Greetings from under the Gold Dome! We watched the legislators resume their hectic schedule as the Session recommenced today in earnest after the ceremonial first week and last week's budget recess. Many interest groups have also started to "work" the halls – today Hitachi was very evident throughout the Capitol!

HB 1172 – This bill introduced by Reps. Manning and others, which relates to privacy issues, has now been forwarded to the House Judiciary Committee. Specifically, this bill would amend Article 3 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 so as to allow a parent or guardian of a child, who has in good faith an objectively reasonable basis for concern that such child is the victim of the criminal conduct of another, may consent on behalf of that child for recording and divulging a telephonic conversation or an electronic communication between that child and one or more persons.

HB 1176 – Rep. Parham introduced this healthcare mandate which would require that health insurance plans cover the costs of inpatient and follow-up care for persons who have mastectomies and/or lymph node dissections and also have such inpatient and follow-up care for breast reconstruction surgery. This bill has now been referred to the House Insurance Committee.

HB 1181 – The annual update to the list of controlled substances in Chapter 13 of Title 16, introduced by the various legislators that are also professional pharmacists, has now been referred to the House Health & Ecology Committee.

HB 1187 – The Governor’s Education Reform bill has been formally assigned to the House Committee on Education. House Leadership is carrying this bill for the Governor. This bill would enact the "A Plus Education Reform Act of 2000."

HB 1207 – Rep. Poag has introduced this bill which would require schools to post the Ten Commandments in every classroom within the school district as a condition of receiving state funds under the "Quality Basic Education Act."

HB 1209 – Rep. Poag also introduced this bill to permit student-initiated spoken prayer during the school day in the same time, place, and manner as any other student speech. It would prohibit school personnel from participating in or actively supervising such prayer.

HB 1212 – Reps. Powell, Hudson, Channell, Pinholster, and others have introduced an amendment to Chapter 7 of Title 31 relating to the acquisition of healthcare facilities. Specifically, this is an amendment to the current law pertaining to the sale or lease of hospitals owned by a hospital authority. This bill would exempt the purchase, sale or lease of hospitals with less than 100 beds from certain fees and restrictions.

HB 1213 – Reps. Powell and others also introduced this bill to help the smaller, rural hospitals. It would exempt those facilities with less than 100 beds from the certificate of need process in order to allow them to offer new obstetrical services. This amends specifically O.C.G.A. § 31-6-47.

HB 1214 – In an effort to expand the PeachCare for Kids Program, Reps. Channell, Coleman, Parrish, Walker, and Skipper have offered this bill to amend O.C.G.A. § 49-5-273. It would raise the eligibility to cover those children in families with incomes below 235% of the federal poverty level. It would also require that the Department of Education as well as local Boards of Education cooperate and provide assistance in identifying and enrolling children who might be eligible for the PeachCare Program.

HB 1234 – Rep. Stephens and others introduced this proposal to amend Chapter 22 of Title 31. Specifically, it would strike current Code Section 31-22-9 and insert a new Code Section so the chapter would no longer apply to clinical laboratories. They would no longer apply to those that were operated by: (a) the Medical College of Georgia, the Emory University School of Medicine, and other medical schools in Georgia or the United States Government; (b) those doing exclusively research and teaching, involving no patient or public health services; (c) those maintained as a part of a hospital regulated and licensed by the department as a part of its licensure and regulation of such hospital and which impose the medical laboratory involved to have the same standards of administration, performance and operation as are imposed by the chapter upon medical laboratories covered in the Chapter; (d) those operated by duly licensed physicians exclusively in connection with the diagnosis and treatment of their own patients; and (e) those operated by pharmacists licensed under Chapter 4 of Title 26 who are performing capillary blood tests and interpreting the results as a means to screen for or monitor disease risk factors and facilitate patient education, authorized in O.C.G.A. § 26-4-4.

HB 1235 – Reps. Childers and others have introduced a bill creating a new chapter in the Health Code at Chapter 43 of Title 31. This would create the Commission on Men’s Health. The Commission would be made up of 11 members. It would be required to prepare annually a complete and detailed written report on any funds it disburses. It would develop public policy recommendations and programs, including community outreach and public-private partnerships, designed to educate Georgia’s male population on the benefits of regular physician check-ups, early detection and preventive screening tests and healthy lifestyle practices. It would also focus on improving health outcomes of men in specific disease areas such as prostate and testicular cancer, cardiovascular disease, strokes, depression, suicide, and diabetes. It would also monitor the state and federal policy and legislation that may affect men’s health and recommend assistance, services and policy changes to further the goals of the Commission. Any report of findings and recommendations would be made to the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President of the Senate.

HR 823 – This Resolution introduced by Rep. Buck recognizes the members of the State Medical Education Board: H. Calvin Jackson, M.D., Timothy J. Palmer, D.O., Otis J. Williams, Jr., M.D., M. Julian Duttera, Jr., M.D., Ollie O. McGahee, Jr., M.D., Glenda H. Davis, M.D., and Joseph P. Bailey, Jr., M.D.

SB 332 – Sens. Madden, Golden, Hecht, and Harbison introduced this bill which would amend Chapter 9 of Title 34 pertaining to workers’ compensation. Specifically, changes would be made on the presumed dependency of the husband or wife of a deceased employee and would authorize the Board of Workers’ Compensation to approve a no-liability stipulated settlement between parties and also allow lump sum settlements, prorated, over the life expectancy of the injured employee. Further, the bill would decrease the time in which the payor may make payment of medical charges from 60 to 30 days. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Insurance and Labor in the Senate.

SB 334 – Sen. Madden and others introduced this bill to amend Chapter 20B of Title 33, the "Essential Rural Health Care Provider Access Act." It would eliminate the exemption for health maintenance organizations. SB 334 has now been sent to the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee for additional study.

SB 336 – Sens. Williams, Johnson, Land and others introduced this education bill which would amend O.C.G.A. § 20-2-200 so that the Professional Standards Commission would grant a renewable certificate at the four-year level in a teaching field to an applicant who has not completed a teacher preparation program, if such applicant meets certain conditions. This has now been referred to the Senate Committee on Higher Education.

SB 341 – Sens. Williams, Blitch, Perdue and others introduced this bill amending Part 2 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 concerning the core curriculum for elementary and secondary education students under the "Quality Basic Education Act." This would provide state-funded high school courses in the History and Literature of the Old Testament Era and the History and Literature of the New Testament Era. The bill has been sent to the Appropriations Committee in the Senate.

SB 342 – This is another "motorcycle" bill. Sens. Brush, Streat, Marable and others introduced this bill to amend O.C.G.A. § 40-6-315 concerning requirements for headgear and eye-protective devices for motorcycle riders. The new bill would provide for violations and specify penalties for violations - $15.00 upon the conviction of such an offense. It has now been sent to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

SB 345 – Sen. Lee introduced this bill amending O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1 concerning the use of an expert in a civil action in which there is an allegation of professional malpractice against a professional licensed by the State of Georgia or against any licensed health care facility alleged to be liable based upon the action or inaction of a health care professional. It provides for the qualifications of an expert to mean "a professional licensed by the State of Georgia in the same profession as the defendant and where applicable, with experience in the same specialty of such profession as the defendant."

SB 353 - This is the driver "cell phone" bill introduced by Sen. Hill. It would amend Article 11 of Chapter 6 of Title 40 and states that any use of a mobile telephone by a driver in operating a moving motor vehicle is in violation of the Code section and such action shall constitute reckless disregard for the safety of persons or property.

SR 418 – Senior Georgians Week has now been recognized by this Resolution introduced by Sen. Starr and others for the week of January 24-28, 2000.

SR 459 – Sens. Walker, Dean, Streat and others introduced this Resolution to create the Joint Study Committee on Prevention and Emergency Care of Injuries in Georgia. This Resolution would study unintentional injuries which result in 2,800 deaths each year in Georgia. This Committee would be composed of three members of the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate, and three members of the House, appointed by the Speaker, the Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety or that person’s designee, the Director of the Division of Public Health of the Department of Human Resources or that person’s designee, the Executive Vice President of the Georgia Hospital Association or that person’s designee, a representative of the Public Health and Preventive Medicine Committee of the Medical Association of Georgia or that person’s designee, the Executive Director of Safe Kids of Georgia or that person’s designee, the Director of Children’s Trust Fund, the Director of the Injury Control Center of the Rollins School of Public Health or such person’s designee to be appointed by the Governor with that person’s consent. Also, the Governor is to designate a member of the Committee as Chairperson of the Committee. This Committee will study the needs, conditions, issues, and problems associated with the prevention of unintentional injuries, emergency transportation, and emergency treatment of the injured. The Committee would make any recommendations for additional legislation or suggestions on or before December 15, 2000 and would also be abolished on that date.

In the House, SB 176, which came to the Floor by Committee Substitute, was heard. This bill amends Titles 9 and 15 of the Code. It would require that when one initiates a civil action, the Plaintiff shall also file with the Clerk of court the appropriate civil case filing form. Also, when an entry of judgment is made, the judge’s name must be spelled out, after his or her signature, along with the judge’s title (however, if this is not done, the judgment is not invalidated). Once the final judgment is entered, a civil case disposition form must be filed by the prevailing party or by the Plaintiff, if the case is settled, dismissed, or otherwise disposed of without a prevailing party. A new form is prescribed in O.C.G.A. § 9-11-133. In O.C.G.A. § 15-5-82, a Georgia Courts Automation Commission is defined so that its duties are to also coordinate and cooperate with the State’s Chief Information Officer with regard to planning, implementation, and administration of a state-wide courts automation system in order to best use existing state resources. Also, this Commission is to receive electronic data from the case filing and disposition forms and compile such data. The data would then be provided to the Administrative Office of Courts. This statewide uniform collection of data could be analyzed and provided not only to the courts but also to agencies in the judicial branch, agencies in the executive branch, as well as the General Assembly. This bill passed by House Substitute.

A Senate Amendment also was presented to the House regarding the ophthalmologists' fight against the optometrists' proposal to prescribe medications. This was disagreed to and sent back again, after a vote of 86 to 83 in the House, with a request for a Conference Committee.

There are various Committee meetings scheduled for Tuesday. The Health Professions Subcommittee of the House Health & Ecology Committee will take up HB 646, a bill authored by Reps. Childers and Jones concerning the licensing of facilities that offer dialysis services to patients, and HB 1038, a bill authored by Rep. Nan Orrock, outlining provisions for medical providers to have centralized credentialing.

The House Insurance Committee will also meet Tuesday afternoon.

The Senate Insurance and Labor Committee will also take up HB 670, a bill introduced in 1999 by Rep. Ben Harbin. This bill would require health insurance plans to list various items on insurance cards such as the subscriber’s name, subscriber’s identification number, group number, effective date of coverage, subscriber’s primary care physician, if applicable, name of subscriber’s insurer, name of health plan, and plan "identification code," address where claims are to be filed, insurer’s contact phone numbers and phone number for coverage confirmation and preauthorization, if applicable, policy’s requirements as to copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles, if applicable, and name of primary hospital and of the laboratory and radiology services to be used; provided however, that in lieu of indicating that information pertaining to hospitals, labs, and radiology services, an insurer may list a toll-free or local telephone number for contacting the health plan and obtaining such information (to be available to health care providers and consumers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year staffed either by a live person or automated phone-line). Insurance companies would be required to reprint cards each time information changes on the card and this would need to be done within 45 days of such change. Health Plans are finding this legislation burdensome as well as potentially costly (approximately $2.00 for each time a card is printed). The legislation is being pushed by providers – primarily pediatricians and radiologists – who claim that they are having difficulties in getting claims submitted and paid.

The House Committee on Education is also meeting Tuesday to take up the Governor’s Education Reform bill, HB 1187.