In home stretch, lawmakers ask: What's left?

By Aaron Gould Sheinin

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia lawmakers can almost count the time left in the 2010 session in hours rather than days, but that doesn't mean there isn't heavy lifting yet to do.

Top lawmakers were optimistic Monday that the final gavel of the year will fall in daylight hours on Thursday, instead of at the traditional stroke of midnight. But that makes Tuesday all the more important.

Lawmakers convene at 10 a.m. Tuesday for Day 39 of the 40-day legislative session. There are 51 bills on the Senate's agenda for the day and 18 for the House, although more bills are likely to be added to the House's workload.

Still, the only thing legislators absolutely have to do before they leave for the year is the 2011 budget. The $17.8 billion spending plan that takes effect July 1 is currently stuck in conference committee, where House and Senate negotiators have been working through their differences. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans) said Monday that there is still work to be done.

"I'm going right now to meet with the speaker and we'll see," Harbin said, referring to House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge).

Harbin said budget negotiators are next scheduled to meet at noon Tuesday.

While the appropriations act is the only thing the law requires lawmakers to do, it won't be the only thing done this week.

"There may be one or two more," Ralston said Monday.

The House cleared most of its plate in a marathon session last week, leaving it time to tackle other issues this week, House Republican Caucus Chairwoman Donna Sheldon (R-Dacula) said.

"Other than the budget, anything from here on out is icing on the cake," Sheldon said.

Among the major topics that could still come up this week are:

• Abortion. SB 529 would make it a crime to coerce a woman to have an abortion. The bill has passed the Senate and a House committee. It must be approved by the Rules Committee before making it to the House floor. The Georgia chapter of the NAACP on Monday rescinded its endorsement of the bill, which would bar physicians from performing abortions in cases where the fetus has been targeted because of race or gender.

• Massage therapists. SB 364 is meant to crack down on sex parlors operating as massage parlors, spas and tanning facilities in Macon. That city has about 25, more per capita than Atlanta, San Francisco and Washington, said Sen. Cecil Staton, the bill’s author and a Macon Republican. The bill is scheduled to be debated on the House floor.

• Teacher pay. SB 521 would tie student performance to teacher evaluations. It is on the schedule for debate on the House floor.

• Texting while driving. HB 23 would make it illegal to use a wireless device to talk or text while driving. The bill is scheduled to be on the Senate floor Tuesday.