The Georgia House of Representatives reconvened for a productive seventh week of the 2022 session on February 22, which consisted of two session days and one committee workday. We debated and voted on a slew of bills in the House Chamber. We have reached Legislative Day 20 which means we are at the halfway point of the session. In this update, I’d like to bring special attention to three bills that were passed and quickly share a few more that are all on their way to the Senate for consideration.
First, the number of students with school-issued laptops or tablets has dramatically increased, and many school systems are still using virtual learning. To keep up with this ever-changing learning environment, the House passed HB 1217, the Student Technology Protection Act. It would promote the safe and appropriate use of school-issued technology, whether students are using these devices in the classroom or are using them to learn virtually from home. We are concerned about minor children having access to obscene materials, child pornography, or any other material that is deemed harmful to them. HB 1217 would require each local board of education and charter school governing body to adopt an acceptable-use policy that could better prevent any school computer or network from accessing the harmful content. Each school system would also update school-issued technology to better block or filter access to these explicit materials online. According to the bill, if the State Board of Education finds that a school has not followed its acceptable-use policy, the board could withhold a portion of state funding allotted for that school.
Second, House Bill 1092, the Georgia Women’s Child Care Alternatives, Resources, and Education Act, is bipartisan legislation that was passed unanimously. It would provide greater care for incarcerated pregnant women by allowing the sentences of eligible women to be deferred for the remainder of their pregnancies until six weeks postpartum. Judges would have the discretion to deny deferment if the pregnant woman is a safety risk. During the deferred time, the offender would be required to maintain her perinatal health care. If she does not comply with these requirements, the court could rescind the deferred sentence and order immediate confinement. By offering more perinatal care and resources to these pregnant women, we hope to ensure better health outcomes for both the unborn child and the mother and reduce the maternal mortality rate.
Third, the House passed HB 1192 which would allow the state to expand access to HIV detection and treatment options, as well as explore a more sustainable funding source to help end the HIV epidemic in Georgia. According to Chairman Sharon Cooper, the viral load of an HIV patient receiving this care could be lowered to the extent that the virus is not transmissible, thus greatly reducing the chance of spreading it to others. To be eligible, uninsured individuals with an HIV diagnosis would need to have an income of less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level.
Other bills passed by the House last week include:
- House Bill 1059, which would provide exclusions to unfair trade practices and unlawful inducements by allowing insurance companies to provide loss-mitigation safety products to consumers;
- House Bill 1086, which would lower the age at which hospitals would be required to offer an inpatient the influenza vaccine prior to discharge from 65 to 50 years of age. This bill only requires the hospital to offer the vaccine. It does not require the patient to accept it;
- House Bill 1088, which would authorize non-judicial foreclosures of time-share estates by an owners’ association and would update notice of sale requirements for these foreclosures;
- House Bill 1148, which would prohibit individuals from bringing a deer carcass from outside Georgia into the state if any part of the carcass contains a portion of the nervous system, but it would provide exceptions for antlers, skulls, skull plates, teeth or jawbones that have soft tissue attached;
- House Bill 1215, which would allow students to withdraw from their local school and enroll in a charter school without penalty and would require local education boards to adopt a universal, streamlined transfer process. It also clarifies how local revenue allocations would be collected and calculated for charter schools;
- House Bill 1233, which would consolidate various species of black bass, update requirements for shotguns used for hunting migratory game birds, and create the term “migratory game birds;”
- House Bill 1307, which would require excavators to make an emergency 911 call to alert emergency services if they strike or damage a utility facility that carries gas or a hazardous liquid.
Heading into the second half of session, the next couple of weeks will become increasingly demanding as we prepare for Crossover Day on March 15. This is the last day a bill can pass out of its originating chamber and still be eligible to be signed into law in 2022. Many more important bills will be taken up before March 15, including the 2023 budget. I welcome your thoughts on any bills that are still up for consideration. You can reach me by email at Leesa.Hagan@house.ga.gov.