Georgia’s 2021 Legislative session adjourned sine die on March 31.

Among the measures passed is Senate Bill 202, which was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp on March 25 and made sweeping changes to the State’s voting laws, including bans on mass mailings of unsolicited absentee ballot requests and polling places on buses among other changes.

Another controversial bill, Senate Bill 221, also passed and currently awaits gubernatorial approval.

Senate Bill 221 allows certain elected officials to chair and register PACs called a leadership committee which is not subject to the in-session contribution ban.

Further, contributions to and expenditures by these leadership committees are not subject to the state’s contribution limits.

Governor Kemp will have just over a month to consider action on Senate Bill 221, as well as, the other bills passed during the session.

Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue failed to secure a majority in his reelection bid, which means now both of Georgia’s U.S. Senate races will be decided by runoff elections on January 5, 2021.

Perdue will face Democratic challenger Jon Ossof and Democrat Raphael Warnock will face Republican Kelly Loefflerin.

The runoffs will determine control of the U.S. Senate.

With no candidate securing a majority, one of Georgia’s U.S. Senate races is heading for a runoff election.

Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Kelly Loeffler will face each other in the runoff election scheduled for January 5, 2021.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced a special election to fill the 5th congressional district seat vacated by the late Representative John Lewis.

The special general election will be held on September 29, with a special runoff held on December 1, if necessary.

The Georgia General Assembly adjourned sine die on June 26 after a session interrupted and delayed by COVID-19.

Before adjourning, the General Assembly notably passed a hate crimes bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday, and a budget reduction of nearly 10%.

This $2.2 billion reduction is the largest reduction since the 2008 recession.

The does affect lobbyist reporting. The last semi-monthly report for state-level and State Transportation Board lobbyists is due on July 1.

Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Speaker of the House David Ralston announced the Georgia General Assembly will resume its 2020 legislative session on June 15.

The General Assembly’s session has been on pause since March 13 due to COVID-19 concerns.

Upon reconvening, a key issue will be the state budget.

Georgia General Assembly leaders have proposed two potential dates to reconvene the suspended session.

The Senate has proposed a return date of May 14, while the House has proposed a June 11 return date.

Given an agreement between both houses are needed for the return.

Upon the General Assembly’s return, the 2021 budget will be a chief concern as the fiscal year begins on July 1.

State level and Transportation Board lobbyists will continue to be required to file semi-monthly until lawmakers have officially adjourned sine die.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced the date for a special election for Senate District 4.

The passing of Senator Jack Hill on April 6 created the vacancy.

The election will be held on June 9 with a runoff election on August 11, if needed.

The Georgia Campaign Finance Commission issued formal opinions to reiterate the General Assembly is still legally in session.

Lawmakers have not officially adjourned sine die, nor has the governor issued an executive order adjourning both houses.

Members of the General Assembly and other statewide elected public officers remain subject to the session ban on campaign contributions.

However, they are permitted to issue reimbursements to themselves and campaign staff for expenses incurred during the suspended session.

Due to continued concerns over COVID-19, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has postponed the May 19 presidential primary election and the state’s general primary until June 9.

The voter registration deadline for the June 9 election will be May 11 and early voting will begin on May 18.

Further, moving the primary election to June 9 will move the primary runoff to August 11.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Georgia Campaign Finance Commission’s physical office is closed.

The commission is no longer accepting paper registrations or payment of registration fees via mail.

All completed lobbyist new registrations and supplemental registrations must be submitted by email.

Lobbyists will then need to log into their e-file account to process the online payment for those new registrations and/or supplemental registration.

Lobbyist ID photos will be taken and badges issued once the physical office reopens.

The Georgia General Assembly convened special session called by Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday, March 16 to adopt his declaration of a public health emergency.

After passing a joint resolution concurring with Gov. Kemp’s declaration, the General Assembly adjourned the special session, sine die.

Therefore, the regular session remains suspended indefinitely.

The Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission is expected to issue guidance as to whether this will affect lobbyist dates reporting.

Due to concerns over COVID-19, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has postponed the March 24 presidential primary election to May 19.

The rescheduling moves the presidential primary to the same day as the state’s general primary.

On Thursday March 12, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Speaker of the House David Ralston announced the General Assembly will suspend the 2020 legislative session indefinitely.

The assembly suspended following the 29^th legislative day on Friday, March 13.

The suspension is out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of health and safety of members, staff and the public given the prevalence of the coronavirus.

The session will resume at a future date to be determined.