Georgia lawmakers can begin to file proposed bills and resolutions starting Nov. 15, as the countdown toward next year's legislative session begins.
The session is set to start at 10 a.m. Jan. 9. It typically ends by early to mid-April. Expected to be on lawmakers' agenda, among other issues:
The continued fight over when to hold upcoming transportation referendums, through which voters can add a 1-cent sales tax to pay for regional transportation projects; a restart of efforts to overhaul the state's tax system, which ended in disaster earlier this year; and possible changes to Georgia's new state law that seeks to deter illegal immigrants from coming to Georgia by cutting off their access to jobs and public benefits.
Related to the immigration law, the state's powerful agricultural industry has already said farm labor shortages will cost Georgia $391 million this year. Separately, a federal judge in Atlanta put parts of the state law on hold in June amid court challenges. The state is appealing.
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