Georgia Senate Bills Passed during Sine Die 2019

Adjournment Sine Die is a political term that means “The end of a legislative session “without day. These adjournments are used to indicate the final adjournment of an annual session of Georgia Legislatures which runs 40 days. This year, Georgia’s Sine Die was on April 2, 2019. Here are the bills that passed on that day.

Limiting Student Scholarship Organizations :: House Bill 68, carried by Sen. Greg Dolezal (R – Cumming), would prohibit organizations that give, or are owned, operated or affiliated with organizations that give accreditation to schools from being able to register as a student scholarship organization. HB 68 passed with a vote of 52 to 0. – HB 68

Conservator Access to Digital Assets :: Sen. Jesse Stone (R – Waynesboro) carried House Bill 70 which would allow a conservator to access the digital assets of a minor on a case by case basis. The bill would also allow a conservator to pay any bond premium from the estate, upon the request of the guardian. HB 70 would also establish how fees would be allocated during the process of the appointment of a conservator and would make other changes to bring state law in line with the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgements Act. HB 70 passed with a vote of 51 to 0. – HB 70

Sale of Alcohol Near Certain Colleges and Retail Package Stores Tasting Events :: House Bill 76, carried by Sen. Bill Cowsert (R – Athens), would create an exemption to the current ban of the sale of distilled spirits within 200 yards and wine and malt beverages within 100 yards of a college campus. This exemption would apply to college campuses if they are owned and operated by a private international college specializing in art and design and located within a historic district. Additionally, HB 76 would permit alcohol tasting events to occur in retail liquor stores with limitations including: 52 tastings per year, one event a day, one and a half ounces per pour and a four hour limit. Stores would be required to notify localities when tasting events occur. HB 76 passed with a vote of 47 to 9. – HB 76

Sales and Use Tax Exemptions for Organ Donation Centers and Shooting or Fitness Memberships :: Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R – Rome) carried House Bill 85 which would provide a sales and use tax exemption for nonprofit organ donation centers and on the membership and initiation fees incurred by joining a shooting or physical fitness club. HB 85 passed with a vote of 47 to 5. – HB 85

Updating Georgia’s Insurance Code :: House Bill 99, carried by Sen. Burt Jones (R – Jackson), would make updates to Georgia’s Insurance Code. Specifically, the bill clarifies definitions related to insurance, removes outdated deadlines and provides provisions for captive insurance companies. HB 99 passed with a vote of 52 to 0. – HB 99

Georgia’s State-wide Business Court :: Sen. Jesse Stone (R – Waynesboro) carried House Bill 239 which would add provisions for Georgia’s state-wide business court including the location of the court, the appointment of the judge, the court’s jurisdiction and the compensation of the judge. HB 239 passed with a vote of 51 to 0. – HB 239

Maintaining Physical Evidence :: House Bill 282, carried by Sen. Renee Unterman (R – Buford), would increase the amount of time required by law enforcement to maintain physical evidence related to a sexual assault case from 10 years after the initial assault of the victim to 30 years from the date of the arrest of the perpetrator. If no arrests are made, physical evidence must be kept for 50 years. HB 282 passed with a vote of 55 to 0. – HB 282

Updates to TAVT :: House Bill 365, carried by Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R – Rome), would make several updates to Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) on vehicles by lowering the TAVT rate from 7 percent to 6.6 percent from July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2023. Additionally, it would make updates to the ‘fair market value’ definition used to determine TAVT for new and used vehicles. This bill also clarifies that TAVT would not be imposed on the transfer of title between legal entities that are owned by the same person. Lastly, this bill eliminates the sales and use tax on rideshare, taxi and limo services and imposes a 50 cents per ‘for-hire ground transportation’ and 25 cents per ‘for-hire shared ride’ excise tax. HB 365 passed with a vote of 42 to 7. – HB 365

Revising Georgia’s Child Support Code :: Sen. Jesse Stone (R – Waynesboro) carried House Bill 381 which would make numerous grammatical and organizational corrections to Georgia’s Code section on child support. HB 381 passed with a vote of 55 to 0. – HB 381

Joint Authorities Providing Certain Information :: Sen. Bill Cowsert (R – Athens) carried House Bill 406 which would require joint authorities, including joint authorities that have revenue sharing agreements with local governments, to provide certain information pertaining to real and personal property, current agreements and contracts, and information related to taxation to the Department of Revenue Commissioner and the State Auditor. HB 406 passed with a vote of 52 to 0. – HB 406

Amending the Shore Protection Act :: House Bill 445, carried by Sen. Ben Watson (R – Savannah), would amend the Shore Protection Act by creating a new definition for “dynamic dune field” and specifying where construction may be permitted on one. The bill would create exemptions for minor construction projects, subject to approval by the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources. HB 445 passed with a vote of 35 to 21. – HB 445

Electric Bicycles :: Steve Gooch (R – Dahlonega) carried House Bill 454 which would establish use and safety rules for three different classes of electric assisted bicycles. The classes are determined by the equipment used to provide assistance to the bike rider and the max speed the devices reach. HB 454 passed with a vote of 52 to 1. – HB 454

DNA Collection for Felony Offenders :: House Bill 470, carried by Sen. William Ligon (R – White Oak), would require that DNA samples be taken from individuals currently incarcerated or on probation for a felony charge, including those sentenced as a first offender. HB 470 also clarifies that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation would purge the DNA samples of individuals who had their felony charges dismissed or upon acquittal. HB 470 passed with a vote of 48 to 0. – HB 470

Payments to and Bank Accounts of Deceased People :: Sen. Burt Jones (R – Jackson) carried House Bill 490 which would require an affidavit to be present for a bank to allow families of a dead person with no will and testament to obtain funds of up to $15,000. Additionally, it raises the amount a bank can pay to a family member, from $10,000 to $15,000, if the deceased dies with a check made in their name. HB 490 passed with a vote of 43 to 7. – HB 490

Time Limit to Apply for Execution of a Writ of Possession :: House Bill 492, carried by Sen. Jesse Stone (R – Waynesboro), would require applicants for execution of a writ of possession to apply within 30 days of issuance of the writ. House Bill 492 passed with a vote of 50 to 1. – HB 492

Grounds for Continuance :: House Bill 502, carried by Sen. John F. Kennedy (R – Macon), would update Georgia Code regarding continuance requests. This update would apply to members of the Georgia General Assembly, legislative staff, Legislative Counsel and other state agencies who wish to file for a continuance or stay when they are the lead counsel or part of the counsel in a pending civil or criminal proceeding. The continuance or stay would be applicable seven days prior to session, including special sessions, convening, length of any session, three weeks following Sine Die, during scheduled meetings including national conferences, board meetings and caucus, committee and study committee meetings. HB 502 passed with a vote of 52 to 0. – HB 502

Classifying “Equitable Caregivers” :: House Bill 543, carried by Sen. Randy Robertson (R – Cataula), would allow certain courts to classify an individual as an “equitable caregiver.” HB 543 outlines the qualifications of “equitable caregivers” which would include individuals who have “fully and completely undertaken a permanent, unequivocal, committed responsible parental role in a child’s life.” HB 543 would also provide the proper forms potential “equitable caregivers” would file to the court. HB 543 passed with a vote of 54 to 1. – HB 543

Removing Certain References from Georgia Code :: Sen. Matt Brass (R – Newnan) carried House Bill 553 which would remove references to certain Boards and Councils throughout Georgia Code. HB 553 would also prohibit an employee of an establishment that sells alcohol from soliciting to consume alcohol from the establishment. HB 553 passed with a vote of 49 to 0. – HB 553

Georgia-North Carolina-Tennessee Boundary Line Commission :: Sen. Greg Dolezal (R – Cumming) carried House Resolution 51 which would create the Georgia-North Carolina-Tennessee Boundary Line Commission, responsible for establishing the correct boundary lines between those states. The Commission would be composed of a total of six members appointed by both the Lt. Governor and Speaker of the House and would be required to file a report on its findings by December 2020. HR 51 passed with a vote 47 to 2. – HR 51