Late last night, HB60 was agreed to and again amended, this time by the Senate. HB60 is now back in the House. The vote was 37-18. There were two amendments added to HB60 in the Senate. Those amendments are: 1) To add suppressors used in hunting language 2) To make churches opt in. The language in this amendment is a little different than in the bills proposed in the past, in that churches would be illegal without permission of the church (much like bars are currently) but the language also decriminalizes church carry with a $100 fine if caught in a church that did not opt in. HB60 now goes to the House and the House will have 3 options: 1) The House may agree or disagree. If the House agrees, the bill will be sent to the Governor for his action. 2) The House disagrees, a conference committee will be appointed (3 Senators appointed by the Lt. Governor and 3 Representatives appointed by House Speaker) and they will decide the final language of the bill. 3) Ignore and let die. If the bill goes to conference committee, the committee will either reach agreement or not. If they do not reach an agreement, the bill will die. If the conference committee reaches an agreement, they will sign a Conference Committee Report (CCR). The CCR will then be voted on in each chamber. If the CCR does not pass either chamber, it will die. If the CCR passes both chambers, it will be sent to the Governor for his action. The Governor has the following options when the bill reaches his desk: 1) Sign the bill and it becomes law 2) Veto the bill. If the Governor vetoes the bill, each chamber will have the opportunity to override his veto. Failure to override by a 2/3 majority means the bill fails. 3) Do nothing for 40 days and the bill will become law without the Governors signature. It is GeorgiaCarry.Orgs feeling that the bill will go to conference and some things will have to be worked out there. We only have one legislative day left in the 2013/2014 General Assembly Session so there is not much time left. GeorgiaCarry.Org is not enamored with the church opt in language and will work to get that language amended in the conference committee along with some other clerical cleanup in the bill. We will keep you informed of the progress. In the meantime, you need to keep in contact with the Governor, your Senators and Representatives and keep them informed that you want them to pass HB60 if the conference committee report is favorable to our wishes. We are getting very close to having a good gun bill but we still have work to do. You, our members have really stepped up in the last weeks and made your presence and wished known to your elected officials. The GCO Board of Directors, Officers and Executive Director thank you for all you have done thus far. Your professional demeanor has shown through again when dealing with our elected officials.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 05:14:41 +0000
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