Georgia Legislative Watch

My apologies for the lack of updates. Things have been sort of hectic as of late. We’ll pick it back up in the coming day or two.

As expected, Gena Evans was fired by the GDOT Board today:
Gena Evans, the change-agent commissioner Gov. Sonny Perdue hand-picked to lead the Department of Transportation, was fired late Thursday by the DOT board, the agency the governor now proposes to minimize and replace with a new super-agency to plan and fund transportation.
The board offered no [...]

The House passed the $18.9 billion amended budget for FY 2009 this afternoon by a vote of 168-5.
You can take a look at the budget here.

The Senate voted today to freeze property tax assessments (HB 233) for the next two years:
The Georgia Senate voted Thursday to ban property assessment increases for the next two years in light of the economic crisis facing the state.
The Senate passed the measure 42 to 5, after no debate, with all the “no” votes coming [...]

The House is currently debating SB 31, the Nuclear Financing Act. Peach Pundit, GPB and the AJC are all live-blogging.
You can watch live here.
I’m predicting that it’ll pass, but it may be close. We’ll see.
[UPDATE] SB 31 passes by a vote of 107 to 66. Hoping to have video of the debate later. Find [...]

Here’s Lawmakers coverage of Day 23:

SB 200, the controversial plan to reorganize Georgia’s transportation agencies, passed the Senate Transportation Committee:
The Transforming Transportation Investment Act passed out of the Transportation Committee today with an 8-3 vote. President Pro Tempore Tommie Williams (R-Lyons) is leading the effort in the Senate for a new transportation governance structure that is responsive to the [...]

SB 90, the universal school voucher bill, cleared the Senate Education and Youth Committee today:
Sen. Eric Johnson’s (R-Savannah) voucher bill that provides parents with public and private school choice passed through the Education and Youth Committee meeting this afternoon. The legislation will improve education in Georgia and will prepare our workforce for the global [...]