It’s been a busy time under the Gold Dome in Atlanta as the Georgia House of Representatives moves towards the end of the legislative session.  State Rep. Eddie Lumsden (R-Armuchee) says the following bills and resolutions have recently passed in the Georgia House:

· House Bill 36, which would update requirements for county boards of equalization, duties, review of assessments and appeals by allowing a taxpayer with tangible personal property valued at more than $200,000 to appeal directly to a hearing officer; this bill would also require the local assessment office to include information on the notice of assessment about how these taxpayers can appeal; · House Bill 80, which would authorize unsworn declarations made outside of U.S. boundaries to have the same effect as sworn declarations under certain circumstances; this legislation specifies that knowingly making a false statement in an unsworn declaration would be considered perjury; · House Bill 95, which would amend income tax definitions to include provisions of the federal Inflation Reduction Act and Consolidated Appropriations Act; this bill would allow defined contribution plans to provide participants with an option to receive matching contributions on a Roth basis, a one-time election for a qualified charitable distribution to a split-interest entity and an increase to the IRA charitable distribution limit, as well as cost recovery for green energy properties;

· House Bill 121, which would add definitions for “wakeboarding” and “wakesurfing” to Georgia law, require life vests and place restrictions on these recreational sports at night and in smaller bodies of water to ensure safety and protect personal property;

· House Bill 138, which would amend property tax exemptions by updating a homestead exemption for counties with populations between 23,500 and 23,675 on the 2010 U.S. Census to counties with populations between 25,400 and 25,500 on the 2020 U.S. Census;

· House Bill 142, which would allow colleges and universities to enter into agreements for shared unified police forces; this legislation would specifically benefit the Atlanta University Center Consortium, known as the oldest and largest contiguous consortium of HBCUs in the country;

· House Bill 165, which would exempt the Georgia Department of Natural Resources from public record disclosures that reveal the location or character information of a historic resource that could lead to harm or theft of the historic resource;

· House Bill 186, which would update Georgia Code to utilize the “petition for review” appellate procedure instead of the “certiorari” process when appealing from a lower

judicatory to a superior or state court; this legislation would apply to any government body exercising judicial or quasi-judicial authority; · House Bill 221, which would require rates, rating plans, rating systems or underwriting rules to be effective 60 days after filing a personal motor vehicle insurance claim if the policy’s limit is above the mandatory minimum; this effective date could be shortened by the state’s insurance commissioner, or the insurer could specify a later date; · House Bill 222, which would clarify that property insurance service contracts could only be sold or offered to consumers; this bill would specifically extend the probationary insurance license period from 12 to 24 months and allow consumers to reapply between one and five years after denial; · House Bill 242, which would reinstate the additional penalty for a traffic violation under Joshua’s Law, the teen learner’s permit law, at three percent of the original fine; · House Bill 243, which would add an eighth superior court judge in the Coweta Judicial Circuit; this eighth judge would first be appointed for a year and a half, and a nonpartisan successor would be elected in 2024; · House Bill 279, which would provide an insurance premium discount or reduction for a home or commercial property that is built to fortified standards to better resist catastrophic wind events, such as hurricanes or tornadoes; · House Bill 280, which would provide exclusions to unfair trade practices and unlawful inducements to allow insurance companies to supply products to policyholders that incentivize behavior changes that could improve their health; · House Bill 285, which would allow the Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia to increase the percentage of assets in alternative investments from five percent to 10 percent; · House Bill 294, which would clarify the rights and responsibilities of entities involved in the liquidation of reinsurance companies and allow the succeeding entity or the Georgia Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association to continue the contract; this bill also includes instructions for arbitration, handling unpaid premiums and the notification of affected policyholders; · House Bill 299, which would add the U.S. Space Force to provisions relating to associate probate court judges, crimes and offenses, weapons carry licenses, domestic relations,

education, military affairs and the registration and licensing of motor vehicles; · House Bill 315, which would allow the state’s insurance commissioner to apply rules and regulations regarding cost-sharing requirements for diagnostic and supplemental breast screenings based on guidelines established by professional medical associations;

· House Bill 317, which would allow the Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia members to designate licensed funeral service providers as beneficiaries to pay funeral costs;

· House Bill 319, which would abolish the Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation and transfer any obligations, liabilities or assets to the Georgia Student Finance Authority;

· House Resolution 66, which would ratify executive orders to suspend the collection of motor fuel and diesel fuel taxes issued by the governor between May 26, 2022 to January 10, 2023;

· House Resolution 157, which would serve as the annual conveyance resolution for state properties in 10 counties; · House Resolution 158, which would authorize the State Properties Commission to grant easements over certain state-owned properties in 15 counties.