January 14, 2004

For more information contact:

Stanley S. Jones, Jr.

404-817-6133

Lobbyists were buzzing around the halls today discussing the Governor’s State-of-the-State address this evening. Many also were talking about the House Republicans’ plans for an increased sales tax in lieu of a property tax.

In other news, the business community met this morning to discuss preliminary plans for tort reform initiatives. It plans to hold additional strategy meetings next week. Additionally, hospitals interested in pursuing more funding for their trauma centers (these are facilities such as Grady Hospital, Archbold Hospital, Phoebe Putney Hospital, etc.) met this afternoon to plan a strategy for getting more State funding.

Newly Introduced Legislation

HB 1060 – In what appears to be legislation striking back at the City of Atlanta’s proposed increase for water utility services and sewer issues, Rep. Ron Stephens has proposed amending Title 36 to provide for limits on rates and fees charged by counties, municipalities, and local authorities for water utility services provided to customers located outside their jurisdictions. Among the bill’s provisions, it proposes to limit contracts or agreements entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2004 by a county for the provision of water utility services to another political subdivision of Georgia, a local authority of such political subdivision, or residents of such subdivision to no more than 10% above the rate charged to customers for such service inside the selling county.

HB 1108 – Rep. Willard and others have offered a change to Title 16 relating to a definition of cruelty to children and to provide for third-degree cruelty to children. It defines “criminal negligence” as an act or failure to act which demonstrates a willful, wanton, or reckless disregard for the safety of others who might reasonably be expected to be injured thereby. The bill also establishes penalties for cruelty to children and defines “serious injury” to a child.

HB 1116 – Rep. Franklin and others have proposed amending HOPE in O.C.G.A. § 20-3-519.1 so that no person who has been convicted of any felony or misdemeanor will be eligible for a scholarship or grant (current law prohibits anyone from getting HOPE scholarship monies (grants or scholarships) if that person has been convicted of a felony offense involving marijuana, a controlled substance, or a dangerous drug as set out in O.C.G.A. § 20-1-23 or 20-1-24 provided that such ineligibility extends from the date of conviction to the completion of the next academic term). This change also proposes such ineligibility would be permanent.

HB 1119 – Rep. Franklin and others have also proposed amending O.C.G.A. § 50-3-100 concerning the designation of English as the official state language. Currently, this Code Section provides in paragraph (c) that State agencies, counties, municipal corporations, and political subdivisions are authorized to use or to print official documents and forms in languages other than the official language at the discretion of their governing bodies. This prohibits agencies from printing information in Spanish and also from transacting any business or otherwise communicating in Spanish. The bill, however, proposes that such provisions would not apply when in conflict with federal law.

HB 1124 – Reps. Hines and Casas have proposed prohibiting the sale and consumption of soft drinks to students in school buildings and on school grounds both before and during school hours. Such sales and consumption would be permitted after the end of the regular school day. The provisions would also not apply to alternative schools as defined under O.C.G.A. § 20-2-154.1.

HB 1128 – Reps. Mitchell and Mangham have proposed that Community Service Board cannot hire a person who is receiving retirement benefits from the Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia for more than 1,040 hours in any consecutive 12-month period. This would not affect any valid contract in effect on July 1, 2004.

HB 1129 – Reps. Mitchell and Mangham have also partnered on this bill to amend O.C.G.A. § 37-2-12 in order that a Community Service Board Overview Commission be established. This would be made up of four Members from the House and Senate. The Committee would serve a two-year term concurrent with their terms as Members of the General Assembly. The Committee would periodically inquire into and review the operations of the Community Service Boards (“CSBs”) and review and evaluate the success with which the CSBs are accomplishing their duties and functions. The Committee may also employ no more than two staff members and secure the services of independent accountants, engineers, and consultants. CSBs would be required to cooperate with the Committee, its personnel, the Attorney General, the State’s auditor, and other State agencies. The Committee shall “evaluate the performance of CSBs consistent with the following criteria: 1) prudent, legal, and accountable expenditure of public funds; 2) efficient operation; and 3) performance of their statutory responsibilities.” Monies for this Committee would come from the funds appropriated to and available to the legislative branch of government.

HB 1131 – Reps. Reece, Snow, and Jenkins have proposed their definition of child endangerment to include when a person manufactures or attempts to manufacture methamphetamine, amphetamine, or a mixture containing either of the substances in the residence of a child or children or within 200 feet of a residence of a child or children. If that person is found guilty of such, this would be a felony offense of endangering a child. This proposed change would be found in O.C.G.A. § 16-13-30.4.

HB 1132 – Rep. Rogers and others have proposed amending Title 31 to enact the “Georgia Starvation and Dehydration of Persons with Disabilities Prevention Act.” It establishes a number of definitions including “health care provider,” “nourishment,” and “reasonable medical judgment.” It states that it “shall be presumed that every person legally incapable of making healthcare decisions has directed his or her healthcare providers to provide him or her with nourishment and hydration to a degree that is sufficient to sustain life.” Further, no “guardian, surrogate, public or private agency, court, or any other person shall have the authority to make a decision on behalf of a person legally incapable of making healthcare decisions to withhold or withdraw nourishment or hydration from such a person except in the circumstances and under the conditions specifically provided in O.C.G.A. § 31-31-4.” The bill also establishes when the presumption would not apply: 1) to the extent that, in reasonable medical judgment: A) provision of nourishment and hydration is not medically possible; B) provision of nourishment and hydration would hasten death; or C) because of the medical condition of the person legally incapable of making healthcare decisions, the person would be incapable of digesting or absorbing the nourishment and hydration so that its provision would not contribute to sustaining the person’s life; 2) if the person executed a directive (such as found in Chapters 32 or 36 of Title 31) authorizing the withholding or withdrawal of nourishment, hydration, or both to the extent the authorization applies; or 3) if there is clear and convincing evidence that the person when legally capable of making healthcare decisions, gave express and informed consent to withdrawing or withholding nourishment or hydration in the applicable circumstances. The bill also outlines provisions for bringing an injunctive action and who may bring such.

HB 1133 – Rep. Lord has authored this change to the Insurance Code by proposing the addition of O.C.G.A. § 33-24-19.1 “all insurers that issue or offer to issue policies of property or casualty insurance in this state shall, at the option of the insured, upon acceptance of a risk, finance the premiums associated with the policy covering such risk or shall permit an outside company selected by the insured to finance such premiums.”

HB 1134 – Rep. Lord has also proposed a change to how property and casualty insurers operate by adding a new Code Section in 33-24-59.12. It would require such an insurer authorized to issue property and casualty insurance in Georgia to have at least 10% of its agents in the State located in communities with populations of 9,000 persons or less according to the 2000 United States decennial census or any subsequent census. If an insurer fails to do so, then the Commissioner of the Dept. of Insurance must suspend the authorization of such insurer to issue property and casualty insurance until such is certification is met.

HB 1135 – Rep. Bordeaux also has proposed a bill relating to the definition of child cruelty to include when a person has engaged in activities associated with the manufacturing or possessing of methamphetamine in the presence of children. This too would be added in Article 5 of Title 16.

HR 969 – Rep. Charles Jenkins offered this Resolution paying tribute and expressing regret of the passing of the Honorable Ralph Twiggs who served in the Georgia House of Representatives for 30 years.

SB 395 – Sen. Tolleson and others have proposed amending O.C.G.A. § 10-13-3 pertaining to the deposits into escrow accounts under the Master Settlement Agreement with tobacco product manufacturers and the interest received that the release of funds from the escrow for tobacco product manufacturers who are not participating manufacturers in the Agreement.

SB 415 – Sens. Price and Cagle have co-authored this proposal to provide for regulation of the transfer of tax executions by inserting a new Code Section in 48-3-19. Among its provisions include definitions for “execution” which is an “execution issued for the collection of any ad valorem taxes, fees, penalties, interest, or collection costs due the State or any political subdivision thereof.” It further states that whenever an execution has been transferred to any transferee, “the transferee shall not be authorized to exercise any right to enforce collection of such execution until 12 months after the date of such transfer or 24 months after the tax giving rise to the execution was originally due, whichever is earlier.” There is a notice provision that the transferee must give notice of the transfer to the delinquent taxpayer by first-class mail within 30 days after the date of the transfer.

SB 417 – Sen. Unterman and others have proposed changes relating to the regulation of hospitals and related institutions in order to require that at least one registered nurse shall be in charge of all nursing activities during each eight-hour shift in nursing homes. Further, the bill proposes to require that at least 3.0 hours of direct nursing care per patient be required in a 24-hour period.

SB 420 – Sen. Unterman and others are also proposing to create a new Code Section 30-5-8 relating to criminal offenses and penalties with regard to abuse, neglect, and exploitation of disabled adults or elder persons. It establishes both misdemeanor and felony offenses for persons who abuse, neglect, or exploit any disabled adult or elder person. It also adds that no person shall discriminate or retaliate in any manner against any resident or relative or guardian of a resident, any employee of a long-term care facility, or any other person because of the making of a complaint or providing of information in good faith to the State ombudsman or community ombudsman. The bill also requires reporting of abuse in writing to the Department of Human Resources.

Committee News

Among bills passed out of the House Governmental Affairs Committee, under Rep. Alan Powell’s leadership, was HB 472 by Committee Substitute. This replaces the language introduced in last year’s version of this bill and is a comprehensive revision of Chapter 17 of Title 43 relating to the Charities Act. There were a number of gender corrections in this version. Among the things the bill is proposed to provide are: provision of stronger consumer protection; adoption and incorporation of the State Auditor’s Suggestions for Greater Administrative Efficiency; deletion of registration requirements for “solicitor agents” (this is proposed to be accomplished by placing the qualifications burden on the employing company whereby it will have to oversee or police agents (the section deleted is O.C.G.A. § 43-17-3.1)); enhanced criminal history review for the agency; modernization of the financial statement terms and modernization of the enforcement procedures and sanctions; removal of the caps on civil penalties assessed by the agency to punish violators of the law; provisions for cooperative multi-state enforcement actions; etc. It will require the executive officer of the applicant registering with the Secretary of State to submit a complete set of his or her fingerprints taken by an authorized law enforcement agency to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or a state or local law enforcement agency for processing criminal history records checks on persons. Another protection included in the bill is that it prohibits funds received as charitable donations from being invested in or loaned to any individual, any business venture controlled by the charity’s paid solicitor, or an affiliate of any of these persons or entities.

One comment made by Chairman Powell is that his Committee would also be entertaining legislation on licensing and regulating home builders and general contractors. This is HB 1003, which was held last year pending a Georgia Occupational Review Committee review of the legislation (this is the Committee which oversees any potential new licensing of professions). Chairman Powell stated that Rep. Mike Boggs, the chair of this Committee’s Licensing Subcommittee, would proceed with meetings on this bill.

Other

Governor Perdue delivered his State-of-the-State address at 8:00 p.m. to a Joint House and Senate. Remarks were focused on children, education and economic development (more jobs and tourism for Georgia). He placed the revenue estimate for the FY 2005 Budget at $15.3 billion which is on a more conservative growth of 4.72%. He stressed too that Georgia had to live within its means – just like families. He also commented that he would not allow a tax increase, making matters only harder for families to feed, clothe and shelter their children.

He stated that Georgia is growing with 150,000 new residents annually. However, that stresses Georgia’s resources for education, healthcare, etc. In an effort to help the Division of Family and Children Services better oversee and manage children in trouble or crisis, he has proposed 65 new caseworkers in his Budget and places $24 million to help place children in appropriate “levels of care” based on their needs.

Governor Perdue also mentioned developing a child abuse law for Georgia as well as strengthening Georgia’s Levi’s Call system.

The Constitutional Amendment proposed for the faith-based services proposal was also included in his remarks. He stated that faith-based entities already provide critical services to children, seniors, and others but that Georgia’s Constitution was not in line with the United States Constitution. Governor Perdue stated that the Amendment proposal would “ensure that our citizens can have access to the best providers of social services.”

In regard to education, he mentioned the GeorgiaLearns.com program which apparently went “live” on January 14, 2004 and the HOPE Scholarship program. Some of the specific remarks were a 2% pay increase for teachers and ways to manage disruptive students in the classroom. He also proposed to link students’ SAT scores with HOPE eligibility.

Governor Perdue also referenced national and global issues by mentioning the heroes from Georgia who have served in Iraq and the possible base closures which the federal government is considering. Bases in Georgia provide $25 billion in revenue and employ thousands of Georgians. Also noted was the G8 Summit to be held at Sea Island.

He has proposed a $1 billion “investment in the future of our state” in a bond package. This may just deepen the debt of the State although it proposes to provide improvements for the Garden City port in Savannah and deepening the harbor at Brunswick.

Secretary of State Cathy Cox provided the Democratic Party’s response to the Governor’s speech. One point of interest was her remark on the Constitutional Amendment proposal for faith-based services. In other states, she noted, these faith-based measures are sometimes “being used as a wedge to open the door to private school voucher programs.”

The House and Senate Joint Appropriations Committee will begin meetings again next week on the Budget. A schedule is attached to this Report.

Additionally, the House Appropriations Committee has released its “Subcommittees.” The following Representatives chair these Subcommittees: Alan Powell, Criminal Justice; Mike Barnes, Economic Development; Kathy Ashe, Education K-12; Ann Purcell, Higher Education; Buddy DeLoach, Fiscal Management; Lynmore James, General Government; Gail Buckner, Human Development; Jay Shaw, Community Health; Hinson Mosley, Natural Resources; and Tyrone Brooks, Budget.

The House Democratic Caucus announced today at 3:00 p.m. its Agenda for the Session, using the acronym PEACH. This stands for prosperity, ethics, academic opportunity, children and healthcare. Rep. Jimmy Skipper delivered the Caucus Agenda.

Apparently, the Governor’s former Chief of Staff, Eric Tanenblatt, is now under scrutiny by the Georgia Attorney General for calls he purportedly made to raise money for President Bush’s campaign while working for the Governor.

Another rumor circulating is that former State Senator Charles Walker may make a re-election bid.

If you have any questions regarding this Report, please contact Stanley S. Jones, Jr., Jeffrey C. Baxter, or Helen Sloat.
 

SCHEDULE OF JOINT GENERAL BUDGET HEARINGS