ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers are working overtime to pass a flurry of bills as Friday marks Crossover Day in Georgia, a pivotal step under the Gold Dome for bills to become law in the state.
Any bills being considered by state lawmakers this session must pass at least one chamber at the State Capitol to remain under consideration.
A sweeping election bill is expected in the Senate. Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal said the measure would limit where people can early vote based on where they live and move the state to paper ballots.
Dolezal said, “the vision of this bill is that this will be implemented for the November 2026 election.”
He also said the proposal would affect early voting locations.
“The advanced voting locations for people would ideally be closest to them,” Dolezal said.
Democratic Sen. Harold Jones criticized the measure.
“Most likely we’ll be 100% opposed to it,” Jones said.
Jones also said, “once again the republican party is trying to suppress votes.”
In the House, a top priority is a measure that could lead to the elimination of property taxes. State Rep. Shaw Blackmon says the bill cuts the rate by 10-basis points annually to end at a rate of 3.99%.
“It’s a measured approach, its reasonable. If the bench marks are all met then more dollars can be returned to the tax payers,” Blackmon said.
Democrats including Sam Park have pushed back arguing that it will impact state services.
“We must stop these tax cuts for the rich if we want to life all Georgians up,” Park said.
Earlier this week, Gov. Brian Kemp signed the state’s amended budget including about $2 billion in income and property tax relief.
The Georgia State Senate has passed legislation intended to prevent power customers from absorbing infrastructure costs tied to data center expansion.
Republican Georgia Sen. Matt Brass said the bill clarifies financial responsibility related to data centers.
“I think at the end of the day its a good win for our citizens and a good win for the rate payers,” he said.
The Georgia State Senate also passed legislation that would make it easier to discipline or remove a district attorney who fails to comply with certain rules.
Republican state Sen. Bill Cowsert said the bill would give the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Qualifications Commission the authority to take disciplinary action against prosecutors, rather than relying solely on the state bar.
“The state bar has certain rules, but this puts the disciplinary action in the hands of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Qualifications Commission,” Cowsert said.
Another bill expected in the Senate would eliminate data center tax credits.
Crossover Day is a critical point in the legislative session, as lawmakers work to advance bills before the end of the session.
WSB Radio’s Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story.