Legislative Day 40 is a roller coaster, full of ups, downs, and zero gravity turns (also known as conference committee reports). One goes from celebrating a bill achieving final passage to lamenting a measure being gutted...more
3/29/2024
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It was a hurry-up-and-wait on the penultimate day of the 2024 Georgia legislative session. Each chamber went through fits and starts throughout the day on Tuesday, with cycles of advancing a flurry of legislation and special...more
3/27/2024
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Legislative Day 38 provided more healthcare drama than an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Just hours before the Senate’s committee action deadline on Thursday, a bipartisan group of Senators made a last-minute run at advancing...more
3/22/2024
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Senate committee meetings continue under the Gold Dome as this report is published on Wednesday. With the Senate’s requirement that bills pass out of committee before the chamber convenes for Legislative Day 38, legislators...more
3/22/2024
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Tort Reform
Christmas in March? Yes, if you are a lawmaker (particularly a Senator), you are likely to be getting all sorts of presents. Committees trimmed trees from morning till evening on Tuesday while the chambers were in...more
3/20/2024
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Vaping
The General Assembly reconvened for Legislative Day 36 on Monday with lawmakers and lobbyists hoping to keep a little luck of the Irish going into the penultimate week of the legislative session. With only four legislative...more
3/19/2024
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Tax Tribunal
Thursday may be the new Friday of the legislative work week, but lawmakers weren’t content to knock off early and ease into St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Instead, both chambers took up high-profile, controversial legislation...more
3/15/2024
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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas under the Gold Dome. December 25 may be nine months away, but Christmas trees are appearing everywhere. The most prominent bill so far passed out of the House Education Committee on...more
3/14/2024
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The Georgia General Assembly gaveled back in on Monday, and the rapping in the House had a different but eerily familiar tone. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the late Speaker Tom Murphy’s birth, Speaker Jon Burns dusted...more
3/12/2024
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Friday marked the end of what felt like the longest week in legislative history — and the beginning of a three-week sprint to Legislative Day 40. While most lawmakers and lobbyists are eager for adjournment sine die, it...more
3/12/2024
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The Georgia House of Representatives took up a veritable smorgasbord of legislation on Thursday. From the establishment of a license plate commemorating America’s semiquincentennial (SB 369), to allowing lifetime appointment...more
3/11/2024
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Show us the money! In an early morning meeting on Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee and its subcommittees unveiled the House version of the FY 2025 Budget. While there are many goodies in the $36.1 billion spending...more
3/6/2024
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While legislators and lobbyists continued to nurse the hangover of Crossover Day, the most unlikely of events unfolded in the Georgia State Senate on Monday. Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) awarded the...more
3/5/2024
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Legislators worked late into the night on Thursday to ensure legislation made the Crossover Day deadline. This #GoldDomeReport offers a recap of all the measures that passed out of the House and Senate and live on to seek...more
3/4/2024
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Taxation
Thursday carried several distinctions under the Gold Dome. It was Leap Day, the quadrennial opportunity to celebrate those born on Feb. 29. It was Crossover Day, the day we all have to explain to our significant others each...more
3/1/2024
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There may be a calm before most storms, but there certainly isn’t one before Crossover Day in the Georgia General Assembly. Contrary to the popular idiom, House members spent late Tuesday and Wednesday pleading, cajoling,...more
2/29/2024
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State Legislatures
No time for fun and games today — the Georgia House and Senate were all business on the final legislative day before Crossover. Each chamber took up numerous weighty issues with vigorous debate but, fortunately, no broken...more
2/28/2024
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The Georgia General Assembly kicked off Crossover Week on Monday, intensifying the mad dash for legislators and lobbyists working to ensure their bills pass their origin chamber and live to see Legislative Day 29. Expect...more
2/27/2024
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The Georgia State Capitol hallways and hoppers continued to overflow on Thursday. Law Enforcement Day at the Capitol converged with an onslaught of hundreds of charter school students to fill the People’s House with Georgians...more
2/23/2024
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Lawmakers worked long and hard today, moving many proposals out of various committees as the clock ticks closer to Crossover Day on February 29. The chambers’ floors were no different. It proved to be Veterans Day in the...more
Take a deep breath — this week is going to be a doozy. With Crossover Day looming just nine days away, committees shifted into high gear on Tuesday as legislators scrape and claw to get their bills and resolutions on track...more
2/21/2024
/ Domestic Violence ,
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There was a sigh that could be heard throughout the third floor of the Georgia State Capitol on Friday as lawmakers worked hastily through their committee discussions and rules calendars. This activity was despite technology...more
2/19/2024
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State Legislatures
With Valentine’s Day out of the way, legislators returned to work on Thursday. But that doesn't mean there was monotony under the Gold Dome. To the contrary, legislators and lobbyists celebrated Lunar New Year Day at the...more
Amidst the madness of the legislative session, it is important to pause and appreciate the melting pot that is the Georgia General Assembly. For example, already this week, there has been legislation introduced to designate...more
It appears that cornbread and biscuit lovers can live in harmony after all. Perhaps in an early Valentine’s gift to each other, dissenting factions in the Georgia House of Representatives came together on Friday to pass two...more