[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6284727,"mediaKeyId","2576965-b1da949862a7943600273f86bbc8dbf7","parentId",2576965,"title","Committee hears heated debate over Mulberry incorporation: service agreements, annexation and sovereign immunity at issue","audioSeconds",315,"startMs",1500000,"endMs",1815000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2576965-b1da949862a7943600273f86bbc8dbf7&start=1500&end=1815","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2576965-b1da949862a7943600273f86bbc8dbf7/thumbnail_1500000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6284727/Georgia/Committee-hears-heated-debate-over-Mulberry-incorporation-service-agreements-annexation-and-sovereign-immunity-at-issue","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6284727-3ca6f6f8e97bdff26547b51d40eb7fb7/orig.mp4?Expires=1773655287&Signature=mW0I5jzhAhe0sH1ufTnGwv0iJbgz0iduXA3yIyBcFZUlDsi4Cy6Nyxwa5M4eAzaZHK4cTFYHB43xzD6BEwzOPFC~~EMGZOzmvTd4orwkEVxVmcQbpOgdgMWad5WsrhHqwGA-ICImsi-ip802X2qPzW0QnR8Sy6vxg2wSkwmkAfSnfVj3l0L8fHrKEyBQnghVoKRHatbmqPbiQ2E6JdWqgb404mf2HPvfufmzmVtEB1ILghl1ABaljWCAf5ySA~vWZtbll8sLDmaH0~ifsvjQx8OU2lz1i3HT2WE4esOVo5ih6iBfW3futlB0Lf6uv8NnoMCc7LOGCfWEm9l6COLXHQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Georgia State Legislature","date","2025-03-12T00:00:00Z","article","Senators spent the longest portion of the hearing on two linked local measures affecting the newly incorporated city of Mulberry and Gwinnett County: Senate Bill 138, aimed at bringing county practice into alignment with the transition statute and prompting an intergovernmental service-delivery agreement, and Senate Bill 139, an annexation bill for primarily commercial parcels.

Sponsor Senator Dixon told the committee the county had refused to enter a service-delivery agreement and had not returned the mayor’s calls, and that county crews had refused to repair a knocked-down stop sign on a county road within the new city’s boundaries. Multiple members challenged that account: Representative Whit Parks said he had been shown written communications from Gwinnett County, including a draft intergovernmental agreement, and asked whether the county had provided documentation to the House. Senator Dixon replied that city elected officials had not been able to reach the county chair or county manager and that attorneys for the county had handled communications, and he said the county’s attorney only reached out after the legislation moved from the Senate to the House.

Members raised broader legal questions. One senator recited that several bills this session could allow selective waiver of sovereign immunity; members and the sponsor discussed whether enforcement of the transition statute would leave sovereign immunity intact if the county complied. The transcript records that the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) strongly opposes SB 138 on the grounds it would set a precedent of forcing counties into agreements and would implicate sovereign immunity, though the transcript does not contain an ACCG representative’s live testimony.

Sponsor statements included numeric and budgetary claims. Senator Dixon said roughly 41,000 Gwinnett County residents live within the city of Mulberry. He also stated that Gwinnett County’s budget is $2,670,000,000 and that the county’s budget had risen about 30% in the past two years; he characterized the city’s captured revenue as approximately $9,000,000. Those figures were presented by the sponsor in argument and were not independently verified in the hearing record.

Members pressed the sponsor on process and decorum. One member said local-delegation bylaws require a majority of Gwinnett County representatives to support annexation-related legislation and questioned running an annexation as a general bill; the sponsor said running local matters as general bills is common in the Senate’s practice. Another member said that some residents adjacent to the new city had requested annexation; the sponsor said Mulberry had bipartisan support and that some representatives who do not live in the affected areas had sought to block the will of voters.

Both bills were moved and seconded in committee and encountered objections in the voice votes recorded in the transcript; the clerk set a calendar for the next legislative day to continue consideration. The transcript does not record a roll-call tally, and no final adoption or defeat is recorded in the excerpted hearing.

The dispute raises practical questions about intergovernmental communications and the limits of county authority during incorporation transitions. Committee leaders said more Senate bills would appear after the clerk’s reports the following day; both Mulberry bills were advanced to be calendared for further consideration rather than finally disposed of during this session.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","03.12.25 Rules","oneSentenceSummary","Senators spent the longest portion of the hearing on two linked local measures affecting the newly incorporated city of Mulberry and Gwinnett County: SB 138, seeking to compel a service-delivery agreement under the transition statute, and SB 139, an annexation bill for commercial tracts.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature Georgia , Georgia","taxId",77688,"location","Georgia","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6284731,"Committee considers broadening protection for drug-test strips to include xylazine and other non-opioids",97,1348000,1445000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2576965-b1da949862a7943600273f86bbc8dbf7&start=1348&end=1445","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2576965-b1da949862a7943600273f86bbc8dbf7/thumbnail_1348000.jpg","/articles/6284731/Georgia/Committee-considers-broadening-protection-for-drug-test-strips-to-include-xylazine-and-other-non-opioids","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6284731-6cd4e9113dcdf60e1df07dfbc2303ab9/orig.mp4?Expires=1773655287&Signature=Hzhv-db63dlHfIuKh3MHxgqVFBnVqse3EXRdsq1ZfTOf0vsoeYmwWmmakohTltIkyGz32iPXvBBPDoZuvr2TIg7J6E4gttlwZKzEyGBMC2XdqHMNJGU1LNHwNh3mm9EG4RsWrM0A~FmA-NWbDZSxrpXKuvChPVADqv02W1rA~U4ZXYFQmBx6-uzBcTGdEbcmlctSoXm3eHgCOZwhvgQZCImaFlXVf7Lx2ddTWZBY2N03aEYoyHJ4mMcg40B5r0je8znAL1HrxEeQ-6OUtb9cleAbsvOh3XND1riI0WDQFtxBJN~DRhE6qj4tMKaHMzV4g3NVhWSvyjBfC6ihYOnrxw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Bill 6 would expand protections that prevent testing equipment from being treated as drug paraphernalia so that test strips for xylazine and other emerging non-opioid substances are similarly allowed. The sponsor told the committee that fentanyl test strips were authorized previously but that new street drugs, including xylazine, are not detected by those strips.

A committee member asked whether xylazine is related to xylitol and whether it is a horse tranquilizer; the sponsor confirmed xylazine is a veterinary tranquilizer with legitimate uses but said it has appeared on the street and is causing fatalities. The sponsor described the bill’s effect as treating testing equipment for non-opioid substances the same way fentanyl test strips are treated — exempting them from paraphernalia classification to allow distribution and use for harm-reduction purposes.

No formal roll-call vote on SB 6 was recorded in the portion of the hearing in the transcript. The committee proceeded through a sequence of bills and set a calendar for the next legislative day; SB 6 was presented during this session.","Senate Bill 6 would extend the legal protection that currently covers fentanyl test strips to testing equipment for xylazine and other substances; sponsor and committee members discussed the public-health rationale and the street presence of xylazine.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6284736,"Senate committee reviews bill to clarify emergency use for organ-transport vehicles",110,1276000,1386000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2576965-b1da949862a7943600273f86bbc8dbf7&start=1276&end=1386","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2576965-b1da949862a7943600273f86bbc8dbf7/thumbnail_1276000.jpg","/articles/6284736/Georgia/Senate-committee-reviews-bill-to-clarify-emergency-use-for-organ-transport-vehicles","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6284736-ef0c4926d3dc2b9a4958c0b0d912f256/orig.mp4?Expires=1773655287&Signature=nU2k7pD8knss30IguTvkaMQMZZ3D5Xu4YFmo4MKqmJtiI-qbp0bCuf4yh-cCjoPErxr9u6qbj5en-aJrpqf7CEKnbYW6wtFDEJL12C2pv9C6Dk36r0f0yWbrfU139uV116ASI66~vOuFb2rWOmKs2SfkQus2TY8n1nXeDAd5yluwk4-MfPKxWrsqhOU41LfhSlnilcUXPe419-ZJ0FIkf5apGcjAzTYU-~xiHUbeK4~Y1Y6L~CMcCTpp8NFQWAaD-b~gkPtuDBab2Ln1B8zIzE0JefifAUjb-YHUO1KG1UVWqLoGzfcDBcQJTp9MMcDp2nRS~nO1UcfsQ-0lbK3Gvg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate committee members heard testimony on Senate Bill 58, a proposal to clarify that vehicles transporting lifesaving organs and personnel may operate as emergency vehicles when time-sensitive transfers are required. The sponsor said the bill was drafted with input from Colonel Billy Hitchens, the Georgia commissioner of public safety, and described it as a measure that will “undoubtedly save lives.”

The bill’s sponsor told the committee that organ-procurement teams have used emergency operations in the past and that the legislation would remove uncertainty about the legal status of such movements. The sponsor noted a personal connection to the issue, mentioning Representative Rick Townsend, who donated a kidney, while explaining the bill’s urgency.

Committee members asked no formal questions recorded in the transcript on SB 58 and the item was presented without a final committee vote during this hearing. No new statutory citations or ordinance numbers were provided in the discussion.

The committee set a calendar for additional bills and expected more Senate bills to be reported by the clerk the following day; SB 58 was presented during that session but was not recorded as being placed on the calendar or voted on at this meeting.","A committee heard Senate Bill 58, which would clarify that organ-procurement vehicles transporting time-sensitive organs and personnel may operate with emergency status; sponsor and public-safety officials say the change is intended to speed transfers and save lives.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6284721,"Senate committee advances franchise-dealer update bill that sponsors say modernizes dealer-manufacturer terms",107,2063000,2170000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2576965-b1da949862a7943600273f86bbc8dbf7&start=2063&end=2170","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2576965-b1da949862a7943600273f86bbc8dbf7/thumbnail_2063000.jpg","/articles/6284721/Georgia/Senate-committee-advances-franchise-dealer-update-bill-that-sponsors-say-modernizes-dealer-manufacturer-terms","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6284721-277c97128f919346a3f22a508ff522cf/orig.mp4?Expires=1773655287&Signature=ZLNSX96E0ZUmaQLFfNWRSlBjKNZUMN2dBr-zuDwnEXkxXYdViD1kQEKz8PSulGCix2L-T1Oa~rObK5ywmjWCxBF0eEyXKyLpzSxTr98uchPDPYmwzBm3M4LbW-wBaVx1VZZsh8sGDSZxnN3~0WssHfLHa5uZRh5KMX2akam9ilMwsi5HSRIn5~8DGTb8GUeiE7IhRx5rR0nZDWsqIG2f7N1pFF0X023OT33kEa91HZjq~CguS7aqXnZM4RczpGwUHi~pt1ixTWpqWUZqxA3cTxFH2a~jReDPXaDKpdLSSRi3YrWhhvNlxH6tbG9NjccI9GRKEOGjAPSYHu0YemaG2w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Bill 81, described by a sponsor as a franchise-dealer update that had not been comprehensively revisited in about six years, was presented to the committee. The sponsor said much of the bill was prenegotiated between manufacturers and dealerships and that a few additional details were worked out through the process.

Committee members did not record substantive opposition in the excerpted discussion and SB 81 was moved and seconded; the committee set a calendar for the next legislative day. The transcript does not include a roll-call tally or the final disposition of the bill in this hearing.

The sponsor said the bill reflects industry negotiation and housekeeping updates; no specific statutory citations or fiscal impacts were presented in the record excerpt.","Senate Bill 81, a franchise-dealer update negotiated between manufacturers and dealerships, was presented by a sponsor who described the bill as a routine update after several years; the committee moved the bill and set it on the calendar for the next legislative day.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee hears heated debate over Mulberry incorporation: service agreements, annexation and sovereign immunity at issue

Committee considers broadening protection for drug-test strips to include xylazine and other non-opioids

Senate committee reviews bill to clarify emergency use for organ-transport vehicles

Senate committee advances franchise-dealer update bill that sponsors say modernizes dealer-manufacturer terms