HB 512, a controversial omnibus gun bill sponsored by Rep. Jasperse (R-Jasper), passed the House this afternoon. The legislation would change Georgia law and allow those with permits to carry guns in bars, churches, government buildings (that aren’t restricted or screened by personnel during the hours when the buildings are open), public colleges, universities, and career and technical schools (dorms are excluded).

The bill also incorporates provisions found in HB 35 and allows local boards of education to designate one or more school employees to carry guns in schools. Most of the speakers in favor of HB 512 couched their support broadly in terms of the Second Amendment, while opponents criticized the wisdom of encouraging the proliferation of more guns, particularly in various school settings.  

Rep. Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta), a military veteran with three deployments under his belt, delivered the minority party report against the legislation. He prefaced his comments by saying he respects and supports the Second Amendment but that state and local governments have a legitimate interest in setting some limitations. He said there is no way of knowing whether more lives will be lost or saved as a result of passage of HB 512 and that no data supports the theory that more guns will limit gun violence.

Ultimately the bill passed, mostly along party lines, and is on its way to the Senate. For more information, check out the AJC’S report.    

Transparency Measures Added to Tuition Tax Credit Program

The Senate passed SB 243, adding much-needed transparency measures to Georgia’s tuition tax credit program, around which allegations of financial abuse and mismanagement have swirled. The bill is sponsored by Senator Charlie Bethel (R-Dalton). The bill has received bipartisan support and support from public education advocates. The current tuition tax credit program, sometimes referred to as a back door voucher program, reroutes over $50 million dollars a year away from public coffers in the form of tax credits for those who donate to student scholarship organizations. The organizations then award private school scholarships to Georgia students.  

At the bequest of the Governor, the bill was weakened on the Senate floor today when language was added that allows students to circumvent the bill’s requirement that they attend public school briefly before becoming eligible to receive the private school voucher. The amendment provides an attendance exception for religious purposes, for students who are bullied at their home public school, and for students in failing public schools. Fortunately, another proposed amendment failed. This amendment would have deleted the bill’s requirement that scholarship organizations consider the family income of students when dispersing the voucher dollars.

What Didn’t Pass by Today’s Deadline?

Crossover Day is important because it marks the point in the legislative session by which all bills must pass the House or Senate in order to remain eligible to become law. Legislators have found ways to work around this rule--such as attaching portions of failed legislation to bills which are successfully moving. However, it’s safe to say that the following legislation will have long odds at passing this year since the bills didn’t make the Crossover Day deadline:   

• Bills exempting GA from the Common Core Curriculum
• Legislation forcing new educators to shoulder the entire cost of their post-retirement state health insurance
• A measure raising the cap on the tuition tax credit program from $50 million a year to over $80 million a year
• A bill sanctioning educators who improperly use school computers and email accounts to support or oppose legislation
• Legislation prohibiting suspended school boards from using public funds for litigation fees
• A resolution allowing ESPLOST dollars to be used for school maintenance and operation

  WATCH “Legislative Week in Review” for more on education-related issues at the Capitol

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