Session Begins January 13;
Pre-filing Bills Began November 15, 2019

 “During the period which begins on November 15 of each calendar year and ends on the Friday before the second Monday in January of the following calendar year, bills and resolutions considered for introduction in the General Assembly may be prefiled with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House as authorized in this Code section. Such measures may be so prefiled with the Secretary of the Senate by any one or more Senators who will be eligible to consider the measure when introduced. Such measures may be so prefiled with the Clerk of the House by any one or more Representatives who will be eligible to consider the measure when introduced. The prefiling of a measure shall not constitute the official introduction of a bill or resolution, and a bill or resolution may be officially introduced only during a legislative session.”
O.C.G.A. § 28-1-17(b), Enacted by Ga. L. 1994

Georgia law, O.C.G.A. §28-1-17 authorizes pre-filing bills, but specifies that the pre-filed bill’s author is not bound to officially introduce it. Also, the law states that pre-filed bills that are officially introduced may or may not be assigned to committees – House bills go into House committees, Senate bills into Senate committees.

Committee chairmen have the prerogative to consider or ignore any piece of legislation. However, legislation debated and passed by a committee is eligible for a House or Senate floor vote. Bills and resolutions that remain in committee are held into the second year of a two-year term, where they may be passed, defeated, or, finally, left to die in committee.

2020 is the second year of the current two-year legislative term. Last month’s newsletter reminded readers of four selected bills1 left in committee in 2019 and alive for action in 2020.

• To read more about the prefiled bills and rest of this newsletter in PDF format, please click here.