Georgia General Assembly Sine Die Legislative Update
The Georgia General Assembly’s 40-day legislative session for 2020, which began on Monday, January 13th, finally concluded on Friday, June 26, 2020. After three months of uncertainty and postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, legislators returned to the Gold Dome on Monday, June 15th for a two-week, whirlwind wrap-up. By the last day of the session, or Sine Die – roughly meaning date of indefinite adjournment – the General Assembly had managed to address critical and controversial bills, including the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) budget, hate crimes legislation, and many others.Despite much fretting about whether the issues we had supported would be addressed when they returned, we were thrilled to see legislators pass bills championed by 2019-2020 GWPI Fellows addressing maternal mortality and domestic violence. Specifically, the General Assembly passed HB 1114, which authorized the extension of Medicaid coverage for new mothers from two to six months following a birth, and fully funded the six-month extension in the FY21 budget. In addition, after passage in the Senate, the House passed SB 477, which revised the law to allow law enforcement to arrest the “predominant” rather than “primary” aggressor in family violence situations. This will prevent the needless arrest of victims. These bills now await the Governor’s signature.We are so proud of the work of each of our Fellows and thankful for their efforts over the course of this most unusual session. In addition, we are grateful for the partnership of other individual stakeholders, organizations, and elected officials in working relentlessly to get these bills over the finish line.Of special note, the General Assembly spent a substantial amount of time debating HB 426, a bill that created enhanced penalties for hate crimes. After a great deal of back and forth, this legislation was passed on a bipartisan basis, bringing Georgia in line with the vast majority of states that have hate crimes laws on the books. This was a first step in response to protests across the state and nation calling for racial justice and equity. Below are some of the other bills the Georgia Women’s Policy Institute Fellows and our team supported throughout the session and their final outcomes. Those measures marked PASSED now await the Governor’s signature.HB 881: Revises provisions relating to safe places for newborns to be left (e.g. with an ambulance service, in a newborn safety incubator). DID NOT PASSHB 1090: Requires employers to provide break time and private space for employees to express breast milk. PASSEDHB 1094: Provides paid parental leave for state employees for 3 weeks. DID NOT PASSHB 1114: Extends Medicaid coverage up to six months postpartum; funding for this extension has been included in the House Fiscal Year 2021 budget. PASSEDHB 1125: “Lacee’s Law” expands breast cancer screening for high-risk individuals age 30 and over. PASSED SB 327: Requires employers to provide reasonable break time and private space to an employee who needs to express breast milk. DID NOT PASS – Substantially the same as HB 1090, which did passSB 349: Requires local school boards to provide feminine hygiene products for students in grades 6-12. DID NOT PASSSB 408: Repeals the sunset provision relating to use of sick leave for care of immediate family members and lengthens the period during which unemployment benefits may be drawn to 26 weeks. PASSEDSB 477: Clarifies that law enforcement should arrest the “predominant” aggressor in family violence situations. PASSED