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2010 Legislative Session: April 8 Update   4/8/2010
Monday marks the 34th day of the 2010 session of the Georgia General Assembly. CFR readers will recall that in the last report we highlighted 'crossover day', the 30th day of the session after which a bill that has not moved from its originating chamber to the other is essentially 'dead'. In the closing legislative days, lawmakers and lobbyists must watch carefully for efforts to amend lost bills onto surviving legislation. It is a precarious time indeed and holds the potential for much mischief, mayhem and madness.
 

 
2010 Legislative Session: March 29 Update   3/29/2010
Senate Bill 409 by Senate Finance Chairman Ronnie Chance (R-Tyrone) requires that when subsidies are granted for new industries on the purchase of raw materials, those same incentives will be given to existing businesses. The bill was the last item voted on by the full Senate Tuesday and passed unanimously by a vote of 44 to O. SB The bill will now enter the House where it will be carried by Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah). GFA supports this bill.
 

 
2010 Legislative Session: March 19 Update   3/19/2010
Senate Bill 409 by Senate Finance Chairman Ronnie Chance (R-Tyrone) requires that when subsidies are granted for new industries on the purchase of raw materials, those same incentives will be given to existing businesses. The bill is currently "tabled" in the Senate, and can be brought up by the sponsor at any time. It is expected that Senator Chance will bring SB 409 off the table on Monday, March 22 so that the bill can be voted on by the full Senate.
 

 
2010 Legislative Session: March 12 Update   3/12/2010
The General Assembly returned to work on Monday after a long recess and, over the course of the week, made progress on several bills representing the session's hottest issues. Both the House and the Senate passed their respective versions of the Governor's water bill. The Senate voted unanimously to pass a bill that will ease the burden on property taxpayers across the state. The House Transportation Committee has devoted hours upon hours to reach a solution for funding transportation projects throughout Georgia, and will likely pass the Governor's transportation bill at some point next week.
 

 
2010 Legislative Session: March 5 Update   3/5/2010
Senate Bill 409 by Senate Finance Chairman Ronnie Chance (R-Tyrone) requires that when subsidies are granted for new industries on the purchase of raw materials, those same incentives will be given to existing businesses as well. The bill passed out of the Senate Finance Committee, and will now head to the Senate Rules Committee to be placed on the debate calendar. GFA supports this bill.
 

 
2010 Legislative Session: February 22 Update   2/22/2010
It was another eventful week under the Gold Dome as the General Assembly knocked out another three legislative days. The Georgia Forestry Association celebrated a significant legislative victory as House Transportation Chairman Jay Roberts successfully carried House Bill 1028, the bill that will correct a potential landowner liability issue in the Forest Land Protection Act, through the House of Representatives. The battle, unfortunately, isn't over: the bill still needs to pass through the Senate and, if successful, will require the Governor's signature in order to become law. We still have a long way to go.
 

 
2010 Legislative Session: February 12th Update   2/12/2010
GFA's priority issue, House Bill 1028 by Rep. Jay Roberts (R-Ocilla), will amend the Forest Land Protection Act to remove obstacles to enrollment related to potential liability of an owner of land in a covenant who sells or transfers a portion of the property to someone who later breaches the covenant. The bill passed out of the House Ways & Means Committee unanimously last week. Rep. Roberts will ask for the bill to be added to the House Rules Calendar (the list of bills scheduled for debate and vote each day) next week. Please contact your House member to solicit his or her support when House Bill 1028 hits the House floor.
 

 
2010 Legislative Session: February 5th Update   2/5/2010
At GFA's request, Rep. Debbie Buckner (D-Junction City) has decided against legislation to impose a mandatory restitution of three times the fair market value of trees taken in an unintentional timber harvest overcut. Instead, Rep. Buckner is expected to introduce a bill to create a legislative study committee on timber trespass and theft. GFA will support the study committee and, if the bill passes, will participate as fully as possible in the committee's work.
 

 
2010 Legislative Session: January 29 Update   1/29/2010
Representative Jay Roberts (R-Ocilla) has introduced House Bill 1028 that will amend the Forest Land Protection Act (FLPA) of 2008. Last year during the rulemaking process for FLPA it became apparent that, in its current form, the FLPA statute could create an unintended liability for a landowner who sold a portion of the covenanted property if the purchaser later breached the covenant (by law, both ownerships continue in the original 15-year covenant). HB 1028 removes the liability obstacle from the statute so that any penalties for breaching a covenant are clearly the responsibility of the breaching party. HB 1028 is GFA's top legislative initiative this year.
 

 
2010 Legislative Session: January 15 Update   1/15/2010
Governor Perdue's State of the State address has set the tone for the 2010 session of the Georgia legislature: to do the hard things now for a better tomorrow. The State Senate and House of Representatives face some difficult challenges this year, namely finding solutions to the state's budget, water and transportation problems.
 

 
2010 Pre-Session Report   1/8/2010
The 2010 session of the Georgia General Assembly that begins on January 11 promises to be a very interesting one. Since last session, a number of seats have been vacated by those seeking higher office or by those looking to move from one chamber to the other. Therefore, the number of familiar faces will be down significantly this year.
 

 
2009 End of Session Report   4/9/2009
Almost before the confetti had hit the chamber floor around midnight on April 3, calls for a special session to address the 'shortcomings' of the 2009 legislature, along with sharp criticism for opportunities lost and promises not kept, were reverberating through the media.
 

 
2009 Legislative Session: March 16 Update   3/16/2009
Thursday, March 12 at the Capitol was not only day thirty of the 2009 legislative session, but it also was the critical "crossover day", the point in the session when legislative proposals must 'crossover' from the chamber of origin to the other chamber. Of course, in the world of 'law-making' it doesn't mean that a legislative initiative is automatically dead if it doesn't make it out of the chamber where it was introduced, since it may be amended onto other legislation at any time before adjournment, even up until the final minutes before midnight on day forty, the final day of the regular session.
 

 
2009 Legislative Session: February 13th Update   2/13/2009
Georgia's State Constitution allows a maximum of 40 days per year for the regular session of the Georgia General Assembly. Eighteen days are now in the books for the 2009 session, and lawmakers last week adopted a legislative schedule to accommodate the possibility of receiving stimulus dollars from Washington to plug deep holes in the state's budget.
 

 
2009 Legislative Session: January 20th Update   1/20/2009
Georgia's State Constitution imposes a maximum of 40 days per year for the regular session of the General Assembly. Five days are now in the books for the 2009 session, and this week lawmakers are in recess to conduct critical budget hearings. In this report, are brief descriptions of some of the more than 300 measures introduced as of Friday, January 16, along with brief summaries of key regulatory issues in which GFA is engaged.
 

 
     

 
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