ATLANTA (AP) - The Latest on the Georgia General Assembly (all times local):
3:45 p.m.
Georgia House members have decided it’s OK for optometrists, who are not medical doctors, to perform injections around the eye.
They voted 121-36 Friday to approve the bill.
The bill will change state law, which currently requires that only ophthalmologists, who have at least four additional years of medical training, perform injections.
Optometrists would have to do 30 hours of training before performing injections and they would be restricted to working around the eye, rather than on the eyeball itself.
Optometry schools have been teaching the skills necessary for several years. But Rep. Betty Price, who is an anesthesiologist, said that the training was insufficient.
“This bill is in the wrong direction for patient care in this state,” said Price, R-Roswell.
The bill returns to the Senate for final approval.
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3:18 p.m.
A bill to grant the state more power to intervene in Georgia’s struggling schools is a step away from reaching Gov. Nathan Deal’s desk.
Under the proposal, a new “chief turnaround officer” will be hired by the State Board of Education to work with the state’s lowest performing schools.
The Senate approved the bill Friday. If the House agrees, the bill goes to Deal who has supported it.
The bill is an alternative to Deal’s proposed constitutional amendment seeking to let the state take over schools dubbed “chronically failing” that voters rejected in November.
The “turnaround” bill still prescribes some dramatic consequences for schools that show no improvement after three years or refuse a “turnaround” contract with the state. The state’s options include removing staff, turning the school into a charter or letting parents enroll their children elsewhere.
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12:45 p.m.
Georgia House members approved legislation allowing self-driving vehicles in the state.
Supporters said car and technology companies, insurance providers and injury attorneys signed off on the proposal and warned that Georgia would be “left behind” as other states pass similar legislation.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Trey Kelley, said he believes vehicles with autonomous technology will make roads safer and let people with physical disabilities travel more easily.
The House vote Friday was 151 in favor and 17 opposed.
Rep. Dave Belton, R-Buckhead, was among the ’no’ votes. Belton, who works as a commercial pilot, said he wasn’t comfortable with allowing systems that are independent of a human driver.
The bill returns to the Senate. If that chamber agrees with the House version, the bill heads to Gov. Nathan Deal.
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11:04 a.m.
Georgia lawmakers plan to debate a bill giving the state more power to intervene in struggling schools with few days remaining in this year’s session.
Friday marks the 38th day of the 40-day session.
The final days of the legislative session are always chaotic as lawmakers push to vote on as many bills as possible.
They also use legislative maneuvers to hitch stalled proposals to other bills.
The Senate on Friday is expected to approve creation of a new position to oversee schools that routinely struggle, sending the bill back to the House for review. The House schedule includes a bill regulating self-driving cars.
A closely-watched bill lifting a weapons ban on public college campuses is still in play, but the Senate hasn’t yet planned a vote.
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