When it comes to gaming, the odds are always in the house’s favor — so when the government taxes the house, it’s a win for the government. But wrangling over the not-yet-existent spoils will lower the odds against any gaming bill passing in Georgia next year.
Tag: Legislature
Posted inColumns
Government-imposed design requirements cost Georgia home buyers
By Guest Columnist AUSTIN HACKNEY, government affairs director, Home Builders Association of Georgia
For generations, home ownership has provided individuals and families with a path towards economic prosperity, and a strong residential construction industry is known as an indicator of a healthy economy. However, recent restrictions and mandates enacted by some local jurisdictions are infringing on private property rights and adversely affecting home buyers, escalating the cost of new home purchases beyond the reach of some buyers, especially those interested in entry-level and workforce housing.
Posted inLatest News
Georgia’s new Business Court gets first judge
About a year before Georgia State-wide Business Court starts accepting cases, members of the state House and Senate have confirmed Walter Davis as its first judge.
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Georgia may yet tax Walmart.com Rolexes, short-term rentals, ride-hailing and other online commerce
“Because they’re not being collected, those are dollars that are not being used in our communities, and for me, that’s a problem.”
Posted inMaggie Lee
In a buttoned-down state Capitol, views differ on the line between “free speech” and “disruption”
In a Georgia legislative session that brought a divisive abortion bill after a tense election, Democrats see police overkill with Republican fingerprints on it; while police say they’re just ensuring safety.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Georgia Capitol recap: Atlanta airport, rural transit bills fail to move, and more
In news of what the state Legislature didn’t approve this year, put: any takeover or oversight of Atlanta’s airport. Or a tax break for jet fuel. Or a boost to rural transit.
Posted inLatest News
Georgia lawmakers send medical cannabis cultivation bill to governor
That would solve a problem for people who have a state medical marijuana card, but no place to buy the liquid they use to fight the side effects of chemotherapy, the frequency of seizures or other disorders.
Posted inLatest News
Georgia Senate panel narrows medical cannabis cultivation bill
Medical cannabis advocates think a rewrite of a House-approved medical cannabis cultivation bill is mainly unworkable and contains some poison pill provisions. But a key state Senator says the original might have had unintended consequences.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Late nights and legislative vehicles: welcome to the Gold Dome
So should lawmakers meet more than 40 days per year? You won’t hardly find anyone who will answer “yes” to that.
Posted inLatest News
Under new legislation, Georgia might double spending on tire and hazardous cleanup
Between the two, that’s about $7.5 million that the state didn’t spend on environmental cleanup this fiscal year, but that it arguably should have.
Posted inLatest News
Georgia House poised to join cities in opposing offshore oil exploration, drilling
The Georgia House is poised to join more than a dozen Georgia cities in going on record against the Trump administration’s decision to allow seismic testing, and oil drilling, off the Georgia coast. A companion bill appears to be stalled in the Senate with about a week remaining the legislative session.
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Explainer: When Georgia lawmakers do — and don’t — know the cost of their votes
The nice thing about a fiscal note is that all sides consider it at least a good-faith estimate, free of industry or partisan spin. But Georgia legislators often don’t have a nonpartisan official estimate of what their votes will mean for the state’s finances.
Posted inLatest News
Needle-exchange bill moving through Georgia Legislature
If this bill passes, expect comprehensive needle-exchange programs to take root beyond Atlanta.
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Georgia lawmakers almost done for the session — here’s some of what’s still in the running
Some of the things that still have a chance? A near-total ban on abortions, a hate crime law, a state takeover of the airport, medical cannabis cultivation and more.
Posted inLatest News
Georgia House OKs pair of tenants’ rights bills
“This law is a ban on retaliatory evictions of tenants,” said state Rep. Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta. “This is about slum landlords.”
Posted inMaggie Lee
Georgia bill would set aside funds from Uber, Lyft, taxis for mobility and “innovation”
“Thirty million dollars to $60 million dollars can remove a whole lot of barriers for a whole lot of people in our state,” said state Rep. Kevin Tanner, R-Dawsonville.
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Georgia could approve hemp, medical cannabis grows this year — but time running low
One might ask if high-THC marijuana for sale on the street might be grown in the middle of a field of hemp.
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Local governments shouldn’t weigh in on the appearance of houses, according to some Georgia lawmakers
“The reason our cities are the places you want to live is because of design standards,” Lilburn Mayor Johnny Crist said opposing the bill. He said aesthetics are part of what make a city interesting and attractive to new residents.
Posted inLatest News
Proposal for multi-year study of state’s health care system adds to debate
A state Senate committee this afternoon is to take up two bills that offer completely different approaches to restructure the state’s system that oversees the expansion of health facilities, a topic expected to draw such a large crowd that the meeting is scheduled in the Senate’s largest committee room.
Posted inLatest News
Sales tax exemption, school stockpiles part of GA Capitol campaign to end “period poverty”
“I never dreamed that in 2019 this would be a problem. But it is,” said state Rep. Debbie Buckner.
