Mark P. Williams - Georgia State House District 178

Legislative News

Capitol Update Feb.1 through Feb.5, 2010

The fourth week of the 2010 session came to a close on Friday, February 5^th, marking the 13^th legislative day. Several bills passed the House and the Senate including bills on microchip tracking, schools and sex offender lists, antifreeze safety, state-chartered banks, and middle school organization. Many more bills were introduced in both chambers including a senate bill which would make major changes to the way property is taxed.

On Thursday, the Senate passed a bill that bans the involuntary implanting of microchips into people. Senate Bill 235 would make it a misdemeanor to implant microchip or other identification or tracking device into someone without his or her permission. While the bill passed that chamber 47-2, I am not sure when it will be taken up in the House, given the budget having priority. If the House does pass the measure, Georgia will join at least three other states in addressing forced microchip implants.

Another measure to pass this week was House Bill 651. This bill changes the way local school systems receive updated sex offender registry lists from the state. Currently, the lists are mailed out on compact discs at a cost of over $7,000.00 to the state. If passed by the Senate, HB 651 would allow the Department of Education to provide schools with lists at the latter's request. The online list would be accessible any time and would be updated regularly, eliminating the need to mail out the lists on discs.

The House passed a bill on Tuesday which would require antifreeze to contain a bittering agent. House Bill 219, authored by Rep. Tommy Benton of Jefferson, would mandate that all antifreeze sold in Georgia after July 2011 contain the bittering agent denatonium benzoate. Bittering agents prevent liquids like medicine, poisons, and other potentially harmful substances from being ingested easily. Antifreeze is particularly dangerous because of its sweet taste. Animals that happen upon antifreeze, or substances that become tainted with it can be ingested without becoming aware of its presence. In fact, two men were murdered in Cobb County in 1995 by unknowingly ingesting antifreeze. If the Senate passes this bill, Georgia would become the eleventh state to require antifreeze to contain a bittering agent.

On the House passed House Bill 926 to grant state-chartered banks and their customers some of the same opportunities as federally chartered institutions. This legislation would ensure that banks and borrowers alike have the option to renew loans even where the value of property tied to the loan drops. This opportunity would only be available for performing loans that are a minimum of fifteen percent of the bank's assets. Right now, state-chartered banks do not have the legal option of restructuring these loans, like their federal counterparts, if the loans would exceed the amount the bank can legally loan to one borrower. This limit on restructuring places state banks and borrowers alike at a disadvantage, and I look forward to its passage in the Senate.

As I mentioned in an earlier column, House Bill 907 would free up funding for middle schools organized on different grade systems that the typical sixth through eighth. HB 907 passed the House this week and paves the way for more flexible middle school programs, especially grade centers. Under current law, a middle school could only receive state funding where it housed six, seventh and eighth grades together, but assuming the Senate passes HB 907, middles schools could broaden their services to accommodate the needs of their systems, whatever they may be.

Every session there is some mention of property taxes and this session is no exception. Senate Bill 346 by Sen. Chip Rogers of Woodstock has introduced a bill to change the way property taxes are administered. Among the bill's 40-plus changes to the property tax system in Georgia include standardizing notice procedures and forms, assessment appeals processes—including a year-round appeals timeframe, installment and early payment plans, and requiring unanimity among the Board of Equalization for raising the value of assessed property. This effort represents several years of negotiating, studying, and debating the best way to compromise on property taxes. Sen. Rogers' bill strikes the right note of balancing the needs of local governments which derive much of their revenue from ad valorem taxes, with the needs of the homeowners who mush shell out to pay those taxes even in hard times.

As always, I am honored to represent the people of Brantley, Pierce, and Wayne counties, and I take this responsibility seriously. I welcome your thoughts and recommendations, and I know that with hard work and cooperation, we will persevere through the good times and the tough times. Please visit www.markpwilliams.com, http://www.legis.state.ga.us/ , or contact my office at (404) 656-0188 for more information.