2018 Legislative Review
| Jurisdiction | Georgia,United States |
| Citation | Vol. 23 No. 7 Pg. 0030 |
| Pages | 0030 |
| Publication year | 2018 |
2018 Legislative Review
The State Bar successfully passed part of its legislative package and worked with state lawmakers on a number of bills that affect the profession.
BY CHRISTINE BUTCHER HAYES
Much to the surprise of capitol gad-flies and perhaps many of the legislators themselves, the 2018 session of the Georgia General Assembly was a very productive one. With a big election year in 2018, many had expectations that the Legislature would spend time on a few headline grabbing, partisan bills that would motivate voters in November. While the majority passed a bill to decrease the state income tax by 0.5 percent to great fanfare, the General Assembly also took up legislation on distracted driving, adoption and regional transit. Not to mention the State Bar passed five bills in its legislative package by the final gavel on day 40.
The state's diverse revenue sources and steadfast focus on economic growth have placed Georgia on strong fiscal footing at a time when a number of other states have faced budget cuts. The Legislature approved $26 billion in state spending for FY19, which includes the State Bar funding requests for grants to civil legal services providers for victims of domestic violence and continued funding of the Georgia Appellate Resource Center. Most notably, the FY19 budget fully funds the state's Quality Basic Education Formula for the first time in more than 10 years, pumping $9.9 billion into K-12 schools.
In addition to the State Bar's legislative package, the legislative team was busy tracking a variety of issues that affect lawyers in Georgia. Be on the lookout for these recent updates in the code, along with a number of others that span across practice areas.
Mandatory Civil E-filing
Luddites take note?pursuant to SB 407, Georgia state and superior courts will require pleadings and related documents in civil cases to be electronically filed as of Jan. 1, 2019. The issue of mandatory efiling lay dormant until Day 38 of the 40-day session, when language was inserted into SB 407, the 2018 criminal justice reform bill. Given its hasty attachment, there was little time to perfect the provisions of the e-filing amendment, leaving some unanswered questions by those who will be mandated to e-file on Jan. 1.
Here's what we do know?attorneys and support staff will have two options to file: (1) remotely through an e-filing vendor...
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