Legislative notebook: Food safety, other bills get first approvals

ATLANTA — The Georgia House and Senate passed several bills Tuesday, sending each to the other body for its approval.

Some of the more interesting ones:

House Bill 883: This is a follow-up bill to regulations put in place last year after tainted peanuts from a plant in Blakely caused several deaths, sicknesses, recalls and a salmonella scare. The bill makes knowingly putting tainted food into the market a felony, and failing to file certain safety reports a misdemeanor. It passed 142-20.

House Bill 1134: Would allow the Georgia Department of Transportation to go back to “accrual” accounting, which allows the department to enter into longer contracts without having money to pay the contracts immediately in hand. The DOT’s controlling board has gone back and forth on this, using accrual accounting and upsetting legislators and Gov. Sonny Perdue. But now the Legislature is changing the law to make it clear the DOT can do this. The bill passed 155-4.

House Bill 1179: Would require hospitals to offer flu vaccines to nurses and others who come in contact with patients. The law previously said hospitals “may” offer the vaccines. Hospital employees would not be required to get the shots. The bill passed 133-27.

House Bill 984: Would repeal a little-known section of state code that allowed local governments to charge a 1 percent income tax if voters approved by referendum. The measure passed the House 155-0. It was sponsored by state Rep. Larry O’Neal, R-Warner Robins.

House Bill 1073: Would allow soldiers overseas to request an absentee ballot via e-mail. It passed 161-1.

Senate Bill 351: Would allow certified public accountants working for the state to take only 20 hours of classes instead of the usual 60 to maintain their certification in 2010 and 2011. The measure is meant to free up work time for state accountants who are having to take furlough days because of the state budget crisis. It passed 51-1.

Legislative schedule set through March 29

After taking two weeks off to focus on the state budget, legislators have mapped out a new schedule that will take them to almost the end ofMarch.

Legislators often get together to work on state issues on non-legislative days, but they’re limited by law to 40 formal session days, when the House and Senate meet in their respective chambers.

The schedule approved Tuesday has the Legislature in session today and Thursday, then off until next Tuesday. Day 30 — the last day for bills to leave the House and head to the Senate for action this year — will fall on March 25. The 31st day is the last one set, and would fall on March 29.

After that, the Legislature would break for the week of Easter, then go back into session after that.

The final nine days allotted to this session aren’t set, but legislative leaders have said they expect to work well into April as they try to overhaul the state budget.

“I’d say middle to late April would be safe to assume,” House Majority Leader Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons, said Tuesday.

Telegraph staff writer Travis Fain compiled this report.