"Do or Die" Legislative Week. This Thursday will mark "Crossover Day" for this session of the Georgia General Assembly, which will decide the fate of much legislation for 2009. 

Crossover Day marks the last chance for measures to be approved by either the House or the Senate and sent to the other chamber for consideration during this session. Any legislation that does not get passed in one of these chambers by Thursday will have to wait until 2010 for futher action. This is a rather anxious time for legislators working hard to move their legislative proposals.

State Budget Situation Remains Grim.Unfortunately, the news regarding the statewide budget shortfall has not improved since my last Newsletter. In fact, Governor Sonny Perdue recently predicted an additional $1.2 billion drop in expected state revenue for this year. This drop in state funds will have a corresponding impact on the state budget, the size of which is tied directly to the Governor's revenue estimates. Even with the infusion of federal stimulus money into Georgia, tough spending decisions will have to be made. While these economic times present serious challenges, they also provide our state leaders with the opportunity finally to act with true fiscal restraint going forward, which has often not been the case in recent years.

The supplemental appropriations bill, which covers the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2008, and ending on June 30, 2009, was passed by the House nearly unanimously. The revised $18.9 billion midyear budget, which includes funding for the operation of state government, was quite reasonable in light of the current shortfall in state funds and preserved both homeowner tax relief and programs like Meals on Wheels. However, that budget will have to be reworked in light of the Governor's revised revenue estimates. I will keep you posted on further developments.

Fiscal Year 2010 Budget. Governor Perdue is proposing using over $1.9 billion of federal money in the Fiscal Year 2010 budget (July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010). These funds target a variety of areas, including restoring funds to education and public safety agencies. However, the budget also includes additional state agency cuts of $69 million and over $255 million in additional cuts in Medicaid reimbursement rates. As proposed, these Medicaid cuts could result in the loss of $750 million in federal funding. The House Appropriations Committee will continue its work revising the budget proposal.

Tranportation
House Approves Transportation Funding Plan.On a vote of 149-18, the House sent House Bill 277 (known as "The Georgia 2020 Transportation Act") to the Senate where it is now under consideration. As I mentioned in my previous newsletter, the measure proposes (subject to voter approval) a statewide 1% sales tax that would raise billions of dollars over ten years, dedicated for specific transportation projects listed in the legislation. Although stakeholders differ about which projects should receive priority, all parties agree that the General Assembly needs to act this session to address Georgia's transportation woes.

Taxes
Property Taxes. Property tax relief may finally be on its way! House Bill 233, which has passed both the House and Senate in differing versions, attempts to rein in property taxes by freezing valuations at their current assessment levels. While disappointed that the House did not approve more substantial, long-term tax-freeze legislation, such as that which I proposed in House Resolution 2, I am still pleased that the General Assembly is finally providing to taxpayers long-needed protections against back-door property tax increases by local governments. 

Because HB 233 has a sunset provision (a legislative expiration date) and because I believe that it does not go far enough, I will continue to press for longer-term solutions to address the problem of unfair property taxation.

Cell Phones. House Bill 23, which would outlaw cell phone use by drivers under age 18, has been favorably reported by the House Motor Vehicles Committee but has yet to be voted on by the full House. 

Health and Human Services Reorganization.Governor Perdue has proposed reorganizing the current Department of Human Resources and realigning many of its functions in new agencies to be known as the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Behavioral Health. The realignment is being proposed to focus services in a single department. The proposal is still under consideration by the General Assembly.

Nuclear Energy. Known as the "Nuclear Energy Financing Act," Senate Bill 31 permits Georgia Power to pre-pay the costs of building a new nuclear power plant on the existing Vogtle plant site. Propoents of the measure claim that the average increase will be only around $1.30 on each customer's power bill and that allowing Georgia Power to pre-bill will save customers money in the long-run (approximately $300 million). They also claim that SB 31 helps to provide a viable alternative to fossil fuels while alternative energy sources are pursued. Opponents of the measure feel that pre-payment is a mistake because it takes away money from ratepayers who need it now and applies it to pre- paying a plant that will not generate a single kilowatt for years. The also argue that measure guarantees Georgia Power a profit and does an end-around the Public Service Commission. SB 31 has been approved by both the House and Senate and awaits the Governor's signature. I supported this measure because after much independent research and thought, I concluded that passage of the bill was in the long-term best interests of ratepayers. Prepayment of expenses related to construction of the new power plant would save ratepayers an estimated $300 million. 

Sunday Alcohol Sales. The issue of whether to permit in-store Sunday alcohol sales remains a hot topic. With Crossover Day looming and little progress being made, it is unlikely to be voted on by either the House or the Senate this session. 

School Vouchers. Sen. Eric Johnson (R- Savannah) is proposing a broad-based voucher system for public schools. Senate Bill 90 would provide between $3,500 and $5,000 in taxpayer dollars that a family could use to help pay for private school tuition. The bill has been voted on by the full Senate yet.

Trauma Care. While all parties seem to agree on the need to provide a long-term funding solution for Grady and other state trauma-care facilities, neither a single idea nor sufficient backing from leadership seems to have materialized. In the House, HB 480 proposes elimination of the car tag tax and replacing it with a fee for trauma funding. Other proposals include such methods as adding a dollar surcharge per line to phone bills. If trauma care funding is to receive the attention this session that nearly everyone agrees that it deserves, House and Senate leaders will need to reach agreement soon on the appropriate funding method or methods to sustain the system going forward.

I will continue to keep you updated on the activities of the General Assembly during the session. As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, please contact me.

In the aftermath of the peanut butter salmonella outbreak that caused hundreds of serious illnesses and even some deaths, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee on which I serve created the Consumer Protection Investigation and Oversight Subcommittee, which I been appointed to co-chair. 

The Subcommittee has been charged with not only investigating why there was a failure to prevent unsafe products in the Blakely peanut factory from reaching the public, but also with examining the entire agricultural system. The committee will investigate all aspects of the production, processing, distribution and safety of agricultural products produced in Georgia, or coming into Georgia. We will propose any necessary improvements to the inspection process, and any person or entity failing to obey the law or acting with disregard for the safety of consumers will be held accountable. Although most of food producers operate safely and responsibly delivering billions of dollars of agricultural products to the public, clearly, the system is in need of improvement. Consumers need to know that their food is safe.

The Committee is moving quickly and already has reviewed numerous documents and heard several hours of testimony from Department of Agriculture officials. Among the most surprising revelations was the absence until very recently of any written rules for inspection of peanut processing plants. While this would not have prevented what was apparently the willful act of the owners and managers in Blakely, it still is vital that inspectors have all the necessary tools to make sure that Georgia maintains its gold-standard reputation as producer of safe, top-quality agricultural products.

Another even more shocking revelation was the absence of any requirement for a food producer to report to the Department of Agriculture results of any test indicating a potentially hazardous pathogen discovered in its facility. Last week, our full Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee approved a bill that would mandate such reporting.

I will keep you informed about the continuing important work of the Subcommittee.

If you are interested in more detail about what happens at the General Assembly this session, then please feel free to call or write me or visit the General Assembly website: www.legis.ga.gov. The website provides direct access to the text of legislation and vote tallies as well as schedules and live coverage of committee meetings.

(Another resource is offered when the General Assembly is in session by Georgia Public Broadcasting through a television program called "Lawmakers," which airs daily at 7 p.m. and rebroadcasts at 5:30 a.m. the following morning. The program covers each day's events at the Capitol.)

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