February 14, 2000 For more information contact: Stanley S. Jones, Jr.  404-817-6133 Jeffrey C. Baxter  404-817-6247 Helen L. Sloat 404-817-6170

Happy Valentine’s Day!  Legislators returned to the Capitol this morning after having adjourned on Thursday for a long weekend.  Needless to say, there were hearts and flowers being delivered throughout the day.

Newly Introduced Legislation

Senate

SB 434 – Sens. Polak and Lamutt have authored this bill to amend Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 3 of the Code concerning regulation of alcoholic beverages.  This would provide for the delivery to consumers of malt beverages and wine by licensed retail grocers engaged in electronic commerce over the Internet – in other words, if you place a grocery order from a grocery store such as Kroger or Publix which has a license to sell beer and wine, you may now have them deliver to your home such alcoholic beverages.  The bill does have some conditions and limitations.  It also outlines the powers, duties, and authority of the state revenue commissioner and provides for sanctions for violations to this chapter.  This has now been referred to the Senate Committee on Defense, Science and Technology.

SB 436 – Sens. Johnson and Egan have authored this bill to amend O.C.G.A. § 1-3-3 and § 9-10-12 in order to define the term “statutory overnight delivery.”  This relates to the delivery of notices by certified or registered mail and by overnight delivery through the postal service or a commercial delivery service.  The bill would also provide for references in laws, statutes, Code sections, ordinances, rules and regulations and amend the Code so as to authorize delivery in such manner of notices previously required to be delivered by registered or certified mail.  This has now been forwarded to the Senate Special Judiciary Committee.

SB 438 – Sens. Brown, Madden, and Golden have introduced this bill to amend Chapter 22 of Title 33 of the Code concerning insurance premium finance companies.  This would change certain provisions concerning requirements for the license to transact business, fees, change of address, and examination of applicants.  It also changes provisions relating to maintenance of records of transactions by licensees and examination of records by the Commissioner of Insurance.  It would also change provisions relating to form, contents, execution, and delivery of premium finance agreements as well as change provisions relating to service charges.  SB 438 has now been forwarded to the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee.

SB 440 - Sens. Walker and Cheeks have dropped this legislation to amend Title 20 of the Code regarding Education.  Specifically, this would create the “Georgia Medical Center Authority.”  It confer powers and imposes duties on the authority as well as outlines its membership requirements and the appointment and confirmation of members of the authority.  The bill also outlines the members of the authority’s terms of office, qualifications, duties, powers, and compensation.  It outlines provisions for vacancies, removal of members, organization, meetings, and expenses.  The bill defines a corporate purpose and prohibits the authority’s employees and members from having certain interests and engaging in certain conduct and provides for certain disclosures, sanctions and penalties.  Finally, it provides for venue and jurisdiction.

SB 444 – Sen. Polak introduced this bill concerning “day trading.”  It will amend Title 10 concerning commerce and trade.  Prior to opening a customer account, a day trading firm must provide a certain disclosure statement and determine whether day trading is appropriate for the customer.  It also provides for a disclosure statement and an alternate statement.  Further, the bill provides registration with the commissioner of securities shall not apply to day trading firms.  This bill has been referred to the Committee on Defense, Science and Technology.

SR 545 – Sens. Scott, Thomas, Egan and others introduced this Resolution to honor Zoo Atlanta’s beloved gorilla, Willie B.

House

HB 1406 – Reps. Trense and Sinkfield have introduced this bill to amend Title 49 of the Code relating to social services in order to provide for additional methods to remove county directors and district directors.  Further, the bill changes the method of appointing district directors and county directors as well as provides for requirements relating to annual reports and for appearances to answer questions.  This bill has been referred to the House Committee on Children and Youth.

HB 1411 – Reps. Porter, Smyre, and Channell have offered this amendment to O.C.G.A. § 31-7-95 concerning the funding of teaching hospitals across the state so as to provide for such funding to be done through the Department of Community Health.  Further, the bill amends O.C.G.A. § 49-10-1 concerning the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce membership and the employment of its administrative staff.  This bill has been sent to the House Committee on Higher Education.

HB 1422 – Rep. Sinkfield and others offered this amendment to Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Code relating to juvenile proceedings and to create the Office of the Child Advocate.  This has now been referred to the House Committee on Children and Youth for study.

HB 1424 – Rep. Bordeaux’s sales and use tax bill, amending O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3 and creating an exemption from such taxes by certain nonprofit associations, has been forwarded to the Committee on Ways and Means.  This bill would provide sales tax exemptions on "sales by a nonprofit association of tickets, wristbands, or other similar means of identification at any festival, fair, or other event where alcoholic beverages are sold to the public when: (i) the primary purpose of the sale is to curtail underage drinking at the activity; (ii) the sale is not a sale of alcoholic beverages or a license or right to buy alcoholic beverages; (iii) the sale is not an entrance fee or admission to such activity; (iv) the number of days upon which the activity occurs does not exceed ten in any calendar year; and (v) no part of the gross sales or net profits from the sales inures to the benefit of any private person.”

HB 1432 – Reps. Bunn, Brown, and Franklin have authored this amendment to the Code Section at 33-6-5 concerning competition and unfair and deceptive acts or practices in the business of insurance.  A new paragraph (8.1) is added which states that no insurer shall cancel or refuse to renew an insurance policy against direct loss to residential real property and its contents as a result of any such loss caused by any force majeure, vis major, or act of God, including, without limitation to, lightning, flood, wind, wildfire, hail, ice storm, or earthquake, provided that whenever three or more claims for loss due to any such cause or causes have been made under such a policy within any three-year period, the insurer may reasonably surcharge the premium or rate charged on such policy for a period not exceeding three years.

HB 1433 – Rep. Bunn and others have also offered an amendment to O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3 concerning tax exemptions from state sales and use taxes.  This would provide for exemptions with respect to the sale of certain children’s clothing and certain infant care articles – this would include sizes 0 through 20 or sizes indicated by letters which are commonly used to designate children’s clothing sizes.  Further, this exemption would apply to articles or items manufactured for the use of infants under the age of 36 months of age and would still apply even if the article or item is used for other purposes as long as its manufactured purpose is for use in caring for infants.  The Commissioner would have to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement and administer this new Code section.

HB 1447 – Reps. Martin, Jones, Williams, Parham, and Graves have authored this bill to amend Article 3 of Chapter 4 of Title 26 in order to provide for qualifications for pharmacists authorized to modify drug therapy.  A pharmacist can modify drug therapy if he or she is licensed to practice in Georgia, has successfully completed a course of study regarding modification of drug therapy approved by the Board, annually completes a continuing education program pertaining to modification of drug therapy, also approved by the Board, and has been certified by the Board as meeting such requirements. The bill also amends Article 2 of Chapter 34 of Title 43 in order to provide that physicians may delegate to certain pharmacists the authority to modify drug therapy subject to certain conditions.

HB 1448 – This bill amends Chapter 12 of Title 31 of the Code concerning the control of hazardous conditions and preventable diseases in order to provide certain pathogen standards.  The Department is to adopt, no later than January 1, 2001, a bloodborne pathogen standard governing occupational exposure of public employees to blood and other potentially infectious materials.  This standard would be required to be at least as “prescriptive as the standard promulgated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration” (a requirement that the “most effective available 'needleless' systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protection be included as engineering and work practice controls in all facilities employing public employees”; a requirement that each public employer develop and implement an effective written exposure control plan; a requirement that information concerning exposure incidents be recorded in a sharps injury log; train all healthcare workers on the use of all engineering controls before being introduced into a clinical setting; and establish an evaluation committee which is comprised of front-line healthcare workers in order to advise the employer on the implementation of the requirements under this Code section.).  The Department will be required to compile and maintain a list of existing needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protection.

HR 1015 – Reps. Graves, Bordeaux, Martin, Davis, and Burkhalter have introduced this Resolution to amend the State’s Constitution in order to create the Tobacco Industry Trust Fund which can receive certain payments from the tobacco industry and provide for appropriations therefrom for health purposes.  Specifically, this would amend Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI by creating a new subparagraph (m).

Floor Activity

The House, after lengthy debate, passed the supplemental appropriations bill for FY 1999-2000, HB 1162, by a vote of 150 yeas to 19 nays.  

The Senate also passed several bills including SB 407, which creates the “Georgia Protection of Elder Persons and Disabled Adults Act of 2000.”   It also passed HB 734, a bill authored by Rep. Childers and introduced in the 1999 Session.  HB 734 will create within the office of the Secretary of State the professional licensing boards division as successor to the office of the joint secretary of the state examining boards.  The Secretary of State would be authorized and directed to appoint a director of the professional licensing boards division.  SB 397, Sen. Egan’s bill concerning the issuance of a series of shares in a corporation, also passed out of the Senate.  

The Senate also passed out SB 300, a bill authored by Sen. Broun, that defines a “charitable gift annuity.”  “Charitable gift annuity means a transfer of cash or other property by a donor to a charitable organization in return for an annuity payable over one or two lives, under which the actuarial value of the  annuity is less than the value of the cash or other property transferred and the difference in value constitutes a charitable deduction for federal tax purposes.”

Committee Activity

          Senate Judiciary Committee has reported out SB 403 concerning civil proceedings (providing for the filing of civil matters, garnishments, distress warrants, dispossessory proceedings, foreclosures, abandoned motor vehicles, and other non-criminal actions, claims, answers, counterclaims, pleadings, post-judgment interrogatories, and other documents by electronic means).   The court would prescribe a “format” for the document to be filed electronically and each would have an electronic signature, as defined in O.C.G.A. § 10-12-3.   Any such pleading, which is required to be verified, would have to be verified under oath or be accompanied by an affidavit including such verification, oath, or affidavit by one of the following methods: 1) as provided in O.C.G.A. § 10-12-4(j); 2) by oath or affirmation of the party filing the pleading at the time of the trial of the case; 3) by supplemental verified pleading; or 4) by electronic verification, oath, or affidavit in a form prescribed: “by affixing this electronic verification, oath, or affidavit to the pleading(s) submitted to the court and attaching my electronic signature hereon, I do hereby swear or affirm that the statements set forth in the above pleading(s) are true and correct.  Date:_______ Electronic Signature:_________.”  Service may also be made “electronically” under certain conditions.  If the authenticity of a record is challenged, the burden of proof is on the proponent of the electronic pleading, document, or signature.  To be timely in filing a pleading or document, it must be done during the court’s normal hours of operation – otherwise, it will be deemed “filed” on the commencement of the next business day.  The clerk has the discretion of assessing an additional transaction fee or fees for each electronic filing and electronic payment. 

The Senate Health and Human Services met to discuss three bills.  SB 440, authored by Sen. Walker, creates the Georgia Medical Center Authority, which is to be composed of 15 members, and is to develop biomedical and biotechnical research applications.  SB 440 was passed out of Committee without discussion.

SB 239, the bill offered by Sens. Don Thomas, Nadine Thomas, and Terrell Starr, failed to pass out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee after additional hearing on this bill which would have amended the Georgia Pharmacy Practice Act by providing for a compilation of a list of narrow therapeutic index drugs.  Further, the bill would have allowed a pharmacist to refill any drug on that list by using the same manufacturer that the pharmacist last dispensed under the prescription, unless the pharmacist first notified the practitioner and the practitioner gave his or her consent.   This bill had been pushed by DuPont Laboratories but was opposed by Barr Labs and Abbot Labs.  Additional testimony was presented by Kathleen Yeager with the National Pharmaceutical Alliance – outlining additional information on FDA testing of both brand and generic drugs.  There were also questions concerning whether a fiscal note had been prepared for this legislation – there would be a direct impact on the State’s budget to cover ‘brand” name drugs for these narrow therapeutic index drugs listed in the bill.  No such fiscal note had been received by the Committee as of the meeting.  In addition, David Tatum of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta also testified in opposition to this bill.  Aubrey Villines with the Georgia Optometric Association also raised questions of the need for this legislation as well as the need for additional regulation when doctors can already direct pharmacists to dispense as written.  A spokesperson from Barr Labs also spoke at this meeting concerning communication and second guessing of dispensing of drugs.  There is no data that shows evidence that brand name drugs are better and have fewer problems than generic drugs.  This bill failed by a 3 to 4 vote. 

Chairman Stokes’ Committee also was to have a full hearing on SB 373, a "technical rewrite to the Georgia Pharmacy Practice Act."  This is Sen. Madden’s revisions to the Pharmacy Code; a substitute appeared at this meeting to add language on clarification of how the Board conducts testing and communication with pharmacists (in anticipation of the passage of the House bill which would allow a pharmacist to conduct capillary blood tests).  Due to some confusion between the various parties, the bill was again held for the next Committee meeting date – a lobbyist referred to this bill as the “Ever Ready Bunny Bill” – due to the fact that this was the third time the bill had been placed on the Committee’s agenda but it had yet to be voted upon.

Other News

There is no "Other News" for February 14, 2000