Georgia Legislature Today: House set to pass ‘little budget’
The Georgia General Assembly at a glance for Wednesday, Day 13 of the 2018 legislative session:
Budget: The House Appropriations Committee is expected to pass the "little budget" — meaning an amended version of the 2018 fiscal year budget approved last spring — on Wednesday morning. The "little budget" realigns the state's money based on things like how much revenue is collected and additional or unexpected needs that have arisen.
Committee hearings: Two bills are scheduled to be in heard in the Senate Public Safety Committee on Wednesday afternoon that would expend the pool of people who can make arrests. Senate Bill 217 and Senate Bill 348 would grant municipal probation officers and technical college officers, respectively, the power to make arrests.
On the record: Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, had choice words for the way a bill that would allow earlier sales of alcohol on Sunday was presented, and passed, in Tuesday's Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee hearing — "This is an example of how the legislative process can be used to ambush or bushwhack people that are not prepared for a vote," he said. "We had (an amended bill) that was not even presented to the committee until after the committee started. And it was not advertised to the public that this bill included anything other than mimosas and bloody marys on Sunday mornings."
About the Author
Maya T. Prabhu covers the Georgia Senate and statewide issues as a government reporter for The AJC. Born in Queens, New York, and raised in northern Virginia, Maya attended Spelman College and then the University of Maryland for a master's degree. She writes about social issues, the criminal justice system and legislative politics.
