There was a great deal of activity at the Capitol – requiring numerous Committee meetings. Some of the meetings ran late into the afternoon. The information below captures some of the news of the day.

HB 1189 – Rep. McBee and others introduced this bill to enact the "Georgia Qualified State Tuition Program." This bill has now been referred to the Committee on the University System of Georgia.

HB 1190 – This is the "kudzu" bill! It would make it a misdemeanor for a property owner to allow the kudzu vine to spread to an adjoining property owner. The bill has been sent to the House Committee on Agriculture and Consumer Affairs.

HB 1194 – This is the bill introduced to amend the "Patient Protection Act of 1996." It would add provisions regarding requirements for certification of qualified managed care plans – basically trying to get them to contract anywhere in the state – thus, opening up their authorized service areas. This bill has now been referred to the House Insurance Committee.

HB 1196 – Rep. Lane and others introduced this amendment to Article 4 of Chapter 12 of Title 9 in order to provide that the clerk of the Superior Courts maintain employment information on each judgment debtor (indexed to the general execution docket). This has been assigned to the House Committee on Judiciary.

HB 1200 – This bill amending the "Quality Basic Education Act" at Part 2 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 provides the offering of state-funded elementary and secondary students programs – particularly in the offering of History and Literature of the Old Testament Era as well as the History and Literature of the New Testament Era. This bill has been sent to the House Education Committee.

HB 1207 – Rep. Poag introduced this bill to require the display of the Ten Commandments in every classroom within a school district in order for that school to receive state funds under the "Quality Basic Education Act." This has been sent to the House Education Committee.

HB 1209 – Rep. Poag also placed this bill into the hopper to amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 to require local Boards of Education to adopt policies permitting student-initiated spoken prayer during the school day. This has also been referred to the House Education Committee.

HB 1223 – Reps. Stancil, Pinholster, Ehrhart, and Evans have authored this bill to allow an employer to receive a state income tax credit for each employee who telecommutes in an amount equal to $2,500.00 per employee. An employee would also be allowed a state income tax credit if he or she telecommutes in an amount equal to $1,000.00. However, the tax credit would not be able to exceed the taxpayer’s income tax liability. Any unused tax credit can be carried forward to apply to the taxpayer’s next three succeeding years’ tax liability. Also, no such tax credit shall be allowed the taxpayer against any prior years tax liability.

HB 1231 – This bill has been introduced by Reps. Parrish, Stallings, Ragas, Floyd and Howard to amend Chapter 1 of Title 7 pertaining to banks and financial institutions. The bill, among other measures, authorizes the Department of Banking and Finance to have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations to further exercise the discretion permitted by the Code and to provide parity with other federally insured financial institutions. To do so, the Commissioner of Banking and Finance may by order to an individual financial institution or category of financial institutions, modify or amend qualifying or limiting requirements imposed on financial institutions: 1) collateral requirements and limits on the amount of obligations owing to it from any one person or corporation; 2) loan to value or other limitations in real estate lending; 3) limitations on the amount of investments in stock or other capital securities of a corporation or other entity; and 4) limitations on the amount of bank acceptances to be issued. Before such order is issued, the Commissioner will have to determine that such activity will not present undue safety and soundness risks to the financial institution or institutions involved. The bill would also allow banks to become the owner and lessor of certain public real property and facilities – a bank may purchase or construct a municipal building, school building, or other such similar state, local, or other governmental authority facility if such purchase is for the purpose of leasing the facility to a municipality or other public or governmental authority which has the authority to enter into such a lease, authorized to levy taxes, or is backed by the taxing authority of another political subdivision and has sufficient resources to make the lease payments. Also, the lease agreement must provide that the lessee will become the owner of the building or facility upon the expiration of the lease.

HR 817 – Reps. Smith, West, Stallings, Epps, Westmoreland others have introduced this House Resolution to create the Joint West Georgia River Protection Act Study Committee. This is due in part to the expressed concern of preserving the State’s water supply. This was originally created by a 1999 Resolution, Act 42. The Committee wishes to consider further funding methods to increase public awareness through environmental education concerning what are the best practices for protecting the river corridor upstream and downstream from Atlanta.

SB 332 – Sen. Madden and others introduced this amendment to Chapter 9 of Title 34 relating to workers’ compensation in order to change a provision of the presumed dependency of the husband or wife of a deceased employee. It would also authorize lump sum settlements. The bill has been referred to the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee.

SB 334 – Sens. Madden, Hill, Hooks, and Bowen 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 under this proposal. The bill has been sent to the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee.

SB 336 – Sen. Williams and others introduced this amendment to O.C.G.A. § 20-2-200. It would change the regulation of professional personnel holding certificates by the Professional Standards Commission in order for the Commission to 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 the applicant meets additional criteria. SB 336 has been referred to the Committee on Higher Education.

SB 341 – Sens. Williams, Blitch, Perdue and others authored this bill to amend Part 2 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 pertaining to offering the teaching of New and Old Testament History and Literature to students under the "Quality Basic Education Act." This offering would be funded with State funds. The bill has been sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee for study.

SB 342 – Sens. Brush and others authored this "motorcycle" headgear bill. This has now been referred to the Health and Human Services Committee.

SB 348 – Sens. Lee and Kemp offered this bill to amend Article 1 of Chapter 4 of Title 7 of the Code concerning interest and usury. It would change the provisions regarding the criminal penalty for excessive interest to ensure such penalties do not apply to pawnbrokers.

SB 353 – Senator Hill offered this bill to amend O.C.G.A. § 40-6-241 concerning use of mobile telephones. Specifically, the bill states that any use of a mobile telephone by a driver operating a moving vehicle is in violation of the Section as he or she would not be exercising "due care" in operating a motor vehicle. It would be construed as "reckless disregard for the safety of persons or property."

SR 459 – Sen. Walker, Dean and Streat have proposed this Resolution which would create the Joint Study Committee on the Prevention and Emergency Care of Injuries. This Study Committee would make any recommendations for proposed legislation, or any suggestions, on or before December 15, 2000. Also, the Study Committee would stand abolished on December 15, 2000.

A couple of interesting healthcare bills were heard in the House Health and Ecology Committee’s Subcommittee on Health Professions. One bill, HB 646, a bill authored by Reps. Childers and Jones, both members of the House Health & Ecology Committee, held debate for approximately two hours. HB 646, which passed out of the Subcommittee, deals with an amendment to Title 31 pertaining to the licensing of end stage renal disease facilities. The bill outlines licensing standards for a license, which is renewable upon annual submission of information such as an application and an annual report that also includes information pertaining to the quality of care at the facility. Some facilities would not be required to be licensed under the Chapter, such as a hospital that provides dialysis only to individuals receiving inpatient services from the hospital or the office of a physician, unless the office is used primarily as an end stage renal disease facility. There would be rules including standards for qualifications and supervision of professional staff, including physicians. There would also be rules for equipment in use at the facility as well as sanitary conditions at the facility. This bill now will go before the full House Health & Ecology Committee for a vote.

Rep. Nan Orrock’s bill relating to centralized physician credentialing, HB 1038, also was on the Subcommittee’s agenda. This bill, with some amendments, also passed out of the Subcommittee. This bill would amend Chapter 1 of Title 43 and create a new Article 2 to be known as the "Centralized Credentialing for Health Care Practitioners Act." An applicant for credentialing would submit to a certified or accredited quality assessment program of the National Committee for Quality Assurance, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the American Accreditation Healthcare Commission/Utilization Review Accreditation Commission or other nationally recognized and accepted organization which could assess and certify the credentials of the practitioner. The practitioner would submit core credentials data such as professional education, professional training, peer references, licensure, Drug Enforcement Administration certification, Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates information, hospital affiliations, managed care organization affiliations, other institutional affiliations, professional society memberships, professional liability insurance, claims, suits, judgments or settlements, Medicare or Medicaid sanctions, civil or criminal law violations, practitioner profiling data, special conditions of impairment, or regulatory exemptions not previously reported to the Board in accordance to licensure reporting requirements. Before releasing this data on the credentials data, a verification entity would have to provide the practitioner up to 30 days to review the data and make any corrections of fact. Also, no healthcare entity can deny a practitioner the right to privileges solely on the basis that the healthcare entity was required to obtain core credentials data from the designated centralized entity. Testimony was also given on this bill by a representative from the health plans and major employer-sponsored health plans to inform the Subcommittee that his group had been working towards getting a form to be used by all providers in an effort to ease the credentialing process. At the end of the Subcommittee meeting, Rep. Jones, the chair of the Subcommittee, suggested that the industry dealing with the major health plans work with Rep. Orrock on the issue before the full House Health & Ecology Committee meeting. It will now be heard in the full Committee on Thursday, January 27, 2000. It is rumored that additional amendments will be offered to the bill at that time primarily relating to the cost associated with paying for the data to be submitted and collected with the centralized entity.

Also, the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee met and took up a bill held over from last Session. HB 670, the "insurance identification card" bill, passed out of the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee last Session and sent to Rules Committee where it was sent back to the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee. Several amendments were made to the bill last year and debate has continued regarding the bill this Session. Rep. Ben Harbin authored this bill which would require health insurance companies to include specific pieces of information on an insurance card issued to a subscriber: 1) the subscriber’s name and name of all persons covered by the policy; 2) subscriber’s identification number; 3) group number, if applicable; 4) effective date of coverage; 5) name of subscriber’s primary care physician, if applicable; 6) name of subscriber’s insurer, the name of the health plan, and the plan identification code, if applicable; 7) the address of where the claims are to be filed; 8) insurer’s contact phone numbers and phone number for coverage confirmation and preauthorization, if applicable; 9) the policy’s requirements as to copayments, coinsurance payments, or deductibles, as applicable; and 10) the name of the primary hospital and of the laboratory and radiology services to be used; provided, however, that in lieu of indicating such information on the card, an insurer may list a toll-free or local telephone number for contacting the health plan and obtaining such information. Such a toll-free or local telephone number shall be available to health care providers and consumers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, whether staffed by a live person or via an automated phone-line. The bill was presented by Rep. Harbin and testimony was give by Mr. Richard Ward, a lobbyist for the American Academy of Pediatric Physicians which has provided support for the legislation. The lobbyist for the Georgia Association of HMOs testified on behalf of the health plan industry against the bill which would require reprinting of cards within 45 days when new information or changes were made to the information on the card – this would be a great expense to many of the health plans when cards can range between $1.25 to $2.00 per card. A meeting was scheduled with Sen. Tim Golden for Wednesday in an effort to work out the differences on the bill which will be heard in the full Committee on Thursday, January 27, 2000.