Friday, March 04, 2011
Legislative Calendar
Monday, March 7, will be day 25 of the General Assembly’s 40-day working session. Legislators are scheduled to meet Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday next week.
Bills of Interest
To read any of these bills in their entirety or see the list of other bills being tracked by the Georgia Chamber, please visit our website at www.gachamber.com.
Immigration
HB 87 was passed by the House of Representatives along a largely party-line vote of 113-56. The bill authorizes state and local law enforcement to check the citizenship status of certain suspects, establishes penalties for those who harbor illegal immigrants and those who use fake identification to get work, and requires private employers to use the E-verify system. A similar measure, SB 40, passed in committee this week as well. The Georgia Chamber is continuing to work with legislators to ensure that what is ultimately passed does not place an undue burden on business and indemnifies companies who follow the law in good faith.
Water
SB 122 was overwhelmingly passed by the Senate by a vote of 46-1 on Wednesday. This bill would allow the creation of public-private partnerships to fund and construct water supply and treatment projects – giving state and local governments a viable option to keep much-needed projects moving forward. This bill has been identified as a scorecard issue by the Georgia Chamber.
HOPE
Governor Deal’s proposal to sustain the HOPE scholarship program, HB 326, passed the House of Representatives this week by a vote of 152-22, and passed Senate committee earlier today. The Georgia Chamber supports this proposal as the scholarship program is an important economic development tool that is helping our state develop a strong pipeline of qualified employees.
Civil Justice
HB 24 was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 162-5. This bill addresses a long-standing Georgia Chamber priority to modernize Georgia’s current rules of evidence, which have not been updated since 1868, and make them more consistent with federal standards.
Economic Development
HB 48, sponsored by Rep. Jay Powell (Camilla), would expand the existing local option to exempt, in part or whole, business inventory from taxation. The Georgia Chamber has long supported a repeal of the local level inventory tax. This bill would provide an appropriate option for local governments to remove this onerous tax, attracting new business and helping existing business grow throughout the state.
SB 151, sponsored by Sen. Tim Golden (Valdosta), was passed by Senate committee. This legislation would mitigate the pending surcharge increase on employers associated with unemployment insurance taxes. The current rate of 35% is scheduled to increase to 100% on January 1, 2012, and this bill would cap the increase at 50%. The Georgia Chamber has taken a support position on this bill, as it will reduce burdensome costs on employers.
