On Tuesday, state lawmakers rushed to pass some new legislations in Georgia, affecting income taxes, treatment for opioid addiction and some other strategies to improve the state. It marks the 39th day of the 40-day legislative session lawmakers planned to adjourn.
The first measure being passed through the new legislations in Georgia is the terrorism law, according to MDJ Online. In the previous legislation, attacks in the state were counted as domestic terrorism only in the case of 10 or more people were killed. With the new legislation, the chamber has adjourned to qualify attacks against critical infrastructure, including religious and educational institutions as domestic terrorism.
The next in the list of the new legislations in Georgia is the "turnaround" bill that allows state education officials to take actions such as removing staff, or even turning the school into a charter, for schools that show no improvement after three years, or refuse to sign a contract with the state. House members would give the state broader authority to intervene in struggling schools to Gov. Nathan Deal.
Senators also backed legislation cutting some income taxes while committing to collecting more sales taxes from out-of-state online business. This change in tax cut, amongst the other new legislations in Georgia, will cost the state about $200 million and mainly benefit upper and middle-income earners, according to AJC.
Another bill in the list of the new legislations in Georgia is the bill that concerns of opioid treatment centers in northwest Georgia that are treating mostly out-of-state patients. Under the new regulations, the House would require prospective programs to conduct meetings with the community and restrict the number of facilities that can be opened within given regions.
With the new legislations in Georgia being passed, it seems like proposals that seem stalled can make a comeback in the legislative session's final days. Although there is a major view of change between the House and Senate leadership, the actions may actually bring changes to the state of Georgia in due time.
