Update from the Gold Dome: Week Seven
News March 3, 2021
Sen. Steve Gooch
Week seven under the Gold Dome brought us five legislative days in which we passed numerous bills and held several committee meetings. As we inch closer to Crossover Day, our days here in the Capitol have stretched longer, but are nonetheless crucial to passing comprehensive bills. As always, I am dedicated to supporting the legislation that benefits my constituents in this great state of Georgia.
One of the most important issues we tackled this session was restoring citizen’s trust in their election system and I’m proud of the work we have done in the Senate to accomplish this. This week we passed five election bills including Senate Bills 40, SB 67, SB 89, SB 184, and SB 188. SB 40 would require election workers to begin counting absentee ballots eight days before Election Day, ensuring our citizens are guaranteed speedy election results. In a continued effort to secure our election results, SB 67 would require the submission of identification with absentee ballot applications.
We also passed SB 89 which calls for a chief elections assistance officer to evaluate and intervene in low-performing county election offices. Senate Bills 184 and 188 increase transparency in our voting process. SB 184 would change the deadline from 60 days to 30 days to finalize voting records for each Georgia election. Additionally, Senate Bill 188 would require counties to withhold election results until county election officials make the number of total ballots received public information. All of these election bills help bring much needed reform to our election process and ensure that our election systems are secure and up-to-date. During our Ethics Committee meeting this week, we heard additional election bills with similar intent. I will continue to keep you updated on the status of these bills.
Throughout this session, we have seen the many ways we are committed to improving the lives of children through education. I firmly believe in supporting these measures for all students, including those who are homeschooled. This week, the Senate passed The “Dexter Mosley Act” which would allow homeschooled students in grades 6-12 to participate in extracurricular activities.
We know that sports, music and drama clubs all contribute to a well-rounded student and I am happy to support the ability for all students to participate in these programs. In another victory for education in Georgia, we passed Senate Bill 159, a measure that I sponsored, and would permit the use of vehicles other than school buses to transport students to and from school-related activities. This bill would greatly ease the burden placed on school boards to only use school buses to transport students.
On Friday, the Senate convened to pass a total of nine bills. Of note was Senate Bill 28, which would help improve the foster care system through multiple provisions. Some of these provisions include improving mandatory reporting of child abuse, adjusting training requirements for juvenile court intake officers and allowing the use of hearsay evidence in court cases regarding the foster care system. We also passed the “Max Gruver Act”, named in honor of a young gentleman who tragically lost his life due to a hazing incident. SB 85 would revise the definition of hazing and make the hazing of minors a felony in addition to punishing those who fail to respond to reported hazing incidents. The bills passed this week reflect our commitment to the children of Georgia’s safety and wellbeing.
This Friday, we learned of our schedule going forward which has reserved March 8th for Crossover Day and March 31st as Sine Dine. If you have any questions or concerns about any of the legislation we have introduced so far, please reach out to my office and we would be happy to assist you.
Sen. Steve Gooch serves as Majority Whip of the Senate Majority Caucus. He represents the 51st Senate District which includes Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Lumpkin, Union and White counties and portions of Forsyth and Pickens counties. He may be reached at 404.656.9221 or via email at [email protected]
Sen. Gooch Gold Dome update: Week 4
Business February 11, 2021
By: Sen. Steve Gooch (R – Dahlonega)
After completing another four legislative days, the Senate wrapped up its fourth full week of business here at the Capitol. While a great deal of time this week was spent in our individual committees, we made some significant progress on a number of legislative issues. With 12 legislative days completed and only 28 remaining, we will need to utilize each day to the fullest in order to make progress on the many priorities we have planned for this session.
This week, the Senate passed a total of four pieces of legislation, but I want to specifically highlight Senate Bill 6. Georgia has been rated as the number one state in which to do business for six years in a row now. A major reason why has been the positive business climate we have generated, in part, by tax credits. Tax credits serve as important and useful incentives for business to locate their operations here, but the potential exists that some tax credits could end up costing the state money instead of earning the state money. SB 6 addresses this by allowing the Senate Finance Committee Chairman and the House Ways and Means Chairman to request up to five economic analyses of a tax credit each. These analyses will provide critical data that we need in order to enact good policy, including: net change in state revenue, net change in economic activity and net change in state expenditures. With this information in mind, we will be better equipped to design tax credits in the future that provide the most possible benefit to our state.
In the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee, we continued our conversation on how best to expand broadband internet access to rural Georgia. While our first meeting presented an overview of the broadband landscape and the lack of access across the state, our meetings this week focused on solutions on how to solve these issues. Specifically, we heard from electric membership cooperatives (EMCs), cable and telecommunications providers, and others in the industry who provided updates on various projects they are working on to expand broadband access. One project that will be of particular interest to our community is a collaboration between Amicalola EMC and Ellijay Telephone Company, which will invest approximately $7 million and add 250 miles of connection for around 6,000 customers. Next week, we will start to consider new broadband expansion legislation, including a bill I authored, Senate Bill 65. I look forward to going into more detail on this bill next week.
The Senate Appropriations Committee also successfully passed the Amended Budget for the 2021 Fiscal Year (AFY21). This means that the AFY21 budget could be heard for a vote before the entire Senate body as soon as early next week. Likely, a conference committee will be formed, composed of members of both the House and Senate, to hash out a few of the remaining discrepancies between the each chamber’s version of the bill. This is typically a quick process and, when completed, we can focus our attention to the General Budget for 2022. As this process continues, I will be sure to keep you updated on the status of both budgets.
In the next few weeks, we also expect some significant progress to be made in terms of elections reform legislation. While many bills have been introduced, we have not yet had an opportunity to hear them in committee. I expect this to change starting next week. If you have any questions or concerns about these bills, the budget, or any other topic we address here at the Capitol, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office.
# # # #
Sen. Steve Gooch serves as Majority Whip of the Senate Majority Caucus. He represents the 51st Senate District which includes Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Lumpkin, Union and White counties and portions of Forsyth and Pickens counties. He may be reached at 404.656.9221 or via email at [email protected]
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
UPDATED Closings and Cancellations due to Covid-19/Corna Virus
News March 17, 2020
UPDATED 3/17
GOVERNMENT
Georgia General Assembly suspended indefinitely
Effective Wednesday, March 18th All offices of Ninth District Opportunity will close from March 18-26
Georgia Presidential Primary election delayed until May 19
All University System of Georgia institutions closed until Mar 29
Georgia High School Athletic Association has suspended all extracurricular activities and sports
Dawson County Schools will be closed from Mar. 16-31
Dawson County Senior Services and Transit closed until further notice. Meals on Wheels will continue.
Dawson County Parks and Recreation activities are suspended until further notice
Rock Creek Park and Veterans Memorial Park are closed until further notice.
Northeast Georgia Judicial District has limited all non-essential court matters until April 3
Dawson County Magistrate Court has canceled its civil hearing on March 18
Dawson County Superior Court has suspended all trials until April 3
Board of Commissioners has canceled a joint meeting with the Long Range Planning Commission scheduled for March 25
BUSINESSES
Chick-fil-A dining room is closed until further notice, but the drive-thru will be open
Publix Super Markets will close at 8 p.m. nightly until further notice
Walmart 24-hour stores open 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. until further notice
EVENTS
Dawson County Chamber of Commerce remains open as a “handshake free” zone. but the following events have been postponed: IGNITE-new member orientation; Eggs & the Economy breakfast; Mountain Madness 15k trail run; Business After Hours and Youth Leadership Dawson.
Update from the Gold Dome: Week 7
News March 2, 2020Sen. Steeve Gooch
By: Sen. Steve Gooch (R — Dahlonega)
This week, the Senate completed Legislative Days 17 through 21, meaning we are now officially past the halfway point of the 2020 session.
In these 21 days, the Senate has addressed issues across the spectrum of policy areas including healthcare, public safety and foster care reform.
Our state has a lot to be proud of, especially our designation as the number one state in which to do business. However, a large part of fostering a positive business climate is having a strong legal system that promotes fairness and is efficient enough to handle some of the complex litigation that arises from business liability disputes. Currently, Georgia is severely lacking in several aspects of our legal environment that need to be addressed quickly in order to improve our civil justice environment.
Last summer, a Senate Study Committee traveled across the state to hear from stakeholders in the business and legal communities on some of the major areas of litigation that need to be improved in Georgia. This committee ultimately supplied a list of recommendations, which were taken into account in Senate Bill 415, which I sponsored. SB 415 received an extensive hearing in an Insurance and Labor subcommittee and addresses a variety of issues that would allow our judicial process to operate more efficiently and even the playing field for both mom and pop shops on main street, as well as larger corporations.
I am hopeful that this bill will move quickly through the legislative process so we can begin to make the incremental changes necessary to improve Georgia’s civil justice climate. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the senate to perfect this bill and get Georgia back on the right track.
In keeping with the theme of making Georgia’s business climate as strong as it can be, the Senate passed a bill that would allow the legislature to determine the economic viability of certain tax credit programs. While tax credits are undoubtedly an asset in attracting businesses to locate to or expand in Georgia, we also need to ensure that we are receiving a beneficial return on investment.
Senate Bill 302 would allow the Chairmen of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee to each request five economic analyses of tax credits each year. These analyses must include, among other things, the net change in state revenue associated with the credit. Having this data available will not only allow us to determine which current tax credits are more beneficial than others, but will also inform how tax credits are implemented in the future.
Healthcare was another issue that was addressed this week and the Senate made meaningful process in addressing an issue that has affected many patients across the state. “Surprise billing” has been an area the legislature has been trying to fight for years and this week we passed a bill that attempts to resolve many of the issues faced by consumers.
Senate Bill 359 would take the patient out of the middle of a price dispute when they unexpectedly receive out-of-network care and outlines an arbitration and negotiation process to allow insurance companies and healthcare providers to work these discrepancies out themselves. This will allow the consumer to focus on getting better and grant them more peace of mind when undergoing a medical procedure.
Since we are now past the official halfway point of the session, our next important deadline will be Crossover Day, which will fall on March 12. While that may sound far off, at the pace the Senate has been moving it will be here before we know it. There is still a lot of work to accomplish in the time we have remaining, such as the budget, but I am never too busy to hear from you. If you ever have any questions or concerns, I encourage you to reach out to my office.
####C
Sen. Steve Gooch serves as Majority Whip of the Senate Majority Caucus. He represents the 51st Senate District, which includes Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Lumpkin, Union and White counties, and portions of Forsyth and Pickens counties. He may be reached at 404.656.9221 or via email at [email protected]