Legislative Session Newsletter: February 16, 2022
What Happened Last Week
Monday, February 7 marked the start of the fifth week of the 2022 legislative session. Each day of the week grew increasingly longer as more legislation made its way to the House floor, including the bill for the Amended Fiscal Year (AFY) 2022 budget. Not only was this week filled with debates on legislation in the House Chamber and in our committees, but Chief Justice David Nahmias of the Supreme Court of Georgia also delivered the annual State of the Judiciary address in the House Chamber.
[link removed] [[link removed]]On Monday, the House passed both HB 826 and HB 840 to call for referendums on the cities of Lost Mountain and Vinings. As the only member of the body that represents the proposed city of Vinings, I rose to speak against HB 840 – you can watch my remarks here [[link removed]] .
Wednesday was a committee workday full of action:

My bill, HB 1003, received a hearing in the Life & Health Insurance Subcommittee. This legislation is all about protecting Georgia families from unnecessary contract disputes brought on by insurance carriers. Patients trust us to hold insurance providers to their word, and this bill keeps providers from early expiration or forcing renegotiation of contracts at the expense of patients. Making sure quality, affordable healthcare is accessible to all Georgians isn’t just about Medicaid expansion, it’s about a comprehensive approach to a healthy Georgia. This legislation is another avenue to stand up for Georgians in the fight for healthcare.
Call to action: I encourage you to email or call Insurance Committee Chairman Lumsden to urge him to give HB 1003 a full committee hearing.
Phone Number: (404) 656-7850

Email: [email protected]
The House Committee on Judiciary Non-Civil Smith Subcommittee passed SB 226 which aims to ban “obscene material” in schools. This bill will now move on to the full Judiciary Committee.

The Governmental Affairs Committee passed both HB 1028 and HB 1154 out of committee - the Republican gerrymandered Cobb Board of Education and Board of Commissioners maps. This committee also passed SB 369 which would make all Gwinnett School Board elections non-partisan.



On Thursday, the proposed city of Mableton received a subcommittee hearing. This bill now awaits a full committee hearing to vote on the measure. In the Senate, they passed HB 841 to call for a referendum on the proposed city of East Cobb. This bill is now headed to the Governor’s desk for signature. The referendum is scheduled for the May 24th primary election date.
On Friday, the House voted on and passed the Amended Fiscal Year (AFY) 2022 budget. The AFY 2022 budget is set at $29.8 billion, and this amended budget will allow the state to utilize about $2.6 billion in new funds before the current fiscal year ends in July.
Over the weekend, the Buckhead Cityhood movement was effectively killed for this legislative session when Republican leadership shared their opposition to this effort [[link removed]] .
[link removed] [[link removed]]Bipartisan Legislation That We Passed This Week:
House Bill 56 [[link removed]] , which would provide an additional superior court judge in the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit;
House Bill 263 [[link removed]] , which would allow for an updated mortality table to be used when determining the amount of retirement benefits of survivors of deceased probate judges;
House Bill 412 [[link removed]] , which would create the Georgia Behavior Analyst Licensing Board, set the operating standards for the board and include licensing requirements for applicants for a behavior analyst license;
House Bill 430 [[link removed]] , which would revise the definition of "advanced nursing practice" to include clinical nurse specialists and contains the educational or certification requirements, amend the definition of "advanced practice registered nurse" (APRN) to include several nursing specialties, provide eligibility requirements for licensing of APRNs and renewal requirements for licenses;
House Bill 780 [[link removed]] , which would transfer all full-time state-wide business court judges from the Judicial Retirement System to the Employees' Retirement System starting July 1, 2022;
House Bill 891 [[link removed]] , which would act as the annual housekeeping bill for sections of Georgia’s code that relate to banking and finance;
House Bill 899 [[link removed]] , which would help phase out the use of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) formula as the predominant interest-rate average and, instead, would allow a recommended benchmark formula replacement for any contract, security or instrument that uses LIBOR;
House Bill 1011 [[link removed]] , which would remove the permit requirement for low-speed vehicles to use an amber strobe light and clarify that permits for emergency vehicles to operate flashing or revolving emergency lights would be valid for five years from the date of issuance;
House Bill 1045 [[link removed]] , which would revise the year from 2022 to 2026 at which the required contribution rate for new or newly covered employers to make into unemployment insurance increases from 2.64 percent of wages to 2.7 percent of wages, as well as change the dissolution date of the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund;
House Bill 1049 [[link removed]] , which would add two members to the State Board of Long-Term Care Facility Administrators and increase the number of board members who are nursing home, personal care home or assisted living community administrators, bringing the total number of board members to 11 after June 30, 2022;
House Bill 1055 [[link removed]] , which would increase the defined weight limit for an “all-terrain vehicle” from 2,500 pounds to 3,500 pounds.
What's Happening This Week
We are back in session this week Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday with a Committee Workday on Wednesday. On Monday the House passed Republican proposed Cobb County local redistricting maps. These bills will now be taken up in the Senate.
Bills to watch this session:
HB888 [[link removed]] , HB1084, [[link removed]] SB377 [[link removed]] & SB375 [[link removed]] - Attacking Our School Curriculum
HB60 [[link removed]] - Private School Vouchers
SB226 [[link removed]] - Removing Books from Libraries
SB319 [[link removed]] - "Constitutional Carry Act"
SB345 [[link removed]] - Undermining the COVID-19 Vaccine
We are back at the State Capitol for another packed week under the Gold Dome. While this session is getting busier by the day, one of my top priorities will remain connecting with my constituents to hear your feedback about the work we are doing in Atlanta. I encourage you to reach out if you have any questions or concerns regarding legislation that has been discussed or passed so far. You can reach my Capitol office at 404-656-0109, or you can email me directly at [email protected].
As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as your state representative and legislative voice here at the Capitol.
Volunteer [[link removed]]
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