This will update you on the events taking place under the Gold Dome:

SB 431 – Sen. Polak has introduced a bill that amends Article 2 of Chapter 18 of Title 43 of the Code relating to the contracts for pre-need funeral services. It would specifically require that funds obtained for contracted funeral services be held in an insured depository institution. This has been referred to the Senate Committee on Banking and Financial Institutions.

SB 432 – Sens. Polak, Thomas, and Thomas have introduced an amendment to the Insurance Code concerning the provision of additional disclosures for managed care plans and preferred provider arrangements. It would require that plans provide a list of individual participating providers which would be updated every thirty days. This list could be published on an Internet website at no cost to the enrollees. Further, a section of the bill would require a fee schedule showing fees payable for services provided by physicians, including payments to physicians for vaccinations, in an amount not less than the actual cost of the vaccine to the doctor and a reasonable charge for administration of the vaccine. There is also a section to establish a grievance procedure that provides the enrollee with a "prompt and meaningful hearing on the issue of denial, in whole or in part, of a health care treatment or service or claim therefor, which denial may be made only by an employee or agent of the managed care entity who has a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a health related field specified by the Commissioner." This has now been assigned to the Committee on Insurance and Labor. [A meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 17, 2000, with the various parties affected by this bill, including various health plans and the proponents of the legislation, the American Academy of Family Physicians, to discuss the issues involved with this legislation and possible solutions or amendments.]

SB 457 – Sens. Tate, Thomas, Polak and others introduced this bill to amend Chapter 10A of Title 43 of the Code concerning professional counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists. This provides that the composition for the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists ("Board’) shall be composed of the Panel of Social Workers, the Panel of Professional Counselors and the Panel of Marriage and Family Therapists. The Panels created for each group, Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists, would have limited duties, from what was previously prescribed by the Board: 1) they each could adopt, amend and repeal such rules and regulations not inconsistent with Chapter 10A of Title 43 necessary for the proper administration and enforcement the chapter; 2) each can issue to specialists licensed certificates under the seal of the Board evidencing such licensure and signed, either by hand or facsimile signature, by the chairperson of the Board and the joint-secretary; 3) each could adopt a seal; and 4) each could do things necessary to administer and enforce the chapter and all rules and regulations adopted by the Board pursuant to the chapter. Further, each panel would be required to provide for the conduct of examinations (oral, written, experimental or a combination which must deal with theoretical and applied fields as prescribed by the panels) for licensure in each specialty at least twice each year. Each panel would also be allowed to issue a license, without an examination, to an applicant licensed in a specialty under the laws of another jurisdiction having requirements that are equal to the licensure requirements for that specialty in Georgia. The bill also redefines the licensure requirements (education, experience and training requirements) for associate professional counselor and professional counselor. Associate professional counselors would only be allowed to practice professional counseling under the direction and supervision of a professional counselor for a period of no more than five years while obtaining post-master’s experience required for licensure as a professional counselor. Further, the bill outlines new requirements for licensure in social work for a master’s social worker and a clinical social worker as well as for "associate marriage and family therapist" and "marriage and family therapist." It also outlines continuing education requirements, discipline authority, and enforcement provisions.

SR 556 – In an effort to address the needs of the state’s uninsured and indigent, this Resolution has been introduced by Sens. Walker, Hill, Kemp, and Stokes, with the backing of the Georgia Hospital Association and input from the health insurance industry, to create the Joint Hospital Indigent Care Funding Study Committee.

HB 1432 – Reps. Bunn, Brown, and Franklin authored this bill to amend O.C.G.A. § 33-6-5 concerning unfair methods of competition and unfair and deceptive acts or practices in the business of insurance. The bill would prohibit the cancellation, modification or non-renewal of residential real property policies due to loss experience. The bill has been assigned to the House Insurance Committee.

HB 1434 – Rep. Bunn and others have dropped this bill to amend O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3 concerning sales tax exemptions. It would allow parents or guardians of children to obtain exemptions with respect to the sale of certain children’s clothing and certain infant care articles or items. This has been sent to Ways and Means in the House.

HB 1439 – This bill, introduced by Reps Smith and Crawford, amends O.C.G.A. § 15-10-50 by allowing additional discovery remedies of judgment debtors in Magistrate Court actions. The House Judiciary Committee has been assigned to study this issue further.

HB 1447 – Reps Martin, Jones, Williams, Parham, and Graves have authored this amendment concerning the practice of pharmacy. It will specifically amends Article 3 of Chapter 4 of Title 26 and Article 2 of Chapter 34 of Title 43. It provides for qualifications for pharmacists authorized to modify drug therapy and also allows physicians to delegate to certain pharmacists the authority to modify drug therapy. This has been assigned to the House Health and Ecology Committee.

HB 1448 – Reps. Orrock, Unterman, Childers, Jones, Parrish and others have authored a bill to amend Chapter 12 of Title 31 of the Code relating to hazardous conditions and preventable diseases. It provides for pathogen standards and it also outlines the exposures of public employees to such pathogens when carried by needles and similar devices. The House Health and Ecology Committee will study this issue further.

HB 1459 – According to a bill dropped by Reps. Kaye and others, this amendment to Chapter 5 of Title 40 would eliminate the Department of Public Safety’s requirement for drivers’ license applicants to submit to fingerprinting. Rather, the Department could, with the consent of the applicant, obtain his or her fingerprints by means of an inkless fingerprint scanning device or by any other means upon application. Thus, the bill allows for a driver’s license to be issued to a qualified applicant even if he or she does not submit to the fingerprinting. The bill also makes the same amendment in 40-5-171 of the Code relating to the issuance of identification cards.

HB 1478 – Reps. Holland and Jenkins have introduced an amendment to Chapter 14 of Title 44 relating to foreclosures by adding a new Code section at 44-14-166. This provides for a "deed in satisfaction of lien" to the first priority lienholder of record when full or partial satisfaction of the lienholder’s debt has been made. This could be granted by the owner of the real property subject to a lien created by a deed to secure debt or a judicial or statutory lien with the agreement of the proposed grantee. If all the procedures are followed in this new Section, then the grantee shall receive title to the encumbered property free and clear of subordinate liens.

HB 1484 – Reps. Trense, Burkhalter, Shaw, Stuckey, Williams, and others introduced this amendment to the Insurance Code at Article 1 of Chapter 24 to require certain healthcare coverage for a child’s craniofacial care. Specifically, a new Code section is added at O.C.G.A. § 33-24-59.9 to be known as the "Treatment of Children’s Craniofacial Deformities Act of 2000." This provides that a child (a person under 21 years of age) would have to have treatment provided and paid for by every health benefit policy that provides surgical benefits that is delivered, issued, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state or approved for delivery issuance, or renewal in this state by the Commissioner on or after July 1, 2000. This would include reconstructive surgical procedures performed to improve function but may also be performed to approximate a normal appearance and that are performed on abnormal craniofacial structures of the body caused by congenital defects, developmental abnormalities, trauma, infection, tumors, or disease (including, but not limited to, procedures that do not materially affect the function of the body part being treated and procedures for secondary conditions and follow-up treatment).

HR 1015 – Rep. Graves and others have introduced this Constitutional Amendment in order to create the Tobacco Industry Payments Trust Fund in order to receive certain payments from tobacco settlement and allow appropriations to be made from such for health purposes. This has now been referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

SR 172 – This Senate Resolution, authored by Sen. Polak, has now made its way to the House and been assigned to the House Rules Committee. It would declare March 7, 2000 as the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities Day and urge members of the General Assembly and state agency personnel to recognize the efforts and support the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and what is provided to individuals who suffer from disabilities, their families, and the greater community at large.

The Senate passed SR 416 creating the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority Overview Committee which would oversee Grady Hospital and possibly establish precedent for similar authorities to oversee hospitals.

The Governor’s bill creating the Georgia Greenspace Commission, SB 399, was also passed in the Senate. This is designed to help counties preserve "greenspace." Further, the bill provides for the Commission’s membership, powers and duties, and operations and creates the Georgia Greenspace Trust Fund, including how to provide for appropriations and other additions to said fund. The bill also outlines procedures for grants and other disbursements from the fund and eligibility for and award and disbursement of grants to counties.

The Senate Judiciary Committee reported out a substitute to HB 39 concerning the amendment to O.C.G.A. § 15-12-1. This bill was introduced in the 1999 Session and provides for the exemption from jury duty a person who is a full-time student at a college, university, vocational school or other post-secondary school and requests such excuse. It also defers or excuses from jury duty a person who is the primary caregiver, having active care and custody of a child under four-years of age if that person executes an affidavit on a court-provided form stating that he or she is the primary caregiver and that there is no other reasonable available alternative child care.

The Health Professions Subcommittee of the House Health and Ecology Committee met and took up HB 814, a bill authored by Rep. Nan Orrock, that would allow acupuncturists to practice in Georgia. The Medical Association of Georgia had worked with Rep. Orrock to come to an agreement on practice of acupuncture for the treatment of various ailments (post-operative pain, addiction, menstrual cramps, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc.). The bill provides for a patient to execute an informed consent form and also outlines the educational requirements for an acupuncturist. It also outlines that only disposable needles may be used. After a technical amendment was made to the bill relating to the advisory committee created, the bill passed out of the Subcommittee and will now proceed to the full Health and Ecology Committee.

Also in this Health Professions Subcommittee, HB 1447 was taken up and passed out with no amendments. This allows for drug therapy management protocols encouraging a physician and pharmacist to work together to manage a patient’s drug therapy. HB 1447 will now be heard by the full Committee.

The Senate’s Economic Development and Cultural Affairs Committee met to discuss one of the Governor’s bills, SB 398, creating OneGeorgia. Sen. Tanksley presented the bill to the Committee on behalf of the Governor. OneGeorgia would be used to expend a portion of the tobacco settlement dollars (1/3 of those dollars are to be directed to economic development) and this bill is the enabling legislation to fund OneGeorgia. It allows the issuance of bonds but which are capped at $1 billion dollars; it allows for OneGeorgia to contract with various agencies; it will help attract businesses to some communities by addressing air, water, and sewer issues; and it will be attached administratively to the Department of Industry and Trade. There were numerous questions asked – especially by Sen. Lamutt – concerning the underwriting of new bonds without any apparent oversight powers; the tremendous spending power given the Authority; the immunity from liability given the Authority and its members; and the power of the Governor to hire and fire the Executive Director of the Authority. Sen. Tanksley countered by stating that there is some legislative oversight – as the General Assembly determines where the tobacco funds are to be spent. Sen. Tanksley reminded the Committee that these monies were for one-time projects such as developing state-of-the-art switching and technology for rail instead of building new roads. Sen. Tommie Williams and Sen. Bill Stephens questioned Sen. Tanksley as well on use of the funds as well as the reasoning behind attaching the Authority administratively to the Department of Industry and Trade. A fiscal note was requested on this bill but the impact on the State’s budget could not be determined. There is also no ‘sunset’ date for the Authority – Sen. Lamutt questioned why they were creating another authority in the state and the fact that this one appeared to be another way in which the Governor could determine expenditures of funds. Sen. Tanksley explained that it was common for the Governor to have some funds for discretionary spending. The Commissioner for the Department of Industry and Trade also addressed the Committee and tried to answer some of the members’ concerns. There were also discussions about limiting the funds to just those counties that grow or had grown tobacco. An amendment was offered concerning the use of outside expertise and contracting, but it failed. The bill passed with a unanimous vote and now proceeds to Senate Rules.

The House agreed to the changes made by the Senate on HB 670, the insurance identification card bill, on February 9, 2000. This bill lists various items to be included on the insurance card such as the subscriber’s name, effective date, co-payments, co-insurance, deductibles, telephone numbers to contact concerning eligibility issues and hospital and radiology services, etc.