While we were all celebrating the July 4th holiday, many bills passed by the 2017 Georgia General Assembly went into effect. The following bills were among those with a July 1st effective date which align with our MAC Public Policy Agenda:
While we were all celebrating the July 4th holiday, many bills passed by the 2017 Georgia General Assembly went into effect. The following bills were among those with a July 1st effective date which align with our MAC Public Policy Agenda:
Business Climate
HB 192 The Business Judgement Rule (Rep. Beth Beskin) – Establishes gross negligence as the standard by which an officer/director may be held personally responsible for the process by which their decision was made.
HB 199 Georgia Entertainment Industry Post-production Investment Act (Rep. Trey Rhodes) – This legislation enhances Georgia’s film and video game tax credits, particularly for post-production.
HB 243 Local Government Preemption (Rep. Bill Werkheiser) – Preempts local governments from levying fines on business for scheduling changes to employee’s schedule.
HB 342 Downtown Atlanta Enterprise Zone (Rep. Chuck Efstration) – Creates a sales and use tax exemption for urban redevelopment areas designated as enterprise zones (minimum investment of $400 million).
Education & Workforce
HB 338 The First Priority Act (Rep. Kevin Tanner) – Creates the Education Advisory Council and Chief Turnaround Officer and Turnaround Coaches who will work with the lowest performing five percent of public schools to enact turnaround strategies for school improvement.
HB 430 Governor’s Education Reform Commission Charter Schools (Rep. Buzz Brockway) – Enacts the provisions of the Governor's Education Reform Commission and clarifies language as related to charter schools and local school board governance of charter school finances and property.
SB 186 Move on When Ready (Sen. Lindsey Tippins) – Allows dual enrollment students to be eligible to receive the HOPE Grant to obtain an Associate's degree. Previously, these students would use up their Hope grant eligibility a few credits shy of an Associate's degree and therefore were unable to complete the degree program without other funding sources.
Infrastructure
HB 506 MARTA Procurement (Rep. Tom Taylor) – Provides MARTA with additional flexibility when selecting retail concession partners to operate at MARTA rail stations.
SB 183 SRTA Cleanup Bill (Sen. Brandon Beach) – Creates additional financing mechanism for large roadway projects.
SB 219 Autonomous Vehicle Operations and Liability (Sen. Steve Gooch) – Establishes minimum operating requirements and liability coverage for autonomous vehicles in Georgia.
