We returned to Capitol Hill on Monday, March 29 for the final two days of the 2021 legislative session. The last day of session, Legislative Day 40, is commonly referred to as “Sine Die,” which is a Latin term meaning “without assigning a day for further meeting.” On Sine Die, we worked until shortly after midnight to ensure that significant legislation had every chance to be considered this year.
Before adjourning Sine Die, the House fulfilled its only constitutional obligation by adopting the conference committee report on House Bill 81, the state’s Fiscal Year 2022 (FY 2022) budget. This budget for the next fiscal year begins July 1, 2021, and is set by a revenue estimate $27.2 billion, which is an increase of $1.34 billion, or 5.2 percent, over the original Fiscal Year 2021 budget that was passed last June. The state’s fiscal position has exceeded expectations since last year, and as a result, we were able to allocate approximately 90 percent of the new revenue for the FY 2022 budget to Georgia’s education and health and human services agencies. The upcoming fiscal year budget also restores 60 percent of the reductions made to K-12 education, as well as preserves and increases funding for our other top priorities, such as expanded mental health core and crisis intervention services, rate increases for health and human service providers, access to health care and salary increases for critical state workforce positions. The Governor will now review the budget bill before signing it into law.
The House also voted to give final approval to several other important bills this week, including House Bill 146, which would extend paid parental leave to many of our valuable state employees.
House Bill 479 that will repeal Georgia’s antiquated citizen’s arrest law, also received final passage on Sine Die. In addition to repealing citizen’s arrest, HB 479 would clarify certain instances in which law enforcement officers may make arrests outside of their jurisdiction, as well as authorize retail stores, food service establishments, and certain licensed private security professionals to detain someone if they reasonably believe an individual is committing a crime.
We also gave final passage to Senate Bill 195 to increase the responsibilities of the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission and allow licensed low THC oil producers to partner with universities and colleges, such as Georgia’s historically black colleges and universities, for joint medical research.