Immigration bill passes, discussion continues as legislation flies in last hours

More than 22,000 Georgians who were in danger of losing extended unemployment benefits beginning in June will continue to receive them thanks to last minute action by the Legislature. "There was some opposition, but we've done the right things for Georgians," said Sen. Hardie Davis, D-Augusta. Davis and a bipartisan group of legislators got the work done to save the benefits less than 40 minutes before the General Assembly closed shop for the session.Legislators had failed to tweak Georgia law to match federal eligibility guidelines for long-term unemployment, and no bill was introduced to do so during this session. There was some opposition to the extension from Senate President Pro Tem Tommie Williams, R-Lyons. Williams supported his position with studies that show that extended benefits often cause the unemployed go longer without jobs because they would rather receive federal checks rather than take jobs below wages they want. "Studies have shown the longer and higher the unemployment benefits, the higher the unemployment rates are," he said. "Instead of incentivizing unemployment, we ought to be focusing on incentivzing employers to hire more people ." However, both Republicans and Democrats attached an amendment fixing the discrepancy in the law onto House Bill 500, which deals with state employment readiness centers. The extended benefits, which average about $244 a week in the state, kick in for 20 weeks after a recipient has used up 79 weeks of unemployment.

11:31 p.m. School funding will get a closer look

The House and Senate have approved a bill creating a study committee to look at how public education is funded in Georgia. House Bill 192, which just won final passage in the Senate by a vote of  44-0, will put the Quality Basic Education Act under the microscope. QBE is the law that established the state's funding formula for public schools.

11:16 p.m. Bad drivers beware

A bill is headed to the desk of the governor aimed at cars that pass school buses. Senate Bill 57 would allow school systems to install video cameras on their school buses with the intent to catch motorists who don't stop for the buses. The driver would then get a ticket in the mail for the offense. Senate Bill 57 has just won final approval at 11:16 p.m. by a vote of 38 to 8.

10:50 p.m. Cold medicines

Cold medicines: SB 93 would add more rules for buying pseudoephedrine -- used for cold and allergy symptoms but also a main ingredient for cooking meth. They will be behind the counter and buyers will have to sign for them.

10:48 p.m. Still at work:

Senate agrees to a conference committee report on House Bill 117. The bill will generate $115 million for the state's Medicaid program by drawing down matching federal funds, said Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, who squired the bill through the Senate.

10:38 p.m. Sunset bill gets late conference committee

SB 223 which would create a sunset committee, which studies state offices and eliminates those that are redundant, gets a last-minute assignment to a conference committee, made up of Senate and House members which must hammer out differences they have on the bill.

10:25 p.m. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle calls the Senate back to order.

10:20 p.m. Hamburgers

Sen. Ross Tolleson, R-Perry, who apparently has a taste for early morning cheeseburgers, is absent from his desk and Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, has piled 19 cheeseburgers on Tolleson's desk.

10 p.m. Senate takes a breather

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has just called for a short break in the action. He's told senators to take 10 minutes to stretch their legs. The 40-day session is within a couple hours of ending.

9:45 p.m. Frenzied pace continues:

The Senate is abuzz with guests lining the walls of the chamber and bills moving at a hectic pace. One recent vote sends a contentious bill to the desk of the governor that deals with the DeKalb and Atlanta school boards. With Senate Bill 79 receiving passage, the governor will have the power to remove all members of the troubled Atlanta school board and the DeKalb County school board will be cut from nine to seven members. It still requires approval of the U.S. Justice Department and Atlanta area lawmakers have already threatened to bring a federal lawsuit as a result of its passage. The bill sets up a two-step process by which all nine members of the Atlanta Board of Education could be removed by the governor after a hearing before the state Board of Education in July.

9:32 p.m. Assisted living bill passes

House Bill 178  creates a new assisted living designation for facilities with 25 beds or more. While those facilities wouldn’t be allowed to do as much as nursing homes could, they could have medication aides on staff who could give residents pills and insulin shots, which isn’t allowed today. And the rules would permit residents to stay even if they need some assistance getting around, as long as the facility has enough staff to keep its residents safe during a fire or other kind of emergency.

About 9 p.m.

Senate Bill 240 creates a new class of personal transportation vehicles, commonly referred to as golf carts, that go no faster than 20 mph and weigh less than 1,375 pounds. It is designed to set a standard for jurisdictions that may choose to implement golf cart ordinances and allow residents to use them on residential streets and multiuse paths, such as those in Peachtree City.

8:23 p.m. Sen Horacena Tate and other Atlanta legislators are arguing against allowing the governor to remove public school officials.

8:16 p.m. A marriage proposal

Travis Loudermilk, the son of Sen. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, proposes to Sarah Redwine under the Capitol dome, and Miss Redwine says yes.

8:05 Sen. Vince Fort, D-Atlanta, takes the well and talks.

Fort says removing people legally elected could create a conflict with the Voting Rights Act.

7:59 p.m. Senate Bill 79, which deals with giving the governor power to remove Atlanta Public School Board members is up for discussion.

The Senate is talking about whether to try to strip those powers from the bill or not.

7:54: Deal gives short, postive speech to senators

Gov. Nathan Deal took a light tone as he came to say good-bye to senators. He brought a wrestling belt said he thought senators, who have fought their own battles this session, "would appreciate it." He thanked them for their cooperation in his first legislative session since being elected governor. And he promised them a warm welcome when they return Aug. 15 for a special session on redistricting.

7:52 p.m. Deal gives speech to Senate

As is tradition, Gov. Nathan Deal is in the Senate to say farewell to lawmakers.

After 6 p.m. Last chance for extended unemployment benefits in Georgia.

The House and Senate have named a conference committee to discuss differences on HB 500. It is a bill that deals with support for unemployment readiness centers in Georgia.  Supporters of extending unemployment checks hope to amend the bill so that  more than 22,000 Georgians will not lose unemployment benefits beginning in June.

5:57 p.m. Senate passes the immigration bill. It goes back to the House for approval or assignment to a conference committee.

5:38 p.m. Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, questions Carter about his "police state" remarks.

Carter replies that the bill as proposed could put a church bus driver in jeopardy for transporting someone who was an illegal immigrant, for instance.

5:30 p.m. Sen. Jason Carter, D-Decatur, is in the well.

Carter has asked for an amendment that puts back into the bill a stipulation that would prevent police from asking people for their immigration status during run-ins that would not end up with the person  in jail, such as traffic stops. He wants to limit those police powers to those stopped or arrested for felonies. He refers stringent requirements to as establishing a police state that will end up with legal immigrants being stopped and questioned and possibly jailed.

5:28 p.m. Sen. Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, is in the well.

Thanks the senators and representatives who have taken a lead on the immigration bill.

"The United States allows more people to immigrate into our nation than any other nation on earth. We have nothing to apologize for," he said.

But there is a process in place to allow that to happen legally, he said.

We should not use inflamatory terms, like hate, he said, referring to remarks from Democrats earlier that said fear and hate were stoking public some of the support for this bill.

5:14 p.m. Sen. Curt Thompson, D-Tucker, takes the well.

Thompson, an attorney, said the bill seems ripe for constitutional challenges because of supposed violations of people's rights the bill could precipitate. He asked that the bill be sent to a conference committee, where differences can be worked out.

4:45 p.m. Sen Renee Unterman, R-Buford, takes the well.

Talks about the diversity of Gwinnett County, a magnet for immigrants in Georgia. Unterman said people call her complaining about not being able to get into local emergency rooms because of the number of illegal immigrants waiting for treatment. That costs the hospital money because many patients are not paying their bills.

"My taxpayers are having to foot the bill and they are very, very angry," Unterman said.

She wanted the federal verification program for workers applied to every employer, not just those with more than 10 employees, she said. Unterman says she is surprised that Democrats insist on not checking national identity if a person is arrested for a misdemeanor.

4:35 p.m. Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta, takes the well.

"We hear from business please don't do this to us," she says. And she argues that workers who are here legally will be affected by more stringent stipulations.

This bill "insists on demonizing people of brown skin," she said.

This bill will encourage racial profiling, kill jobs and give Georgia a bad name, Orrock said, and she added "We should send this bill back to the House and insist,"  they adopt the bill the Senate sent over earlier.

4:30 Sen. Vince Fort, D-Atlanta takes the well to speak.

Complains that stipulations in the bill were stripped out that would limit police stopping and questioning people about their citizenship only if the person is committing a felony.

"Our fellow citizens who are here legally will be stopped on the highways and byways...of this state," Fort said.

4:15 p.m. Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, takes the well to speak.

Albers reminds the Senate that the nation is a nation of laws, and that illegal immigrants are breaking laws. That should be the bottom line, not arguments about effects on business, Albers said.

3:56 Sen. Bill Hamrick moves that the Senate agree to the substitute immigration bill sent over by the House.

The bill says that employers of more than 10 people must use the federal verification program; that businesses must verify they are qualified to use the verification program before getting a business license; that counties or others issuing business licenses will provide a report showing the are in compliance; and that government officials who violate the law will be guilty of a misdemeanor. The Attorney General of Georgia will be responsible for prosecuting government officials who fail in proper enforcement. It allows police to question people about their immigration status when stopping them for minor infractions, such as traffic stops. It restores some of the tougher issues the Senate stripped out earlier, such as allowing people transporting illegal immigrants to places such as church or jobs to be prosecuted.

The proposed bill also calls for a study committee on the impacts on Georgia agriculture to  make recommendations about a guest worker program.

3:48 p.m. Still no new immigration bill on the floor, but it is coming.

Senators are milling around, at ease, and chatting happily. The mood is happier than the last few tense days, while negotiations over the immigration bill and Senate leadership were going on behind closed doors. Senators are telling me that agreements have been reached on both. For more information on the leadership battle, see Jim Galloway's column at http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/

3:27 p.m. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle gives the Senate a 10 minute break while an amended immigration bill is printed up for Senators to read. It should be up next and expect a long debate.

2:44 p.m. Senate amends SB 33, calling for zero-based budgeting, and sends it back to the House.

The House can agree to the amendment, in which case it goes to the governor for signing. Or the House can call for a conference committee to work out the final details of the bill. The conference committee would come up with a compromise of some sort and send it back to each chamber with a recommendation of do pass. With minutes ticking away on the final day, both chambers would depend on their committee members to have made a good compromise and pass it.

The amended version keeps the Senate budget office intact, which the House had wanted to do away with, and makes a few other changes.

Zero based budgeting would cause each department in the state to start from zero when building a budget at least every six years. Now, departments start with a base budget and add or subtract items and costs from the budget. Proponents of zero-based budgeting think it is a way to save money. Departments can't hide costs that get buried in the former budgets. But it does make the task of budgeting more work intensive and complex.

Both chamber have passed it before, but it was vetoed by former Gov. Sonny Perdue.

2:40 p.m. Senate works through calendar, still no immigration bill:

Senators are plowing through the calendar on what may shape up to be a very long day. Off the to-do list: Approval of the bill authorizing Georgia to join with other states in a health care compact – an attempt to avoid implementation of the federal health care overhaul and assert state control over health policy. House Bill 461 now goes to Gov. Nathan Deal. Georgia became the second state in the nation to send a compact bill to its governor. Arizona passed similar legislation Monday. Because compacts need Congressional approval, some view the legislation as more political protest than practical solution. Compact legislation has been introduced in 12 states and has wide support among tea party activists.

"Our health care system is too large and too complex to manage at the federal level  -- and too important to be debated outside the earshot of citizens," Eric O'Keefe, chairman of the Virginia-based Health Care Compact Alliance, said in a statement following the Senate vote. "That is why today's passage in Georgia will enable citizens to engage in the policy process at their state level, and to prescribe laws that match the needs of their communities."

1:30 p.m. Senate takes a short lunch break:

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has just given senators a 30-minute lunch break until 2 p.m. No word yet on the immigration bill which he had indicated could be the first one up. But bills are passing. The latest: HB 485, which address the nuisance of feral hogs. This legislation makes it illegal to release feral hogs into areas that are not secure and says that people who break the law can lose their hunting license for three years. The bill passed 49-0 and now goes to the governor's desk.

1:05 p.m. Senate gives OK to states' health care compact:

12:25 p.m. Senate refuses to support House amendment that would help landfills:

The state Senate refuses to sign off on a bill that was amended by the House to help private landfill companies. The amendment is similar to legislation that was opposed by environmentalists last year and defeated. Senators were asked to agree to the House amendment, but only 25 did. Twenty-seven said no. That sets up the possibly that a conference committee will be appointed to resolve differences in the House and Senate versions of HB 274. Still no word on when immigration, which looked like it would be first up, will be debated.

12:15 p.m. Senate passes first bill of the day:

A mammoth bill revising the state's evidence code received final passage, but not before senators defeated two amendments that some argued would benefit suspected drunken drivers. HB 24 now goes to the governor. After the bill's passage, former senator and now Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed made a brief visit.

11:11 a.m. Immigration bill first up:

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle announces that the Senate's first bill of the day will be a controversial one dealing with illegal immigration. There are several sticking points with this bill (SB 87), including whether to require many private businesses in Georgia to use a federal program called E-Verify to confirm their new hires are eligible to work in the United States. The Senate stripped that requirement out of the bill Monday. The House put it back in Tuesday, and that's why it's back before the Senate.

10:46 a.m. Senate's Day 40 begins:

The Senate convenes to begin the last day of the 2011 General Assembly session. Most of the major issues of the session have been settled, such as the state budget and a long-term plan for the HOPE scholarship program. But it wouldn't be the last day if there weren't still plenty of bills still in play, including one dealing with immigration and one to give the governor the power to remove the troubled Atlanta school board. "Welcome to the 40th day, the last day of the session," Cagle said.

9:56 a.m. Senate won't start on time:

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle comes into an almost empty chamber to announce that the Senate won't be convening at 10 a.m. as scheduled. So with 13 bills to consider passing and dozens of others waiting final approval, the Senate is "at ease," Cagle said. No explanation was given.