Daily report, 2018 February 7

DAILY REPORT Wednesday
February 7, 2018

17th Legislative
Day

House Budget & Research Office (404) 656-5050

House Media Services (404) 656-0309

The House will reconvene for its 18th Legislative Day on Thursday, February 8 at 10:00 a.m. The Rules committee will meet at 9:00 a.m. 5 bills / resolutions are expected to be debated on the floor.

Today on the Floor

Rules Calendar
HB 571 Magistrates Retirement Fund; member in arrears for dues payments for 90 days shall be suspended; provisions
Bill Summary: HB 571 suspends the membership of any Magistrates Retirement Fund member whose due payments are 90 days unpaid; the member is only allowed to apply for reinstatement during the first 30 days of his or her next full term in office. Also, the bill adds language that allows the member to elect survivor benefits or cancel the election in the event of death or divorce. Lastly, the bill authorizes retired members to continue receiving benefits if they become employed as a fulltime or part-time magistrate. This bill has been certified by the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts as a fiscal retirement bill. The actuary has determined that a state appropriation is not required to implement the changes set forth in this bill.

Authored By: House Committee: Floor Vote:

Rep. Sam Watson (172nd) Retirement
Yeas: 159 Nays: 0

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Open 01-24-2018 Do Pass

HB 700

Georgia Student Finance Authority; service cancelable educational loans; include graduate degree programs
Bill Summary: HB 700 allows members of the Georgia National Guard who are enrolled in a graduate degree program at an eligible postsecondary institution to apply for a service cancelable loan. Before applying for the service cancelable loan, the applicant must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and exhaust all other available aid. The service cancelable loan can be revoked if the recipient fails to maintain good standing as a member of the Georgia National Guard for the required period or fails to maintain good academic standing. The loan will be canceled after a period of two years following the last year of study; however, the two-year requirement can be waived by the adjutant general of Georgia for good cause.

Authored By: House Committee: Floor Vote:

Rep. D. C. Belton (112th) Higher Education
Yeas: 156 Nays: 0

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Modified-Open 01-31-2018 Do Pass

HB 728 Public Education Innovation Fund Foundation; repeal an uncodified sunset provision
Bill Summary: House Bill 728 removes the December 1, 2020 sunset provision on the Public Education Innovation Fund Foundation.

Page 1 of 8

House of Representatives

Daily Report for February 7, 2018

Today on the Floor

Authored By: House Committee: Floor Vote:

Rep. Brooks Coleman (97th) Ways & Means
Yeas: 153 Nays: 1

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Modified-Structured 02-01-2018 Do Pass

HB 756

Sales and use tax; annual reporting requirements regarding projects using SPLOST funds; revise
Bill Summary: House Bill 756 amends 48-8-122, relating to annual reporting of county special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) projects, by changing the due date for publishing reports from December 31 to 180 days following the close of the most recent fiscal year.

Authored By: House Committee: Floor Vote:

Rep. Scott Hilton (95th) Ways & Means
Yeas: 152 Nays: 0

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Structured 02-01-2018 Do Pass

HB 777

Historic Chattahoochee Compact; repeal
Bill Summary: This bill repeals the Historic Chattahoochee Compact. The compact's purpose was to promote cooperative development between Alabama and Georgia in the Chattahoochee Valley area to help the area reach its full potential for historic preservation and tourism.

Authored By: House Committee: Floor Vote:

Rep. Gerald Greene (151st) Interstate Cooperation
Yeas: 150 Nays: 0

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Open 02-05-2018 Do Pass

Postponed Until Next Legislative Day
HB 626 Sharon Springs, City of; incorporate Bill Summary: House Bill 626 is a bill to create the city of Sharon Springs.

Authored By: Rep. Todd Jones (25th)

Rule Applied: Modified-Structured

Local Calendar
HB 772 Camilla, City of; provide new charter Bill Summary: This bill provides a new charter for the City of Camilla.

Authored By: House Committee: Floor Vote:

Rep. Jay Powell (171st) Intragovernmental Coordination Local Yeas: 131 Nays: 17

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

02-05-2018 Do Pass

Page 2 of 8

House of Representatives

Daily Report for February 7, 2018

Committee Actions

Next on the Floor from the Committee on Rules
The Committee on Rules has fixed the calendar for the 18th Legislative Day, Thursday, February 8 and bills may be called at the pleasure of the Speaker. The Rules Committee will next meet on Thursday, Feb. 8
at 9:00 a.m., to set the Rules Calendar for the 19th Legislative Day.

HB 538 Fulton County; Board of Education; pension and retirement pay to teachers and employees; create system
Bill Summary: HB 538 allows the Fulton County Board of Education to create a new retirement system for its teachers and employees. All currently covered employees, beneficiaries, assets, liabilities, duties, responsibilities, and terms of the current retirement system are transferred to the new system. The new retirement system is considered a local system and can be amended by the local board of education, but the board must notify the Fulton County delegation of the General Assembly of any amendments to the retirement plan. This bill has been certified by the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts as a fiscal retirement bill. The actuary has determined that a state appropriation is not required to implement the changes.

Authored By: Rep. Wendell Willard (51st) House Committee: Retirement

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Modified-Open 01-31-2018 Do Pass

HB 618 Skidaway Island, City of; incorporate Bill Summary: House Bill 618 is a bill to incorporate the city of Skidaway Island.

Authored By: Rep. Jesse Petrea (166th) House Committee: Governmental Affairs

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Modified-Structured 01-31-2018 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

HB 655 Quality Basic Education Act; post sign containing telephone number to receive reports of child abuse; require every public school
Bill Summary: House Bill 655 amends O.C.G.A. 20-2-324 by adding a new Code section requiring the posting of signs which contain the toll-free number to report incidents of child abuse in a visible, public area of a school.

Authored By: Rep. Ricky Williams (145th) House Committee: Education

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Modified-Open 02-05-2018 Do Pass

HB 699 Firefighter certification; military firefighter training may be accepted as required basic training; provide
Bill Summary: House Bill 699 amends the Code relating to firefighter training so that any training received and documented as a member of the armed forces may be satisfactory for obtaining certification from the council for completion of the required basic firefighter training.

Authored By: Rep. D. C. Belton (112th)

Rule Applied:

House Committee: Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee Action:

Modified-Open 02-05-2018 Do Pass

Page 3 of 8

House of Representatives

Daily Report for February 7, 2018

Committee Actions

Committee Actions
Bills passing committees are reported to the Clerk's Office and are placed on the General Calendar.

Higher Education Committee
HB 713 Postsecondary education; HOPE and Zell Miller eligibility requirements relative to students who graduated from an ineligible high school; provide
Bill Summary: HB 713 reduces the home school student eligibility percentile threshold on the ACT and the combined reading and math of a single administration of the SAT for the Zell Miller Scholarship from the 93rd percentile to the 91st percentile.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Joyce Chandler (105th) Higher Education

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

Human Relations & Aging Committee
HB 635 Disabled Adults and Elder Persons Protection Act; at-risk adult protection investigative/coordinating teams; provide establishment
Bill Summary: HB 635 requires the district attorney in each judicial circuit to establish an Adult Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Multi-disciplinary Team in order to coordinate the investigation of suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a disabled adult or elder person. Additionally, the bill outlines the persons or agencies who shall have reasonable access to records concerning reports of elder, disabled adult, or resident abuse.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Sharon Cooper (43rd) Human Relations & Aging

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

Industry and Labor Committee
HB 767 State government; verification of lawful presence that may be utilized in conjunction with electronic filing of an application for unemployment insurance; provide
Bill Summary: House Bill 767 allows the Georgia Department of Labor (DOL) to require submission of a valid driver's license number or number from a state-issued identification, as well as a Social Security number, when a person is electronically filing an application for unemployment benefits. This bill allows Georgians to apply for benefits on-line.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. William Werkheiser (157th) Industry and Labor

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

HB 789

Labor and industrial relations; marketplace contractors to be treated as independent contractors under state and local laws; provisions
Bill Summary: House Bill 789 provides for marketplace contractors as independent contractors under state and local laws. Further, it codifies Georgia case law as to what constitutes an independent contractor.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Barry Fleming (121st) Industry and Labor

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

HB 795

Labor, Department of; authorize Commissioner of Labor to perform certain functions; provisions
Bill Summary: House Bill 795 provides the commissioner of Labor with authority to require a criminal background check on any individual employed by the Department of Labor or applying for

Page 4 of 8

House of Representatives

Daily Report for February 7, 2018

Committee Actions

employment with the Department of Labor on or after January 1, 2019. A criminal background check is required for any individual with direct access to federal return information as part of his or her job duties.

This bill is necessary to be compliant with federal law.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Micah Gravley (67th) Industry and Labor

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

HB 800

Workers' compensation; eligibility for appointment as director emeritus and administrative law judge emeritus; change certain provisions
Bill Summary: House Bill eliminates the positions of director emeritus of the state board of worker's compensation and administrative law judge emeritus. The bill is effective July 1, 2018 and as the positions are vacated.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Josh Bonner (72nd) Industry and Labor

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

HR 744 Georgia Occupational Regulatory Review Council; perform periodic reviews of existing regulatory entities; encourage
Bill Summary: House Resolution 744 encourages the Georgia Occupational Regulatory Review Council to perform periodic reviews of existing regulatory entities.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Buzz Brockway (102nd) Industry and Labor

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

Insurance Committee
HB 592 Insurance; compliance self-evaluative privilege; repeal applicability and sunset provisions
Bill Summary: House Bill 592 repeals the applicability and sunset provisions of the insurance compliance self-evaluative privilege (O.C.G.A. 33-2-34). This privilege allows insurance companies to fix issues arising from an internal audit without suffering reprisal by regulators for the original mistake.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Eddie Lumsden (12th) Insurance

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

HB 678

Insurance; consumer protections regarding health insurance; provisions
Bill Summary: House Bill 678 is designed to bring transparency to the process of medical billing. It prevents the "surprise" bill patients receive when an out-of-network doctor participates in the treatment team for an elective procedure. The bill requires hospitals, healthcare providers and insurers to disclose to patients which doctors in their treatment team are or are not part of their insurance network. Further, it requires the disclosure of the cost for the out-of-network care.

The elements of this bill do not apply to emergency care or any care that arises due to a complication during an elective procedure.

In the event a surprise bill does arise as a result of complications during a procedure, the legislation provides for a dispute resolution process.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Richard Smith (134th) Insurance

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

Page 5 of 8

House of Representatives

Daily Report for February 7, 2018

Committee Actions

HB 734

Insurance; modernization and updates; provisions
Bill Summary: House Bill 734 is a housekeeping bill to modernize and update the first 10 chapters of Title 33, the Insurance Code. It corrects spelling and punctuation, deletes obsolete Code references, and modernizes definitions. The bill makes no substantive change to the law itself.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Richard Smith (134th) Insurance

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

Intragovernmental Coordination - Local Committee
HB 805 Terrell County; office of county treasurer; abolish Bill Summary: This bill abolishes the office of county treasurer of Terrell County.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Gerald Greene (151st) Intragovernmental Coordination Local

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

HB 806 Town of Braselton Public Facilities Authority Act; enact Bill Summary: This bill creates the Town of Braselton Public Facilities Authority.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Tommy Benton (31st) Intragovernmental Coordination Local

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

HB 807 City of St. Marys Community Improvement Districts Act of 2018; enact
Bill Summary: This bill provides for the creation of one or more community improvement districts in the City of St. Mary's.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Jason Spencer (180th) Intragovernmental Coordination Local

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

HB 822 School District of Social Circle; create
Bill Summary: This bill modifies provisions relating to the filling of vacancies on the Board of Education of Social Circle.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Bruce Williamson (115th) Intragovernmental Coordination Local

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

HB 828

Harlem, City of; Redevelopment Powers Law; provide for referendum
Bill Summary: This bill authorizes the City of Harlem to exercise all redevelopment and other powers found under Article IX, Section II, Paragraph VII(b) of the Georgia Constitution and Chapter 44 of Title 36 of the O.C.G.A.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Barry Fleming (121st) Intragovernmental Coordination Local

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

HB 829 Quitman County; Board of Education; change compensation of chairperson and members
Bill Summary: This bill changes the compensation of the chairperson and members of the Quitman County Board of Education. The chairperson of the board shall be paid $600 per month. Other

Page 6 of 8

House of Representatives

Daily Report for February 7, 2018

Committee Actions

members of the board shall be paid $500 per month.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Gerald Greene (151st) Intragovernmental Coordination Local

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

HB 836

Dougherty County School System; change compensation of members of the board of education
Bill Summary: This bill changes the compensation of the members of the Dougherty County School System Board of Education. The chairperson of the board shall be paid $1,200 per month, the vice chairperson shall be paid $1,100 per month, and all other members shall be paid $1,000 per month.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Winfred Dukes (154th) Intragovernmental Coordination Local

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

HB 838 Peachtree City Water and Sewage Authority; revise membership
Bill Summary: This bill revises the membership of the Peachtree City Water and Sewerage Authority.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Josh Bonner (72nd) Intragovernmental Coordination Local

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

SB 278

Columbia County; exercise all redevelopment and other powers under Article IX, Section II, Paragraph VII(b) of the Constitution and Chapter 44 of Title 36 of the O.C.G.A.; authorize
Bill Summary: This bill authorizes Columbia County to exercise all redevelopment powers other powers found under Article IX, Section II, Paragraph VII(b) of the Georgia Constitution and Chapter 44 of Title 36 of the O.C.G.A.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Jesse Stone (23rd) Intragovernmental Coordination Local

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass

Retirement Committee
HB 418 Teachers Retirement System of Georgia; certain members shall be eligible to obtain creditable service for international teaching service; provide
Bill Summary: HB 418 allows a member of the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) to purchase up to 24 months of creditable service for "international teaching service" conducted after membership in TRS. International teaching service is defined as at least 30 hours of teaching per week at an accredited school located in a foreign country. This bill has been certified by the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts as a fiscal retirement bill. The actuary has determined that a state appropriation is not required to implement the changes and members wishing to purchase creditable service are required to pay the full actuarial cost of the service granted.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Tommy Benton (31st) Retirement

Committee Action:

02-07-2018 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

Page 7 of 8

House of Representatives

Daily Report for February 7, 2018

Committee Actions

Committee Meeting Schedule
This meeting schedule is up to date at the time of this report, but meeting dates and times are subject to change. To keep up with the latest schedule, please visit www.house.ga.gov and click on Meetings Calendar.

Thursday, February 8, 2018 8:00 AM NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT 606 CLOB 8:00 AM PUBLIC SAFETY & HOMELAND SECURITY -CANCELLED 415 CLOB 9:00 AM RULES 341 CAP 10:00 AM HOUSE SESSION (LD 18) House Chamber 12:30 PM APPROPRIATIONS HEALTH 341 CAP 1:00 PM JUVENILE JUSTICE 406 CLOB 1:00 PM Education Subcommittee on Academic Achievement 606 CLOB 1:30 PM WAYS & MEANS 506 CLOB 2:00 PM TRANSPORTATION 506 CLOB 2:00 PM JUDICARY (CIVIL) 132 CAP 2:00 PM EDUCATION 606 CLOB 2:00 PM APPROPRIATIONS HUMAN RESOURCES 341 CAP

Page 8 of 8