Casino gambling, merit-based pay for teachers and the religious liberty bill are all topics expected to be discussed when the Georgia General Assembly convenes Monday at the State Capitol.
Dr. Charles Bulloch, a University of Georgia Political Scientist, told the Georgia News Network that he doesn't expect casino gambling to get passed this session.
"Controversial issues are going to be hard-pressed to get time on this more rapidly expiring calendar [legislator] are going to go through, and the other thing is, to the extent that it's controversial, a legislator would probably prefer to vote on that immediately after an election, and not in an election year," said Bulloch.
He said there will likely be hearings this year to gauge the public's interest, but the issue of casino gambling would likely hold off until 2017, where it would be placed on the ballot, since it would require a change to the state's constitution.
The issue arose last year, with some lawmakers expressing interest if the revenue would be used for education, much the same way the Georgia Lottery funds education programs.
When it comes to merit-based teacher pay, some of the bigger political players have already sparred over it.
"Governor (Nathan Deal) is pushing that. (House) Speaker (David Ralston) looks like he's pushing back. And I suspect, also, legislators are going to remember back to 2002, where Roy Barnes alienated teachers, and we know how that paid off," said Bullock.
The religious liberty bill will also be a hot-button topic. Bullock says there has been a concerted effort to modify the language of the bill to try to eliminate potential discrimination.
"If they put that language in, that probably enhances the likelihood it gets approved, but some of the supporters of the legislation say that would gut the bill, although they simultaneously say the bill would not be discriminatory," said Bullock.
Those issues, along with other items like medical marijuana and transportation funding, will likely be among the more noteworthy, but, Bullock says, chances are, plenty of other items will pop up.
"There's always those surprises. Probably something will pop up that we never even thought about that takes center stage for awhile," said Bullock.
(Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and members of the Hall County state legislative delegation weighed in on the upcoming session in early December at a forum in Gainesville. Click here http://accesswdun.com/article/2015/12/355663/state-lawmakers-talk-education-other-issues-at-eggs-and-issues for that story.)
