Ethics, health care on Senate Democrats’ agenda

Among the proposals:

• No gifts to lawmakers collectively worth more than $100 a year, according to Senate Bill 48 as sponsored by Henson. The caucus also expects to back proposals allowing voters to decide on an independent ethics commission, along with dedicated state funding. Such proposals would remove control of the state ethics commission from lawmakers and the governor. Instead, the chief justices of both the state Supreme Court and state Appeals Court would appoint the panel's members. They also would create a permanent funding source for the commission, at 0.0075 percent of the state budget.

• Same-day voter registration and more time to vote early in elections. The former, under Senate Bill 44, would allow an unregistered voter to cast a ballot on Election Day after he or she registers at a polling place. Voters currently face a registration deadline that can be almost two months before an election. The latter, under Senate Bill 45 and Senate Bill 50, would restore in-person early voting to 45 days before an election, and add a second Saturday to the state's early voting calendar.

• Health care expansion and insurance exchange. The caucus' Senate Bill 46 would create a health care exchange, or marketplace, as mandated by the federal Affordable Care Act. Such a mandate is opposed by Gov. Nathan Deal, who also has rejected an expansion of Medicaid in the state. Senate Bill 38 would require all insurance plans, including those sold by out-of-state companies, to provide coverage for, among other things, contraception, autism and childhood cancer.