In this week's Lawmaker Huddle on Morning Edition, GPB’s Pamela Kirkland catches up with Lawmakers host Donna Lowry to discuss the legislation that cleared a key session milestone — Crossover Day.

After Crossover Day at the Georgia Capitol, key bills move forward

After Crossover Day at the Georgia Capitol, key bills move forward

Credit: Kristi Wooten / GPB News

Thursday marked Crossover Day at the Georgia Capitol—a crucial deadline where bills must pass one chamber to have a chance at becoming law. Lawmakers debated and voted on a record number bills.

The state senate approved multiple school safety bills while the state House approved income tax cuts.

GPB’s Donna Lowry joins me to break down the biggest takeaways from Crossover Day.

 

TRANSCRIPT:

Pamela Kirkland: This is GPB. I'm Pamela Kirkland. Thursday was Crossover Day at the Georgia Capitol, a pivotal deadline when bills must clear at least one chamber to stay alive. This session, lawmakers work late into the night and so did GPB's Donna Lowry. You know her as the host of lawmakers on GPB. And she's here up early after a busy night under the Gold Dome. Donna, how are you this morning?

Donna Lowry: I'm awake. I'm here.

Pamela Kirkland: So let's talk about what was going on. Lawmakers worked through that packed agenda yesterday. Tell me, how much legislation did they end up pushing through?

Donna Lowry: Well, Pamela, Crossover Day became a marathon and not a sprint. Both houses pushed through so much legislation that when the House wrapped up just before 11 p.m., Speaker John Byrnes announced they had broke a record in passing 75 bills. And most bills passed without debate, and most had bipartisan support. So that kept things moving throughout the day. And the Senate finished up a little before 10 p.m..

Pamela Kirkland: All right. So let's start with the state House; which bills ended up crossing over?

Donna Lowry: Well, that chamber passed an income tax rate cut. And that's something Gov. Kemp has championed. And members also approved another round of tax refunds: $250 for singles, 500 for married couples filing jointly. Also, a wrongful compensation bill was passed in the House for five individuals found innocent of crimes after serving time. That bill, afterwards, received applause from the members.

Pamela Kirkland: And it sounds like there wasn't a lot of debate, either. Just kind of down to business getting things done.

Donna Lowry: Absolutely. They really wanted to get through a lot.

Pamela Kirkland: And on the Senate side, what major legislation made it through over there?

Donna Lowry: The Senate approved three major school safety bills, which was significant. Two passed with overwhelming support, including Ricky and Alyssa's Law. And that would require schools to install install mobile panic buttons. And the more contentious of the school safety bills that passed, among other things, adds terroristic acts to the list of offenses by juveniles 13 to 17 years old, and that can have them tried as adults. And Democrats opposed it, saying it criminalizes youth. But it did pass.

Pamela Kirkland: And as we know with Crossover Day, if it doesn't make it through, it's pretty much dead. So what's some of the legislation that was left to die on the vine this session?

Donna Lowry: Well, the big one was the sports betting bill in the House. It never made it to the floor despite buzz all evening that it would. And actually, one Senate — er, senator told us live on our crossover show on Lawmakers that it would happen, but it didn't. And another bill on that list that was supposed to go to the floor in the Senate but didn't would have banned DEI and schools both at the K-12 and the college level. There's word that bill might resurface in some type of way. Also, Democrats pushed for something requiring the safe storage of firearms, but that legislation didn't get a vote. And also of note, the House bill to prevent mining in the Okefenokee Swamp didn't make it to the floor.

Pamela Kirkland: All right. Well, they got a lot done, but the session is not over just yet. There's more to watch for, and Donna we'll be watching you hosting Lawmakers nightly at 7 p.m. while the Legislature is in session. Thank you for being here.

Donna Lowry: Always happy to come in. Thank you, Pamela.

Pamela Kirkland: And I hope you have a nice, restful weekend so you can get ready for next week.

Donna Lowry: Thank you. You too.

Tags: Georgia  Gold Dome  capitol  Crossover Day  Politics  Georgia  Georgia Politics  legislation  School Safety  income tax