It was Budget Week at the State Capitol as the House and Senate appropriations committees spent the week hearing budget proposals from state agencies. You can find the Governor’s Budget Report here. Here are some other updates from the past week:
– Lawmakers adopted their full 40-day calendar for this session. You can view the calendar here. Key dates to watch are Crossover Day, when all bills must pass out of their originating chamber, on February 29 and Sine Die, the last day of the session, on March 28.
– Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, introduced legislation aimed at protecting teenagers from cyberbullying and other negative effects of social media. “We believe Senate Bill 351 is an important step forward in protecting Georgia’s children and giving them the tools they need to be safe in their use of social media and other technologies,” Anavitarte said.
– Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, introduced legislation that would limit year-to-year increases in home values for local property taxes to 3%, regardless of assessed value.
– Sen. Chuck Payne, R-Dalton, was recently appointed chairman of the state’s Committee on Veterans, Military Homeland Security. The chairmanship was open after Sen. Mike Dugan, R-Carrollton, resigned to run for Congress in the 3rd District.
– Lawmakers return to their normal legislative duties on Monday for Day 6 of the calendar.