The Final Days

DRAMA FOR HOUSE BILL 520 — MENTAL HEALTH

After the passage of HB 520 in the House with an overwhelming vote of support (163-3), we waited for over a week to receive the sub bill from the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. On Tuesday night, Representative Todd Jones and I went on GA Lawmakers with Donna Lowry to explain one final time why the bill is so important for the state of Georgia.

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On Wednesday afternoon, we learned that the Senate Health and Human Services Committee had made alterations to the bill. The Committee called for a hearing only, which means that they did not vote on the bill. We shall wait and see if it moves out of Committee to the Senate floor for a vote. We hope it does.

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HOUSE BILL 794 — THE STONE MOUNTAIN BILL

Chairman Billy Mitchell, Representative Omari Crawford and myself introduced this week a bill to remove the official designation of Stone Mountain Park as a Confederate Memorial as well as remove the word "Memorial" from official title. The bill also removes the requirement that vendors sell Confederate paraphernalia at the park. Finally, the bill discontinues the active preservation of the Confederate carvings of Robert E. Lee, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and Jefferson Davis. The bill, HB 794, will go before the House in the 2024 Session. Watch the WSB news segment on the bill from Tuesday, March 21st here. Watch the excellent Atlanta History Center 2023 documentary Monument below.

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YOU VOTED!

Question from last newsletter: Should Georgia election workers allow people 70 and over to go to the front of the voting line?

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Yes - 80.8% (135 voters)

No - 19.2% (32 voters)

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DEKALB DAY AT THE CAPITOL

Thanks to DeKalb County officials for joining us and celebrating DeKalb County's Bicentennial in the Capitol Rotunda. I appreciated CEO Mike Thurmond's special recognition of me and my work as a Legislator.

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HOUSE DISTRICT 82 LOCAL BILLS — CITY OF DECATUR

Four City of Decatur local bills, House Bills 632-635, are headed to Governor Kemp for signature. As stated in the March 16 issue of Decaturish, they do the following:

1. Increase the General Homestead Exemption (GH-1) for all residential owner-occupied properties from $25,000 to $40,000.
2. Increase the General Homestead Exemption (GH-2) for residential owner-occupied properties for persons 65 years of age or older from $10,000 to $15,000.
3. Increase the General Homestead Exemption (GH-3) for residential owner-occupied properties for persons 62 years of age or older whose Georgia net taxable household income does not exceed $50,000 from $15,000 to $25,000 and adjust the household income limit from $50,000 to $60,000.
4. Create a Community Land Trust Homestead Exemption (LT-1) in the amount of $40,000 for residents who hold owner-occupied real property that is subject to a written land lease having an initial term of not less than 99 years with a landlord that is an entity exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, and who own all improvements located on the real property.

The annual cost of the proposed homestead exemptions is estimated to be approximately $1.05 million.

CITY SCHOOLS OF DECATUR

City Schools of Decatur have two bills, SB 287 and SB 288, which have passed out of the Senate and are now awaiting a vote in the House. As stated in Decaturish, the school district is working to update its senior homestead tax exemption as well as redistrict school board election districts. If these bills are passed and signed by the Governor, the tax exemptions will be on the ballot in November as a referendum.

The current exemptions for school taxes are:

1. S-6 exemption: homeowners age 70 and above are eligible for a reduction of $200,000 of assessed home value ($400,000 appraised value) without an income cap.
2. S-5 exemption: provides an exemption of $200,000 of assessed home value ($400,000 appraised value) for seniors aged 65-69 with a household federal adjusted gross income less than $53,000.

The school board is aiming to extend the senior homestead tax exemption for an additional five-year period. For more information, read the entire Decaturish article at https://decaturish.com/2023/03/state-legislature-passes-decatur-homestead-exemptions-legislation/

CITY OF BROOKHAVEN

HB 729, a bill to extend Brookhaven's homestead exemption, proposes that local exemption be based on the purchase price plus 75% of the change in value between purchase and the taxable year. If passed and signed, the bill would be voted upon as a referendum in November. The bill is presently pending in the House Intragovernmental Coordination Committee.

I know there are many bills which interest you. I always want to hear from you!

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EMORY TOWN HALL APRIL 4th

Thanks to my Emory Bioethics intern Joy Emenyonu for orchestrating an April 4th Town Hall at Emory University with students and faculty. Joy planned this event in coordination with Emory Fair Fight U, Young Democrats, and Emory Law School Democrats. I look forward to it!

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UPCOMING EVENTS

MARCH 29 - SINE DIE

Please mark your calendars for a final Town Hall on Thursday, April 20th. I will post more details about this event in a more comprehensive Session finale newsletter following Sine Die.

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QUICK LINKS FOR YOU

You can search for and track bills, watch the House (or Senate) in Session, watch committee hearings, monitor legislation by committee, and find contact information —- all on the revamped General Assembly website. Here are quick links:

• General Assembly website: https://www.legis.ga.gov/
• House Session meetings and many committee hearings are available to watch online: https://www.legis.ga.gov/house
• Archived videos of meetings and hearings: https://www.legis.ga.gov/house/media-services

Make your views known and tell me what issues interest you the most.

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