Georgia Legislative Session – Interesting House Bills

Here are some bills that are up for consideration this session (started yesterday) that I find interesting. Both interesting good and interesting bad. I’ll post about Senate bills later. These are only the pre-files, the bills that survived from last year, and those that have been dropped on the floor yesterday. I’m sure there will be tons more coming.

HB 691: Failure to Report statute. This bill would make it a misdemeanor crime to fail to report a crime to the fullest extent you are able. There’s even language making it a crime to fail to report something that you perceive as a crime but isn’t actually a crime. Seriously. Bill does not approve.

HBs 697-699 would make it a requirement that if you receive public assistance that you be subject to random drug testing for controlled substances. Oh, and you get to pay for the testing after which you’ll be reimbursed if you test negative. There are no provisions for false positives. Bill does not approve.

HB 686 – Solar Bill of Rights. This bill would make it unlawful for a homeowners association to prevent the installation of solar devices through use of covenants, or to charge fees for the installation of those devices. Bill approves.

HB 685 – On Dogs. This bill substantially revises the code section “relating to dogs and especially provisions relating to dangerous and vicious dogs[.]” I haven’t read it, but it’s extensive. Bill has no opinion yet.

HB 681 – On Food. This bill I believe is intended to make it legal for Girl Scouts to sell cookies without a business license, something that came up this year. If so, Bill approves.

HB 679 – Firearms/Weapons. This bill is…well, I’m not actually sure what this bill is. It has a lot of semantic changes to the code but it doesn’t seem to actually change anything. I think that Section 2 (go read it) should be deleted in its entirety, however. Bill has no opinion, yet.

HB 677 – Mandatory Drug Testing for Georgia Assembly. This bill would require every member of the GA Assembly to submit to drug testing and if they test positive, removal from office. I love it. Make it a rider on HBs 697-699 and pass it.

HB 677 – Constitutional Guardian Advisory Council. This bill would blah blah blah, 10th amendment, blah blah, state rights, blah. Apparently Josh Clark is taking up the mantle of Bobby Franklin. Bill thinks this is ridiculous crap, badly crafted, and poorly researched.

HB 667 – Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. This bill would do what the title says, I think. I haven’t read it yet, but I will.

Comments

5 responses to “Georgia Legislative Session – Interesting House Bills”

  1. […] The Evil Eyebrow There is no knowing the Evil Eyebrow Skip to content HomeAboutEmail Gobbledygook?Comment Policy ← Georgia Legislative Session – Interesting House Bills […]

  2. Mike L Avatar
    Mike L

    You’ve got to love the absurdly recursive potential of HB 691. If you witness a crime and don’t report it, you’ve committed a crime. If you don’t report your failure to report, you’ve committed another crime. If you don’t report your failure to report your failure to report, you’ve committed yet another crime. It takes some real skill to craft a law under which someone could be charged or convicted of infinite counts, and not even for doing something, but for NOT doing something.

  3. Bill Ruhsam Avatar
    Bill Ruhsam

    Hah! That’s funny, Mike. I hadn’t made the recursiveness connection.

  4. Mike L Avatar
    Mike L

    I’ve also got to wonder if you’d be in violation of this proposed law if you committed some other crime, but didn’t report it. You’re protected from self-incrimination, though. Would you have to call the police and say, “I, StateYourName, in compliance with HB691, hereby officially plead the 5th with regards to some event that may or may not have happened somewhere”? That seems just absurd enough to actually get passed.

  5. […] HB 961 – Homeowner’s Solar Bill of Rights. I’m not sure how this differs from HB 686. […]

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