Daily Update for Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Legislative Day 26

Senate Session

SB 364 - Massage Therapist; conviction for sexual offense; license suspended for certain time periods; penalties

This bill provides harsher penalties for practicing massage therapy without a license. The first violation shall now be punished as a misdemeanor; the second violation shall be punished as a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. The third or subsequent violation shall be treated as a felony offense and shall be punished by one to five years imprisonment, a fine not to exceed $25,000.00, or both. Each act shall be considered a separate offense. The bill also clarifies that local governments may regulate massage therapy in their districts.

SB 364 PASSED out of the Senate 51-0.

SB 368 - Fair Business Practices Act of 1975; deceptive representation/designations of geographic origins; provisions

To amend Code Section 10-1-393 of the O.C.G.A.by restricting any person or company to conduct any business transaction of a false name or trademark or sign a certificate acknowledging their business name in order to transact business.

SB 368 Passed out of the Senate by a vote of 50-0.

SB 406 - Elections; provide for online voter registration; procedures

SB406 allows the ability for residents to register to vote online on a secure system with the assistance of the DDS and the Secretary of State’s office.

SB 406 PASSED out of the Senate by a vote of 33-20.

Senate ADJOURNED until Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 1:00pm.

House Session

HB 1118 - Child Support Recovery Act; IV-D agency support orders; change provisions

This bill provides definitions for “medical insurance oblige” and “medical insurance obligor.” It also mandates that all active TANF cases be reviewed every 36 months.

HB 1118 PASSED out of the House by a vote of 154-2.

HB 1224 - Drivers' licenses; defense for drivers; no vision condition restriction; provide

This bill amends 40-5-30 to stipulate that a person shall not be guilty of driving in violation of a restriction requiring that he or she wear eyeglasses or contact lenses if that person can demonstrate at the time of their hearing that he or she no longer suffers from the applicable vision condition.

HB 1224 PASSED out of the House by a vote of 154-0.

HB 24 - Evidence; revise, supersede, and modernize provisions; provide definitions

HB 24 is a rewrite of the Evidence Code of Georgia, Title 24. To view a copy of the revisions, please click here.

HB 24 PASSED out of the House by a vote of 150-12.

HB 965 - Bicycles; operation on sidewalks; authorize local governments

This bill clarifies that an automobile must yield to bicycles, as well as pedestrians, on sidewalks.

HB 965 PASSED out of the House by a vote of 155-0.

HB 1046 - Family Court Division; project duration determined by Fulton County Superior Court majority; provide

This bill removes the sunset for the Family Court Division of the Superior Court of Fulton County. The project may be discontinued by a majority vote of those judges.

HB 1046 PASSED out of the House by a vote of 154-2.

House ADJOURNED until Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 1:00pm.

House Code Revision Committee

HB 1165 - sunset revisions; repeal automatic expiration; provisions 

HB1165 amends code Sections 15-21-2 and 40-13-26 of the O.C.G.A by repealing the automatic expiration of the sunset revisions.

HB 1165 received a DO PASS by the House Code Revision Committee.

House Governmental Affairs Committee

HB 1253 - Georgia Election Code; general elections held in years specified by law; provide

HB 1253 clarifies that all general municipal elections to fill municipal offices be held on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November in such years as are specified by local law.

HB 1253 received a DO PASS by the House Governmental Affairs Committee.

HB 1166 - Campaign contributions; person of an insurance corporation; not make contribution; provisions

HB 1166 amends Code Section 21-5-30 of the O.C.G.A, relating to contributions made to candidates or campaign committees or for recall of a public officer. It provides that any person acting on behalf of an insurance corporation, partnership, or business regulated by the Commissioner of Insurance shall not make any contribution to a political campaign for the office or to any campaign conducted by an incumbent commissioner. HB 1166 also prohibits certain gifts to such officer or his or her family. Any person who knowingly violates this provision shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years or by a fine not to exceed $10,000.00, or both.

HB 1166 received a DO PASS by COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE from the House Governmental Affairs Committee.

HB 1297 - Qualification fees; nominally increase; provide

HB 1297 amends Code Section 21-2-131 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to fixing and publishing qualification fees, so as to nominally increase qualification fees by $75.00 for the offices of clerk of the superior court, judge of the probate court, sheriff, tax commissioner, and magistrate.

HB 1297 received a DO PASS by COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE from the House Governmental Affairs Committee.

House Retirement Committee

HB 1150 - Retirement and pensions; Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund; define terms

HB 1150 amends Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to retirement and pensions, so as to define certain terms relative to the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund. Any person who knowingly makes any false statements or falsifies or permits to be falsified any records of the fund in an attempt to defraud the fund shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction be punished by a fine not to exceed $5,000.00, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.

Amendment 1: Changes felony to misdemeanor for attempting to defraud the fund. Amendment Adopted

HB 1150 received a DO PASS from the House Retirement Committee.

HB 817 - Georgia Judicial Retirement System; juvenile judges; provide

HB 817 provides that any member of the Georgia Judicial Retirement System, including juvenile court judges, may obtain creditable service for prior service as an active member of the Employee’s Retirement Systems of Georgia.

HB 817 received a DO PASS from the House Retirement Committee.

Senate Public Safety Subcommittee

SB 325 - Traffic; require policies that prohibit law enforcement officers from impermissibly using race in determining whether to stop a motorist

This bill prohibits law enforcement officers from engaging in racial profiling to form probable cause or reasonable suspicion of illegal activity. Officers are also required to articulate reasonable suspicion or obtain a written consent prior to a stop, frisk, arrest, search, or detention. Whenever an officer stops a vehicle or pedestrian, he or she must document specific information, including: the age, gender, race, and ethnicity of the individual subjected to the stop.

SB 325 received a DO PASS from the Senate Public Safety Subcommittee.

House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee

Rep. Golick announced that HB 897, originally on the agenda, will be moved to Friday’s meeting.

Rep. Levitas presented HB 1153 to the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee.

HB 1153 - Public health and morals; offense of cruelty to animals; change provisions

HB 1153 provides a definition of what constitutes cruelty to animals.

Rep. Levitas proposed two small amendments.  On line 26, change the first “or” to “and.”  And also on line 26, after “animal,” add a comma before “causes.”  Both amendments passed.

HB 1153 received a DO PASS as AMENDED by the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee.

Rep. Loudermilk presented HB 31 to the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee.

HB 31 - Motor vehicles; traffic-control signal monitoring devices; repeal provisions

HB 31 relates to red light cameras.  If a recipient of a red light camera citation is not the person driving the car, the recipient can sign under the statement listed on the citation.  If the recipient of the citation signed the citation and was in fact the person driving the vehicle in question the recipient will be guilty of a misdemeanor. 

An amendment was made on line 100 to delete the word “sworn” and on line “101” to include deceased person’s name if in a funeral procession.  Amendment was ADOPTED.

HB 31 received a DO PASS by COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE by the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee.

Rep. Lane presented HB 1328 to the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee.

HB 1328 - Courts; adjust certain fees for inflation; provisions

HB 1328 adjusts certain local base court fees to reflect inflation rate.

HB 1328 received a DO PASS by the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee.  The vote was 5-3.

Rep. Hatfield presented HB 1303 to the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee.

HB 1303 - State government; notice for public meetings; clarify provisions

HB 1303 relates to the open meetings law.  It provides that proper notice be made for open meetings of agencies of government.

NO ACTION was taken on HB 1303 by the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee.

Rep. Lunsford presented HB 1133 to the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee.

HB 1133 - Pretrial intervention and diversion programs; administration fees; increase

HB 1133 allows for pretrial diversion program fees of up to $1000, up from the previous $300, and for a monthly $23 charge while the defendant is in the pretrial diversion program.

The underlined language in lines 18-21 was struck.  Sections 2 and 3 were also struck.  The bill now simply changes the ceiling on the fee from $300 to $1000 and the $23 monthly fee.

HB 1133 received a DO PASS by the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee.

Rep. Parsons presented HB 567 to the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee.

HB 567 - Crime Victims' Bill of Rights; rights of crime victims; change certain provisions

HB 567 changes certain provisions relating to the rights of crime victims. In addition, the bill clarifies the rights of crime victims and the method for notifying victims in certain proceedings.

Rep. Setzler is concerned about restitution.  He offered an amendment, AM 29 0862, which addressed this issue.  Amendment ADOPTED.

Rep. Ramsey proposed an amendment, changing “rights” in line 66 to “right.”  Amendment ADOPTED.

HB 567 received a DO PASS as AMENDED by the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee.

Rep. Pruett presented HB 1264 to the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee.

HB 1264 - Juvenile Justice, Department of; collect medical insurance reimbursement; authorize

HB 1264 establishes that individuals incarcerated by the DJJ who have their own medical insurance can use that insurance to pay for expenses.  Currently, the state and only the state must pay.

NO ACTION was taken on HB 1264 by the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee

Senate Public Safety Committee

Rep. Wendell Willard (R – Sandy Springs) introduced HB 545 to the Senate Public Safety Committee.

HB 545 - Commencement and service of civil actions; service of process; revise provisions

HB 545 amends Article 2 of Chapter 11 of Title 9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to commencement and service of civil actions. It revises provisions relating to service of process. The bill sets forth the procedure for becoming a certified process server. A person has to be at least 18 years of age and file an application with the Administrative Office of the Courts stating that the movant complies with this Code section and any procedures and requirements set forth in any rules or regulations promulgated by the Judicial Council of Georgia. The sheriff of the county for which the process is to be served allows the servers to serve process in that particular county.

NO ACTION was taken on HB 545 by the Senate Public Safety Committee.