ATLANTA – Georgia’s General Assembly starts its 2024 common consultation Monday and the highest intrigue is whether or not Republicans, after longtime opposition, might agree to an additional expansion of health care for deficient adults underneath the state’s Medicaid program.
Republican House Speaker Jon Burns of Newington stated he needs to discover the theory, and Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones stated he’s keen to imagine it. Gov. Brian Kemp, the state’s best Republican, has championed a extra restricted growth of protection.
Because it is the second one 12 months of the two-year legislative time period, the entire measures that did not go ultimate 12 months are nonetheless alive. That method issues can occur rapid, particularly for expenses that were given shut to passage. For instance, many of us be expecting a snappy answer on a push to create new educational vouchers.
This is also an election 12 months for the 180 representatives and 56 senators, even supposing now not for Kemp or Jones. Lawmakers might glance towards measures that can please their supporters or win them votes. With state coffers bulging, further pay increases for public workers and lecturers seem most likely. Republicans are additionally pushing a further income tax cut.
Here is a have a look at different best problems that might stand up as state lawmakers meet for 40 trade days over the following 3 months:
LAWSUIT LIMITS
Kemp has stated he needs to make it more difficult for other folks to file lawsuits and win big legal judgments. He has stated Georgia’s prime insurance coverage charges are among the harms of such proceedings.
Georgia lawmakers capped noneconomic damages together with ache and struggling in a 2005 tort reform legislation, however the state Supreme Court overturned such caps as unconstitutional in 2010.
Owners of business houses and flats had been one of the vital largest supporters of limits, announcing they are getting unfairly sued when unrelated events do improper on their belongings. Another giant backer is the trucking business, which needs to finish the appropriate of other folks to sue insurers at once.
ELECTION LAW
Fighting about elections and the regulations that govern them has hardly ever paused since 2018 in Georgia, and extra measures may well be debated in 2024.
Some partisans might search a measure clarifying that the State Election Board has criminal authority to examine Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in search of an inquiry into the Republican’s dealing with of post-election audits following Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia.
Those who query Biden’s victory additionally desire a invoice permitting them to evaluate paper ballots, pursuing claims of counterfeit ballots.
Raffensperger is looking for $4.7 million to be appropriated for machines to permit electorate to take a look at the pc codes published on their ballots. Those who mistrust Georgia’s digital vote casting device may just counter with expenses to outlaw the codes or to let electorate mark ballots by way of hand.
Some lawmakers are unhappy Raffensperger would possibly not replace device on vote casting machines prior to the 2024 presidential election. The secretary says there’s not enough time to set up updates
Raffensperger has renewed his name to get rid of runoffs after common elections when no candidate wins a majority.
PROSECUTOR DISCIPLINE
Top Senate Republicans plan a invoice to take away the requirement that the Georgia Supreme Court approve laws for a brand new fee to self-discipline and take away state prosecutors. The court in November dominated that it lacked authority to accomplish that, which intended the fee may just now not start working. A House Republican additionally has promised a snappy repair.
Some Republicans in Georgia need the brand new fee to discipline or remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for indicting former President Donald Trump.
Georgia’s legislation is one among a couple of Republican makes an attempt national to keep an eye on prosecutors. Opponents say the legislation creates a bias in desire of prosecuting other folks, however supporters say district lawyers violate their oaths of place of job if they do not prosecute.
DEFINING ANTISEMITISM
A invoice to outline antisemitism in Georgia legislation stalled in 2023 in a debate over how the measure must be worded. The measure already used to be supported by way of many lawmakers and the drive to act has simplest grown with robust Republican give a boost to for Israel in its warfare with Hamas.
Sponsors say a definition would assist prosecutors and different officers establish hate crimes and unlawful discrimination concentrated on Jewish other folks. But some critics warn it might restrict loose speech, particularly in criticizing the movements of Israel. Others do not oppose a legislation, however object to the measure defining antisemitism by way of referring to a definition followed by way of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
A bunch of outstanding evangelical Christians, together with Pastor John Hagee of Christians United for Israel, Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and Jentezen Franklin of megachurch Free Chapel, wrote to Georgia lawmakers in December urging them to undertake the IHRA definition.
MENTAL HEALTH
House contributors made a gigantic push in 2023 for a invoice that might recruit extra psychological well being staff, assist individuals who jump between hospitals, jails and homelessness, and learn about different wishes. That measure faltered in a broader House-Senate dispute.
This 12 months, psychological well being leaders say they be expecting to center of attention on extra money to lift pay, build up bills to provider suppliers and open extra disaster beds. But regulation might nonetheless be wanted for some priorities, together with addressing the backlog of pretrial psychological well being opinions for other folks accused of crimes.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Georgia may just sign up for different states requiring kids more youthful than 18 to get their folks’ permission to create social media accounts. Republican Sen. Jason Anavitarte of Dallas said in August that he would push one of these proposal.
Georgia would not be the primary state to search one of these restriction, however efforts in different states had been challenged by way of proceedings.
In the House, Education Committee Chairman Chris Erwin, a Homer Republican, says lawmakers want to learn about whether or not threats and different social media task harm faculties’ talent to serve as, even supposing he has made no particular proposals.
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