Gwinnett Daily Post
ATLANTA — As the new legislative session draws near, legislators have spent recent weeks pre-filing pieces of legislation they want to begin working on immediately when the General Assembly reconvenes Jan. 11.
The new bills that are already in the hopper deal with a host of topics ranging from the old debate about recreating Milton County to the English language and congressional reapportionment.
Here are some of bills and resolutions that have been pre-filed in recent weeks:
Senate Bill 250: This bill, which was filed by Sen. Michael Rhett, D-Marietta, would make it illegal for a person to buy a gun while they are in the process of getting a divorce, unless they have the permission of the judge who is presiding over the divorce proceedings.
Senate Bill 253: This bill, which was filed by Sen. Josh McKoon, R-Columbus, would exempt school systems and county and municipal governments from excise taxes on motor fuel.
Senate Bill 254: This bill was filed by Sen. Harold Jones II, D-Augusta. It would amend state law to make simple possession of marijuana a misdemeanor. The law currently makes it a misdemeanor only if the amount in question is less than an ounce. Anything above that is a felony offense.
Senate Resolution 675: This resolution was filed by McKoon, and it establishes that English is to be used in official state actions and bars requirements being put in place that force governments to use any other language in documents, regulations, orders, transactions, proceedings, meetings, programs or publications.
House Bill 716: This bill, which was filed by Rep. Keisha Waites, D-Atlanta, would have the General Assembly declare “being lesbian, gay or bisexual is not a disease, disorder, illness, deficiency or shortcoming” and bar psychiatrists, psychologists, professional counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists from engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with patients who are under 18.
House Bill 721: This bill, which was also filed by Waites, would limit the days when residents can ignite commercial fireworks to St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day and New Year’s Eve between the hours of 5 and 10 p.m.
House Resolution 962: This resolution, which was filed by Rep. Pat Gardner, D-Atlanta, calls for legislative and congressional re-apportionment to be done by an “independent, nonpartisan commission.”
House Resolution 964: This resolution, which was filed by Rep. Brad Raffensperger, R-Johns Creek, calls for a statewide referendum on amending the Georgia Constitution to allow for the re-creation of a county that was previously merged into a neighboring county. The constitution currently caps the number of allowed counties in the state at 159.
In a statement, Raffensperger said the main goal is to open the door for residents in north and south Fulton County to be able to vote on breaking away and re-creating Milton and Campbell counties, respectively. The three counties were merged into one in 1931 amid the early days of the Great Depression.
Read more in the Gwinnett Daily Post
