The Gold Dome was abuzz today with numerous interest groups – including some massage therapy. Also, Country Music Singer, Travis Tritt, paid a special visit to the Capitol today as well. Speaker Murphy and Rep. Richardson honored Mr. Tritt with a House Resolution. Below will outline some of the newly introduced legislation and events of the day:

HB 1286 – Rep. Martin introduced this bill which would amend O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393 concerning the unfair or deceptive acts or practices in consumer transactions declared unlawful and to prohibit certain practices concerning non-insurance discount cards for health care related goods or services. This bill has been referred to the House Committee on Insurance.

SB 379 – Sen. Crotts introduced this bill to amend the Code at 10-1-7 concerning retail installment contract check dishonor fees so as to change the fee amount. This bill has now been referred to the Committee on Banking and Financial Institutions.

SB 381 – Sens. Hill, Blitch, Madden and Ragan authored this bill to amend the Rural Hospital Authorities Assistance Act found in O.C.G.A. § 31-7-94.1. This bill outlines the purposes and amounts for which state grants may be made to assist rural hospitals. This bill has been sent to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

SB 382 – Sens. Hill, Blitch, Madden and Ragan also authored this proposal to assist rural hospitals in Georgia. This would amend Chapter 7 of Title 31 concerning the purchase, sale or lease of rural hospitals. The bill would exempt these transactions from certain restrictions. The bill has also been referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

SB 383 – Sens. Starr, Walker, Stokes and others introduced this bill to amend Article 3 of Chapter 13 of Title 19. This relates to the creation of the State Commission on Family Violence. The bill amends the date on which the Commission will be terminated. The bill was sent to the Health and Human Services Committee.

SB 387 – Sens. Price and Hecht’s bill concerning privacy has now been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary. This bill relates to invasions of privacy and what a parent or guardian can consent to on behalf of their child under 18. It would amend Article 3 of Chapter 11 of Title 16.

SB 388 – Sens. Price, Perdue, Guhl, and others have authored this proposal concerning the state employees’ health insurance plan in an effort to provide for optional healthcare coverage plans as alternatives and payment for same. This has been referred to the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee.

SB 389 – Sen. Gillis has placed in the hopper a bill which would amend Article 1 of Chapter 7 of Title 52 concerning the registration, operation, and sale of watercraft. It would provide that persons 14 and 15 years of age may operate any type of vessel in the waters of the state under certain conditions. The bill also changes provisions relating to the muffling internal combustion engines on vessels. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources.

SB 391 – Sens. Hecht, Starr, Walker, and Dean introduced this bill amending O.C.G.A. § 43-39-13 concerning the denial, revocation, or suspension of licenses to practice psychology. This adds a new subsection (d). If a psychologist is the subject of an investigation by the Board, then a copy of the complaint or report shall be furnished to the psychologist "as soon as practicable after the investigation is initiated but in any event prior to or at the same time as the delivery of a subpoena for the production of documents." If this investigation is initiated by the Board, on its own initiative, a written statement of the acts or omissions under investigation must be furnished to the psychologist "as soon as practicable" after the investigation is initiated but not later than the delivery of a subpoena for the production of documents. Also, when the Board is required to furnish a copy of the complaint or report or statement of the acts or omissions being investigated, the Board shall make no determination concerning the imposition of sanctions until at least 30 days after such copy or statement has been furnished to the psychologist and during which the psychologist may respond in writing to the Board. Once an investigation is finished and the Board has determined no action is necessary, then the Board shall, within 30 days of the closure of the investigative file, advise the psychologist in writing that the matter is closed and no further proceedings are pending.

SB 396 – Sens. Brush and Lee offered this proposal concerning torts. This would create a new Code Section at 51-1-6.1. It provides in (a) that if a person has been convicted of a felony, then that person cannot recover damages in a civil action in tort for any injury proximately caused while such person was engaged in the commission of such felony or while in immediate flight from that felony. Also, in (b) except as provided in (d) below, in any civil action to recover damages arising out of the operation or use of a motor vehicle, a person shall not recover non-economic losses to compensate for pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement, or other non-pecuniary damages if one of the following applies: 1) the injured person operating the vehicle was in violation of O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391 and was convicted of that offense; 2) the injured person was the owner and operator of a motor vehicle involved in the accident and the vehicle was not insured; or 3) the injured person was the operator of a motor vehicle involved in the accident and had a revoked or suspended driver’s license. Also, in (c) an insurer would not be liable directly or indirectly under a policy of liability or uninsured motorist insurance to indemnify for non-economic losses of a person as described in (b). In (d), if a person described in either (2) or (3) in subsection (b) above was injured by a motorist, who at the time of the accident was operating a vehicle in violation of O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391 and was convicted of that offense, the injured person would not be barred from recovering non-economic losses to compensate for "pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement, or other non-pecuniary damages."

SB 398 – This is the legislation to create the OneGeorgia Authority, which is a part of the Governor’s legislative initiatives. This bill was introduced by Sens. Thompson, Stokes, Tanksley, Hill, and others. It would create a new Chapter 34 at Title 50. This is an effort to help the rural areas of the state. This provides for the establishment of the Authority and its powers. The Authority shall consist of the Governor, who will serve as chair, the Lieutenant Governor, the Director of the Office of Planning and Budget, the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, the Commissioner of the Department of Industry, Trade, and Tourism, and the Commissioner of the Department of Revenue Authority. The executive director of the Authority, appointed by the Governor, may have power over all matters, as the Authority deems proper, with the exception of the authorization of the issuance of bonds. The Authority may be able to issue bonds as well as incur indebtedness. The Attorney General will provide legal services to the Authority. The bill also provides for an exemption from liability of the Authority’s members, officers and employees while acting within their scope of authority resulting from the construction, ownership, maintenance or operation of any project financed with the assistance of the Authority or carrying out any of the powers given the Authority in Chapter 34. There are thirty-four powers given to the Authority as enumerated in SB 398 such as: to sue and be sued in contract and in tort and to complain and defend in all courts; to adopt and alter a corporate seal; to adopt, amend and repeal bylaws, rules and regulations, and policies and procedures for the regulation of the Authority’s affairs and the conduct of its business, the election and duties of officers and employees of the authority, and such other matters as the Authority may determine; to procure and provide insurance against any loss in connection with its programs, property, and other assets; to extend credit, make loans, participate in making loans, provide credit enhancement, and provide or procure insurance; to procure or to make and execute contracts, agreements, and other instruments; to receive and use the proceeds of any tax levied by the state or a local government or taxing district of the state enacted for the purposes of providing credit enhancement or for any other purpose for which the Authority may use its own funds pursuant to Chapter 34; to acquire real and personal property in its own name to promote any of the public purposes of the Authority or for the administration and operation of the Authority; etc.

SB 399 – This is another bill which the Governor is pushing as a part of his legislative package. This bill would add a new Chapter 22 in Title 36 and would provide for the state and local government activities with respect to the preservation of "greenspace." The bill would also create the Georgia Greenspace Trust Fund and the Georgia Greenspace Commission which would review the county greenspace programs for compliance with terms and conditions of this Chapter. If a county is deemed in compliance by the Commission, then that county may become eligible for and receive a greenspace grant. Each county that has an approved greenspace program shall review its approved greenspace program not less than once every two years and then re-submit the program for approval by the Commission. To be eligible, the county would have to have a population of not less than 60,000 per the 1990 United States decennial census or experienced an average population growth of at least 800 persons per year as measured by the United States decennial census of 1990 or any future such census and the most recent year for which the United States Bureau of the Census has prepared official estimates of population. The Department of Natural Resources would be authorized to expend matching funds for certain greenspace acquisition.

SR 491 – Sens. Starr, Walker, and Meyer von Bremen have dropped a Resolution which would create the General Assembly’s Commission on Juvenile Gangs. It would be comprised of 15 members made up of members from the Senate, House, Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. The Commission would undertake a study of the conditions, needs, issues, and problems of juvenile gangs and juvenile violence and would stand abolished on July 1, 2001.

HB 1300 – Reps. Stokes and Martin introduced this bill to amend Part 2 of Article 2 of Chapter 9 of Title 24 concerning privileged medical information. This relates to the confidentiality of raw research data. Specifically, a new code section would replace O.C.G.A. § 24-9-40.2. It would clarify the protection of confidentiality of research data by stating that such protection was essential from being disclosed in administrative proceedings, civil, and criminal judicial proceedings as well as quasi-judicial proceedings. Further, the bill amends when such confidential research data may be released, disclosed, subject to subpoena, otherwise discoverable, or deemed admissible as evidence in a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding by removing the provision that "confidential raw research data may be disclosed to a research sponsor as well as to persons selected to perform peer review on the research, for the purpose of reviewing the researcher’s study methodology, summaries, findings, analyses, or conclusions, provided, however, that the identity of any research participant shall not be disclosed." The bill also adds that "nothing in this code section shall be construed to permit, require, or prohibit the disclosure of confidential raw research data in any setting other than an administrative, judicial, or quasi-judicial proceeding that is governed by the requirements of this title."

HB 1302 – Rep. Benefield has offered an amendment to the disclosure of public records. This would amend O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(6). This relates to real estate appraisals, engineering or feasibility estimates or other records made for or by the state or a local agency relative to the acquisition of real property. Rejected or deferred bid proposals received by the Department of Transportation by a county or by a municipality would not be disclosed until such time as the final award is made.

HB 1308 – Reps. Ashe, Stuckey, Murphy, Jamieson, Irvin and others have introduced the "Equity in Sports Act." This would amend Part 14 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 concerning educational programs under the "Quality Basic Education Act." Some of the provisions include that no student shall, on the basis of gender, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, be treated differently from other students, or otherwise be discriminated against in any interscholastic or intramural athletics offered by a local school system and no local school system shall provide any such athletics separately on such basis. If a local school system operates or sponsors a team in a particular sport for members of one gender but does not operate such for the other gender, then members of the excluded gender must be allowed to try out for the team offered unless the sport involved is a contact sport (defined as boxing, wrestling, rugby, ice hockey, football, basketball, or other sport that involves "bodily contact") – this is not to be construed to discourage local school systems from operating or sponsoring a single team for a contact sport that includes members of each gender. Also, if the school provides separate toilet, locker room, and shower facilities on the basis of gender, those facilities shall be comparable to those provided to the other gender. Each local school system is to designate at least one employee to coordinate its efforts to comply with and carry out the responsibilities of this Code section – including the investigation of complaints alleging non-compliance. Further, the local school system would have to adopt and publish grievance procedures in order to provide for prompt and equitable resolutions of complaints. The Department of Education would be required to submit, no later than October 1, 2003 and each year thereafter, a report to the General Assembly concerning the compliance of local school systems with this Code section and would include information on expenditures and participation rates for each gender. Also, the State Board of Education may withhold all or part of the state contributed Quality Basic Education Program funds allotted to a local school system which fails to comply with the Code section.

HR 896 – Rep. Lanett Stanley and others introduced this Resolution creating the Commission on Psychiatric Medication of School-Age Children. This is in response to national medical reports indicating that psychiatric drugs are prescribed to between 5 million and 6 million children each year – or approximately 10% of the total school-age population. Among these drugs is Ritalin, a Schedule II drug. There has been a suggestion that the recent incidents of school violence and other occasions of violence are the result of children being unnecessarily medicated. Thus, this Resolution proposes to create a Commission to be composed of ten members with three members from the House that would include a member of the House Committee on Children and Youth and a member of the House Health and Ecology Committee. There would also be three members of the Senate with one of those also being a member of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Four additional members would be appointed by the Governor to represent state governmental services in the areas of health, human resources, children services, and education. The Commission would undertake a study to investigate the use of psychiatric medications and their effects on school-age children. A report would be made on or before December 1, 2000 with any recommendations, findings and suggestions.

HB 646, the bill authored by Rep. Buddy Childers concerning renal dialysis and regulation of those facilities providing services, passed out of the House Health and Ecology Committee this afternoon. This bill would not affect hospitals as they are separately licensed and regulated. Also, the federal requirements for such facilities would not conflict with possible State regulations according to Rep. Childers. The bill, as amended in Committee, now proceeds to the House Rules Committee.

The Senate Health and Human Services also met this afternoon. It took up HB 206, which would require licensed practical nurses to display their names and titles. This bill passed out without any discussion. Also, the Committee passed out SB 383 concerning the continuance of the Commission on Family Violence (originally created in 1992). SB 383 will also move to the Senate Rules Committee.

The House Committee on Human Relations and Aging also met this afternoon and took up Rep. Henson’s bill on assisted living facilities, HB 758. This bill, introduced in the 1999 Session, would create a new healthcare service and would have various levels of assisted living. Many advocates for older citizens spoke in favor of the bill. The lobbyist for the Georgia Nursing Home Association spoke against the bill. The Chairman of the Committee basically stated that the bill would not be coming out of Committee as the Senate had indicated that it would not entertain such a bill. The Chairman indicated that he had tried to give the bill a full, fair hearing.

In the House yesterday, SB 30 was passed with numerous amendments – this will clarify some of the bill’s details. This is the bill dealing with regulation of swimming pools also to be known as Michelle’s Law. This would relate to public pools such as those operated by a municipality, school, hotel, or motel pools and any pool which access is granted in exchange for the payment of a daily fee. It would not apply to a private pool or hot tub serving a single family dwelling and used only by the residents of the dwelling and their guests. The bill also does not apply to apartment complex pools, therapeutic pools used for physical therapy programs operated by medical facilities licensed by the DHR or operated by a licensed physical therapists nor to therapeutic chambers, drained, cleaned, and refilled after each individual use nor to religious ritual baths used solely for religious purposes. After July 1, 2000, permits, good for 12 months, would have to be obtained from the County Board of Health to operate (before either construction or continued operation). Also, if pool ownership changes, a new permit would have to be obtained in the correct owner’s or lessee’s name. The fee to apply for the permit is not to exceed $50.00. The bill also provides for inspections by the County Board of Health – if a pool is open between April 1 – October 31, then it will only be inspected once during the period of operation; otherwise, there will be inspections at least twice per year. If a county has local rules and regulations in effect concerning public swimming pools, then those would supersede this new law.

HB 670, the insurance identification card bill authored by Rep. Ben Harbin, was calendared to be heard today. The Senate did not reach the bill on its calendar, and it will, thus, be carried over to February 3, 2000.

The Governor will address a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 3, 2000.