Part 2: 2013 Legislation Travels to Governor’s Desk

Dear Editor:

Last time, we spent time highlighting bills that received final passage through the legislature and are traveling to the Governor’s desk for final approval or veto. In this week’s column, we will outline the final series of bills that are currently being reviewed, signed into law, or vetoed by the Governor for the first term of the 152nd Legislative Session:

SB 142: Georgia Judicial Retirement System; board of trustees; authority to determine the time/circumstances of paying benefits; qualified plan under federal law

SB 143: Retirement System; board of trustees of public retirement systems; provide duties

SB 145: Agritourism; add farm weddings to the definition

SB 156: Surface Mining; revise a definition

SB 158: Temporary Medical Consent Guardianship; Physician Order for Life-sustaining Treatment; change certain signatures

SB 160: Public Employers; provide annual report relative to compliance with certain laws; provide for certain report to Dept. of Audits and Accounts

SB 168: Public Contracts; contracting and bidding requirements

SB 170: Forgery and Fraudulent Practices; identity fraud; add medical identity fraud

SB 177: Georgia Tourism Foundation; change the membership

SB178: Georgia Legislative Retirement System; define a certain term; broaden certain provision

SB179: Public Contracts; if sealed competitive proposal requested/price or project cost not a selection factor; no bid bond shall be required

SB 185: Banking; secured transactions; change/provide for definitions; electronic chattel paper; provisions

SB 193: Uniform Interstate Family Support Act; update

SB 204: Appeal and Error; limit the scope of judgments/orders; child custody cases; direct appeal

SB 216: Pharmacies; provide that medical director of an emergency service provider may contract with more than one pharmacy

SB 218: Highways, Bridges and Ferries; annual commercial wrecker emergency tow permits; qualifications for issuance

SB 225: Criminal Procedure; relieve a surety from liability under certain circumstances

SB 226: Coroners; investigation fees; change certain provisions

HB 226: Solid waste management; tire transportation, storage, and disposal; revise certain requirements

SB 231: Georgia Driver's Education Commission; additional sums collected on fines; extend the sunset provisions

HB 232: Regents Retirement Plan; level of employee participation; change

SB 234: Insurance; limited licenses to sell travel insurance; comprehensive revision of provision; issuance and regulation

HB 234: Contracts; new chapter that provides for notice of automatic renewal provisions in service contracts; enact

HB 235: Optometrists; revise definition of optometry; remove certain exemption

SB 236: Insurance; require insurers; indicate amount of the premium increase; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

HB 238: Public School Employees Retirement System; limitation on maximum level of benefits; clarify certain provisions

HB 240: Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids; certain speech-language pathology; require reimbursement

SB 242: Downtown Development Authorities; undertake projects; reducing energy or water consumption; renewable resources

HB 242: Juvenile proceedings; substantially revise, supersede, and modernize provisions

HB 244: Elementary and secondary education; annual performance evaluations; revise certain provisions

HB 250: Local excise tax; sale or use of energy; revise certain provisions

HB 252: Athens-Clarke County; chief magistrate judge; provide nonpartisan elections

HB 253: Athens-Clarke County; provide future nonpartisan elections for office of probate judge

HB 254: Motor vehicles; electronic proof of insurance may be accepted under certain circumstances; provide

HB 255: Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005; administration responsibilities from Department of Revenue to Department of Public Safety; transfer

HB 256: Tobacco; regulation of cigar wraps; provide

HB 266: Internal Revenue Code; certain provisions of federal law into Georgia law; incorporate

HB 268: Agricultural products dealers; cotton and eggs from definition of "agricultural products"; remove

HB 274: Game and fish; regulate practice of falconry

HB 276: Hazardous site response; appropriations to Department of Natural Resources and Georgia Hazardous Waste Management Authority; change certain procedures

HB 283: Education; update and revise terminology; provisions

HB 284: Return to Play Act of 2013; enact

HB 286: Hawkinsville, City of; Pulaski County; create and incorporate new political body corporate under name Hawkinsville-Pulaski County, Georgia

HB 287: Secretary of State, Office of; Division of Archives and History; reassign to Board of Regents of University System of Georgia

HB 289: Funds transfers; Uniform Commercial Code and federal law; clarify certain provisions

HB 298: Agricultural Commodity Commission for Georgia Grown Products; create

HB 302: Controlled substances; substances included under Schedule I and III; add

HB 304: Freeport exemption; applicability to fertilizer production processes; clarify

HB 312: Insurance; regulating insurance holding company systems; provide comprehensive revision of provisions

HB 315: Nurses; continuing competency requirements as requirement for license renewal; provide

HB 317: Medical Practice Act of the State of Georgia; administrative medicine licenses; provide

HB 318: Georgia Tourism Development Act; revise certain definitions; provisions

HB 320: Solid waste management; currently existing and compliant inert waste landfill operations from regulatory permitting; exempt

HB 323: Motor vehicles; age for operation of certain commercial motor vehicle operators; modify

HB 324: Georgia Student Finance Commission; board of commissioners; Georgia

Student Finance Authority; board of directors; verification of lawful presence; provide exemptions

HB 328: Lowndes County; nonpartisan nomination and election of judge of

Probate Court; provide

HB 329: Lowndes County; judge of Small Claims Court shall be magistrate judge elected on nonpartisan basis; provide

HB 332: Georgia Board of Nursing; reconstitute; provisions

HB 336: Civil practice; tort claims arising out of use of motor vehicles; provide for certain pre-suit settlement offers

HB 337: Elementary and secondary education; public and private schools to stock supply of auto-injectable epinephrine; authorize

HB 338: Georgia Council for the Arts; role of arts in economic development and other vital functions to the state; clarify

HB 345: Teachers Retirement System of Georgia; clarify and consolidate the definitions of the term "teacher"

HB 349: Criminal cases; provide state with more direct appeal rights

HB 350: Group-care facility operators; persons otherwise issued licenses as provided by law; provide exceptions

HB 354: Early Care and Learning, Department of; provide certain information to owners of early care and education programs; require

HB 359: Unclaimed property; commissioner of revenue to deposit certain funds in state treasury; require

HB 361: Labor organizations membership; provide for definitions; provisions

HB 366: Peace officers; disciplining certified officers and requirements for certification; clarify application of provisions

HB 371: Motor fuel tax; define liquefied natural gas

HB 372: HOPE; grant at technical college or university institutions; revise eligibility

HB 381: Natural Resources, Department of; department creation and operation of a nonprofit corporation; revise provisions

HB 382: Torts; governing authority of school that enters into recreational joint-use agreement with public or private entity; limit liability

HB 384: Transportation, Department of; local governing authority designating public streets or portions thereof for combined use of motorized carts and regular vehicle traffic; modify provisions

HB 389: Insurance; provide conversion and enhanced conversion rights and coverage; sunset requirements

HB 393: Georgia Workforce Investment Board; provide for powers and duties; provisions

HB 402: Conservation; shore protection and coastal marshlands protection; revise various provisions

HB 407: Drivers' licenses; mandatory use of ignition interlock devices following second conviction for driving under influence of alcohol or drugs; modify and extend provisions

HB 434: Liens; mechanics and materialmen; special liens include amount due and interest on such amount; provide

HB 437: Atlanta Judicial Circuit; provide for selection of chief judge

HB 441: Fulton County Superior Court; administrator shall have oversight of budget; provide

HB 443: Fulton County Magistrate Court; successor to chief judge currently serving shall be appointed by Governor; provide

HB 444: Fulton County Superior Court; amount of supplement for judges; increase

HB 446: Guardian and ward; proposed ward who resided in another state prior to submission of guardianship or conservatorship petition for such proposed ward; provide certain additional notice requirements

HB 451: Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit; provide for additional judge

HB 454: Budget report; require certain items to be included in tax expenditure review

HB 458: Condominiums; maximum allowable casualty insurance deductible imposed by associations; change

HB 463: Motor vehicle licenses; registration rates under International Registration

Plan for apportioned vehicles; change

HB 473: Counties and municipal corporations; add option of fiscal year contracts

HB 475: Drivers' licenses; commissioner to enter into reciprocal agreements on behalf of Georgia for recognition of licenses issued by foreign territories; authorize

HB 480: Crimes and offenses; list of persons who may be present in courtroom when person under age of 16 testifies concerning a sex offense; add victim assistance personnel

HB 482: Corrections, Department of; employees serving as certified peace officers may retain their weapons under certain circumstances; provide

HB 487: Offenses against public health and morals; Georgia Lottery; correct a cross reference

HB 497: Georgia Boat Safety Act; numbering and registration of vessels; revise provisions

HB 499: Torts; payor guidelines and criteria under federal law shall not establish legal basis for negligence or standard of care for medical malpractice; provide

HB 506: Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit; provide for selection of chief judge

HB 517: Alcohol; local control of distance requirements of grocery stores and other licensees for retail sale of wine and malt beverages near college campuses; provide

As we discussed in last week’s column, I encourage you to reach out to the Governor’s office on bills you support. I also invite you to email or call my office with your feedback and suggestions on any bills that you’d like for me to expound upon in future columns.

For a complete listing of bills signed into law, please visit the Governor’s website at: http://gov.georgia.gov/bills-signed/2013. A more in-depth listing of legislation passed this session may be viewed at: http://www.legis.ga.gov.

If you have any additional questions about a specific piece of legislation, the budget or general district concerns, please contact my office at any time.

State Sen. Bill Heath, R-Bremen

Sen. Bill Heath serves as Chairman of the Government Oversight Committee. He represents the 31st Senate District which consists of Haralson and Polk counties and portions of Paulding County.  He may be reached at 404-656-3943 or by email at billheath@billheath.net.