ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers waded into the thorny social issues of health care and immigration Tuesday as they prepared to put the finishing touches on this year's 40-day legislative session.
With most of the major pieces of the legislative agenda done, Republican leaders in the House and Senate turned their attention to social legislation long-sought by their supporters. They also worked to finalize a $17.8 billion spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1 — the last key hurdle before they can adjourn.
Both chambers considered dozens of proposals, many of them controversial, on the second-to-last day of the session.
The House tackled one of the diciest issues. The proposal, which now goes to the Senate, would restrict the government from requiring any resident, employer or health care provider from participating in a health care system.
Critics said the language would never pass constitutional review and the courts would quickly strike it down. But it was pushed by conservatives worried that a sweeping health care bill approved by federal lawmakers would trample state rights.
House lawmakers also voted 120-37 to allow licensed gun owners to carry their firearms in areas of the world's busiest airport not controlled by the federal government. The proposal, which now goes to Gov. Sonny Perdue, would allow gun carrying in places such as parts of some terminals and parking lots.
And the chamber voted to require Georgia to join the rest of the nation in requiring adults in pickup trucks to wear seat belts. Georgia had been the last state to exempt adults in pickups from buckling up at the urging of mostly rural lawmakers who saw the rule as an unnecessary regulation.
In the Senate, lawmakers voted 34-9 to urge Washington to secure the borders because Georgia "is unable to withstand the financial burden created by illegal immigration." The resolution urges President Barack Obama and Congress to devote more resources to tightening immigration control.
And Georgia lawmakers moved closer to banning drivers from texting behind the wheel. Both chambers passed separate measures to restrict texting by teens, but they differed on whether to expand the measure to also ban adults from texting and teens from talking on cell phones while driving.
A slew of other social issues are still on the docket in both chambers that could be taken up Thursday, the session's final day.
House lawmakers could consider a proposal to jail doctors who perform abortions on women who have been coerced to have the procedures based on the race or sex of the fetus. It had already been adopted by the Senate and an attempt to weaken it was defeated in a House panel.
Gun rights advocates were clamoring for a vote on a proposal would allow gun owners with permits to bring their firearms into some bars and the parking lots of colleges, courthouses and jails.
And House lawmakers could create an evaluation system to judge how well teachers do their jobs in hopes of winning up to $400 million in federal funds in the second round of the "Race to the Top" federal grant competition. Georgia fell just shy of winning in the first round.
Not everything was under dispute. Most of the day's legislation in the Senate passed with little discussion or opposition, and more than half of the bills passed unanimously, including a measure creating a state fund for citizens to donate to the state's general fund to through their income tax returns.
Lawmakers had some leeway to turn their attention to social issues because some of the most important pieces of the legislative agenda have already been cleared.
A water conservation bill was approved weeks ago. A transportation deal is finally sealed. Ethics reform legislation has been OK'd. And a measure that hikes dozens of fees and slaps a new tax on hospitals to help fill a budget hole has been adopted. Perdue must still sign the bills, which have cleared both the House and the Senate.
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