Wednesday, March 24, 2004
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Wednesday, March 24, 2004 |
| Another week under the Gold Dome March 17 was the 33rd day of the 40-day regular session of the General Assembly. Bills must have passed at least one chamber by this day or they are effectively dead for the year. The only exception is if they are amended to a bill with the same subject matter. The House worked past 11 p.m. and passed over 60 bills and resolutions last Wednesday. • State budget. HB 1181 was adopted on Monday 106-65. This the state’s $16.2 billion spending plan that will begin July 1 of this year and run through June 30 of 2005. The document mostly restores cuts the Governor had proposed. Some big ticket items include $278 million that was restored to the K-12 school-funding formula and $116.4 million for books and student fees in the HOPE Scholarship program. The budget also contains: $4.9 million in to DCH (Department of Community Health) to restore Medicaid coverage for those with incomes over 185 percent of the federal poverty level up to 200 percent which will cover an additional 15,000 women and children; $9.5 million to DCH for ambulatory surgical services; $5.8 million to the Department of Education for vocational lab supervisors; $5.6 million to DCH to continue adult dental coverage in Medicaid; $4 million to the Department of Transportation for operational funding of the Atlanta-Lovejoy passenger rail line; $3.2 million to DCH for Medicaid coverage of orthotics and prosthetics; $1.5 million to DCH for the Katie Beckett waiver program; $793,005 to the parole board to maintain special pay supplements to parole officers in the metro Atlanta area; $700,000 to the Secretary of State for voter education training; $654,105 for additional slots in the “Unlock the Waiting List” developmental disability program; $575,000 for the GBI’s Cleveland regional crime lab; and $215,000 to the University of Georgia for the Georgia Rural Water Association. • Hope Scholarship. HB 1325, which was adopted on Monday 168-1, tweaks the HOPE Scholarship Program to make sure it remains solvent well into the future. These changes in HOPE are being considered because projections indicate that the program, which is funded by the lottery, will begin dipping into reserves in a few years. The number of HOPE scholars and the cost of tuition, fees and books are expected to rise faster than lottery revenues. Enter HB 1325, which in 2007, would make a minimum 3.0 grade-point average a requirement for the scholarship, a tougher standard for high school seniors than what is currently allowed to determine a qualifying B average or better. It also says the Student Finance Commission would check the grades of HOPE college students earlier, to make sure they kept the necessary grade point average. HB 1325 would also would cap book and fee payments at current levels starting this year but allow the state to use a trigger system to trim book payments to HOPE scholars if there is a decline in the program’s year-end balance. However, those students from lower-income families who receive the federal Pell Grant would continue to receive $300 book allowance, regardless of the year-end balance. • K-12 education. HB 1190, which passed on Wednesday 175-2, provides for more flexibility and accountability in K-12 education. The measure was amended several times and contains portions of the Governor’s legislative agenda. Under the bill, a requirement that third-graders pass the state’s reading test to get promoted to the fourth grade would be delayed for one year so students can receive the proper support and preparation to succeed. Georgia’s third graders were scheduled to take the gateway exam but there was a glitch in the development that led the Department of Education to scrap the tests last year. If the bill is adopted, local school districts would see more control over state funding and be able to delay costly class-size reductions in grades four through 12. Another provision of the measure does away with the letter grades used to grade schools based on their test scores. Among the approved amendments to HB 1190 was a provision to authorize a 10 percent pay bump for nationally certified school psychologists, and an exemption for successful charter schools from state regulations and reporting requirements. • Child endangerment. SB 467, which is a part of the Governor’s legislative package and a major initiative championed by Lt. Governor Mark Taylor, passed on Friday 161-1. The legislation would make parents criminally accountable for negligent behavior that endangers their children. If convicted, they would face a felony crime of child endangerment with a prison sentence of one to 20 years. An example of negligent behavior would be if a child died from heat exhaustion after being left in a parked car, or if they were seriously hurt after being left at home for a weekend unattended. Another provision makes it a felony for someone to manufacture or possess methamphetamine in the presence of children, subject to up to a 15 year prison term for each act. There already is a felony charge of child cruelty, but many cases get dropped because that crime requires prosecutors to prove malice or intent. Georgia is the only state in the nation without a law on child endangerment. • Indigent defense funding. HB 869, which will help the state fund a new indigent defense system, was adopted on Monday 160-4. The measure increases the filing fees charged for lawsuits by $15 and raises the fines paid by criminal defendants by 7.5 percent. It also calls for an additional 10 percent on the bonds issued to those charged so they can remain free until their trial. Another provision requires defendants to pay $50 application fee to be represented by an attorney without additional charge, but the court can make exceptions for financial hardships. The new system is expected to cost $44 million. HB 770, which was passed during the 2003 session, set up the new indigent defense system. When it becomes opera ional next year, there will be public defender offices in each of the state’s 49 judicial circuits. The Supreme Court Commission on Indigent Defense ruled last year that the current system of representing the poor does not provide equal representation under the law. More than 80 percent of the state’s indigent defense system is now funded by the counties. • Georgia Public Defender Standards Council. HB 1318 passed on Monday 161-3 and creates a legislative oversight mechanism for the Indigent Defense Standards Council and prohibits prosecutors from being on the committee that chooses the head of the circuit public defender’s offices. • Deer-dog hunting. HB 1558 passed Wednesday 112-47 and will allow hunting deer with dogs on at least 320 acres of land a few times per year. A bill approved during the 2003 session limited the sport to properties of at least 1,000 acres. HB 1558 allows property owners who own at least 320 contiguous acres, which is around a half-square mile, to purchase four permits a year for two-day deer-dog hunts. A permit would cost $10. Another provision of the bill says that hunting clubs that lease land for deer-dog hunts must have at least 1,000 acres under their control under the proposed legislation. • Medicaid. HB 1704 was approved Wednesday 161-10 prohibits the Department of Community Health from mandating medicaid recipients to join HMO and stalls any attempts DCH has to convert Medicaid to a managed care or HMO type plan. • Sales tax holiday. HB 1184 was approved Wednesday 160-5. School supplies, computers, clothing and other items would be exempt July 29-Aug. 1 of this year, under the bill. It is estimated to cost the $10 million in estimated lost revenue. The first sales tax holiday in Georgia began in 2002. • Living wage laws. On Wednesday HB 1258 was passed 111-57. The bill prohibits living wage ordinances which are ordinances that require all companies doing business with city or county governments to pay their employees a specific salary and provide them certain benefits. • Curbing domestic violence. The House approved HB 1259 on Wednesday 132-0. Under the measure, repeat offenders convicted of domestic violence would get their pictures in the newspaper after their third conviction. Paying for the publication would fall to convicted offenders. • Child safety. HB 1035 was adopted Wednesday 130-39 and gives authorities the rights to impose a fine of $15 on parents and care givers who leave children 6 or younger unattended in a car. • Marriage counseling. Monday saw the passage of HB 1451, 149-17. Under the legislation, couples would get a $40 discount on their marriage license if they have pre-marital counseling from a licensed therapist, psychologist or clergy member. It currently costs $50 to get a marriage license in Georgia. • Curriculum. HB 1406 passed on Monday 97-67 and requires that future changes of the core curriculum of elementary and secondary education closely conform to generally accepted teaching guidelines. • Annoying e-mails. HB 1424 was approved on Wednesday 162-0 and makes it illegal to send unsolicited bulk e-mails. • Outsourcing. HB 1281 passed on Wednesday 135-22 and would prohibit state agencies from outsourcing call centers overseas. • Film industry tax credits. HB 1775 passed on Wednesday 172-2 and will give the film and music video industry a 15 percent tax credit on filming expenses. • High school sports. HB 1626 was approved 168-0 Wednesday and will require high school athletes to fill out a health questionnaire before playing sports for their school. — House Information Office
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