Georgia Legislature Today: Will Georgia get a hate crimes law?

Members of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus are pushing bills that would create a separate offense for someone who commits a hate crime. Maya T. Prabhu/maya.prabhu@ajc.com

Members of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus are pushing bills that would create a separate offense for someone who commits a hate crime. Maya T. Prabhu/maya.prabhu@ajc.com

The Georgia General Assembly at a glance for Monday, Day 19 of the 2018 legislative session:

Hate crimes: A panel will debate House Bill 663, which would make it illegal to commit a "violent crime" against someone based on qualities such as their race, gender or sexual orientation. State Rep. Karen Bennett, D-Stone Mountain, said she filed the bill because similar legislation filed by a Republican House member did not go far enough. The panel is not scheduled to vote on the bill Tuesday.

Transit funding: Legislation introduced last week that would allow metro Atlanta counties to impose a 1 percent sales tax for transit if they let MARTA run their transit systems is scheduled for a hearing Monday afternoon. Senate Bill 386 would also

consolidate transit planning and construction for metro Atlanta under a new board under the Georgia Regional Transportation Agency.

On the floor: The House and Senate are scheduled to return 10 a.m. Monday, with both chambers having several bills up for debate on the floor. One of the bills senators will debate is Senate Bill 315, which is designed to crack down on people who access someone's computer without authorization. In the House, a bill that would require healthcare providers to tell patients when a doctor on their treatment team is not in their insurance network is scheduled for debate. The legislation, House Bill 678, aims to keep patients from being surprised by an additional out-of-network bill for treatments.

Business days remaining in the 2018 legislative session: 21.