Highlights
State lawmakers passed legislation Friday to prevent state insurance commissioners from granting themselves licenses without passing mandatory tests.
The House's 155-0 vote on HB 347 came fewer than two weeks after reports showed outgoing Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine gave himself several licenses the day before he left office in January, exempting himself from mandatory testing requirements.
Oxendine's successor Ralph Hudgens said he could not revoke Oxendine's licenses because of the waiver. However, Hudgens supports the House bill, which now heads to the Senate.
Senators have introduced a similar bill that would prevent all state agency officials who issue professional licenses from waiving education and testing requirements for themselves.
Senate
Senate Bill 198: Provide assistance to all disabilities for people voting in elections.
SB 199: Allow the insurance commissioner to penalize those licensed under Title 33, which includes insurers, agents, brokers and solicitors.
SB 200: Allow nonpartisan elections for the Henry County probate court judge position.
SB 201: Change how the Henry County Board of Commissioners fills vacancies.
SB 202: Add airport facilities to the Henry County Governmental Services Authority.
SB 203: Allow insurance employees who collect and input data into an automated claims adjudication system be exempt from licensure.
SB 204: Establish a Georgia Board of Fitness Trainers and require licenses for personal fitness trainers.
SB 205: Prohibit law enforcement officers from using race or ethnicity in determining whether to stop a vehicle.
SB 206: Under wildlife control permits, prohibit the release of trapped or transported feral hogs into areas that are not fenced.
SB 207: Prohibit charter schools from waiving criteria related to the termination, suspension, nonrenewal, demotion or reprimand of teachers and other school personnel.
SB 208: Increase the age of mandatory education to 17 unless parents provide a waiver for students to attend a community college or technical school.
SB 209: Enact the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which regulates the performance of abortions and creates a criminal offense for illegal abortions.
SB 210: Make parents liable for abortions if there is an illegal death of an unborn child.
Senate Resolution 326: Create a Joint Study Committee on the Renewable Energy Industries in Georgia to recognize the economic, environmental and fuel diversity benefits of renewable energy resources and encourage the establishment of a market for renewable energy in Georgia.
House
House Bill 452: Allow local boards of education to use vehicles other than school buses to transport students to and from school-related activities.
HB 453: Enact the Dawsonville Airport Authority Act to establish airports for the present and projected growth in commercial and private air traffic in Dawson County.
HB 454: Require the secretary of state to set the dates for the presidential preference primary in 2012.
HB 455: Require brokers, community association managers and others to disclose unfair trade practices in real estate transactions.
HB 456: Enact the Georgia Government Accountability Act, which would create the Legislative Sunset Advisory Committee to review and evaluate state agencies' productivity, efficiency and responsiveness.
HB 457: Allow pharmacists to use remote automated medication systems for controlled substances.
HB 458: Create the Georgia Commission on Family Economic Security to determine the extent of poverty throughout the state and create policy to help residents, including job training, educational and work opportunities, health care and safety.
HB 459: Create the City of College Park Water and Sewer Authority to oversee the city's water and sewer services.
HB 460: Enact the Psychiatric Advance Directive Act to allow a competent adult to make mental health care decisions for someone according to a written psychiatric advance directive.
HB 461: Adopt the Health Care Compact, which restores authority and responsibility for health care regulation to states. It would allow Georgia to create laws that may be better suited to the state's needs, including amendments to the federal health care law passed last year.
HB 462: Change where and how many coin-operated amusement machines are allowed at one location.
HB 463: Allow insurance coverage on personal property contained in self-service storage.
HB 464: Require random drug testing on recipients of public assistance.
HB 465: Include "transfer" in the definition of instruments that convey interest in property.
HB 466: Require council members in Hahira to reside in their district for a year before election.
HB 467: Allow pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing.
HB 468: Allow veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and the Global War on Terror to receive special license plates.
House Resolution 471: Urge Congress to defend challenges to the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits same-sex marriages.
HR 489: Establish the Professional Learning Rules Task Force to review current State Board of Education professional learning rules and current research regarding professional learning.
HR 491: Encourage the development of performance-based coaching programs for principals and district administrators to improve teaching and learning.
HR 492: Direct the Professional Standards Commission to establish certification renewal rules that require the impact of professional learning on educator performance and student learning.
Both chambers also passed various resolutions to recognize special days and people.