ATLANTA — Thursday is Crossover Day in Georgia legislature, a critical day for proposals under debate at the State Capitol; as some proposed laws fade, others move on.
The day marks 28 days into each legislative session. Any proposed laws that haven’t moved from one legislative chamber to the other for consideration are dead for that session.
Here’s how Crossover Day works in Georgia:
Creating new laws in Georgia can be like a game of ping pong. As a proposed law travels back and forth between the Georgia House and Senate, it has to clear the net to stay alive.
In the Georgia legislature, Crossover Day is that net.
"Crossover Day is the sort of the midpoint," Emory University political science professor Dr. Andra Gillespie said. "But really, there are still many more steps beyond getting it passed both chambers. So these bills still have a long way to go."
If the full House of Representatives approves of a bill proposed there, it will then go to the Senate. If state Senators make any changes, it goes back to the House, back and forth like a ping pong ball until both chambers agree on the exact substance and wording.
“We don't want bills quickly going through the process,” former Georgia legislator Doug Teper said. “We want everybody to get a decent chance to look it over and maybe find personal problems they have with it, or maybe generic problems with it, or even typos in a bill.”
Sometimes, proposals sit like a ping-pong ball that never moves.
Let’s say state senators debate and debate but can’t all agree on a proposal they like enough to send to the House. The clock is ticking. When 28 days pass and Crossover Day arrives, time is up. The proposal never crossed the net, so it’s dead for that legislative session.
Teper added that Crossover Day actually helps legislators prioritize their work.
“They want to condense it (the number of proposed bills) down to a manageable number,” he said. “So, Crossover Day will normally kill about a good half of the bills that have been proposed. The legislators can focus the public and the press can focus.”
Often, a bill that dies on Crossover Day can be revived in the next legislative session.
There are also vampire bills, where crafty lawmakers amend an active bill with one that is otherwise dead, bringing that proposal back to life.
Bills to look out for this Crossover Day
These are bills 11Alive has been following but have not yet crossed.
SB 221: This bill seeks to terminate automatic voter registration and instead mandates voters to opt-in when receiving or renewing a driver's license.
SB 233 - The School Voucher Bill: This bill proposes offering $6,000 vouchers to some students in low-performing schools to attend private schools.
SB 492 - Addy's Law: Named after 8-year-old Adalynn Pierce, who tragically lost her life in a bus accident, this bill aims to safeguard students at bus stops by requiring them to be on the same side of the street as where kids board or exit the bus.