Finding ways to beef up election security and deal with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic will be the top priorities when the Georgia General Assembly reconvenes in January, members of the Hall County legislative delegation said Thursday.
Lawmakers also suggested that addresses all the needs of the state while producing a constitutionally mandated balanced budget could be a challenge in the new session.
The delegation made their comments Thursday during the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce's annual Eggs & Issues breakfast that was held with both a limited number of people in-person at Lanier Technical College and most people watching via Zoom.
On the controversy swirling around the November elections, the legislators rejected calls for a special session to address concerns.
"There's an old phrase in politics, and it's 'you ain't got the votes,'" Sen. Butch Miller, R-Gainesville, said. Miller, the Senate majority leader, said it would take 34 senators and 108 House members to force a special session, something he said was unlikely.
Rep. Timothy Barr, R-Lawrenceville, said any changes made to election law cannot be made retroactive to the November elections.
"It wouldn't be constitutional for us to go back and to change something that has already happened," said Barr, whose district includes a portion of South Hall County. "That's just unconstitutional."
But Miller said lawmakers would certainly be looking at way to ensure the state's elections are as secure as possible without making it more difficult for Georgians to vote. Miller said he has an election-related bill that is similar to the state's Opportunity School District law that allows the state to take over failing school systems.
"If there is a county that is habitually failing, habitually causing a problem, habitually having to recount, habitually turning in their ballots late, we need to look at that," he said. "It will be centered around the performance of counties."
Miller also said he expects the legislature to look at the security of absentee ballots and whether the laws allowing people to request an absentee ballot for any reason should be changed. Previous Georgia law required people requesting an absentee ballot to meet one from a limited list of reasons why they wanted to vote by absentee ballot.
Rep. Lee Hawkins, R-Gainesville, said the state should require a bipartisan team to review absentee ballot signatures, and he said the state will provide additional poll workers trained in election security at polling precincts.
On dealing with the economic effects of the coronavirus, lawmakers said they will work to ensure businesses are able to reopen and return to normal as quickly as possible, and they promised continued financial assistance to hospitals and health care providers who have been impacted by the pandemic.
Rep. Matt Dubnik, R-Gainesville, said the members of the General Assembly must be forward thinkers who look for innovative ways to address the new challenges brought on by the pandemic.
"We're in a time of change so why shouldn’t we look at change." Dubnik said. "Our business climate is changing, and businesses are adapting. Why should we adapt, as well?"
Lawmakers also had praise for how Gov. Brian Kemp has handled the reopening of the state following the spring shutdown.
"There were a number of people who were critical of him when he reopened the state, but he did so in a manner that really put the responsibility on us as citizens," Hawkins said. "Government can't do everything for us, nor should it. It is our responsibility to wear a mask, our responsibility to protect our families and our businesses."
Hawkins said he sees fewer people wearing masks today than he did earlier in the pandemic.
"We're going to have to get back to the basics of protecting ourselves and each other, so we can protect our businesses and our economy, as well as help our hospitals with their battle against COVID," he said.
Miller said the way the General Assembly functions in 2021 will be affected by the pandemic. Only 750 people will be allowed inside the state Capitol at any time. The normal number is about 3,000, he said. Lawmakers will be required to wear masks and social distance as much as possible.
He also said he expects a rule change that will allow lawmakers to vote remotely from their offices to limit the number of people on the chamber floor. Similar measures are expected in the House, where some members will be moved to seat in the chamber's gallery to allow distance between representatives.
He also said the page program has been suspended for this session, and the number of interns has been limited.
On other issues:
- Lawmakers expect a difficult budget session with so many needs from so many different areas of state government. The state must have a balanced budget, so the legislators said serious priorities will need to be established.
- Lawmakers said they would look at funding for higher education and technical education, with demand for both at an all-time high. They said they would look at additional funding to increase pay and benefits for technical college professors.
- A second round of funding for a convention center and hotel at Lake Lanier Islands is likely this session as the legislature looks to help revive the convention and tourism industry, hard hit by the virus.
- New regulations that will help the trucking industry are likely, although overall spending on transportation may be down next year.
