Monday COMMITTEE
March 7,
2022 DAY REPORT
House Budget & Research Office (404) 656-5050
The House will reconvene for its 25th Legislative Day on Tuesday, March 8 at 10:00 a.m. The Rules Committee will meet at 9:00 a.m. Nine bills / resolutions are expected to be debated on the floor.
Committee Actions
Bills passing committees are reported to the Clerk's Office and are placed on the General Calendar.
Intragovernmental Coordination - Local Committee
HB 1475 Elbert County; board of elections and registration; create Bill Summary: House Bill 1475 creates the Elbert County Board of Elections and Registration.
Authored By: House Committee:
Rep. Rob Leverett (33rd) Intragovernmental Coordination Local
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass
HB 1476 Colbert, City of; staggered, four-year terms for the mayor and councilmembers; revise provisions
Bill Summary: House Bill 1476 revises provisions regarding staggered, four-year terms of office for the mayor and councilmembers of the city of Colbert.
Authored By: House Committee:
Rep. Rob Leverett (33rd) Intragovernmental Coordination Local
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass
SB 554 Treutlen County Board of Education; new education districts; provide
Bill Summary: Senate Bill 554 provides for new districts for the Treutlen County Board of Education.
Authored By: House Committee:
Sen. Blake Tillery (19th) Intragovernmental Coordination Local
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass
SB 555 Board of Commissioners of Treutlen County; new commissioner districts; provide
Bill Summary: Senate Bill 555 provides for new districts for the Treutlen County Board of Commissioners.
Authored By: House Committee:
Sen. Blake Tillery (19th) Intragovernmental Coordination Local
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass
House of Representatives
Daily Report for March 7, 2022
Committee Actions
Judiciary Committee
HB 1350 Wills, trusts, and administration of estates; executors to send notices to beneficiaries regarding filing of petitions to probate wills; require
Bill Summary: House Bill 1350, relating to notice requirements for beneficiaries of wills, requires a personal representative of an estate to send notice to all beneficiaries within 30 days of issuance of letters and requires filing of notices with the probate court within 60 days of issuance of letters. A personal representative who fails to comply with these requirements absent sufficient cause may be cited to appear and show cause.
The bill also amends the Uniform Transfer on Death Security Registration by adding investment or other types of security or trust accounts with a bank or trust company to the definition of "security account".
Authored By: House Committee:
Rep. Will Wade (9th) Judiciary
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass by Committee Substitute
HB 1499 Gwinnett County; State Court; provide additional judge
Bill Summary: House Bill 1499 increases the number of judges of the State Court of Gwinnett County from six to seven on January 1, 2023. The seventh judge shall be appointed by the governor and have an initial term ending on December 31, 2024.
Authored By: House Committee:
Rep. Samuel Park (101st) Judiciary
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass
Judiciary Non-Civil Committee
HB 689 Georgia Crime Information Center; persons who are victims of an offense of trafficking may petition the clerk of court to have sealed certain criminal history record information; provide
Bill Summary: House Bill 689 allows for a person who was trafficked and committed a crime as a result of that trafficking to petition the court where the offenses occurred to seal the records of those offenses. This also allows law enforcement agencies to review sealed records for law enforcement or criminal investigative purposes.
Authored By: House Committee:
Rep. Houston Gaines (117th) Judiciary Non-Civil
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass
HB 1354 Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act; enact
Bill Summary: House Bill 1354 is the 'Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act.' The bill creates the Wrongful Conviction Compensation Review Panel under the authority of the Claims Advisory Board. The review panel is composed of five members serving three-year terms. Members of the panel include a judge who presides over felony criminal matters in any state court who is appointed by the chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court; a prosecutor appointed by the governor; a criminal defense attorney appointed by the governor; an attorney, forensic science expert, or law professor with expertise in wrongful convictions who is appointed by the speaker; and an attorney, forensic science expert, or law professor with expertise in wrongful convictions who is appointed by the president of the Senate.
In order to be eligible for compensation, the claimant must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that: 1) the claimant was convicted of one or more felonies and subsequently incarcerated; 2) the claimant proclaims his or her innocence; 3) the claimant did not commit, or bribe or induce someone to commit perjury, fabricate evidence, or engage in conduct intended to bring about the
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House of Representatives
Daily Report for March 7, 2022
Committee Actions
conviction; and 4) the claimant was exonerated for the crime in which compensation is being requested.
In order to receive compensation, the claimant must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that: 1) the claimant received a pardon based on innocence for the conviction; 2) the claimant was exonerated based on grounds of innocence; or 3) the claimant did not commit the crime for which the claimant was convicted and did not commit any lesser-included offenses. The claim must be filed with the board within three years after the date that the claimant's eligibility was established. If a hearing is held, the claimant, the district attorney from the circuit that the conviction occurred, and the attorney general will be provided notice in advance.
Recommendations to the board may include $100,000 for each year of wrongful incarceration, although they shall not be less than $50,000 per year. The review panel is allowed to include reasonable attorneys' fees, as well. Any monetary judgment or settlement agreement against the state or a locality that is related to the wrongful conviction will be deducted from the sum of money that is included in the recommendation of the review panel. The board will adopt the recommendation of the panel and transmit the recommendation to the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia within seven days of receiving it. If the chief justice adopts the recommendation of the board, it will be paid from the judiciary budget, subject to appropriations by the General Assembly. Payment shall be made in the form of an annuity, with claimants who are 60 years or older receiving payments over a 10year period and claimants under the age of 60 receiving payments over a 20-year period.
The bill defines "exonerated" as having his or her judgment reversed or vacated, having been granted a new trial, and having the indictment or accusation dismissed or nolle prossed; having his or her judgment reversed or vacated, or was granted a new trial and, upon retrial, acquitted; or having received a pardon based on innocence.
Authored By: House Committee:
Rep. Scott Holcomb (81st) Judiciary Non-Civil
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass by Committee Substitute
HB 1391 Criminal procedure; compensation for public defenders and assistant public defenders; revise
Bill Summary: House Bill 1391 sets the salary of the circuit public defenders to the same salary as district attorneys. The maximum salary for assistant public defender IVs are raised to 95 percent of the circuit public defender salary.
Authored By: House Committee:
Rep. Stan Gunter (8th) Judiciary Non-Civil
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass
HB 1433 Criminal Justice Coordinating Council; revise and update composition of advisory board
Bill Summary: House Bill 1433 changes the composition of the advisory board to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to include the following: representatives of programs that advocate alternatives to incarceration; persons licensed or certified by the state with competence in preventing and addressing mental health and substance abuse issues in delinquent youth and at-risk youth; and representatives of victim or witness advocacy groups, including at least one individual with expertise in addressing the challenges of sexual abuse and exploitation and trauma.
Authored By: House Committee:
Rep. Mandi Ballinger (23rd) Judiciary Non-Civil
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass
HB 1452 Domestic relations; dating violence protective orders; revise a definition
Bill Summary: House Bill 1452 changes dating relationship protective orders so that the definition of "dating violence" includes those who were in a relationship within the last 12 months rather than
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Daily Report for March 7, 2022
Committee Actions
the current six-month timeframe.
Authored By: House Committee:
Rep. Houston Gaines (117th) Judiciary Non-Civil
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass
Ways & Means Committee
HB 934
Sales and use tax; special district mass transportation; local government; provisions
Bill Summary: House Bill 934 amends 48-8-262, relating to Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST), by allowing, in the case where an intergovernmental agreement has been entered into, the tax to continue until the approved timeframe has expired regardless as to whether the amount of tax collected has surpassed the originally estimated amount.
Authored By: House Committee:
Rep. Rob Leverett (33rd) Ways & Means
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass
HB 997
Ad valorem tax; timber equipment and timber products held by timber producers; provide exemption
Bill Summary: House Bill 997 adds 48-5-41.3, which exempts timber equipment from ad valorem taxation. Timber equipment includes all equipment owned or held under a lease-purchase agreement by a timber producer and is directly used in the production or harvest of timber products, excluding motor vehicles. "Timber producers" are defined as any one or more individuals or entities registered to do business in the state that are primarily involved in the subsistence or commercial production or harvest of timber products. The bill also provides language for a referendum to be included on the November 2022 ballot.
Authored By: House Committee:
Rep. Sam Watson (172nd) Ways & Means
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass by Committee Substitute
HB 1224 Ad valorem tax; language required to be included in the notices of current assessment; revise
Bill Summary: House Bill 1224 amends 48-5-311, relating to the creation of county boards of equalization, duties, review of assessments, and appeals, by allowing a taxpayer with tangible personal property having a fair market value greater than $200,000 to appeal directly to a hearing officer. The bill also amends 48-5-306, relating to the annual notice of current assessment, contents, posting notice, and new assessment description, by requiring that the option to appeal directly to a hearing officer for tangible personal property with a fair market value of greater than $200,000 be included on the notice of assessment.
Authored By: House Committee:
Rep. Chuck Martin (49th) Ways & Means
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass by Committee Substitute
HB 1421 Conservation and natural resources; Hazardous Waste Trust Fund; dedicate the proceeds of certain hazardous waste fees
Bill Summary: House Bill 1421 amends 12-8-95, relating to the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund, by requiring that fees collected for the disposal of solid wastes and hazardous wastes be annually appropriated to the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund.
Authored By: House Committee:
Rep. Debbie Buckner (137th) Ways & Means
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass
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House of Representatives
Daily Report for March 7, 2022
Committee Actions
HB 1437 Income tax; revise rates of taxation on income
Bill Summary: House Bill 1437, the `Tax Reduction and Reform Act of 2022,' amends Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the O.C.G.A., relating to income taxes, by eliminating the personal income tax brackets and replacing them with a tax rate of five and one quarter percent. HB 1437 eliminates the standard deductions of $5,400 for single and head of household taxpayers and $7,100 for married taxpayers filing a joint return, as well as the additional deductions of $1,300 for taxpayers over the age of 65 or blind, and increases the personal exemptions from $2,700 to $12,000 for single and head of household taxpayers and from $7,400 to $24,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return. The bill allows taxpayers to elect to apply the sum of the taxpayer's charitable donations used in computing the taxpayer's federal taxable income in lieu of the personal exemption.
Authored By: House Committee:
Rep. Shaw Blackmon (146th) Ways & Means
Committee Action:
03-07-2022 Do Pass by Committee Substitute
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.
Tuesday - March 8, 2022 8:00 AM HIGHER EDUCATION COMMITTEE
8:00 AM Natural Resources and Environment Resource Management Subcommittee 8:00 AM SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
8:00 AM MOTOR VEHICLES COMMITTEE
8:00 AM Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Solar Consumer Subcommittee
8:30 AM Georgia Farmers' Market and Produce Terminal Development Authority 9:00 AM RULES COMMITTEE 10:00 AM FLOOR SESSION (LD 25)
12:30 PM PUBLIC SAFETY & HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE
1:30 PM Ways & Means Subcommittee
2:00 PM 2:00 PM 2:00 PM
HUMAN RELATIONS & AGING COMMITTEE JUVENILE JUSTICE COMMITTEE HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
2:00 PM CANCELED RETIREMENT COMMITTEE
2:00 PM REGULATED INDUSTRIES COMMITTEE
3:00 PM ENERGY, UTILITIES & TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
4:00 PM AGRICULTURE & CONSUMER AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
406 CLOB HYBRID 415 CLOB 506 CLOB HYBRID 606 CLOB HYBRID 341 CAP HYBRID
515 CLOB 341 CAP House Chamber 406 CLOB HYBRID 403 CAP HYBRID
415 CLOB 341 CAP 606 CLOB HYBRID 406 CLOB HYBRID 506 CLOB HYBRID
403 CAP HYBRID 406 CLOB HYBRID
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