GEORGIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE ROOM 131, STATE CAPITOL 30334 404-656-5082 1-800-282-5800 
The first regular session of the 147th General Assembly convened Monday, January 13, 2003 at 10:00 am and adjourned Sine Die on Friday, April 25th at midnight. This was the longest session in more than a century. 122 general house bills and 174 local house bills and 77 general senate bills and 41 local senate bills have passed both the chambers of the legislature and are on their way to the governor for his signature. The Governor has 40 days after the session ends to veto bills, sign them into law, or allow them to become law without signing. 
Major Legislation that Passed both the House and the Senate: 
New State Flag - HB 380 changes the state flag and will give Georgians an opportunity vote on the new design. Featured on the flag is the state's coat of arms and the words "In God We Trust" on a blue corner in the top left, with three red-and-white stripes to the right. It resembles a Confederate national flag and the pre-1956 Georgia state flag. Upon the Governor's signature, the current flag passed in 2001 would come down and this new banner would fly above the state capitol. Then in March, a referendum would be held giving Georgians a choice between the new flag and the one adopted in 2001 under the Barnes' Administration. 
State Budget for FY 2004 - HB 122 is the state's $16 billion budget for 04 fiscal year which begins July 1stth. The measure balances by relying in part on $180 million from tobacco tax increases with the passage of the conference committee report on HB 43. Highlights include: $10 million for Greenspace, $30 million for the school nurse program, $186 million in bonds to build new public school classrooms, $61 million was slated for major improvements on university system campuses,$80 million to help lure major new industries to the state, $2 million for the state's newly created indigent defense system, $400,000 for the Georgia Rail Passenger Authority that had been cut in the Senate, $250,000 for the operations of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District and $276,817 to the Department of Banking to help implement the predatory lending law. 
Mid-Year Budget - HB 121 is the state's supplemental budget, which is a revised spending plan for the current fiscal year that ends June 30th. The measure makes up a $620 million shortfall with spending cuts and by dipping into state reserves. Included in the $16.1 billion plan is $19 million in state bonds for cost overruns on the construction of phase IV of the Georgia World Congress Center expansion and $300,000 for operating expenses of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, an agency developing water resource plans for the metro Atlanta area. One of the largest cuts was $30 million from the Greenspace program which sets aside funds to purchase and preserve open spaces of land in Georgia. 
Compromise Tax Bill - HB 43 is an omnibus bill helps balance the state's budget which is required by Georgia's Constitution and provides several tax credits. Under the measure, the tax on cigarettes would be increased by 25 cents to 37 cents per pack, a 10 percent tax on loose 
 
 tobacco would be imposed and the tax on cigars would be raised by 10 percent to 23 percent. This is expected to raise $180 million to help offset a $400 million shortfall. The measure allows seniors to shield more of their retirement income from being taxed by the state. Beginning in 2006 seniors 62 years and older could shield the first $25,000 of retirement income from taxes and would reach $30,000 in 2008. A four day holiday from the state sales tax is also established under the bill from July 31st to August 3rd at midnight of this year. School supplies, clothing under $100, eye wear and certain technology items, including computers under $1,500 would be exempted. The measure includes language for the property tax relief program which allows homeowners to shield the first $25,000 in value of their homes from local property taxes as well and tax credits are also provided for Daimler-Chrysler, the Rubbermaid Corp. and the proposed Atlanta Aquarium in the bill. And finally, it includes cuts in taxes for National Guard members and armed forces reservists who are stationed overseas 
Uniform Indigent Defense System -HB 770 is intended to fix how Georgia provides legal representation for the poor, an 11-member state board will oversee public defender offices in the state's 49 judicial circuits. The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, House Speaker, Court of Appeals and Georgia Supreme Court would have two appointments for the 11-member oversight board, with the other position being filled by a public defender. The board also, which will be formed next year and begin operating in 2005, is expected to set standards of performance to ensure quality representation and can remove defenders whose quality of representation fails to meet the standards. Certain counties would be allowed to opt out of the program after meeting standards and public defender offices would provide legal representation to indigents charged only in Superior or Juvenile courts, but would be allowed to contract with county courts to handle misdemeanor cases. The new system is estimated to cost $45 million. In 2001, the state funded 11 percent of the $55 million system and an estimated 170,000 defendants qualified for a publicly funded defender in Georgia. The federal courts have threatened to step in and mandate a system unless lawmakers make changes that provide adequate representation for all. 
Predatory Lending - SB 53 amends the Georgia Fair Lending Act which was adopted last year and intended to stop unscrupulous lenders from extracting huge fees from unsuspecting borrowers. Several consumer protections remain in the legislation, however, House members changed SB 53 and those in support say it strikes a balance between protecting consumers and not hurting Georgia's mortgage industry. Key provisions include limiting liability to the original lender in most circumstances, not the secondary mortgage holder, and prohibiting flipping, which is the rapid refinancing of loans with no benefit for the consumer, on high cost loans. Loans are considered 'high cost' if the lender charges an interest rate higher than 10 percentage points above the U.S. Treasury yield (or approximately 13 percent) or if the total fees and points charged to the borrower exceed 7 percent of the total loan amount. Early this year, rating agencies like Standard & Poors requested changes in the law and said they would no longer rate securitized packages of mortgage loans, which threatened to dry up money available to those wanting to buy a home in Georgia. 
Methamphetamine Labs - SB 205 is also a part of Governor Sonny Perdue's legislative package and it is intended to crack down on methamphetamine labs. The proposal makes it illegal to have more than 300 doses of drugs that contain ephedrine which are often used to make methamphetamine. If an offender is caught with less than 200 grams, there will be a mandatory 
 
 10 year prison sentence and a fine of $200,000. For 200-400 grams, there will be a mandatory prison term of 15 years and a fine of $300,000. For more than 400 grams, there will be a minimum prison term of 25 years and a fine of $1 million. Another provision makes it illegal to own the flammable fertilizer anhydrous ammonia, which is also used to make methamphetamine. However, people using the fertilizer legitimately would be exempt. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, twenty-five percent of the drug-related federal sentences in the state are methamphetamine-related and in 2002, the GBI seized nearly 150 clandestine labs making methamphetamine. 
Speeding up Bidding Process for Road Projects - SB 257 allows road contractors to come to the state Department of Transportation with projects before they have been planned or funded. Potential competitors would be given 90 days to study bids and submit their own proposal. Also, oversight of unsolicited contracts are required from the Governor and legislature under the bill and unsolicited proposals would be limited to those that do not have funding or are not on the Department of Transportation's project list. Intentions are to speed up projects that are low on the DOT's priority list. 
Class Action - HB 792 limits the number of times a plaintiff can dismiss a lawsuit and refile it, from two times to once, and toughening restrictions on when that dismissal can occur, changes the interest rate paid to plaintiffs for the time between a court judgment and the actual defendant payment, from a flat 12 percent per year to the existing prime rate plus 3 percent, makes it harder for a lawsuit in Georgia to gain class-action status and allows a Georgia court to reject a lawsuit filed by a person who's not a resident of the state. 
Internet Child Pornography - HB 462 creates a new crime of "obscene internet contact". This offense would be contact with children under 16 years of age via a computer internet service including, but not limited to e-mails, chat rooms, internet bulletin boards and other on-line message services, when the contact involves the exchange of information intended to arouse or satisfy the sexual desire of either the child or the adult. Those guilty would be charged with a felony punishable by a fine up to $10,000. Morphing, which is blending photographs of adults with those depicting a child's body to skirt pornography laws, was also banned under this proposal. Violators could face up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. 
Warning about Meningitis - HB 521 requires new students after they have completed college registration to sign a warning affidavit about meningitis. Meningitis is an infection of spinal cord fluid and the fluid surrounding the brain that can be caused by bacteria or by a virus. 
Class Size - SB 249 is a part of the Governor's legislative agenda and allows school systems to delay reducing class sizes in grades 4-12 for one year. The measure also gives local districts more control over how they spend state funding. The state began phasing in smaller class sizes in 2000. The 2003-04 school year was supposed to be the fourth year of the phase-in. School systems wanted a break because of the cost, which has been more difficult to bear in the slow economy. 
Teacher Tenure - Under SB 193 teachers hired after July 1, 2000 would be re-granted fair dismissal hearing rights and could appeal a school system's decision to not renew their contract. 
 
 The protections were curbed under HB 1187 which was adopted in the 2000 session. Another provision in the bill rewards teachers with a 5 percent pay hike if their students show a significant increase in their scores on standardized tests. 
Foster Parents - SB 192, which is the Governor's legislative Package, adds great-grandparents to the list of family members which may adopt a child without undergoing a departmental inspection process and makes foster parents a necessary witness in placement hearings. 
Hunting - Under HB 815, hunting clubs would be required to acquire state permits every year for using hounds or other dogs to hunt deer. Permit numbers would have to be displayed on the members dogs and vehicles and would cost $25 for a two day hunt and $100 for an annual permit. The measure also allows hunting alligator at night with a light and shooting at them from boats. Another provision makes hunting licenses valid for a full year. They currently expire on March 31st of every year. 
Medicaid Reimbursement Rates for Nursing Homes - HB 526 assesses a provider fee on nursing homes and will go into the indigent Care Trust Fund. The estimated $91 million will then be used to draw down $136 million in federal funds and distributed to nursing home in the form of higher medicaid reimbursement rates. To receive payments, the nursing homes must have a patient load that is at least 15 percent indigent. 
Identity Theft - HB 213 requires merchants to partially remove credit card numbers from receipts by allowing only the last five numbers of a credit card or debit card number on printed receipts. Also, the bill exempts handwritten and carbon-copy receipts, so small businesses wouldn't be forced to buy credit card machines, and would not apply to Internet or out-of-state transactions. 
Pyrotechnics - Under SB 213 firework displays performed inside would have to be approved by a state fire marshal. The local fire official responsible for the area in question would also have to certify in writing that the site for the display meets his or her approval and is in compliance with all applicable codes. 
Background Checks - SB 22 authorizes the Georgia Crime Information Center to provide records related to prosecution of first offenders if the person who is the subject of the inquiry has applied for employment caring for minor children or elderly persons and was prosecuted for one of a list of specified offenses. 
Sex Offender Registry - HB 463 requires those guilty of conspiracy to transport, ship, receive, or distribute visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct to register yearly with the Criminal Justice Information System and notify the local sheriff. Failure to register could result in a felony. Also, the bill requires sex offenders to obtain a state driver's license or state identification within 30 days of relocating in Georgia. Toll Revenues - SB 221 limits the use of toll revenues to the construction, maintenance, or improvement of the project from which the tolls are collected. GA 400 which is north of Atlanta is the state's only toll road. 
 
 Expanding No-Call List - SB 272 allows citizens to add their cell phone numbers to the no-call list for telemarketers. 
Renaming Roads - SB 73 prohibits the naming or renaming of state property for any elected public official unless he or she has been out of office for at least five years. 
Terrorism - SB 183 would make it a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature for any person to knowingly infect Georgia livestock with any foreign biological or chemical agent which could pose a substantial threat to the state's animal industries. 
Worker's Compensation - SB 233 increases the maximum workers compensation payment from $400 to $425 per week and requires an physical examination for employees receiving compensation. 
Man-Made Wetlands - HB 413 provides a tax credit to property owners and developers who build man-made wetlands for storm-water runoff from parking lots, driveways, rooftops and streets. 
Sexual Offenders Homes' - SB 101 makes it a felony for individuals convicted of most sex crimes to reside within 1,000 feet of any child care facility, school, or area where minors congregate. 
Cleaning up Brownfields - HB 531 provides tax incentives for the cleanup and redevelopment of environmentally contaminated brownfield properties. 
Soil Erosion Fee - Under HB 285 builders and developers would be charged an $80 per-acre fee to fund erosion-control programs at construction sites and gives the Environmental Protection Division more authority to deal with storm water pollution and soil erosion at construction and workplace sites. 
Water Meters - HB 579 requires the State Soil and Water Conservation Commission to set up a system for installing water meters on farms with water withdrawl permits to measure patterns and agricultural water use. 
Private Docks - SB 94 allows owners of residential lots along coastal waterways to build a private dock, even if they don't plan to build a home on the property. However, the docks could only be built on lots with at least 50 feet of waterside frontage. 
Bullet Proof Vests - HB 173 adds a five year prison sentence for the commission of various violent crimes while wearing body armor. The five year sentence would be added to penalties already in place for such crimes as burglary and armed robbery. 
DNA - SB 119 would allow for new trials to be granted to criminal defendants if DNA testing shows they might be innocent of the crime. 
Lower Speed Limits in Work Zones - HB 457 allows the state Department of Transportation to 
 
 post lower speed limits in work zones. 
Pre-Marital Syphilis Testing - SB 190 removes the required syphilis testing before marriage. 
Drug Trafficking - HB 196, which passed on Friday 139 - 13, reduces the quantity of marijuana needed for a trafficking prosecution from 50 lbs to 10 lbs. 
College Athletics - HB 95 allows schools to sue athletes who break certain rules that result in the forfeiture of games or bowl winnings. 
Greenspace - HB 314 would transfer any interest earned on earmarked for the Greenspace Trust Fund into the state's general treasury. 
Boat Restrictions on Lake Oconee - HB 444 passed on Thursday 154 - 6 and bans boats longer than 30 feet on Lake Oconee 
Bicycle Lanes - HR 265 urges the Georgia Department of Transportation to create a network of bicycle lanes throughout the state. 
Georgia House of Representatives Public Information Office