Georgia lawmakers mull guns, Medicaid and gender equality

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia legislature wrapped up business on Wednesday last week, allowing lawmakers to either flee from or flock to the various Super Bowl events leading up to the big game Sunday in Atlanta. But the shortened week - made even shorter for some by warnings of snow and ice that never came to the Capitol Tuesday - didn’t stop the flow of legislative action.

The week saw a host of new gun legislation introduced, a pitch for Medicaid expansion and a renewed push to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

Here is a look at some of the recent updates at the Georgia Capitol:

GUN LEGISLATION

A closely watched House bill that would allow Georgia gun owners to open or concealed carry any legally-owned firearm without a permit moved from pre-filed status and was officially introduced Wednesday. While the bill is authored by a Republican, GOP leaders in the House have opposed the measure, so its prospects of moving forward are unclear.

A bill introduced by House Democrats would make it a felony punishable by five years in prison to print of produce a 3D printed gun. Another bill, introduced by House Minority Leader Bob Trammell, aims to repeal the state’s 2017 campus carry law, which opened parts of public universities to permit holders that wish to carry a concealed gun.

The Democratic proposals are also unlikely to gain much traction in the GOP-led House.

MEDICAID

A group of Democratic Senators introduced a bill last week that would authorize the full expansion of Medicaid in Georgia under the Affordable Care Act of 2010, also known as “Obamacare.” Georgia is one of 14 states - mostly Republican controlled - that have not yet expanded Medicaid as prescribed under the ACA, which extends coverage to those just above the poverty line.

The Senate bill mirrors a House version introduced earlier this month. But neither of the Democrat-backed bills are likely to move very far in the GOP-controlled legislature.

Some Republican plans for a Medicaid waiver, which would allow the state more flexibility in how it implemented any expansion, are forming as well.

Gov. Brian Kemp has included $1 million in his budget proposal to hire a consultant to help analyze various waiver options the state could explore.

And state Sen. Ben Watson of Savannah, named chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services committee earlier this month, recently wrote in an opinion piece published by the Savannah Morning News that he was in favor of considering a waiver.

Watson said in the column he would consider a plan implemented in Indiana which included work requirement provisions and health savings accounts, a tax advantaged savings mechanism for health costs.

THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

A bill that would make Georgia the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment had life injected into it Wednesday when it gained several Republican co-signers in the Senate.

But the idea has long languished in the GOP-controlled legislature and some Republicans remain opposed, making the proposal’s prospects unclear.

Democratic state Sen. Nan Orrock of Atlanta said it was “the broadest collection of signatures that we’ve achieved” in years of pushing the proposal.

Approved by Congress in 1972, the proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution would outlaw discrimination on the basis of sex. Thirty-eight states must ratify it first; 37 have so far.

Even if it’s ratified, though, court battles would likely ensue over a long-passed 1982 deadline set by Congress.

Republican State Sen. Renee Unterman of Buford said the 2018 election, which saw high levels of women participate and run, made it harder for her colleagues to oppose the ERA.