By: Sen. Larry Walker (R – Perry)
Three more legislative days have come and gone and the pace here at the Capitol has increased substantially as momentum begins to pick up on bills making their way through the legislative process. All told, we passed three bills this week and continued our deliberations in committee hearings, vetting legislation before making their way to the Senate floor.
On Tuesday, the Senate passed Senate Bill 330 which would improve the organ transplant process in Georgia. Currently, if an individual wishes to donate an organ, such as a kidney or a liver, they stand at risk of being dropped from their life insurance policy, as well as potentially miss out on earned income from their jobs if they need to miss extensive time to recover. Senate Bill 330 would create a win-win situation which ensure living donors are protected from losing or being denied life insurance and would provide a tax credit for businesses to assist their employees with organ donation and to cover the financial loss during the time that employee is in recovery. This will hopefully lead to more individuals taking the step to serve as an organ donor without fear of losing their insurance policy or putting their employer in a difficult financial position.
The Senate also considered another measure that would help protect consumers from purchasing fraudulent goods through an online retailer. During the height of the pandemic, we witnessed a massive increase in online retail sales. Unfortunately, we also experienced a coinciding rise in the selling of stolen or fraudulent goods. While we want Georgia to continue to grow as leader in e-commerce, we also must ensure that online sellers and third party retailers can verify the legitimacy of their products before making their way to the consumer. Known as the “Inform Consumers Act”, SB 332 will continue Georgia’s efforts to crack down on organized retail crime by providing critical protections for consumers who are sometimes unknowingly buying stolen and counterfeit products from online marketplaces. SB 332 will require online marketplaces to verify its high-volume third-party sellers and provide either an email, phone number or direct electronic communication to consumers to contact the sellers if they have any questions or concerns about the products they are seeking to buy. This bill is designed to cut down on the illegitimate sales and protect consumers from unknowingly purchasing fraudulent products.
This week, I also had the privilege of presenting Senate Bill 361 in the Senate Finance Committee. This bill, called the LESS (Law Enforcement Strategic Support) Crimes Act, would create a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit for individuals or corporations who contribute to their local law enforcement office through an affiliated law enforcement foundation. These donations can be used for limited purposes, including to increase officer salaries, create additional training programs or purchase new equipment. This bill is a priority for Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan and I am honored to serve as its sponsor. I am pleased that this bill was successfully passed through committee with broad bipartisan support and I look forward to presenting it on the Senate floor soon.
With 11 days officially completed, the General Assembly has only 29 days remaining to complete our business. We still have several pieces of legislation to consider, including the budget, and time continues to pass quicker each day. If you have any questions or concerns about any of the bills currently before the General Assembly, or if my office can assist in any other way, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office.
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Sen. Larry Walker serves as the Majority Caucus Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee. He represents the 20th Senate District, which includes Bleckley, Houston, Laurens and Pulaski counties. He may be reached by phone at 404.656.0095 or by email at larry.walker@senate.ga.gov.