Georgia’s Legislature got off to a fast start on Crossover Day, advancing bills to start a medical marijuana research program, allow a vote on creating the city of South Fulton and let craft brewery visitors take home a limited amount of beer.
Many other bills were still hanging in the balance as of Friday afternoon. Among them is legislation that would limit early voting to 12 days and make Sunday voting optional. Another pending bill would place a greater burden of proof on the state ethics commission before it could assess fines on local officials.
Crossover Day is the 30th day of the 40-day legislative session or the deadline for bills to pass one chamber and still have a shot at winning final approval this year. House Speaker Davis Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, got things started in his chamber with a cheerful welcome just before 10 a.m.
“Welcome to Crossover Day, 2015,” he said. “May your days be full of joy and happiness — prosperity. And God save the state today.”
Before House members left for lunch, they passed more than a dozen bills, most of them noncontroversial. House Bill 514 – which would allow South Fulton residents to vote in November on forming their own city – won approval. So did House Bill 131, which would prohibit public school students from "cyber bullying," or bullying people online. Those students in grades sixth through 12th who are found to be bullying a third time in a school year could be sent to an alternative school.
The Senate started work around 10 a.m. The first major bill to win approval was Senate Bill 63, which would allow craft brewery visitors to take home a 64-ounce growler of beer as a free souvenir. The sponsor — Sen. Hunter Hill, R-Atlanta — described his measure as a way to boost economic development. He said Georgia is one of five states that do not allow brewers to sell their beer directly to consumers.
“Senate Bill 63 is about jobs and free markets and competitiveness in a burgeoning industry in which we are currently not able to reach our full potential,” Hill said.
Later, the Senate took up Senate Bill 185, which would authorize a state-run research program on the use of medical marijuana for children suffering from epilepsy in Georgia. Sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Tippins, R-Marietta – the bill says the five-year program would be open to state residents under 21 and must adhere to federal laws.
“I want a pathway that is legal — both federal and state — to meet the needs of our children who have medication-resistant seizures,” he said. “As we try to meet the medical needs of our children we must guarantee the quality, safety and efficacy of the medical treatment for all children in the state of Georgia.”
Sen. Curt Thompson, D-Tucker, complained SB 185 does not go far enough to help families struggling with seizure-inducing illnesses. He described the measure as a way to “declare victory and get out — to say you had done something but not necessarily do something.”
But Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, said she intends to merge the bill with a more sweeping measure approved by the House this month. House Bill 1 applies to people suffering from more than a half a dozen medical conditions, including seizure disorders, cancer and multiple sclerosis. Under the bill, they may legally possess limited amounts of cannabis oil. But they would have to get a recommendation from their doctors and a registration card from the state Public Health Department.
Both chambers also welcomed several guest speakers Friday, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. A presumed 2016 GOP presidential candidate, he briefly spoke to the House.
“I understand how busy your calendar is today,” he said, “so I am going to use that phrase that Jesus would have used had he ever been invited to speak to the Georgia House: Blessed are the brief for they shall be invited again.”
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