Now that the 2015 Legislative Session is over, many ask me what I accomplished this year. I am proud to say that I successfully carried three pieces of general legislation and two pieces of local legislation.
In the Legislature, the first person that signs on to legislation “carries” the Legislation. What exactly does this mean? It means that the legislator begins the process by first meeting with Legislative Counsel. These are the attorneys that draft legislation. Often these meetings are quite lengthy as the policy that a legislator is trying to affect gets translated into a proposed statute.
After the legislation is drafted, a bill is formatted and given to the legislator. The legislator then takes the bill and seeks the support of others. These folks are known as co-sponsors of the legislation. By signing on the bill, they are indicating their support of the legislation and its aims. It depends a great deal on who is carrying the legislation and effort needed to assist that will determine how much the co-signers will work on getting the bill passed. I always try to consider the bill and policy being changed when considering who would be supportive co-signers.
A legislator may file a bill with only their signature or many, many signatures. For example, I was one of over a hundred legislators that signed on to HB 1, the Medical Cannabis Bill. I always try to get at least five other signers on to legislation that I carry. Some will file bills with their signature only and try to get other signers at a later date. It is considered a “faux pas” to sign onto another legislator’s bill without asking.
Once co-sponsors are obtained, the bill is dropped and assigned to a committee. The legislator then asks the committee chairman for a hearing on the bill. The legislator will present the bill to the committee. After hearing the bill, in order for the bill to progress, the committee must make a recommendation that the bill “do pass”. If the committee reports favorably, then the bill moves to the Rules Committee. The legislator carrying the bill must then go and ask that the bill be moved from the Rules Committee to the House Floor for a vote.
After presenting the bill and yielding to questions, the matter gets a vote. If more than 90 friends agree with your bill, then you have passed the bill out of the House. The bill then goes to the Senate. It goes before committee, gets presented, hopefully gets a “do pass” recommendation. It then goes to Senate Rules, after which it will go to the Floor of the Senate and is voted on.
Changes were made on three of my bills, so they came back to the House for an agree/disagree vote. All were minor changes so I urged my colleagues to agree to the changes. And they did. Out of none floor votes combined for both the House and Senate Floors, only one dissenting vote. And he apologized and said he missed that one.
So what did the three bills that I worked so hard to pass actually accomplish?
The first, HB 253, is enabling legislation. It enables the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board to mediate disputes between appraisers and appraisal management companies. Prior to the legislation, appraisers had to appeal through the Federal system.
The second, HB 268, clarifies mandated reporting in Georgia.
The third, HB 452, allows no contact bond conditions to be added to the Protective Order Registry. This bill will create greater safety for law enforcement officers and those they seek to protect. As improbable as it sounds, in the year 2015, a victim of a violent offense, such as rape or aggravated assault must carry a paper copy of the bond conditions prohibiting contact. This will alleviate the necessity of the victim to carry a paper copy of the bond conditions prohibiting contact.
I also passed two pieces of local legislation at the request of the Cherokee County’s District Attorney and the Solicitor General. The legislation allows them to swear their own officers.
It was a very busy session for me. I worked very hard to make the State of Georgia a better place and represent the people of the twenty-third district. Thank you for the opportunity to serve.
to your business!