Housing
House Bill 302, which would prohibit local governments from adopting or enforcing regulations on building design elements on single-family homes or duplexes, never passed during last year’s legislative session.
But the issue could return this year. Sen. John Wilkinson, R-Toccoa, who introduced the Senate version, said extra restrictions on building standards drive up housing prices.
“There were counties in Georgia where people who had been building nice, $300,000 homes, after they were told they couldn’t put their home on a concrete pad foundation, they were told they had to have a crawl space and what kind of exterior materials they were allowed to use and those kinds of things,” Wilkinson said. “It was increasing the cost from $300,000 to $500,000. … School teachers and firefighters and police officers can’t go to the bank and get a half a million dollar loan. To me, it’s an affordable housing issue.”
Those who write the International Building Code are knowledgeable about building standards, Wilkinson said, and other entities such as homeowners associations can set the standards for their areas.
“If you meet the building code and the zoning regulations and the homeowners association regulations, the cities and counties should not make it more restrictive,” Wilkinson said. “… If you set the minimum housing standard so you can’t buy a house unless it’s $500,000, you’re going to exclude a lot of people.”
Several local governments, including Flowery Branch, Oakwood and Lula, opposed the bill last year.
Rep. Matt Dubnik, R-Gainesville, said that after some of the negative reaction to the bill, legislators will likely move on to other topics this year.
“I’m just not sure that that’s the type of issue there’s going to be much of an appetite for in this type of legislative session,” he said.
Business
Dubnik, R-Gainesville, said he hopes legislators can make Georgia more business-friendly by reaching out to small business owners and prospective business owners.
“I think we need to continue to make it easier on small businesses. We need to cut regulation and red tape,” Dubnik said. “At the end of the day, if somebody has an idea and they want to go start a business. … how can we help?”
Small business outreach has also been a priority for Kemp, who has established the Georgians First Commission, a group of business owners studying possible reform.
Dubnik said that while Georgia has been able to attract many large companies, small businesses, particularly in technology, are also needed.
“Lt. Gov. (Geoff) Duncan has said he has this vision for us to be the Silicon Valley of the east and really the leader of technology. Let’s bring in the tech industry more than we have and continue to grow the top-size businesses, the large businesses, and that will create jobs and support small and mid-size businesses,” Dubnik said.
Gambling, sports betting
The key gambling components are casinos, horse racing and sports betting, and “I think we’ll see any number of bills related to those this year,” Rep. Timothy Barr, R-Lawrenceville, said.
Georgians already participate in sports betting, “even though the state doesn’t sanction it,” Barr said. “It’s very easy to do that online.”
Legislation pushing a constitutional amendment expanding gambling in the state — requiring voter approval — isn’t new to Georgia, rising and falling every session.
Lake Lanier was part of the conversation in 2011, when a Savannah lawmaker sought to allow video casinos in areas that already draw tourists, with proceeds helping the state’s then-struggling Hope scholarship.
“The current bill that has been floated has several different regions in the state … in a bidding process to get a casino,” Barr said.
Dunahoo said he believes the fate of such legislation is “going to depend on what the speaker (David Ralston) allows on this.”
The issue would move forward if Ralston “gets behind it and says he’s going to let the House and Senate fight this out — which he should — and let committees present why they feel they should have it.”
Ultimately, legislators may call for a statewide referendum on whether to allow gambling and horse racing.
“I’m not for that, so I don’t support it,” Dunahoo said.
Foster care/adoption
Last year’s “Heartbeat Bill” may have a sequel — though likely not nearly as controversial.
“There’s quite a few of us who have said that now that we have protected life, we need to make it easier for folks to adopt … so it’s not as expensive,” Barr said.
Kemp signed legislation last year banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. That can be as early as six weeks, before many women know they’re pregnant. In October, a federal judge temporarily blocked the law from taking effect Jan. 1.
“A lot of folks, even in my church, go overseas (to adopt) because it’s cheaper and the process is simpler,” Barr said. “We need to work on that in Georgia.”
The process may involve looking at foster parenting, which can serve as a doorway to adoptions.
“They are definitely connected,” Barr said. “I have had multiple conversations looking at ways to bring down possible barriers to becoming foster parents. Those may not be specifically pieces of legislation but perhaps rule changes. All the options are on the table.”
Compiled by staff writers Jeff Gill and Megan Reed.
