WOW! It is hard to believe that the 2021 State Legislative Session is almost half over. Thursday was day 19 of the 40-day session. What is referred to as “crossover day”, day 28, is right around the corner. That is the last day that bills can pass from one house to the other and have a chance of being signed into law this year. Our Committees are evaluating, amending, and perfecting bills to be presented on the House floor for a vote. This past week, we have thoughtfully passed legislation that will simplify, clarify and improve the lives of all Georgians.
Medicaid & PeachCare for Kids
The House unanimously passed legislation at the beginning of last week which seeks to automatically enroll thousands of Georgia’s most vulnerable children in health insurance.
House Bill 163 would require the Georgia Department of Community Health to submit an amendment to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to implement “express lane” eligibility in Medicaid and the PeachCare for Kids Program. Upon federal approval of this plan, the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) would automatically enroll and renew eligible children who have already qualified for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids.
There are approximately 120,000 children enrolled in SNAP who are also eligible for our state health insurance programs, yet some of these children miss out on this coverage because they have must complete a separate application with the DHS. By eliminating the need for families to submit the same information twice with the DHS, this legislation could close this coverage gap and help ensure that uninsured children receive the health care coverage that they deserve.
State employee family leave
In an effort to enhance the quality of life for many Georgia families, my colleagues and I overwhelmingly passed House Bill 146 last week to extend paid parental leave to many of our valuable state employees. This legislation would provide up to 120 hours, or three weeks, of paid parental leave annually to eligible state employees and local Board of Education employees for qualifying life events, such as after the birth of their child and after an adoptive or foster child is first placed in their home.
Under this bill, state workers who have been employed for at least six months would be able to use this parental leave regardless of whether they have paid leave benefits. This legislation was first introduced during the 2020 legislative session, but after passing in the House, the bill stalled in the Senate as the legislature shifted its focus to the pandemic last year. As the economy and job market continue to recover, providing this crucial benefit to our state employees would help Georgia retain and recruit the best and brightest workforce.
Organ transplant protection
We also unanimously passed House Bill 128, which was inspired by Gracie Joy Nobles, a Georgia child with Down syndrome, to help safeguard against organ transplant discrimination for children and adults living with disabilities. If Gracie’s Law is enacted, individuals who are candidates for an anatomical gift or organ transplant would not be deemed ineligible or denied insurance coverage or a medical referral solely based on the individual’s physical or mental disability. Additionally, if an individual cannot independently meet medical requirements after a transplant operation but has an adequate support system to assist with these recovery needs, the individual would not be deemed ineligible for the transplant.
Children’s Health Care of Atlanta (CHOA), which performs most of the pediatric solid organ transplants in the state, has expressed support for this legislation and also reported that there is no medical reason to warrant such discrimination.
Adoption and foster care reform
This is another piece of legislation that passed in the House last session with bipartisan support, and I hope that Gracie’s Law will cross the finish line this year after consideration from the Senate.
Earlier this session, Governor Brian Kemp unveiled a legislative package to reform adoption and foster care laws. The House overwhelmingly passed one of these measures last week to make several changes to these laws. House Bill 154 would lower the age at which a person is allowed to petition for adoption from 25 to 21 years old. It is very rare for a young adult to try to adopt in our state, but this change in HB 154 would allow an older sibling or another close relative to petition for adoption as an avenue for the child to remain with these family members if it is deemed as the best option. Additionally, this legislation would recognize other state’s adoption processes and clarify venue alternatives for out-of-state adoption proceedings.
This bill would also specify paperwork requirements for those who seek to adopt a child whose parents do not first need to surrender their rights, allow the state to effect service upon a parent even if a mail request was sent back with a return receipt, as well as allow a non-resident petitioner to appear for the final hearing via electronic means if the petition for adoption is uncontested.
Furthermore, HB 154 would permit the state to begin the search of the putative father after an adoption petition has been filed, require the petitioner to request for an investigator to verify the adoption petition if the court fails to appoint one, and confirm that juvenile courts would keep children’s names confidential during proceedings.
Finally, it would create a civil cause of action as a tort claim to address adoption scams where individuals intentionally misrepresent a pregnancy or intention to place a child for adoption.
Since the House first modernized and overhauled adoption laws in 2018, the number of adoptions in our state has grown tremendously, while the number of children in foster care continues to decrease. With these important changes in HB 154, even more Georgia children could be adopted and placed in loving homes, including homes with their own family.
Other legislation
We also passed the following bills during the fast-paced week:
- House Bill 90, which would clarify the damages a person holding a security in land may seek when the land is converted without their consent; this would create uniformity with the Uniform Commercial Code by specifying that a buyer in the ordinary course of business shall not have liability to such persons;
- House Bill 93, which would eliminate duplicative state licensure requirements and regulation of clinical laboratories in Georgia that are certified by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services;
- House Bill 111, which would act as the annual revision of Georgia law related to banking and finance. Superfluous language is clarified, removed and consolidated, and terminology is also updated, and outdated language is removed;
- House Bill 130, which would require counties, municipalities and consolidated governments to treat fence detection systems for non-residentially zoned properties the same as alarm systems and would prohibit these local authorities from banning the installation or use of fence detection systems that comply with Georgia law;
- House Bill 165, which would allow for the use of a mount for a telecommunications device on the front windshield of a motor vehicle;
- House Bill 168, which would create an exception to the confidentiality rules pertaining to inmate files for purposes of responding to actions by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. This exception would be for information requested by the local district attorney when an inmate has been sentenced for a serious violent felony or a dangerous sexual offense that was committed against a minor;
- House Bill 169, which would add the completion of a commercial driver training course as a requirement to receive a commercial driver’s license to make Georgia law consistent with federal requirements, and it would change the maximum length of time that a commercial driver’s instruction permit is valid from two 180-day periods to one 365-day period;
- House Bill 200, which would change the description of the type of three-wheeled motor vehicle that a driver with a Class C driver’s license is permitted to drive from a three-wheeled vehicle that is equipped with a steering wheel to a three-wheeled vehicle that has seat belts and a frame to partially or fully enclose the driver, as well as exempt drivers of certain three-wheeled vehicles from headgear and eye-protective requirements;
- House Bill 207, which would require certain specified documents and registrations to be submitted to the Georgia Department of Revenue electronically instead of through the mail;
- House Bill 212, which would revise Georgia law regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation to amend the term “parent” to include a person with legal authority to act on behalf of a minor or a parent of an adult without decision-making capacity, as well as clarify requirements for the issuance of an order not to resuscitate a minor to ensure no such order can be issued without consent of the minor’s parent if the parent is reasonably available or competent;
- House Bill 254, which would update Georgia’s public adjuster laws and increase consumer protections from fraud by requiring public adjusters to be licensed by the Department of Insurance (DOI), requiring these adjusters to use DOI approved contracts, among others; this bill would also outline rules for fees, commissions, advertisements and solicitations;
- House Bill 282, which would update Georgia’s ad valorem tax for qualified timberland property by allowing an applicant to declare a tract of land as contiguous even if the tract is divided by certain boundaries, roads or railways, as well as update the qualified timberland property manual and the requirements for a parcel map drawn by the county cartographer or Geographic Information System technician;
- House Bill 287, which would require that mandatory instruction regarding drug and alcohol use include tobacco and vapor products for students in every grade;
- House Bill 353, which would require drivers to make a lane change away from a bicyclist when passing them on a roadway if it is possible or reduce their speed and pass the bicyclist with at least three feet between the vehicle and bicycle; a violation of this law would be a misdemeanor.
We will reach the halfway point of the session when we return for Legislative Day 20 on Monday, February 22, and we will continue to work diligently to pass House bills before Day 28, or “Crossover Day,” which is the last day that a House bill can pass in the House Chamber and still be eligible to become law this session.
Community input is extremely important to the legislative process, so, I hope to hear from you as we work diligently to improve the lives of Georgians before this important deadline. You are welcome to call my Capitol Office at 404-656-0325, or you can email reach me directly at [email protected].
As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as your state representative for House District 10.
Rep. Victor Anderson (R-Alto) represents District 10, which includes portions of Habersham and White counties. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2020 and currently serves on the Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications, Governmental Affairs, and State Planning & Community Affairs committees.
