Georgia's House of Representatives Thursday is racing against the clock to finish work on numerous key pieces of legislation, covering everything from abortion to illegal immigration to unemployment benefits.
Thursday is Sine Die, which traditionally marks the final day of the 40-day legislative session. They can work until midnight, and usually do on the last day.
Stay tuned for updates throughout the day.
11:31 p.m.
People who apply for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, a type of welfare, will be subject to random drugs tests under House Bill 861. The bill will become law if Gov. Nathan Deal signs it.
Abortion bill passes
House Bill 954, which puts new restrictions on abortions, cutting the time for elective abortions from 26 to 20 weeks, among other things passes 106-95 and will be on the way to Gov. Nathan Deal for signing into law.
11:18 p.m.
Hard times for Georgia’s unemployed are about to get harder.
The Legislature voted last night to cut the length of time that Georgians who have lost their jobs from 26 weeks to as little as 14 weeks and a maximum of 20 weeks.
House Bill 347 will also increase the amount of money that employers will pay in unemployment insurance.
The bill was necessary because Georgia borrowed $757.3 million from the federal government to pay unemployment after it drained its unemployment trust fund. The federal government will begin charging the state to pay back the loan if Georgia does not act.
The battle in Georgia was to determine who should pay the loan back and rebuild the state trust fund: businesses or the unemployed.
According to estimates from the state Department of Labor, the reduction in benefits to the unemployed will cost about $160 million in a calendar year, and employer increases in payments will amount to $105 million.
11:03 p.m.
The House approved a compromise bill that is intended to make it harder to sell stolen metal.
HB 872 eliminates cash payments to metal sellers, but gone from the bill is a provision that would have required a 14-day waiting period for metal sellers to receive their payment.
Now the payment, either through a check, electronic funds transfer or voucher, may be provided at the point of sale. The bill also prevents metal sellers from cashing the checks or redeeming the vouchers onsite, or installing any machines to do the transactions.
The Senate approved the bill earlier Thursday night, 50-0.
- Janel Davis
10:21 p.m.
People living in the Brookhaven area will get to vote on whether or not to incorporate. House Bill 636 could establish a 5-member city council to oversee the city, if residents choose to create a new city.
10:12 p.m.
The House amended a bill that would make assisting someone in committing a suicide a felony.
House Bill 1114 follows a Georgia Supreme Court decision that struck down the state's previous assisted-suicide law as unconstitutional.
The bill now goes back to the Senate, where lawmakers have less than two hours to act on it.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, sponsored the bill and has said it won't impact typical end-of-life medical decisions, such as withholding food in terminal cases.
9:30 p.m.
Georgia's public schools would be graded under a system that considers student success and the progress teachers make in closing test score gaps that exist among different groups of students. The House approved Senate Bill 410 by a 94-67 vote.
State schools Superintendent John Barge and some state education groups lobbied against assigning schools letter grades. The bill’s sponsor, Senate President Pro Tem Tommie Williams, R-Lyons, said the grading system would address conditions set by federal officials when they granted Georgia a waiver from No Child Left Behind. The waiver means Georgia schools will no longer be required to have all students proficient in math and reading by 2014.
The bill advances to Gov. Nathan Deal.
7:40 p.m.
The House Rules Committee pretty well guts Sen. David Balfour's picketing bill. Balfour, the Snellville Republican, introduced the bill to outlaw union picketing in front of executives homes. That drew barbs from the left and right who were concerned about trampling on free speech rights and unconstitutionally targeting unions.
6:09 p.m.
Speaker David Ralston, upon a move by Rep. Doug McKillip, R-Athens, appoints a conference committee to work out the abortion bill. House Bill 954 would criminalize abortions beyond 20 weeks, but the Senate changes some of the provisions to allow abortions after that time for a fetus that is not "viable." Conference committee members from both chambers will try to come to a compromise.
Ralston refused to appoint a conference committee Tuesday, saying he did not think the Senate was serious about passing a bill that would save lives. Senate leadership rejected Ralston's assertion and asked him to make the appointments.
5:48 p.m.
Georgia's open record laws have been revised and will become law if Gov. Nathan Deal signs off on the legislation.
Attorney General Sam Olens worked since last year to get this legislation passed, working with local governments, state governments and media to try to find a balance for the laws. The bill will keep secret the economic development incentives the state offers large development projects until after the company commits to Georgia. The exemption does not apply to local development authorities.
Other provisions in House Bill 397 are more severe penalties for government officials breaking the sunshine laws, and the bill provides new exemptions for some gatherings of governing bodies, such as when a quorum of members attend the same civic function and helps clarify what board and council members can and cannot do when meeting in executive session.
5:20 p.m.
Gov. Nathan Deal enters the House, thanks the members for their work and leaves.
5:17 p.m.
Special needs school voucher gets tweaked, approved and will be on its way to the governor.
Some families with special needs children would be excused from sending their child to a public school for one year in order to receive a voucher to attend a private school, under action the House took shortly after 5 p.m.
The prior year attendance waiver to House Bill 181 was first approved by the Senate and the House agreed to the change. The State Board of Education will decide on a case-by-case basis whether to grant these waivers. Decisions will be based on the students' specific medical needs.
3:09 p.m.
The House agreed to the amendments the Senate made to House Bill 797, which outlines how to fund charter schools created by the state if a constitutional amendment is approved.
The amendment goes before voters in November. It clarifies state law after a May ruling from the state Supreme Court outlawed the Georgia Charter Schools Commission. The court ruled that the commission was illegally creating charter schools over the objection of school districts.
3:07 p.m.
House Bill 456, which creates a sunset committee to review state agencies, committees and boards for efficiency is passed. The committee would recommend the agencies be abolished if they find its work redundant, inefficient or not needed. The General Assembly would have to pass legislation doing away with the agency and makes sure its duties and responsibilities are taken over by another branch of government.
3:03 p.m.
Rep. Jay Powell's House Bill 811, which would make state government spend money from fees, such as the $1 per tire fee, on the programs they are supposed to rather than spent on other programs, is in contention. The Senate changed to bill to make Georgia collect more than $1 billion in the rainy day fund before making the state spend the money where it is supposed to be spent. Powell asks for a conference committee to work out a compromise on the bill.
8:17 a.m.
Lawmakers have begun to take their seats in the House chamber. One picked up the thick stack of unresolved bills on his desk, held it aloft, regarded its heft and then dropped it, letting it thud on his desk.
9:33 a.m.
House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, has entered the chamber and is shaking hands with fellow lawmakers. It appears the day's House session is about to begin. House clerk Robert Rivers and fellow aides are in place, though many lawmakers are still mingling.
9:38 a.m.
Ralston has asked House members to take their seats so the session can begin. The clerk is ringing the bell to alert representatives.
"All members will report to the floor of the House. We are about to have the morning roll call," Ralston announced.
148 House members signaled they are present.
"Somebody told me today is day 40. Is that true?" Ralston said to applause. "We only thought it wasn't getting here."
Then Ralston got choked up when he wished the best for Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, and other lawmakers who will not be returning to the House after this session. Collins is running for Georgia's 9th congressional seat.
"I am going to be honored to call him my congressman soon," Ralston said of Collins. "But most of all I am very honored to call him my friend."
Speaking as the House's guest pastor of the day, Collins -- a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserves -- told his fellow lawmakers to never lose the "awe" of serving in the Legislature.
"Dream big," he said in his emotional goodbye. "Don't let the song die within you." He quoted some scripture and then said: "Stay on offense and never quit." He then referred to fellow lawmakers by name and thanked them.
"We have a great day ahead," he said. "If you haven't heard it this morning, you are loved -- because this representative loves you."
10 a.m.
The House has finished its morning prayer and Pledge of Allegiance and has set to work. Ralston is now referring bills to committee. Lawmakers are lining up to say goodbye to Collins.
10:10 a.m.
The House is now taking up local legislation. All of those bills passed.
10:14 a.m.
Ralston then introduced veteran Rep. Bob Hanner, R-Parrott, to speak. Like Collins, Hanner said goodbye.
"It's hard to put into words how much I appreciate and how much I cherish the friendships that I have made in this body," he said. "For you new members, one day you will understand exactly what I am talking about."
Hanner received a standing ovation.
10:45 a.m.
House members rose to applaud Rep. Amos Amerson, R-Dahlonega, who is retiring from the Legislature.
10:48 a.m.
Rep. Chuck Sims, R-Ambrose, rose to read a Dr. Seuss-esque poem about the 16 representatives who will not be returning to the House.
"Alas, we have 16 that will leave our happy abode," Sims said. "They have all been here a long time. They have been on many travels and many roads."
10:57 a.m.
The House just gave Rep. Lynmore James, D-Montezuma, a standing ovation. He is retiring from the House.
"My doctor told me, ‘Lynmore, take it easy for a few days. Don't get upset. Don't get confused,'" James said. "I am going to respect what my doctor had to say. So, Mr. Speaker, if you don't mind I will hang around here for a little while and I will ease out that door really quietly and nobody will know I am gone. And if I am ever in the Atlanta area, I will come back by.. and instead of saying bye I will come back and say hi. I thank you all for what you have done."
11:16 a.m.
Rep. Joe Heckstall, D-East Point, has risen to deliver an emotional -- and sometimes funny -- speech about his bitterness over racism, his redemption and his plans to retire from the House. He apologized to some fellow legislators for once calling them racists. He then talked about growing up amid racism in New York City, the son of a single mother.
"I don't even know who my father is," Heckstall said. "Mr. Speaker, maybe you and I have such an affinity -- maybe you are my father. I don't know. God forbid."
Heckstall is black. Ralston, who is white, deadpanned: "Don't let the resemblance trick you, OK?"
Heckstall elicited laughter early in his speech when he mistakenly -- or maybe not mistakenly -- said he wanted to "spank" -- instead of "thank" -- House Majority Leader Larry O'Neal, R-Warner Robins.
"That perhaps was a Freudian slip I will never be able to live down," Heckstall joked.
Heckstall concluded by urging Republicans and Democrats in the House to get to know each other better.
"I thank you for this wonderful journey," he said. "I leave with love."
11:50 a.m.
Rep. Roger Williams, R-Dalton, is saying farewell. He plans to retire from the House.
"Serving in this House has been the most wonderful and humbling experience in my life," he said before receiving a standing ovation.
12:01 p.m.
The House disagreed with a Senate substitute to House Bill 347. The House version would cut state unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to as little as 12 weeks, impose a week of waiting before getting the benefits and raise the amount businesses pay for unemployment insurance. The Senate's substitute legislation has not been explained on the House floor.
12:17 p.m.
Rep. Stephanie Benfield, D-Atlanta, rose to speak to the chamber and quoted Kenny Rogers, saying: "You got to know when to fold ‘em." The daughter of a former congressman, Benfield said farewell to the House. She said she will be taking over as executive director of an environmental nonprofit organization.
"I think it's important to leave politics on your own terms," she said.
12:27 p.m.
Ralston just announced the House will be in recess until 2 p.m. The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet at 1:55 p.m.
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