmakers and observers like to say.
But Tuesday is as close to a drop-dead date as you can get. It marks the 30th working day of the legislative session, or "Crossover Day," when a measure must pass either the House or Senate to have a chance for final approval this session.
Odds look slim for most of the pieces sponsored by Democrats. Many observers don't expect to see legislation pass from any of the Democrats who voted against a measure by House Speaker Glenn Richardson, R-Hiram, to abolish the property tax on automobiles and cap local government spending. It failed by 10 votes.
Here are some of the issues on the ropes:
TRAUMA CARE: For the second session in a row, lawmakers pledged to make funding for trauma care a priority. Shoring up trauma centers, which handle the most severely injured patients, could help save as many as 700 lives a year, supporters say.
But the defeat of Mr. Richardson's tax bill, which featured an annual $10 tag fee for trauma care, left lawmakers with few options. Bills that would use a $1 surcharge on phone bills, the state's relatively small portion of the property tax or a portion of proceeds from now-illegal coin-operated gambling machines are far from approval.
Gov. Sonny Perdue did propose $53 million in trauma care funding in a midyear spending bill, and lawmakers could again set aside some money in the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. That would still leave trauma care without a dedicated source of funding, though.
EQUALIZATION GRANTS: Mr. Perdue, trying to trim rapid growth in a program meant to provide financial help to schools with low per capita property values, has pushed the General Assembly to revamp the formula for divvying up the funds.
Mr. Perdue wants to include personal income as a factor in the formula to restrain the growth of suburban communities, whose share of the funds has increased as property value growth slowed.
But that has run into deep resistance in the House, where the districts of lawmakers such as Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin, R-Evans, would be affected. The governor's proposal hasn't even made it out of committee.
SUNDAY ALCOHOL SALES: Proposals to allow the sale of beer and wine have been relatively lifeless this year, with the exception of a measure to allow beer sales at a new ballpark for an Atlanta Braves minor league affiliate moving to Gwinnett County.
Lawmakers will likely look for a bill that could serve as a "vehicle" to carry the Sunday sales provision through. But House lawmakers are hesitant to be the first to act as reiterated this week by Majority Leader Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons Island.
"We will vote on it," Mr. Keen said. "We will put it on the floor. I can't tell you what will happen."
Reach Brandon Larrabee at (678) 977-3709 or brandon.larrabee@morris.com.
ON THE BUBBLE
- A House measure that would compensate billboard owners when they have to move their signs, which critics say could cripple local governments' power to regulate the signs.
- A proposal that would allow residents in some school districts to elect their school superintendents instead of leaving it up to the local school board.
IN THE WORKS: Key House and Senate members said they are close to a deal on transportation funding that would allow voters to approve local sales tax increases to pay for road projects.
FATE UNKNOWN: It's unclear whether the House will endorse a much-debated plan that passed the Senate to curb obesity by requiring Georgia students to weigh in twice a year.
Some Republicans who oppose the plan have labeled it a "nanny state" bill. HOSPITAL FIGHT: Georgia hospitals are pushing hard to keep the state from backing a Senate bill allowing a Chicago-based cancer treatment center to bypass traditional regulations so it may open a 50-bed treatment center in Georgia.
-- Associated Press
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