Sample Image

State Representative Eddie Lumsden has released his weekly legislative report.  Rep. Lumsden says that the House unanimously passed House Bill 23 to expand internet access in rural Georgia.  Lumsden says, “Broadband is essential to almost every factor of economic development, and this legislation is a tremendous step in the right direction to help spur economic development in
rural Georgia.”  Rep. Lumsden also talks about the passage of “Marsey’s Law” by the Georgia House, dealing with early detection of breast cancer and the school bus bill that passed and was signed into law by Governor Kemp.  You can see the complete report below:

My colleagues and I returned to the Gold Dome on Monday, February 11 for the fifth
week of the 2019 legislative session. This week, the House convened on the House floor for a
five-day legislative work week to continue to pass meaningful legislation for the good of every
Georgian. We are now over one-fourth of the way through this legislative session, but we still
have a great deal of work ahead of us.

The House kicked off the week on Monday with the unanimous passage of House Bill 23
to expand internet access in rural Georgia. HB 23 is a product of the House Rural Development
Council’s recommendations and would allow electric membership corporations (EMCs) and
their affiliates to provide broadband services. HB 23 would prohibit cross-subsidization between
an EMC’s broadband service and its electric or natural gas services, and it would also require
that yearly audits be conducted to ensure that cross-subsidization does not take place. Lastly, the
bill would prohibit EMCs from disconnecting broadband service if a customer fails to pay their
electric or gas bills or vice versa. Subsequently, if HB 23 is signed into law, EMCs could apply
for federal grants and loans through the USDA’s Rural eConnectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect
Program), which a total of $600 million to aid improvement efforts for access to quality
broadband services. Broadband is essential to almost every factor of economic development, and
this legislation is a tremendous step in the right direction to help spur economic development in
rural Georgia.

In addition to passing legislation to improve broadband access in our rural communities,
the House also passed a bill this week that would provide a pathway for deployment of small cell
and 5G technology in public rights-of-way in Georgia. Over the past seven months, the House
has worked with advocates, area experts and local authorities to craft a bill that would support
the growing consumer-driven demand for high-speed wireless access while also preserving the
ability of our local governments to protect historic districts and community aesthetics. Due to the
overwhelming concentration of cellular data in our urban areas, House Bill 184, or the
Streamlining Wireless Facilities and Antennas Act, would allow wireless service providers to
install “stealthy” small-cell wireless towers throughout cities to offer greater wireless coverage.
Starting in urban areas, this groundbreaking technology would eventually deploy 5G streaming
services to all of Georgia using small boxes that are attached to utility poles in public areas,
providing coverage up to a 1,000 feet in any direction of the poles. HB 184 would create a
streamlined permitting process for small cell technology, establish application and attachment
fees and define the rules of installation, repairs or improvements to the towers that will house
this cutting-edge technology. This legislation would allow our state to move forward in
deploying small cell wireless technology on a larger scale to further enhance economic
opportunities across our state.

Also this week, my colleagues and I overwhelmingly passed House Bill 62, or “Margie’s
Law,” to assist in the early detection and treatment of breast cancer. This bipartisan measure
passed by a vote of 166-1 and would require mammography examiners to notify patients when
dense breast tissue is found. The bill also encourages women to speak with their health care
provider about whether other supplemental tests in addition to a mammogram may be
appropriate, based on their individual risk. While dense breast tissue is common and not always
abnormal, it can make it more difficult to detect cancer through a mammogram and can increase
the risk for breast cancer. Findings show that dense breast tissue is detected during annual exams
in at least 40 percent of woman over the age of 40. If signed into law, Georgia would join 30
other states that have passed similar legislation to allow women to become active participants in
this area of their health and help save lives from breast cancer.

The House took up another very important measure this week to clarify existing law
regarding when drivers can or cannot pass stopped school buses. Senate Bill 25 passed
unanimously and clarifies ambiguous language that was enacted as a result of House 978 that
passed last year that allowed drivers to pass a stopped school bus when traveling in the opposite
direction when a turn lane is present. This caused confusion on the roadways and created safety
issues for our school children. SB 25 reduces this risk and protects our school bus riders by
making it clear that drivers can only pass a stopped school bus on the other side of the road when
the roadways are divided by a grass median, unpaved area or physical barrier. Governor Kemp
recognized that swift action was needed to resolve this issue and signed SB 25 into law on
Friday, February 15, and the bill went into immediate effect to protect the lives of our children.
Over the last two years, the House has supported Georgia’s brave military service
members and our veterans by passing 23 military-friendly bills. To build upon these efforts, we
passed House Bill 25 this week to provide financial relief for active duty members of the U.S.
military, Georgia National Guard or Georgia Air National Guard. This bipartisan legislation
would allow over 100,000 active service members in Georgia to terminate contractual
obligations with a provider of subscription services like television, video, and audio
programming services; internet access services; or health spa or gym services. To qualify,
service members must be on active duty, receive orders of deployment to a location that does not
support these same exact services and give a 30 day notice. Inspired by similar legislation
implemented in 18 other states, the House has worked alongside federal officials to craft
legislation that would alleviate some of the financial burdens for those who protect our great
state and country.

The House completed the week on Friday, February 15 by passing House Bill 63 to allow
health care providers to request exceptions to step therapy protocols to provide proper
medication to patients when it is medically necessary. Currently, insurance companies in Georgia
often use step therapy, which is a process that requires a patient to try and fail one or more
medications preferred by their insurer before receiving coverage for the medication that their
doctor originally prescribed. This process restricts a patient’s access to quality care and prolongs
ineffective treatments by preventing an individual from starting the treatment that their doctor
thinks is best, and physicians cannot override this process. This bill would allow physicians to
submit a step therapy exemption or appeal if the required prescription drug will cause an adverse
reaction or physical or mental harm to the patient, is expected to be ineffective, the patient has
tried the required prescription drug or the patient’s condition is stable on a prescription drug
previously selected by his or her practitioner. HB 63 also ensures that patients would not have to
begin a step therapy process for a medication after switching insurance providers. This bipartisan
legislation would help patients who are suffering from serious illnesses by expediting this
process and increasing access to critical treatment options.

The House will return to Capitol Hill for Legislative Day 17 on Tuesday, February 19,
where we will convene for a joint session to hear the State of the Judiciary address.

As always, I welcome you to contact my office with questions or concerns as we make our way through the
legislative session. My Capitol office number is 404-656-5087, and my email address is

Eddie.Lumsden@house.ga.gov. Please contact me anytime.

As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as your state representative.

Eddie Lumsden