GEORGIA SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE – 2018
WEEK THREE
The first ten days of the session have been relatively quiet from the observer’s perspective. So far, the major event has been the release of the Governor’s version of the amended FY 18 budget with midterm adjustments for the QBE formula to correct for student growth. The budget does included $15 million for the purchase of approximately 180 school buses. Bonds will not be used for bus purchase this year. The amended FY 18 budget did have a hearing in the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Education. The hearing had an interesting request for additional funds for a charter school that had submitted inaccurate CPI information. The subcommittee will meet to make any adjustments to the proposed budget, vote on the changes, if any, and pass it on to the full House Appropriations Committee for discussion and a vote before the budget moves on to the full House.
The FY 19 budget has not started through the committee process as of now. One interesting omission is that the request for CTAE equipment was not included in the Governor’s funding proposal.
Few bills have been heard in committees. Of those that have moved to committees, few have moved to the House or Senate Rules Committees for consideration of a floor debate and vote.
One Senate Resolution, SR 631, did move quickly on Thursday. It received the needed number of votes in the Senate and was immediately transmitted to the House, where it was also passed. The resolution is the calendar for the remaining 30 days of the legislative session.
Monday, January 29th – Thursday, February 1st. Legislative Days 11 – 14
Monday, February 5th – Thursday, February 8th Legislative Days 15 – 18
Monday, February 12th – Thursday, February 15th Legislative Days 19 – 22
Tuesday, February 20th – Friday, February 23th Legislative Days 23 – 26
Monday, February 26th Legislative Day 27
Wednesday, February 28th Legislative Day 28
Crossover Day Legislation will needed to be passed by one side and sent to the other side for consideration in the last 12 days of the session.
Thursday, March 1st Legislative Day 29
Monday, March 5th Legislative Day 30
Wednesday, March 7th Legislative Day 31
Friday, March 9th Legislative Day 32
Monday, March 12th Legislative Day 33
Wednesday, March 14th Legislative Day 34
Thursday, March 15th Legislative Day 35
Monday, March 19th Legislative Day 36
Wednesday, March 21st Legislative Day 37
Friday, March 23rd Legislative Day 38
Tuesday, March 27 Legislative Day 39
Thursday, March 29 Legislative Day 40
Sine die — no later than 12:00 midnight.
Now that the calendar has been set for the last twenty nine days of the legislative session, we should expect to see many committee meetings between January 29 and March 26. Both the House and the Senate will vote on many bills as we get closer to February 28th, Crossover Day. From March 1st through the March 29th, committees will hear bills from the other chamber, with the crush of bills being considered for passage in the last few days of the session.
At this time, we are tracking fifty-six of the bills introduced this session. These bills can be reviewed on the GSSA Legislative Watch tab. Each of these bills has been assigned to a House or Senate Committee for hearings. As the bills are heard in committees, we will track them until Crossover Day. After Crossover Day, some of the bills will not have had the requisite passing vote in the appropriate chamber. To view the list of members of any of the committees, click on the committee name in the list below.
Committees with Education-Related Bills
as of the Tenth Day of the 2018 Legislative Session – WATCH TAB
| House Committee | Number of Bills | Senate Committee | Number of Bills |
| Education | 9 | Education and Youth | 1 |
| Ways and Means | 5 | Ethics | 3 |
| Higher Education | 4 | Judiciary | 4 |
| Appropriations | 5 | Finance | 2 |
| Judiciary | 4 | Health and Human Services | 1 |
| Government Affairs | 3 | Insurance and Labor | 1 |
| Retirement | 1 | Public Safety | 1 |
| Regulated Industries | 1 | Government Oversight | 1 |
| Judiciary Non Civil | 1 | Regulated Industries and Utilities | 1 |
| Health and Human Services | 1 | Agriculture and Consumer Affairs | 1 |
| Public Safety and Homeland Security | 1 | State and Local Government Operations | 5 |
| 35 | 21 |
This chart does not include House and Senate resolutions being WATCHED.
As the session moves forward, there will be additional bills introduced for consideration. We will update our website and app on a daily basis to follow the action of the bills.
Major bills that we are still expecting to see this session are:
- CTAE Governance
- Assessment
- Charter Schools
- E SPLOST
- School Safety
The Senate Education and Youth Committee is scheduled to meet on Monday and Wednesdays.
The House Education Committee is scheduled to meet on Thursdays. The House Education Committee will also operate subcommittees that will hear assigned bills before the full committee meets. Public input is allowed during the subcommittee meetings.
If I can be of assistance to you with any of the activities of the 2018 legislative session, please contact me.
Michael Surma
Legislative Liaison
Georgia School Superintendents Association
404-909-1639
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