The General Assembly listed through a brief period of calm last
week, a resetting of sorts after the drama of Crossover Day. Most
of the legislation that advanced, either in committee or on the
floor, did so on broad consensus.
On Friday, the Senate took action to satisfy one of the
Governor's final legislative priorities—voting to double
the Georgia World Congress Center's authorized bonding
capacity. The new $400 million cap will finance an estimated $260
million hotel on the Center's campus. The bill, which the House
had had already passed, now moves to Governor Nathan Deal, who is
expected to approve the measure.
The Senate separately approved, by unanimous vote, a bill to
require that fire departments maintain insurance coverage and pay
claims on cancer diagnoses for fire fighters who have served at
least 12 consecutive months. Because the House passed a similar but
not identical measure, it will need to either agree to the Senate
version or the two chambers
