Legislation requiring local law enforcement agencies to comply with a 2006 state law aimed at illegal immigration cleared the Republican-controlled Georgia House Feb. 29.
House Bill 1105, which passed 97-74 primarily along party lines, comes on the heels of the murder of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. A 26-year-old Venezuelan man allegedly in the country illegally has been charged with the crime.
The bill requires local sheriffs and jailers to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Those that fail to determine the nationality of suspects being held in local jails and notify the U.S. Department of Homeland Security when they have a suspected illegal immigrant in custody would be subject to the withholding of state funds and state-authorized federal funds.
“Georgia law already prohibits sanctuary cities,” state Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, told his House colleagues before the vote. “House Bill 1105 will make sure sanctuary policies don’t get rooted in our local governments.”
But Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Atlanta, said the legislation would force local law enforcement agencies to focus their efforts on ferreting out illegal immigrants instead of allowing them to concentrate on those committing violent crimes regardless of their nationality.
Other opponents argued the legislation would lead to racial profiling, discouraging law-abiding citizens with brown skin or foreign accents from coming forward to report criminal activity, The bill now moves to the state Senate.
Kemp signs midyear budget
Gov. Brian Kemp signed a record $37.9 billion fiscal 2024 midyear budget Feb. 29 that includes $5.5 billion in new spending.
“This is a very, very good budget,” House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, said during a signing ceremony at the state Capitol. “It reflects the shared priorities of both (legislative) chambers.”
The midyear budget, which covers state spending through June 30, includes a $1.5 billion infusion of funding for transportation improvements, $250 million for local water and sewer projects, $102.5 million to account for public school enrollment growth, $100 million for rural economic development projects, almost $70 million in additional funding for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, and $50 million to expand Georgia’s rural workforce housing program The spending plan allocates $2 billion of an unprecedented $16 billion budget surplus toward the new spending, a far cry from the days of the Great Recession, when Georgia’s “rainy-day” fund was severely depleted.
“It is probably harder with a surplus than any other time,” said Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. “Everybody has special projects.”
With so much extra money on hand, the midyear budget for the first time in memory pays for major capital projects with cash instead of bond financing. It allocates $178 million for a new dental school at Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong campus in Savannah, and $50 million for a new medical school at the University of Georgia in Athens.
The General Assembly also made an 11th-hour allocation of $392 million to fund major renovations at the state Capitol complex both to improve security and enhance public access. Another $300 million will go for $1,000 one-time pay supplements for Georgia’s teachers and state and university system employees.
Sports betting makes it through Georgia Senate A proposed constitutional amendment calling for a statewide referendum on whether to legalize sports betting in Georgia cleared the state Senate Feb. 27.
Senate Resolution 579 passed 41-12, garnering three more votes than the minimum two-thirds majority required to approve constitutional amendments in the General Assembly.
Under the legislation, sports betting would be overseen by a newly created gaming commission.
The enabling bill calls for the awarding of 16 licenses to online sports betting providers.
Eighty percent of the tax revenue derived from sports betting would go toward education with an emphasis on Georgia’s pre-kindergarten program.
Another 15% would fund an education program on the dangers of problem gambling, and the final 5% would be used to promote major sporting events in Georgia.
Georgia voters deserve the right to decide whether to bring sports betting to the Peach said State, Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, Senate Resolution 579’s chief sponsor.
“It’s politically appropriate to let the people vote,” he said.
Sen. Marty Harbin, R-Tyrone, who has consistently opposed legalized gambling, said the projected $125 million sports betting would generate for Georgia’s economy each year is minuscule compared to the $16 billion budget surplus the state has built up during the last three years.
“We have the money,” Harbin said. “We don’t need this.”
