Updates on Legislation CBA is Tracking

All updates are current as of the writing of the blog.
 
H.B. 63 Lease Vehicle Tax Exemption sponsored by Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R), Bonaire. The House Ways & Means Ad Valorem Tax Subcommittee held a hearing only for the bill. There were not any major discussion points from committee members.  
 
H.B. 90 Timber Land Conversion sponsored by Rep. Bruce Williamson (R), Monroe. A substitute bill was presented to the full  Judiciary committee. Rep. Williamson walked through the bill quickly, and there were only a couple of clarifying questions discussed. The substitute bill received a DO PASS
 
H.B. 111 Housekeeping Bill sponsored by Rep. Bruce Williamson (R), Monroe. The bill was presented for a second time to the Banks & Banking committee. There was no further discussion or questions on the bill. The bill received a DO PASS motion. 
 
H.B. 138 Leased Property Crime Disclosure sponsored by Rep. Mesha Mainor (D), Atlanta. The bill was presented to the House Judiciary Scoggins Subcommittee. The discussion included how to manage the timeframe for this disclosure of information to a state, county, and law enforcement level. One main concern dealt with the Open Records Act, where information can be requested, but that information has been known never to be released. There was a lot of support for the bill, and it was left that the subcommittee would like to see a substitute before voting.
 
H.B. 149 "S" Corporation & Partnership Taxes sponsored by Rep. Bruce Williamson (R), Monroe. The House Ways & Means Public Finance and Policy Subcommittee held a hearing only for the bill. There were a few clarifying questions on how the entities will now be taxed with this bill and some discussion to understand how elected shareholders would be handled under this bill. Rep. Williamson disclosed that the IRS just allowed for this new tax structure at the Federal level. It was described that this bill would prevent double taxation without affecting Georgia State tax income. The hearing ended with more discussion needed at a later meeting.
 
H.B. 229 Digital Application Fairness sponsored by Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R), Dalton. A substitute bill was presented to the House Judiciary Gunter Subcommittee. There were a number of witnesses that presented on the bill and there were a number of questions from committee members.  No further action was taken.
 
H.B. 241 Service Contract Insurance sponsored by Rep. Matthew Gambill (R), Cartersville. A substitute  bill was presented to the House Insurance Property and Casualty Tavin Subcommittee.  Rep. Gambill disclosed that this bill is almost exactly like the bill passed by the Senate last year but got held up in the House. This a model bill from 49 other states, and only a couple of clarifying questions were asked. The bill seems more directed at auto/vehicle warranty contracts. The bill received a DO PASS by committee substitute.  On Tuesday, the substitute bill was presented to the full House Insurance committee. The bill received a DO PASS by committee substitute. 
 
 
H.R. 72 Credit Reporting Memorandum sponsored by Rep. Kim Schofield (D), Atlanta.  The Banks and Banking Committee held a hearing only for the resolution.  Rep. Schofield presented the resolution to which committee members raised several similar concerns on protecting lenders who use credit reporting as risk assessment. The committee is open to the resolution urging U.S. Congress but was not willing to vote on the matter. The committee suggested that a substitute with added content be drafted for the next meeting.
 
S.B. 45 Professional Industries & Utilities sponsored by Sen. Bruce Thompson (R), White. The bill was presented to the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities committee. There were a number of questions relating to how the endorsement would be judged for proper comparability to practice the profession here in Georgia. Concerns were raised about how to enforce a professional's license that may be under scrutiny from another state. Finally, Sen. Thompson presented an amendment that the committee motioned to be added to the bill that strengthened these endorsements' verification process. The bill received a motion DO PASS as a committee substitute.
 
S.B. 49 Building Review Exemptions sponsored by Sen. Clint Dixon (R), Buford. A substitute bill was presented to the Senate State and Local Government Operations Committee. Sen. Dixon disclosed that this bill is a permanent version of an Executive Order from the Governor last year for private providers to be exempted from certain statutory timeframes for plan review.  After some discussion, the bill received a DO PASS motion.
 
S.B. 52 Cybersecurity Protections and Business Liability sponsored by Sen. Bruce Thompson (R), White. The substitute bill was presented to the Senate Science & Technology committee. Sen. Thompson presented the bill and disclosed that this bill is the same as the one that passed the Senate almost unanimously last year but got held in the House. There was some discussion over language concerns; however, the committee concluded with a DO PASS by committee substitute

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