The Georgia General Assembly kicked off its 40-day legislative session earlier this month. This session is a continuation of the two-year session started last year, meaning legislation from last year carried over into this year as well. Between the bills carried over, and new introductions, the General Assembly has seen more than three thousand pieces of legislation in total.
As with sessions in recent years, tax relief for Georgians will be front and center in the General Assembly. Importantly, legislative leaders will have to work out between themselves what that relief looks like. While Governor Kemp and Senate leaders want to prioritize cutting state income taxes, House Speaker Jon Burns is focused on cutting property taxes. Burns’ is spearheading a plan to eliminate property taxes on residences, while the Senate is working on a plan to lower the state income tax below five percent.
While the leadership sorts out a plan for tax relief, both chambers have continued their work, given the short session schedule.
The first step to carry new legislation into the current year’s session is for the legislative chamber to recommit a bill. Recommitting a bill allows legislators to pick up where progress left off at the end of last session and indicates what bills may move forward over the next several weeks. The bills recommitted by the legislature so far include additional restrictions on SNAP benefits, changes to the tracking of education requirements for professional licenses, and a new tax credit for firearms storage devices.
The first bill of the new session to pass, that will be sent to the governor for signing, prevents local zoning restrictions on firearms storage. The bill was a carryover from last year and only needed to pass the Senate this time around.