Children’s voices were singing sweetly in the halls of the Capitol around noon – this was in recognition of the programs for the arts in Georgia. This joyful noise mellowed the education reform debate!

SB 425 - Sens. Kemp, Brown, Ray and others have dropped this bill to amend Title 10 of the Code to revise extensively the "Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act." This has been forwarded to the Senate Committee on Banking and Financial Institutions.

SB 427 – This legislation, by Sens. Cable, Thomas, Stokes and others, amends Chapter 17 of Title 31 of the Code pertaining to the control of venereal diseases. This adds "human papilloma virus" to the list of venereal diseases declared to be dangerous. This has been referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

SB 431 – Sen. Polak has introduced this bill to amend Article 2 of Chapter 18 of Title 43 concerning contracts for "pre-need" funeral services. This would provide that funds deposited pursuant to a pre-need funeral services’ contract be held in an insured depository institution as that term is defined in 12 U.S.C. Section 1813 (c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. These funds would have to be deposited within five days after receipt of same.

SB 432 – Sens. Mike Polak, Nadine Thomas, and Don Thomas have introduced this as an amendment to Title 33. It would strike the existing Code Sections at 33-22A-5 and 33-20-33 and insert new Sections. This would provide for additional disclosures in managed care plans and preferred provider arrangements to enrollees and prospective enrollees who inquire. This disclosure may also be published on an Internet service site made available by the managed care entity at no cost to the enrollees. Further, it would require that an enrollee or a prospective enrollee be entitled to a list of providers, upon request, and that the list of individual participating providers may also be updated at a minimum of every 30 days and published on an Internet service made available to the enrollees at no cost.; it would also provide for physician fees and negotiations in such plans and arrangements (A managed care plan would have to furnish that physician it was negotiating with to become a healthcare provider, a schedule showing fees for services provided physicians by the plan. It would also have to include payments to physicians for vaccinations in an amount not less than the actual cost for the vaccine to the doctor and a reasonable cost for administration of the vaccine and not less than that determined by the Resource Based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS).). It would provide for denial of services in such plans and arrangements and provide for appeals of such denials (In establishing a grievance procedure, a plan denial may be made only by an employee or agent of the managed care entity who has a minimum education of a bachelor’s degree in a health-related field specified by the Commissioner.).

SR 527 – The Senate also recognized February 8, 2000 as "Georgia Nonprofit Day." This Resolution was introduced by Sen. Charles Walker.

SR 538 – Sen. Madden has introduced this Resolution to urge the simplicity and fairness in the application of sales and use taxes to all sellers in Georgia. This urges the Senate to "favor tax equity between in-state sellers with tax nexus and out-of-state sellers currently without nexus and urge Congress and the Georgia General Assembly to strive for simplicity and fairness for all sellers with respect to the application of such taxes among traditional 'bricks and mortar' commerce and Internet, electronic, and catalog commerce."

SR 539 – Sen. Madden also offered this Resolution to urge Congressional support of the proposed "State and Local Government Economic Empowerment Act."

HB 1375 – Reps. Porter and Coleman have authored this Bill amending Article 3 of Chapter 13 of Title 48 relating to the excise tax on the furnishing for value to the public of any rooms, lodgings, or accommodations, so as to change certain provisions regarding the levy and collection of such tax. It would also provide for authorization with certain conditions for specific counties and municipalities to levy such taxes. This has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

HB 1377 – Rep. Mueller introduced this bill to allow for an exemption from state sales and use taxes for sales by certain non-profit humane societies for animals. This bill would amend O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3 and has now been forwarded to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

HB 1379 – Rep. Hudson and others dropped this amendment to O.C.G.A. § 45-18-1 regarding the state employees’ health insurance plan in order to provide for the inclusion in such plan of state employees of the Georgia-Federal State Inspection Service that are either active or retired members of the Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia. This bill has been sent to the House Committee on Insurance.

HB 1383 – This bill on alcoholic beverages redefines the term "malt beverage." This bill amends Title 3 and was introduced by Rep. Robin Williams. This has been sent to the Committee on Regulated Beverages.

HB 1398 – Reps. Scarlett, Cash, Mann, Barnard, and Jennings have authored an amendment to O.C.G.A. § 40-6-76 relating to funeral processions and how they are defined. This bill states that a funeral procession is "an array of motor vehicles in which the lead vehicle displays a sign, pennant, flag, or other insignia furnished by a funeral home indicating a funeral process or is a state or local law enforcement vehicle and in which each vehicle participating in the funeral procession is operating its headlights and, other than a state or local law enforcement vehicle, is displaying a pennant or flag furnished by a funeral home."

SB 344 – Sens. Madden, Harbison, and Meyer von Bremen authored this amendment to O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11, which has now crossed over into the House, concerning requirements to raise the minimum liability coverage and change the provisions relating to when motor vehicles shall not be deemed to be uninsured motor vehicles. The bill also amends Chapter 9 of Title 40 concerning the reporting of motor vehicle accidents and proof of financial responsibility so as to change certain definitions and provisions relating to the requirements for liability insurance policies. This has been referred to the House Committee on Motor Vehicles.

The Senate debated at length on SB 390, the Anti-domestic Terrorism Act legislation which came to the Floor as an engrossed bill from the Senate Judiciary Committee. After lengthy debate, the bill passed by a vote of 30 yeas to 23 nays.

In the House, the bill authored by Rep. Chuck Scheid requiring Juvenile Court Clerks to get training and continued education, passed out of the House. Previously, all courts except the Juvenile Courts were providing training for their clerks.

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee met today and held a hearing on SB 239, a bill relating to narrow therapeutic index drugs and requiring pharmacists to use name-brand drugs for six identified drugs that are classified as narrow therapeutic index drugs. This bill was authored by Sen. Don Thomas, Sen. Nadine Thomas and Sen. Terrell Starr. In a filled Committee hearing, the Committee heard from several persons on their views on the bill. Two laboratories, Abbott Labs and Barr Labs, testified against the bill – citing to evidence that the Food and Drug Administration had approved generic drugs if they were AB rated drugs and there were no bioequivalents for the name-brand drugs. Sens. Thomas took to task the laboratories claiming that the physicians should be the sole decision maker for deciding which drug was to be used – name brand or generic. Statements were made that there are instances where pharmacists were substituting drugs without consulting the physicians – which was of great concern to Sens. Thomas. Also, it was pointed out that, currently, a physician has the right to indicate on a prescription whether he or she wishes for the patient to receive only a name-brand product. The Academy of Family Physicians testified in support of their fellow member and author of the bill, Sen. Don Thomas. This bill was not voted on in Committee but will be heard again on Monday, February 14, at the next Committee meeting.

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee also had on its agenda SB 373, another pharmacy bill clearing up last year's Pharmacy Code, authored by Sen. Madden. The Committee held this bill for its next meeting at the author’s request.

The House Health and Ecology Committee passed out SB 95, a bill redefining a manicurist to a nail technician, as well as HB 1234, a bill concerning the use of capillary blood testing to be performed by pharmacists, after a hearing for more than two hours. HB 1234, with testimony from physicians as well as other groups, passed with one amendment made by Rep. Bordeaux which would allow pharmacists to conduct these blood capillary tests as long as the tests were already available to be conducted by the general public. Some of the concerns about the pharmacists conducting such tests dealt with whether they were going to be done in a safe and sterile environment – using gloves, etc., whether DHR or the Board of Pharmacy would regulate such activity, whether CLIA laboratory tests could be included as long as the tests were "CLIA-waived" tests, etc. Both of these bills will now proceed to the House Rules Committee.

The Governor’s Education Reform bill will be debated on the House Floor on Thursday, February 10, 2000. This is HB 1187. It passed the House Education Committee today.