The governor has until May 7 to sign or veto legislation or allow it to take effect.
Insurance
SB 236 -Requires insurance providers to indicate any price increases in health insurance plans related to the Affordable Care Act.
HB 154 - Makes changes to worker’s compensation, including capping medical benefits for non-catastrophic injuries at 400 weeks and increasing the maximum weekly payout for a temporary total disability from $500 to $525.
HB 240 - Requires the Department of Community Health to ensure that the services provided by speech-language pathologists, who are clinical fellows licensed by the state, to be covered by Medicaid and PeachCare.
Judiciary
SB 86 - Allows law enforcement officers to arrest someone they have probable cause is violating a “family violence order” without a warrant.
SB 231 - Decreases the additional penalty on traffic fines from 5 percent to 1.5 percent, and establishes the sunset provision for the Georgia Driver’s Education Commission in 2016; it was set to expire this year.
Natural resources
SB 136 - Lowers the legal blood alcohol content from .10 to .08 for boating and hunting, and requires people ages 12-15 to complete boater education training prior to being able to operate a vessel. It requires life preservers for passengers under 13 on a moving vessel.
HB 36 - Makes the red drum fish a game fish and restricts commercial selling.
HB 207 - Allows DNR to regulate an additional week of open turkey season for children 16 and under and all mobility-impaired persons.
HB 226 - Require EPD-issued decals for used and scrap tire carriers, as well as lowering the amount of scrap tires that may be stored by a person in this state.
HB 402 - Allows the commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources to issue permission for projects of up to six months on protected coastlands and marshes if the project does not alter the natural topography of the protected area. It is intended for activities such as movie making.
Public safety
SB 122 - Allows legal noncitizen applicants who are applying for an extension to stay in the U.S. to be issued a 120-day temporary driving permit or ID card.
HB 407 - Increases the amount of time a person convicted of a second DUI must use an ignition interlock device from 6 months to one year.
HB 475 - Allows the Division of Driver Services to negotiate and enter into reciprocal agreements with another country that exempts the citizens of that country from taking the knowledge and on-the-road driving test as long as that person has a valid driver’s license issued by the foreign country. The other nation’s driving laws must be similar to Georgia’s to ensure safety and all applicants must be in the country legally.
Miscellaneous
SB 24 - Allows the Board of Community Health to continue to assess a fee to hospitals in order to obtain federal funds for Medicaid.
HB 99 - Allows home brewers to produce up to 100 gallons annually per person in the house up to 200 gallons.
HB 132 - Transfers administrative oversight of pharmacists and dentists from the Secretary of State to the Department of Community Health.
HB 517 - Allows alcohol to be sold within 100 yards of a college campus at a grocery store if permitted by the local government. The grocery store must have at least 85 percent of its space reserved for non-alcoholic retail.
HB 287 - Transfers the Division of Archives and History from the Secretary of State to the University System of Georgia.
If you would like additional information regarding a specific piece of legislation, you may access the Georgia General Assembly Web site at http://www.legis.ga.gov/.
I may be reached at
234 State Capitol, Atlanta, GA 30334
(404) 656-5038 (phone)
(404) 657-7092 (fax)
E-mail at Jack.Hill@senate.ga.gov
Or call toll-free at
1-800-367-3334 day or night
Reidsville office: (912) 557-3811
