To our readers: State Sen. Buddy Carter (R-Pooler) is reporting each week during the Legislative Session.
Day 34 (Monday, March 19): My week gets off to an inauspicious start today as I am running late and find that the streets around the Capitol have been closed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Georgia State Patrol. I am already late for House Rules, and as I sit in traffic outside the Capitol, I decide to pull over in a public parking space and run inside before I miss the meeting.
Out of breath from running down the street, I make it to the meeting before the committee adjourns only to find out that my bills from last week have not been placed on the list for consideration. It is definitely Monday morning!
After retrieving my truck and parking in my designated space, I make it to our morning caucus meeting where we review the 2012 tax reform package, one of our signature pieces of legislation this session that we will be voting on later this week. As we go into session early in the afternoon, we recognize six different groups before we pass four bills.
HB 39 seeks to discourage truancy among the students of the state’s education system by requiring that a school send a statement of attendance requirements by first class mail to a student’s parent after five unexcused days of absence without a response. HB 900 provides that, in order for a trailer to be scrapped, the owner must surrender the trailer’s certificate of title, while HB 868 amends existing incentives for job creation in Georgia. Although not on the agenda for today, HR 1162, the charter schools constitutional amendment that had been tabled after hours of debate a few weeks ago, is brought off the table and debated for over an hour again today. Persistence pays off today as HR 1162 passes by a vote of 40-16, easily surpassing the two-thirds majority needed for passage of a constitutional amendment.
After session we spend a full four-and-a-half hours in one of the most contentious and intense committee meetings I have ever experienced before finally passing HB 954, the fetal pain bill, out of Health and Human Services. As I leave at 8 p.m., I am exhausted but thankfully the traffic around the Capitol is better than it was at 8 a.m.
Day 35 (Tuesday, March 20):
As we go into session at 11:30 a.m., I am honored to have my good friend, Rev. Kenny Grant from Savannah, as our pastor of the day. We pass out five bills today, including HB 514 that authorizes licensed distillers to provide educational and promotional tours of distillery premises upon application to the commissioner of Agriculture. The tours may include limited free tasting of one-half ounce per person per day. Because this involves opening up the code section dealing with distilled spirits, a number of amendments are attempted to be added only to be defeated. As is always the case when a vote is taken relating to alcoholic beverages, cries of "liquor bill, liquor bill" can be heard being shouted in the chamber.
Also passed today is HB 1146, which establishes the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency and the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Services Board. It also transfers the Division of Rehabilitation Services from the Department of Labor to the Vocational Rehabilitation Agency.
Day 36 (Wednesday, March 21):
Our devotional today is led by one of our fellow members, Sen. Frank Ginn from Danielsville. Although I only met Sen. Ginn when he entered the Senate two years ago, I attended Young Harris College with two of his brothers, Candler and Charlie. In what was one of the most heartfelt and difficult devotions I have ever witnessed, Sen. Ginn recounted how he tragically lost his 10-year-old son in a four-wheeler accident weeks after he had announced he would run for the state Senate. After the horrible accident, he recounted how he had decided not to qualify to run only to change his mind when he discovered a letter his son had written days before his untimely death saying how proud he was of his father’s willingness to serve.
I present HB 897 on the floor today and explain how it amends language governing the Georgia Workforce Investment Board by deleting the term "Georgia Work Ready."
Other bills to pass today include HB 742, the FY13 budget, and HB 208 which repeals the provisions that allow a retired teacher to return to full-time service as a classroom teacher and continue to receive retirement benefits from the Teacher Retirement System.
Day 37 (Thursday, March 22):
After my usual House Rules and Republican Caucus meetings, we go into session at 10 a.m. We spend most of the morning debating HB 181, the Special Needs Scholarship, which requires local resident school systems to notify parents of disabled students that their child may be eligible for a scholarship and where additional information may be obtained. After a very emotional and controversial debate the bill passes.
After lunch, by a unanimous vote of 54-0, we pass HB 386, the 2012 tax reform package, one of the most significant pieces of legislation passed in many years and the signature piece of legislation for this session. It includes a three-year sales tax holiday for school supplies and energy-efficient products, significant reduction of the marriage penalty, elimination of the "birthday" tax and sales tax on motor vehicles, a tax exemption on energy used in manufacturing as well as an E-Fairness measure which will aid in the growth of local businesses.
This momentous piece of legislation is the culmination of three years work and makes us all, Democrats and Republicans, proud of our work at the Capitol.
