Official Press Releases
ATLANTA (March 26, 2009) – Sen. Chip Pearson (R-Dawsonville) was successful today in his joint effort with Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) to bring relief to Georgia’s housing market. Homebuyers will receive a one-time, $3,600 home buying tax credit under House Bill 261, which received an overwhelming vote of support in the Senate.
Continue reading “Sen. Pearson Leads Stephens’ Housing Credit (HB 261) to Final Passage”
ATLANTA (March 26, 2009) – State Sen. Kasim Reed’s (D-Atlanta) bill that provides for the mandatory HIV testing of inmates passed through the House State Institutions and Property meeting on Monday, March 23, 2009. The bill previously passed the Senate on March 10, 2009. The legislation requires that any person in the custody of a penal institution for one year or longer and has not previously tested positive for HIV be subject to HIV testing prior to release. Continue reading “SENATOR REED’S BILL TO COMBAT HIV PASSES HOUSE COMMITTEE”
ATLANTA (March 25, 2009) – Sen. Preston Smith (R-Rome) was successful today in his steadfast effort to expand sentencing options in murder cases, as the House passed his Senate Bill 13 that allows prosecutors to seek sentences of life imprisonment without parole. Under current law, in a non-death penalty case, the only available sentencing option for a court is life with parole upon conviction. A prosecutor must first seek the death penalty in a murder case before they can ask for a life without parole sentence.
Continue reading “Sen. Smith’s Life without Parole Bill Passes House”
ATLANTA (March 25, 2009) – A measure to offer voters an opportunity to grant property tax relief was defeated in the Georgia House of Representatives on a mostly party line vote. Senate Bill 83, authored by Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock), would have incrementally doubled the statewide homeowners’ tax relief by doubling the current homestead exemption from $2000 to $4000. The measure, which required a two-thirds majority vote, failed in the House by a vote of 109 – 63. If it had passed, it would have gone on the November 2010 ballot. All but one Republican voted in favor of the measure and all but two Democrats voted against it.
Continue reading “Homeowners’ Tax Relief Fails to Receive Supermajority in State House”
ATLANTA (March 25, 2009) – The Jobs, Opportunity, and Business Success Act of 2009 (JOBS Act) passed with overwhelming support today in the Georgia State Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) championed the JOBS Act through the Senate and worked with House leaders on this vital legislation for Georgia’s economy.
Continue reading “JOBS Act of 2009 Overwhelmingly Passes in the Senate”