‘Lawmakers’ Day 23: House OKs measures including cornbread as state bread; Senate debates budget

On Wednesday, the Senate debated additions to this year's budget on Day 23 of the session.

In the Senate, the budget was the big news as they took a look at House Bill 67, the House's supplemental 2024-2025 budget.

The Senate made its changes in the substituted bill.

One thing that had major impact on both versions of the budget was last year's storms, specifically Hurricane Helene.

Funds were shifted from a variety of programs and earmarks to help pay for the $750 million needed for storm cleanup.

"So the Senate's budget takes $10 million that was added by the House, adds $15 million to it and the Department of Community Affairs for individuals victims of the storm who, through no fault of their own, nonetheless are still awaiting claims to be adjudicated or claims that were denied, ," Senate Appropriations Chairman Blake Tillery said, "and because of that, have the only thing between their beds and the outside elements at night being a blue tarp they were delivered 151 days ago."

Other budget line items included education, public libraries and infrastructure.

"And the Department of Education — we did find some savings in contracts and personnel, some other savings in the cost for our testing program, and then savings related to travel," Tillery added. "We agree with the House and governor, however, concerning school security safety grants at $50 million which now would create for this year almost $70,000 in school safety grants per school."

Also, Georgians can still expect a tax refund this year.

"At the Department of Revenue, the Senate agreed with the House and governor to refund $250 per individual and $500 to a married couple for those who paid taxes, income taxes to our state," Tillery continued. "I think that's a really big deal, and you should thank — you should — give yourself a pat on the back if you want so I guess for that. But we have more there to do."

One senator said that more should have been done to eliminate the state's debt.

"I loved when the chairman said 'ask and you shall receive' on that deal with paying off bonds," Sen. Colton Moore (R-Trenton) said. "I loved when the distinguished rules chairman asked the question about bonds, because finally, we're moving in the right direction in this budget in the sense that we're at least paying off something with 60 million. But we're still $10 billion in debt. So, $60 million is a pretty, pretty small amount."

Democratic Sen. Elena Parent of Atlanta questioned if more investment in building storm-resistant infrastructure would be more beneficial.

"Georgia needs to do a better job in being intentional about being prepared for these now no-longer-unusual weather events," she said. "Investing money in that infrastructure up front so that we can be more resilient so that the damage is less, and so that we can get people back — people and businesses back up on their feet faster."

The bill was passed 55 to 1 and sent back to the House.

Senate Bill 79 was also passed, increasing the sentence for fentanyl trafficking.

"If other drugs are a BB gun, then fentanyl is a nuclear bomb," Sen. Russ Goodman (R-Cogdell) said. "And I mean, honestly, it's kind of the truth that you can look it up yourself. You look at the amount of people that died in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We lose about that many Americans every year, but to fentanyl."

A convicted trafficker could serve up to 35 years, depending on the quantity.

Meanwhile, the House passed over a dozen bills as the countdown to Crossover Day continues.

Some of the most notable include Ethan's Law, a bill that would prohibit judges from requiring a child to attend family reunification camp in another state.

"It is heart wrenching and traumatic for these children to be sent to these reunification camps, and they are allowed to have no contact with the parent that they are living with, fearing probably that that parent has abandoned them," Rep. Stacey Evans (D-Atlanta) said. "This is just a bridge too far for me — and then the other one that's important is not sending them out of state."

Another bill, House Bill 171, would criminalize using AI to depict a nude or otherwise obscene image of a child.

"These AIs, to make everyone clear, they're trained on the faces of our children and our grandchildren," Rep. Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs) said. "They're taken from photographs and videos that people these criminals obtain online. Under HB 171, we'll address these crimes directly by making the distribution of AI generated obscene material depicting children a felony offense punishable with prison term.

"This bill serves as a strong deterrent against the exploitation of AI technology to create and distribute such harmful material."

It also includes protections for disabled adults and victims of stalking and passed unanimously.

HB 156 puts a definition of vertiport infrastructure for air taxis into code in Georgia.

"What these vertiport are — they will effectively — what we're looking to do is create lily pads, not just in metro Atlanta, but all around the state, allowing us to be able to hop in different places," Rep. Todd Jones (R-South Forsyth) said. "Those rides could be as short as 3, 5 miles. They could be as long as 20 miles but effectively giving us an opportunity to lift traffic off the roads and put it into the air.

"They take off and land very similar to a helicopter, but they fly fixed-wing, like an airplane."

And finally on the House's plate: a bill to designate cornbread as the official state bread.

"Basically, this would just take such a Southern delicacy that has such a profound heritage in the state of Georgia, beginning with the Native Americans and on through our cuisine over the last 200-plus years, making cornbread the state bread will solidify our position in the nation as one of the best culinary places to visit," Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton) said.

Brunswick stew was named as the official state stew in another bill.

Both bills passed with little opposition.

Thursday is African Diaspora Day at the Capitol when lawmakers return for Day 24.

Watch Lawmakers tonight to see Sen. Nikki Merritt (D-Grayson), Rep. Doreen Carter (D-Lithonia), Rep. Lauren McDonald III (R-Cumming), and Rep. Michelle Au (D-Johns Creek) discuss the latest on the legislative session.