A subdue 'sine die' -- Georgia House Speaker tells lawmakers to break with tradition this year
ATLANTA - Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, behind a panel of Plexiglass at the front of the House chamber, broke one more tradition during a legislative session of firsts thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
"We do not have the small army of custodians coming through the chamber this evening," Ralston said addressing the full House on Friday night.
Only a skeleton cleaning crew has been active during the session due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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"Please do not tear up any papers in preparation of adjournment, I know that’s a time-honored tradition and a lot of fun, but there's not going to be anyone here to clean it up," the Speaker continued. "When the time does come to adjourn, please do not throw any papers in the air. Again, there will be no one to pick them up."
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Speaker Ralston also asked the lawmakers to not wait to clean out their desk but to do it before leaving the chamber for the evening.
The ending seemed fitting for a legislative session that was met with a two-month halt in business, a quarantine of most members immediately following that suspension of the session, and a myriad of tough choices to trim the budget due to the economic fallout of the pandemic, but still maintain an adequate level of government.
A look at what was accomplished on the last day of the 2020 Georgia legislative session
From passing a budget to protecting businesses from COVD-19-related lawsuits to more funding for mothers, here's a look at the major issues that went before lawmakers on the final day of a very unusual legislative session.
The Senate was seen celebrating in their usual way.