House panel takes no action on Uber bill
A House committee heard nearly two hours of testimony Thursday but took no vote on a bill that would require drivers for Uber and Lyft to submit to fingerprinting and state background checks.
The Regulated Industries Committee will meet again next week on House Bill 224, sponsored by Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell.
Powell wants all drivers for the popular ride-sharing services to follow the same rules as limo drivers.
Rep. Tom Taylor, R-Dunwoody, said he doesn’t understand the aversion to fingerprinting drivers. He had to be finger-printed to coach youth soccer and basketball.
“To have that done once in five or 10 years is not an onerous process,” he said.
But Lyft driver Armand Saramout said if he had to pay for fingerprinting and a proposed registration fee of several hundred dollars, he never would have gone through the hassle.
As it is, he said, Lyft has “helped me become financially independent.”
— Aaron Gould Sheinin
Cheaper options for medication approved by Senate
The Senate approved legislation Thursday setting up a system for prescribing substitutions for costly biologic drugs that could help Georgia patients save money.
Senate Bill 51 creates rules for pharmacists to follow when distributing these similar medicines, which are approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Dean Burke, a Bainbridge physician, requires pharmacists to notify a patient’s doctor when substituting medications and include information about the drug on the prescription label.
Biologic drugs are specially engineered drugs used to treat conditions including arthritis and psoriasis, but they can be expensive.
SB 51 now moves to the House for consideration.
— Janel Davis
Families of crime victims could get more state help for funerals
Georgia will provide more money to victims’ families to help them pay for funerals under a bill passed by the state Senate.
Senate Bill 79 would increase the amount available to families to $6,000, and it would also expand who is eligible to apply for money to include stepchildren and stepparents.
Victim compensation decisions are overseen by the state Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and generally involve major crimes such as murder. The state fund gets its money via fines and fees paid by convicted offenders in the state parole system.
The fund, which collected $17.5 million last year, can help families for things like lost wages, counseling and financial hardship. It can also help with funeral expenses, but the maximum award is currently $3,000 and hasn’t changed in 20 years.
The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, said that’s a problem because the average cost of funerals is now much more than $3,000.
SB 79 passed Wednesday on a 50-3 vote and now goes to the state House for consideration.
— Kristina Torres
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