Speaker Ralston Anticipates June 11 Return For General Assembly

Per a memo distributed by the Georgia House of Representatives which you can read by clicking here, House Speaker David Ralston has set a tentative date of June 11th to reconvene the Georgia General Assembly. Negotiations continue with the Senate, who have been pushing for an earlier date.

House Staff will begin returning to their capitol offices the week of May 18th, and in-person committee meetings may begin on May 19th. Virtual House Committee Meetings may resume as early as this Monday, May 4th.

In addition to allowing more time to be past the presumed peak of the pandemic, the June date serves to allow for more data. That includes the state of tax revenues and better forecasts of how long interruptions may last as well as which sectors of the economy continue to remit taxes. It also gives a few more weeks to see what additional federal aid, if any, will be coming before state employees are told to start taking furlough days, pay cuts, or…worse.

Later today, we’ll hear from Governor Kemp as to the extension of the statewide shelter in place order and possibly the state of emergency declaration. It is expected that the State of Emergency will likely continue for a bit longer, as that sets a legal basis for using the Georgia Guard to assist nursing homes across the state. Based on recent business openings, it is not expected that the shelter in place order will continue, at least under the current level of restrictions.