Rep. Barbara Massey Reece| Legislative Report | January 13, 2012
Gov. Nathan Deal outlined his legislative agenda, including a proposed $19.2 billion state budget for fiscal year 2013, on Jan. 10 during his annual State of the State address to a joint session of the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate.
The governor said he would recommend three tax breaks for businesses, depicting them as an effort to spur job creation in light of the fact that Georgia's unemployment rate has exceeded the national average for 52 consecutive months. The governor supports a plan to eliminate the sales tax on energy used by manufacturers. He also proposed launching a "Go Build Georgia" program to encourage young workers to take jobs in constructions and skilled trade industries. The governor's budget includes $46 million for deepening the Port of Savannah to accommodate newer and larger ships.
On education, the governor is proposing $20 million in the state budget toward a college scholarship loan program for needy students and $8.7 million to assist charter schools that have not been approved by their local school boards. He also said he would restore the full level of state funding to local school systems and pledged a total of $257.9 million to accommodate enrollment growth in K-12, the University System and technical colleges. His proposal also adds 10 days to the pre-K school calendar, restoring half of the 20 days cut last year.
Gov. Deal also recommends spending $35.2 million for additional prison beds, $5.7 million for substance abuse treatment centers and $10 million for the creation of new drug courts to implement recommendations of Georgia's Civil Justice Reform Council.
The governor's healthcare budget plans include $5 million to help the Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta become the state's second designated cancer center, alongside Winship Cancer Center at Emory Hospital, as well as funding for 400 residency slots in hospitals across the state.
The governor is also proposing budget savings through the elimination or merger of several agencies of state government. These recommendations include folding the State Personnel Administration and its human resources responsibilities into the Department of Administrative Services; moving the Sexual Offender Review Board from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to become part of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation; shifting the responsibility for safety inspections of amusement park rides, elevators and boilers from the Department of Labor to the Department of Agriculture; transferring the 1,900 employees involved in providing vocational rehabilitation services and working at the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute from the Department of Labor to the Department of Human Services and privatizing state government's aviation services while selling the state-owned aircraft used to handle passenger flights.
HOPE Funding Gap
According to a presentation made Jan. 9 by the Georgia Student Finance Commission to a Joint Economic Development & Tourism Committee, students receiving the HOPE Scholarship could see a 38 percent reduction in their HOPE benefits over the next three years. Because of a widening gap between Georgia Lottery revenues and college tuition costs, HOPE scholars can expect to have significantly higher out-of-pocket costs by 2015. A typical University of Georgia student, lawmakers were told, would have to pay $2,732 in expenses every semester, with the remaining $2,461 covered by HOPE. Because of the problem, Georgia Lottery officials discussed with legislators the possibility of permitting video lottery terminals at several locations around the state as a means of increasing revenues for HOPE. Georgia Lottery President Margaret DeFrancisco told lawmakers she does not believe the current menu of games can provide a significant enough increase in revenue to meet the demand of lottery-funded education programs. According to Lottery Board Chairman James Braswell, the agency will not add video lottery terminals without a broader discussion with the public and elected officials.
Merger of Colleges
The Georgia Board of Regents has approved a recommendation from the University System of Georgia, and the following eight public colleges will be consolidated into four institutions:
Augusta State University and the Georgia Health Sciences University (formerly known as the Medical College of Georgia)
Waycross College and South Georgia College
Middle Georgia College and Macon State College
Gainesville College with North Georgia College and State University
According to Chancellor Hank Huckaby, no physical facilities will be closed as a result, but administrative staffs of the two colleges would be merged and there would be a single president of each newly consolidated institution. The chancellor first proposed the consolidations last fall as one way of reducing costs in the state's higher education budget.
Also, the Regents voted to end 253 programs that offered two-year associate degrees to University System students, mostly in various fields of applied science. The decision to terminate these degree programs at the university level reflects an acknowledgement that the degrees are already being offered at institutions of the Technical College System.
Finding a Cure
House and Senate members held a press conference during the first week of session to encourage Georgians to donate to the Georgia Cancer Research Fund. Rep. John Yates and I spoke about the importance of research to find better methods for early detection and treatment. We were joined by cancer survivors and staff of the Georgia Coalition.
Georgia has a higher cancer rate than the national average. Every year, 48,480 Georgians are diagnosed with new cancers. You can help research efforts by checking the box on your Georgia Income Tax form and donating one dollar or more. To date, over $3 Million have been donated along with $11 Million in federal grants. This has funded over 71 research studies right here in Georgia's universities and colleges. Session Schedule
The House and Senate are in official recess beginning Jan. 16 for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, followed by three days of Appropriations Committee hearings on the budget. The full General Assembly will return to the Capitol on Jan. 23 for the sixth legislative day of the session. Please continue to contact me with your views on the issues or whenever I can be of service.
State Rep. Barbara Massey Reece represents the 11th District (Chattooga and Floyd counties) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact her at 512 Coverdell Legislative Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-7859; or by email at barbara.reece@house.ga.gov.
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