Daily report, 2019 March 20

House of Representatives

Daily Report for March 20, 2019

DAILY REPORT Wednesday
March 20, 2019

Committee Day

House Budget & Research Office (404) 656-5050

The House will reconvene for its 34th Legislative Day on Thursday, March 21 at 10:00 a.m. The Rules Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. Seven bills / resolutions are expected to be debated on the floor.

Next on the Floor from the Committee on Rules
The Committee on Rules has fixed the calendar for the 2nd Legislative Day, Thursday, March 21, and bills may be called at the pleasure of the Speaker. The Rules Committee will next meet on Thursday, March 21,
at 9:30 a.m., to set the Rules Calendar for the 3rd Legislative Day.

HR 368 Interstate 14; construction; urge Bill Summary: House Resolution 368 urges the construction of Interstate 14.

Authored By: House Committee:

Rep. Richard Smith (134th) Transportation

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Modified-Open 02-28-2019 Do Pass

SB 17

Public Utilities and Public Transportation; authorize telephone cooperatives and their broadband affiliates; provide broadband services
Bill Summary: Senate Bill 17, which relates to the 'Rural Telephone Cooperative Act,' gives cooperative non-profit corporations the ability to furnish, improve, and expand broadband services. These services may be furnished in conjunction or separately from telephone service; however, broadband services are not eligible for fund recovery through the Universal Access Fund.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Steve Gooch (51st) Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Modified-Structured 03-12-2019 Do Pass

SB 55

Retirement; method and manner by which a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia may purchase an annuity; revise
Bill Summary: SB 55 authorizes the Board of Trustees of the Employees' Retirement System to offer a lifetime annuity benefit to certain members. Interested members may transfer some or all funds, $25,000 at minimum, from their 401(k) plan or 457(b) plan into an account for the system to purchase an annuity. Furthermore, members have the option to elect whether the annuity be calculated based on his or her lifetime only or to provide the annuity benefit to a named survivor. The Department of Audits and Accounts has certified SB 55 as a non-fiscal retirement bill.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (52nd) Retirement

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Modified-Structured 03-12-2019 Do Pass

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Daily Report for March 20, 2019

SB 97

Self-Service Storage Facilities; limit fees charged and collected by self-service storage facilities for the late payment of rent; provide
Bill Summary: Senate Bill 97 updates and revises the regulations regarding self-service storage facilities. In addition to modernizing statutory language and updating definitions, the bill allows the owner of a self-service storage facility to charge and collect a fee from an occupant for the late payment of rent pursuant to the terms of a rental agreement. The bill mandates that this fee shall be no more than $20 per month for each month there is a late payment or 20 percent of the monthly rent for each month there is a late payment, whichever is greater. The bill allows owners to obtain a lien against occupants who are delinquent in the payment of these fees. Additionally, persons cannot use a self-service storage facility for residential purposes, and the bond required for public warehousemen does not apply to any owner of a self-service storage facility. The bill also sets an effective date of July 1, 2019 for rental agreements entered into or extended after that date.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Jesse Stone (23rd) Judiciary

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Modified-Open 03-14-2019 Do Pass

SB 121

Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Data Base; length of time prescription information is retained from two years to five years; increase
Bill Summary: SB 121 increases the data retention time of the prescription drug monitoring program from two to five years. In addition, the bill adds the attorney general's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to the list of entities that can have access to the data through the issuance of an administrative subpoena.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Larry Walker III (20th) Judiciary Non-Civil

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Modified-Structured 03-14-2019 Do Pass

SB 132

Insurance; modernization and updates; provide; Commission on the Georgia Health Insurance Risk Pool; repeal Article 2 of Chapter 29A
Bill Summary: Senate Bill 132 amends Title 33, relating to insurance, by modernizing and updating the language of various sections. Additionally, this bill repeals the Commission on the Georgia Health Insurance Risk Pool effective July 1, 2019.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Marty Harbin (16th) Insurance

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Modified-Open 03-18-2019 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

SB 133 Insurance; modernization and updates; provide
Bill Summary: Senate Bill 133 amends Title 33, relating to insurance, by modernizing and updating the language of various sections.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Marty Harbin (16th) Insurance

Rule Applied: Committee Action:

Modified-Open 03-18-2019 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

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Daily Report for March 20, 2019

Committee Actions

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

Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee

SB 75

State Board of Veterinary Medicine; professional health program for impaired veterinarians; provide
Bill Summary: SB 75 authorizes the State Board of Veterinary Medicine to operate a professional health program to provide monitoring and rehabilitation services to impaired veterinarians in the state. A veterinarian is considered "impaired" if the individual is unable to practice due to illness, use of alcohol, drugs, narcotics or chemicals, or any mental or physical condition. The bill allows for the office of the Secretary of State, on behalf of the State Board of Veterinary Medicine, to enter into a contract to provide the services. Any impaired veterinarian that chooses to participate in the program must pay all associated costs. Information provided to the board regarding the monitoring or rehabilitation of veterinarians is to be considered privileged and confidential.

The bill adds a seventh member to the State Board of Veterinary Medicine. The member must be a registered veterinary technician and have practiced for at least five years.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Ellis Black (8th) Agriculture & Consumer Affairs

Committee Action:

03-20-2019 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

Defense & Veterans Affairs Committee
SB 140 World War I Centennial Commission; sunset provisions; extend Bill Summary: SB 140 extends the sunset date of the World War I Centennial Commission to either December 31, 2019 or 30 days after activities of the commission are completed, whichever is earlier.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Ed Harbison (15th) Defense & Veterans Affairs

Committee Action:

03-20-2019 Do Pass

Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Committee

SB 2

Public Utilities and Public Transportation; electric membership corporations and their affiliates; authorize; broadband services; provide

Bill Summary: Senate Bill 2 allows electric membership corporations (EMCs) to provider and operate broadband facilities used for wholesale purposes in unserved areas of the state or broadband affiliates to provide retail broadband services in unserved areas of the state. An "unserved area", as designated by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), is defined as a census block where 20 percent or more of the locations do not have access to broadband services with minimum speeds of 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) in the downstream direction and 3 Mbps in the upstream direction. The bill also restricts the EMC or affiliate to the EMC's assigned service area unless it has a written agreement to serve outside its area.

The bill also states that no EMC or an affiliate shall permit cross-subsidization between its electricity services, broadband services, and gas activities. Furthermore, an affiliate providing retail broadband service may not condition the receipt of electricity service upon receipt of broadband services, nor provide more favorable terms for electricity services in exchange for the purchase of retail broadband service.

A communications service provider or an EMC member is authorized to bring an action for a declaratory judgment before the superior court of the county in which the EMC's principal office is

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Daily Report for March 20, 2019

Committee Actions

located in order to determine if the EMC has failed to comply with the cross-subsidy provisions. The bill provides for the selection of a judge who is not from the circuit in which the proceeding was instituted.

The bill states that an EMC that terminates, without cause, a pole attachment agreement with a provider shall not be permitted to form or utilize a broadband affiliate for one year from the date of termination if the number of poles with attachments under the terminated agreement constitutes onehalf or more of all EMC's poles containing an attachment by a provider.

SB 2 also contains a grandfather clause from the unserved and service area restrictions for any EMC or broadband affiliate that was providing broadband services or facilities prior to January 1, 2019, so that they may continue operating in areas they are currently offering services.

Lastly, the bill states the General Assembly finds a person providing broadband services should be permitted to use existing electric easements to provide or expand access to broadband services.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Steve Gooch (51st) Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications

Committee Action:

03-20-2019 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

Higher Education Committee

SB 91

Nonpublic Postsecondary Educational Institutions; exemption for dental schools meeting certain criteria; provide
Bill Summary: SB 91 allows for an accredited non-public orthodontic school and residency program that is sponsored by a properly accredited hospital or postsecondary institution to be exempt from necessary authorization by the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission, provided it annually submits proof of a surety bond or letter of credit totaling $450,000 for the five years following the program's qualification for the exemption.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (52nd) Higher Education

Committee Action:

03-20-2019 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

SB 161

Education; weighted scores for certain coursework for purposes of determining HOPE scholarship and Zell Miller scholarship eligibility; provide
Bill Summary: SB 161 provides that a high school student who achieves an A, B, C, or D in an advanced placement, dual credit, or international baccalaureate course will receive an increase of 0.5 points per relevant course for the purpose of calculating the student's grade point average for the consideration of HOPE and Zell Miller scholarships. The change applies to students graduating during or after the 2018-2019 school year.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Lindsey Tippins (37th) Higher Education

Committee Action:

03-20-2019 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

Industry and Labor Committee

SB 135

Workers' Compensation; certain provisions; change
Bill Summary: Senate Bill 135 provides that any director or administrative law judge of the State Board of Workers' Compensation in office on June 30, 2019, is eligible to be appointed as director emeritus or administrative law judge, respectively, of the board under certain conditions. The bill provides exceptions to the 400-week limitation for the medical treatment of injuries that are not designated as catastrophic. The compensation maximums are raised for temporarily total injuries, partial but temporary injuries, and deaths.

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Committee Actions

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Larry Walker III (20th) Industry and Labor

Committee Action:

03-20-2019 Do Pass

Judiciary Non-Civil Committee

SB 9

Invasion of Privacy; sexual extortion; prohibit; definitions; elements of the crime; provide
Bill Summary: SB 9 prohibits sexual extortion. The bill outlaws the conduct of intentionally coercing orally, in writing, or electronically another individual, more than 18 years of age, to distribute any photograph, video, or image that depicts any individual in a state of nudity or engaged in sexually-explicit conduct. The punishment upon the first offense is a misdemeanor of high and aggravated nature. The punishment upon the second or subsequent offense is punished as a felony with imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years. Each violation is considered a separate offense and does not merge with any other offense.

SB 9 also updates and revises the crime of sexual assault by persons with supervisory or disciplinary authority. An individual commits the offense of improper sexual contact by an employee or agent in the first degree when such individual knowingly engages in sexually-explicit conduct with another person, whom such employee or agent knows or reasonably should have known is contemporaneously: enrolled as a student at a school where he or she is an employee or agent; under probation, parole, accountability court, or pretrial diversion supervision, of the office or court in which he or she is an employee or agent; a patient in or at a hospital in which he or she is an employee or agent; in the custody of a correctional or juvenile detention facility, facility providing services to a person with a disability or child welfare, in which he or she is an employee or agent; the subject of a psychotherapy or counseling of such employee or agent; or admitted for care at a sensitive care facility in which he or she is an employee or agent. The punishment is imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 25 years, a fine not to exceed $50,000, and the offender must be placed on the Sexual Offender Registry.

An individual commits the offense of improper sexual contact by an employee or agent in the second degree when such individual knowingly engages in sexual contact, excluding sexually-explicit conduct, with another person, whom such employee or agent knows or reasonably should have known is contemporaneously: enrolled as a student at a school which he or she is an employee or agent; under probation, parole, accountability court, or pretrial diversion supervision, of the office or court in which he or she is an employee or agent; a patient in or at a hospital in which he or she is an employee or agent; in the custody of a correctional or juvenile detention facility, facility providing services to a person with a disability or child welfare, in which he or she is an employee or agent; the subject of a psychotherapy or counseling of such employee or agent; or admitted for care at a sensitive care facility in which he or she is an employee or agent. The punishment is a misdemeanor of high and aggravated nature. Upon a second or subsequent conviction of the offense of improper sexual contact by an employee or agent in the second degree, the person is guilty of a felony with imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years and must be placed on the Sexual Offender Registry.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Harold Jones II (22nd) Judiciary Non-Civil

Committee Action:

03-20-2019 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

SB 208

Drivers Licenses; implied consent notices; revise
Bill Summary: SB 208 updates the Code regarding licensure for certain three-wheeled vehicles that have seatbelts and frames that partially or fully enclose the operator. Moreover, operators of such vehicles are not required to wear eye-protective or head protecting devices.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Randy Robertson (29th) Judiciary Non-Civil

Committee Action:

03-20-2019 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

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Daily Report for March 20, 2019

Committee Actions

Motor Vehicles Committee

SB 149

Motor Vehicles; retain custody of the vehicle under certain conditions; valid number license plate without required revalidation decal affixed; permit
Bill Summary: Senate Bill 149 provides for the issuance, regulation, and usage of digital license plates for motor vehicles. When a driver applies for a digital license plate, their registration information will be submitted to the state revenue commissioner so that the commissioner can transmit the license plate information to the digital license plate provider. The digital license plate must be renewed annually. If the commissioner sends notice of a cancelled or revoked registration, the digital license plate provider must terminate the transmission of data to the cancelled or revoked license plate.

The bill provides that if a motor vehicle is operated without a revalidation decal on the license plate, the vehicle will not be towed at the time of the issuance of the citation; however, the vehicle will be towed if proof of the revalidation decal is not provided at the court date.

The bill changes the description of the type of three-wheeled motor vehicle that a driver with a Class C driver's license is permitted to drive. The description is changed from a three-wheeled vehicle that is equipped with a steering wheel to a three-wheeled vehicle that has seat belts and a frame to partially or fully enclose the driver. The bill exempts drivers of three-wheeled vehicles from headgear and eye-protective requirements.

The bill permits the use of windshield mounts for wireless phones or electronic devices.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Randy Robertson (29th) Motor Vehicles

Committee Action:

03-20-2019 Do Pass by Committee Substitute

Special Committee on Access to Quality Health Care Committee

SB 106

"Patients First Act"
Bill Summary: Senate Bill 106, referred to as the 'Patients First Act', authorizes the Department of Community Health (DCH) to submit a Section 1115 waiver request to the United States Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by June 30, 2020. This may include an increase in the income threshold of up to a maximum of 100 percent of the federal poverty level. Upon approval of this waiver, the bill also authorizes DCH to implement the terms and conditions without any further legislative action.

Additionally, Senate Bill 106 authorizes the governor to submit a Section 1332 innovation waiver proposal, or multiple thereof, to the United States Secretaries of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Treasury by December 31, 2021.

Authored By: House Committee:

Sen. Blake Tillery (19th) Special Committee on Access to Quality Health Care

Committee Action:

03-20-2019 Do Pass

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Daily Report for March 20, 2019

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, March 21, 2019 8:00 AM NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT 606 CLOB 9:30 AM RULES 341 CAP 10:00 AM FLOOR SESSION (LD 34) House Chamber 1:00 PM EDUCATION 606 CLOB 1:00 PM JUVENILE JUSTICE 406 CLOB 1:00 PM Welch Subcommittee of Judiciary (Civil) 132 CAP 2:00 PM JUDICIARY 132 CAP 2:00 PM TRANSPORTATION 506 CLOB 2:00 PM Regulated Industries Alcohol & Tobacco Subcommittee 415 CLOB 3:00 PM Insurance - Life & Health Subcommittee 415 CLOB 3:00 PM WAYS AND MEANS 606 CLOB

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