Latest news with #RedTapeRollbackAct
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Culture war bills, election tinkering left behind as Georgia lawmakers abruptly leave Gold Dome
House lawmakers celebrated the end of the 2025 session by ripping up and tossing paper in the air after the Senate had already said peace out to making laws. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder The 2025 legislative session ended abruptly Friday when the Senate suddenly adjourned earlier than usual, catching many people in the bustling Georgia Capitol off guard and throwing the House into disarray. The last day of the 40-day legislative session, when the House and Senate usually crank out legislation right up until midnight and celebrate at the end of the night by throwing torn-up pieces of paper into the air, ended with a whimper. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones sent senators home a little after 9 p.m. Friday. Senators seemed to be taken off-guard – the floor of the chamber was littered not with the customary shreds of paper but entire crumpled up sheets. 'We'd already gotten all our priorities done, and I've been saying all day, of course, I've been leading up to the last two days saying we're going to adjourn early,' Jones told reporters after the Senate gaveled out. 'I actually was trying to get done earlier than now, but there were a few more priorities that we went ahead and got some 'agrees' on and everything, but it was a good session, and we got a lot of things done.' Not all of Jones' top priorities were successful, including the Red Tape Rollback Act, also known as Georgia's DOGE, aimed at cutting government bureaucracy. The abrupt ending to Senate business seemed to surprise House lawmakers. After a break, the chamber gaveled back in to pass a few more bills and resume the ceremonial thank-yous to House staff and the throwing of the paper scraps. Speaking to reporters after the final gavel, Newington Republican and House Speaker Jon Burns said the House had accomplished what it had set out to, with the exception of efforts to rein in the use of school zone speed cameras. Dozens of bills were left in limbo Friday but will still be active when lawmakers return for the second half of the biennium next January. Burns also lobbed a jab at the other chamber. 'I just think it shows that the House is focusing on its priorities and getting the job done, and we're not worried about moving on to some kind of higher office. We came here to do a job and we did our job, and that's what drives the House,' Burns said. Jones is widely expected to announce a run for governor in 2026, and other high-ranking senators are reportedly mulling runs for other top positions like lieutenant governor and attorney general. At least one senator, McDonough Republican Sen. Brian Strickland, who is running for attorney general, has filed his papers to run for statewide office. Friday night was a peculiar end to a session that had been dominated by debate over new limits on lawsuits, a slate of culture war bills largely focused on transgender Georgians and efforts to improve security on Georgia's campuses after last year's Apalachee High School shooting that left two students and two teachers dead. Lawmakers passed a budget for the next budget year on the final day of this year's legislative session as economic uncertainty looms on the national level. The $37.8 million budget notably includes spending boosts for the state's prisons and schools, and it's slightly larger than the one Gov. Brian Kemp unveiled when the legislation session began. The governor, who sets the spending level, added $50.4 million to next year's revenue estimate Friday. The budget, which takes effect July 1, was sent to the governor as the Trump administration's historic tariffs upset the global economy and as economic forecasters say the U.S. economy could be heading toward a recession. The S&P 500 has dropped 10% over two days after Trump unveiled his tariff plan. 'Our budget is predicated on a revenue estimate, and I think it's fair to say that since we reconvened in January, the macro-economic picture has changed pretty dramatically in just over the last few days,' Rep. Scott Holcomb, an Atlanta Democrat, said to the House's top budget writer, Rep. Matt Hatchett. 'How comfortable are you with the probability that the revenue estimates that make this budget will hold throughout the year?' Holcomb said. Hatchett, a Dublin Republican, responded that if there are 'huge swings' then lawmakers would likely need to return to Atlanta for a special session to adjust the spending plan. But Hatchett and other House Republican leaders told reporters later that they do not think that is likely. 'Certainly, a good businessperson is always looking forward and trying to be ready for what's coming next,' Burns said. 'If we don't do that, then we're not doing our job. So, we're conscious of those possibilities, and we're in a very, very strong position when it comes to reserves.' Hatchett said Friday that the state has over $12 billion in reserves. Although he said he thinks it's unlikely that lawmakers will need to be summoned back later this year, he said he thinks a 'correction' could be on the horizon. A bipartisan bill intended to hold out-of-state landlords more accountable for managing single-family homes across Georgia is awaiting the governor's signature. Decatur Democratic Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, who is the sponsor of House Bill 399, called the measure a good first step to deal with investor-owned homes that are popping up all over metro Atlanta. Under the legislation, landlords with single-family homes or duplexes have to hire Georgia brokers or other in-state management to handle tenant maintenance and other housing issues. Both chambers passed the bill before this year's session ended late Friday, with the Senate passing it with a 46-9 vote. Advocates for housing rights point to the significant economic hit caused by fewer single-family homes available for first-time buyers. 'We know that the local property owners, the local property managements, are struggling with this competition that's coming from the hedge funds, the out-of-state investors who are impacting our market in a bad way,' Oliver said following Friday's Senate vote on her bill. Oliver's bill was carried in the Senate by Sylvania Republican Sen. Max Burns, who said the problem is more widespread than Atlanta. 'It's an issue in our smaller, urban areas as well as our metropolitan areas,' Burns said. 'It'll impact rural Georgia when it gets down to Bulloch County, Statesboro, Valdosta or Macon. You're not seeing it just in Metro. If you look at the districts where there's more than 25% of available rental housing owned by investors, that creates a challenge.' The first year of the two-year legislative session concluded without the final passage of one of Jones' top priorities, a so-called red tape rollback bill as coined by Jones to be a state-level version of the Elon Musk-led federal Department of Government Efficiency. Senate Bill 28, which cleared the chamber in February by a 33-21 vote that fell along party lines, failed to make it to the House floor for debate Friday. This is the second year Jones' red tape rollback had not made it out of the House. The most significant GOP election bill for the session also failed to get a final vote Friday in the House. The House adjourned before legislators were presented with a substitute version of House Bill 397 that cleared the Senate after the addition of several proposals such as expanding State Election Board powers and banning Georgia from being a member of multi-state voter rolls sharing databases. Instead, the House passed a resolution Friday creating a study committee that will examine election rules later this year. A pair of firearm-related bills were also left unfinished. The House had spent more than an hour Friday debating a proposal that targets a Savannah ordinance penalizing gun owners who leave their firearms in unlocked vehicles. Under the proposal, someone facing a fine would be able to sue the city for as much as $25,000 in damages. And a House proposal that originally aimed to encourage safe gun storage through an income tax credit stalled after a compromise version limited the tax credit to gun safety training and spliced it with a Senate bill creating a four-day sales tax holiday for firearms, ammunition and other accessories, like scopes and magazines – as well as gun safes. This year, lawmakers passed a ban on transgender athletes in girls' sports and signed off on another bill seeking to block inmates from receiving gender-affirming care. This also proved to be the year that legislators passed a so-called religious freedom bill, which Kemp signed Friday over concerns that it would lead to discrimination against LGBTQ people and religious minorities. But other controversial red meat bills were left behind for now, including a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs or policies from all state public schools and universities. Other stalled measures would have banned gender-affirming care for state workers and made it harder for minors to be treated with puberty blockers for gender dysphoria. Georgia Recorder freelancer Maya Homan contributed to this report. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Georgia's ‘DOGE' bill to get full vote in House
Georgia lawmakers are one step closer to forcing most state agencies to audit themselves and report back to the General Assembly. Supporters say it's necessary to create a more efficient state government. Critics and advocates, including Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, have called it a Georgia version of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Democrats grilled Forsyth County Republican state Sen. Greg Dolezal during a House committee about his Red Tape Rollback Act, a bill he said would require state agencies to audit themselves and report on the impact their rules have on small businesses and the economy. 'While this looks to decrease administrative burdens, it only adds more burden to agencies that are often underfunded and understaffed,' State Rep. Michelle Au told Channel 2's Richard Elliot. TRENDING STORIES: UGA student's smiling mugshot breaks the internet Murder victim in Cobb had seen the suspect before, brother says GA mom, boyfriend being held without bond after 4-year-old girl dies But Republicans defended the bill, insisting it was the best way to make sure state government remains efficient by cleaning out old rules and regulations and requiring legislative approval for any rule that has an impact greater than three-million dollars. 'It creates a strong incentive for agencies to demonstrate their value,' State Rep. Charlice Byrd said. The bill did pass along party lines though the committee did agree to two Democratic changes. Afterwards, Powder Springs Democrat state. Rep. David Wilkerson liked the changes but still voted against the bill, insisting it will do the opposite of what it's intended to do. 'Since I've been here, my focus has been on making sure we run effective government, and this is the largest expansion of administrative government I've seen since I've been here,' Wilkerson told Elliot. Dolezal insists this will remove burdensome rules and regulations on small businesses allowing them to focus on job creation. He rejects the idea this is just a Georgia version of Elon Musk's DOGE. 'What this bill does not do is create some agency that is going to go and blow up different areas of government,' Dolezal said. The bill passed that committee and will now move to the full House for a vote.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Georgia-style DOGE bill intended to make agencies assess cost of rules clears state Senate
Sen. Josh McLaurin, a Sandy Springs Democrat, holds up a photo of the Doge meme that became popular in 2013 while Lt. Gov. Burt Jones looks on. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder A GOP proposal designed to ease regulatory burdens on small business is being billed as Georgia's DOGE, a reference to the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. 'The Senate is leading the way to combat burdensome and costly regulations on behalf of business owners and employees across the state,' Lt. Governor Burt Jones said in a statement Monday that was sent out with the subject line 'Georgia does DOGE.' The bill, officially called the 'Red Tape Rollback Act,' is one of Jones' priorities this session. Jones, who is seen as a likely candidate for governor in 2026, said the bill is 'mirroring the great work President Trump is doing in Washington to create efficiency, reduce unnecessary spending and eliminate bureaucratic red tape across state agencies.' The measure, which is a holdover from last year, cleared the Senate with a 33-21 vote that fell along party lines. The bill now moves to the House. Proponents of the measure say it would hold government accountable and help the state be more responsive to Georgians. Critics say the bill creeps into the executive branch's turf and imports the destructive spirit of DOGE – a point Sen. Josh McLaurin, a Sandy Springs Democrat, made by holding up a prop featuring the 2013-era Doge meme. 'It reflects the philosophy that government is a joke. That is what Elon Musk thinks,' McLaurin said. 'He thinks his money and his wealth entitle him to run the world, and that the government that's in place, the millions of federal workers, the laws that govern their service and put them in a position to succeed, that those laws are a joke as well.' The bill is advancing as Georgia is beginning to feel the effects of the Trump administration's fast-moving attempts to shrink the size of the federal government, with 1,300 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expected to lose their jobs. McLaurin acknowledged the proposed Georgia-style DOGE uses a different strategy than the sweeping changes being undertaken by the Trump administration, like the mass firings. But he argued that both are imbued with the same distrust of government and both take 'an ax to government' instead of trying to make targeted improvements. 'One person's red tape is another person's due process,' he said. The Jones-backed proposal calls for agencies to size up the economic impact of their administrative rules and requires them to review their rules every four years – something the bill's sponsor, Cumming Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal, likened to a 'four-year spring cleaning.' And it would give state lawmakers a chance to object to the rules created by state agencies. Any rule that has an estimated $1 million economic impact would have to be ratified by the General Assembly. Some agencies, such as the Georgia Department of Corrections, are currently not covered by the proposal, but the bill could be broadened to include more state agencies, which are generally considered the purview of the executive branch. 'It certainly does, I would say, enhance what we do here as legislators,' Dolezal said to reporters after the vote. 'I think over the years, the General Assembly has largely devolved in terms of influence down to just a bill-passing authority. 'I think our constituents expect us to do a lot more than just come down here and pass a bunch of new laws,' he added. But other state lawmakers argue that isn't a good thing. 'I'm not sure about y'all but I didn't come here to micromanage agencies. I didn't come here to debate rules. I came here to pass laws,' said Sen. Jason Esteves, an Atlanta Democrat who argued that lawmakers should leave the rule-making to state agencies. The governor's spokesperson said Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who sits atop of the executive branch, remains generally supportive of efforts to streamline the government but said the office does not comment on pending or proposed legislation. Sen. Kim Jackson, a Stone Mountain Democrat, said she isn't hearing complaints from constituents about overly cumbersome rules. 'Instead, they talk about phones that go unanswered, emails that are not responded, agencies not being able to provide the very things that they are called to because they are underfunded and understaffed,' Jackson said. 'Our agencies are not crippled by rules. They are crippled by our lack of funding. They are crippled by our lack of staffing,' she said. The governor sets the spending level for each year's budget, and state lawmakers move money around in the budget to fund their priorities. State agency heads have been making their annual pilgrimage to committee meeting rooms to discuss their budget needs. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GA Democrats vow to fight GA Republicans' ‘Red Tape Rollback Act'
State Republican Senators are backing a bill they claim will reduce red tape for Georgia businesses and state agencies. But Democrats insist it actually adds some red tape. Senate Democrats are promising a fight to stop what Republicans are calling the Red Tape Rollback Act from becoming law. In a morning hearing on Wednesday, Forsyth County Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal introduced the bill that he insists does not create a Georgia version of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but does create a level of legislative oversight for state agencies. 'What it doesn't do is place any sort of new agency in place or grow government in such a way that there's an agency over the shoulder of an existing agency,' Dolezal said. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Under this bill, if the legislature passes a rule or regulation for a state agency and an economic assessment shows it costs more than $1 million, that rule gets paused and it has to come back to the legislature for another approval. 'We definitely want to make sure that the rules that are expensive to comply with are adjudicated and then elected officials are the ones that are ultimately making that decision, not bureaucrats that nobody gets to see,' Dolezal said. But Democrats say all this bill does is slow down the process and give the general assembly more control over state agencies, leading to cuts and eventually elimination of those agencies. 'As Democrats, we're going to stand in the way. We're going to fight. We're going to continue to let the public know what the attempts are from the Lieutenant Governor as well as Republicans in the general assembly,' Emmanuel Jones said. The bill also requires state agencies to comb through its rules and regulations every four years to get rid of old, out-of-date rules or regulations. The bill passed out of that committee on Wednesday morning. TRENDING STORIES: 3 children killed in fire at Atlanta apartment complex A Cobb woman was killed in her home. Now her estranged boyfriend will spend his life in prison Suspect, victim in deadly shooting at McDonald's in Gwinnett were coworkers, police say [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
