ATLANTA - Georgia lawmakers waded into the thorny social issues of health care and immigration Tuesday as they prepared to put the finishing touches on this year's grueling 40-day legislative session.
With most of the major pieces of the legislative agenda done, Republican leaders in the House and Senate turned their attention to social legislation long-sought by their supporters. They also worked to finalize a $17.8 billion spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1 - the last key hurdle before they can adjourn.
Both chambers considered dozens of proposals, many of them controversial, on the second-to-last day of the legislative session.
The House tackled one of the diciest issues, agreeing to ban mandatory participation in a health care system. The proposal, which now goes to the Senate, would restrict the government from requiring any resident, employer or health care provider from participating in a health care system.
Critics said the language in the Georgia bill would never pass constitutional review and would quickly be struck down by the courts. But it was pushed by conservative lawmakers worried that a sweeping health care bill approved by federal lawmakers would trample state rights.
"Each person should have the right to purchase private health care, purchase government health care, or exercise their right not to purchase any health care at all," said state Sen. Judson Hill, a Marietta Republican who sponsored the measure.
The House also voted to require Georgia to join the rest of the nation in requiring adults in pickup trucks to wear seat belts. The bill now goes to Gov. Sonny Perdue for his signature.
In the Senate, lawmakers voted 34-9 to urge Washington to secure the borders because Georgia "is unable to withstand the financial burden created by illegal immigration." The resolution urges President Barack Obama and Congress to devote more resources to tightening immigration control.
And Georgia lawmakers moved closer to banning drivers from texting behind the wheel. The measure is headed to a conference committee and could be taken up on Thursday, the session's final day.
A slew of other social issues are still on the docket in both chambers.
House lawmakers were poised to consider a proposal to jail doctors who perform abortions on women who have been coerced to have the procedures based on the race or sex of the fetus. It had already been adopted by the Senate and an attempt to weaken it was defeated in a House panel.
Gun rights advocates were clamoring for a vote on a pair of gun measures that had already cleared the Senate. One would allow gun owners with permits to bring their firearms into some bars and the parking lots of colleges, courthouses and jails. The other would let them carry their weapons when dropping off and picking up passengers at airports throughout the state.
Another hotly debated measure that would have created an evaluation system to judge how well teachers do their jobs has been tabled in the House amid concerns from education groups, but it still could be revived.
Not everything was under dispute. Most of the day's legislation in the Senate passed with little discussion or opposition, and more than half of the bills passed unanimously, including a measure creating a state fund for citizens to donate to the state's general fund to through their income tax returns.
Some of the most important pieces of the legislative agenda have already been cleared.
A water conservation bill was approved weeks ago. A transportation deal is finally sealed. Ethics reform legislation has been OK'd. And a measure that hikes dozens of fees and slaps a new tax on hospitals to help fill a budget hole has been adopted. Perdue must still sign the bills, which have cleared both the House and the Senate.
Saturday
February 22nd, 2025
4:07AM
