ATLANTA --- Members of the General Assembly will spend long days trying to pass bills before a deadline Thursday.
Bills must be passed by the House or the Senate by the 30th day of the session or remain on hold until next year.
There have been 253 bills introduced in the Senate and 706 in the House, and only about 300 have come up for a vote.
"That means the next three legislative days will be hectic," said Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock.
Coming up in the Senate are:
- A bill to grant vouchers of about $5,000 in taxpayer funds to parents of public school students to pay for private school tuition
- A measure designed to require secret ballots when employees vote on whether to unionize
- A resolution urging the University System of Georgia's Board of Regents to establish a school for education majors at all four-year public colleges
- A bill to ease school transfers for troops' children
Topping the House agenda will be repeat votes on two measures dear to the Republican leadership that didn't get enough Democratic support in earlier attempts. One would double the statewide homestead exemption from $2,000 to $4,000 of a home's value. The second would cap property assessment increases at the inflation rate or 3 percent.
Also getting a House vote are:
- Gov. Sonny Mr. Perdue's "super speeder" legislation that would add $200 to fines for going more than 85 mph on interstates
- The reorganization of the Department of Human Resources, which puts oversight of mental health care into a separate agency
STATUS OF KEY BILLS
House Bill 39
Cigarette tax increase of $1 per pack
Status: House Ways and Means Committee
HOUSE BILL 118
Midyear adjustment to the current year's budget, including providing the $428 million Homeowners Tax Relief Grants to local government
Status: Passed House and Senate, in conference
HOUSE BILL 119
Fiscal-year 2010 budget, including Gov. Sonny Perdue's recommendation for a 1.6 percent tax on hospitals, 10 percent spending cuts and a $1.2 billion stimulus package
Status: House Appropriations Committee
HOUSE BILL 160
Mr. Perdue's "super speeder" bill to boost fines $200 for drivers exceeding 85 mph on interstates and 75 on other roads
Status: House Rules Committee, scheduled for House vote Monday
HOUSE BILL 233
Caps local property-tax assessments for two years at the current level or lower
Status: Conference committee
HOUSE BILL 277
Levies a 1 percent sales tax statewide for specified transportation projects over 10 years
Status: Passed House, Senate Finance Committee
HOUSE BILL 597
Extends the moratorium against storing treated surface water in the Floridan Aquifer
Status: House Natural Resources Committee
HOUSE BILL 605
Transfers state transportation construction from the Department of Transportation to the new State Transportation Authority
Status: House Transportation Committee
HOUSE RESOLUTION 1
Caps local assessments on property at 3 percent for residential, 4 percent commercial
Status: Won a majority in the House, but needs a second vote to gain the two-thirds majority needed as a constitutional amendment
SENATE BILL 16
Permits local voters to approve the sale of packaged alcohol on Sundays
Status: Withdrawn by sponsor
SENATE BILL 31
Allows Georgia Power Co. to charge customers the financing costs of nuclear plants before they begin operation
Status: Awaiting governor's signature
SENATE BILL 39
Constitutional amendment to allow counties to levy a 1 percent sales tax for transportation for projects of their choice, gutted in the House
Status: Passed Senate and House, in conference
SENATE BILL 83
Allows voters to decide to double the statewide homestead property tax exemption for residences from $2,000 to $4,000
Status: Passed the Senate, failed in the House but awaiting second vote
SENATE BILL 90
Establishes vouchers to use taxpayer funds for families to pay private school tuition
Status: Senate Rules Committee
SENATE BILL 101
Mr. Perdue's proposal to exempt makers of drugs and medical devices from product liability suits
Status: Defeated in Senate Special Judiciary Committee
SENATE BILL 108
Mr. Perdue's tort-reform bill to charge attorney fees to plaintiffs when a judge grant's a defendant's motion to dismiss. Gutted by the Senate Special Judiciary Committee.
Status: Senate Rules Committee
SENATE BILL 200
Transfers state transportation construction from the Department of Transportation to the new State Transportation Authority
Status: Passed the Senate, awaiting House committee assignment
SENATE RESOLUTION 44
Constitutional amendment to create a 1 percent special purpose local option sales tax for transportation
Status: Passed the Senate, in House Transportation Committee
SENATE RESOLUTION 453
Creates a commission to report the names of legislators who don't pay their taxes
Status: Defeated in the Senate
Source: Georgia General Assembly
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