Columbus, Georgia

CCG Weekly Update - Week 12

Georgia General Assembly Weekly Report ? Week 10



The Georgia General Assembly met twice this week, Monday and Thursday

for the 37th and 38th days of the 40-day legislative session. The drawn out

week and the drawn out 2003 session is a result of the problems with the FY

2004 budget. A conference committee met all week on the budget but has yet to

reach an agreement. In a last ditch effort, the House late yesterday approved

a tobacco tax increase to help bring in additional revenue to fill the budget

gap. However, last night, the Senate did not make a motion to accept the

tobacco bill from the House. The Senate requires a two-thirds majority vote

for the bill to be considered after the 33rd legislative day, and it has been

rumored that the Senate may have the votes to pass a tobacco tax, but not by a

two-thirds majority. One alternative being discussed would be to use an

existing bill in the Senate as a vehicle to incorporate the tobacco tax. If

this occurs, it is likely that the tobacco tax issue will be settled in a

conference committee meeting sometime next week. If a tobacco tax is not

agreed upon, it is likely that a special session will be called by the Governor

almost immediately upon the conclusion of the regular 40-day session. A

special session will be called to balance the 2004 budget, but it is also

likely that the Governor will include redistricting, ethics, and education as a

part of a special session. Most of the Governor?s 2003 legislation has been

held up in the House, specifically education and ethics reform. It is likely

that if a special session is called by the Governor, he will use the special

session to re-introduce much of his legislative package that has not been

passed this year.



Next week, the Legislature is scheduled to convene on Tuesday and

Thursday, Thursday being the last day of the 2003 General Assembly. On

Tuesday, the Senate is scheduled to debate the state flag bill which caused so

much controversy in the House last week. As for the House, they will have a

full calendar on Tuesday and Thursday mostly passing legislation that has

stacked up on their calendar over the last two weeks. All eyes will remain on

the budget conference committee to determine if a special session will be

called after the regular session comes to an end.



Attached is Columbus tracking sheet showing which remaining bills have moved

this week. Please let us know if you have any immediate concerns or questions

regarding this legislation.