March 5-9 Recap

           Wednesday, March 8^th marked the 30th legislative day of the 2012 session.  Known as “Crossover Day,” this critical point in the session marks the last chance for most bills to pass the legislative chamber where they started.  This is because by the end of Crossover Day, all legislation passed by the House must “cross over” to the Senate, and vice versa.  As a result, any House bill that has not passed the House by the end of Crossover Day will have little chance of becoming law this year.  Due to this deadline, the House worked long hours this week, debating and voting on lengthy lists of pending legislation.

Of all the legislation passed on Crossover Day, the most important was House Bill 742, the Fiscal Year 2013 (FY 2013) state budget.  The Georgia Constitution requires only one thing of the General Assembly, to pass a balanced state budget.  As passed by the House, the FY 3013 budget will direct spending for all state agencies, departments, and programs from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013.  While the $19.2 billion state budget reflects a slight increase from the FY 2012 state budget, it should be understood that the FY 2013 budget proposes state operations at over 20 percent less per capita than a decade ago.

As your state representative, I want you to know that I am committed to education in our community and recognize that it is one of our most important funding priorities.  With this in mind, I am happy to let you know that the FY 2013 budget includes an increase in funding for state education programs.  Thanks to this added funding, we were able to bring back 10 days of instruction to our Georgia Pre-K program that were cut in the FY 2012 budget, bringing the Pre-K year to 170 days of instruction and 9 professional learning days.  We followed Governor Deal’s proposal in funding a reading mentor program and included $3 million in differentiated pay for newly certified math and science teachers. The House budget plan also includes $112.5 million to fully fund K-12 enrollment growth and pay increases for teachers based on their training and experience. It includes an additional $3.5 million for the school nurse program and $8.6 million in supplemental funding for state special charter schools.  Additionally, the FY 2013 budget allows every free or reduced lunch student to take one AP exam, which could help the brightest students in the state earn college credit before they even graduate high school.

In addition to education, the FY 2013 budget also expands funding for important health programs, such as the state medical student residency program.  Through this funding, the state will attract future doctors to Georgia with nine new osteopathic residency slots, 214 additional residency slots in southwest Georgia and Gwinnett County and increases housing support for third and fourth year medical students.  Also appropriated through the FY 2013 budget is funding for two new Federally Qualified Community Health Centers in high need areas of the state. 

Moreover, the FY 2013 budget increases funds necessary for keeping Georgians safe.  Funding increases for our state’s public safety include an increased gas allowance for state troopers, which will help keep our troopers patrolling our roads despite rising gas prices.  An extra $10 million was also added for accountability courts.  These highly specialized courts will provide the state with a more cost-efficient system in penalizing non-violent, first-time offenders who may be suffering from mental illness or drug addiction. 

While accountability courts are one step towards combating drug problems in our state, we also passed legislation this week to ensure children in need receive the care they deserve and are not robbed of the public benefits meant to provide basic necessities by drug addicted parents.  House Bill 861 would accomplish this by requiring applicants seeking cash assistance through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to pass a drug test before receiving any public funds.  This simple measure would ensure drug addicts do not abuse tax payer dollars to support their illicit habit.  If a TANF recipient that has dependent children fails the drug test, the funds for the children would be reallocated to another caring adult who will ensure the children’s needs are financially covered by the TANF funds.  In this way, the program would help children of addicts by identifying those caught in such a situation and making sure those children receive the proper care they deserve.    

In addition to protecting children from the harms of drug abuse, we passed House Bill 1114 to protect the elderly and infirm from dangerous organizations that assist others in committing suicide.  Under HB 1114, anyone who knowingly assists in a person’s suicide would be charged with a felony punishable by one to 10 years in prison.  This measure was introduced after the Final Exit Network assisted a 58-year-old man in committing suicide in Cumming, Georgia.

This week we also passed legislation to protect Georgians from the growing problem of metal theft.  With metal prices at an all time high, many criminals have begun stealing appliances, cables, copper wiring, and other recyclable metal to sell for a quick profit.  HB 872 would combat metal theft by requiring metal sellers to show a valid ID and a work order or receipt to prove the metal was not stolen.  Metal recyclers must also maintain a record of all purchases, so that police may more easily investigate metal theft incidents.  As HB 872 makes its way to the Senate and our law enforcement officers continue to fight metal theft throughout Georgia, I encourage you to visit stopmetaltheft.com to learn how you can protect your home from metal theft. 

Finally, since I began by reiterating my commitment to education, it seems only proper that I should conclude by telling you about House Bill 797.  This legislation would establish the State Charter Schools Commission.  The commission would be responsible for approving new charter schools that are requested by parents.  This bill is the enabling legislation for House Resolution 1162, a constitutional amendment that provides the state the authority to create new charter schools.  HR 1162 must first be approved by Georgia voters before HB 797 may take effect.  If approved by the Senate, you will have the final say on HR 1162 this November.

Now that Crossover Day has passed, the FY 2013 state budget and all other House bills are now in the Senate.  While there, House legislation will once again go through the committee process before making its way to the Senate floor for consideration.  Only if the House and Senate can agree on identical versions of the legislation will they be sent to the governor for consideration.     

The remaining 10 legislative days of session will be used to consider legislation already passed by the Senate.  Please let me know if you have any comments or questions regarding any Senate legislation that is now in the House. As the Senate bills begin to make their way through the House committee process I will be sure to consider your comments.  You can reach me at my capitol office at 404-656-0126 or through email at emory.dunahoo@house.ga.gov. 

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative.