Legislative Update Number 2008.04 -- February 1, 2008
More insight into the governor’s budget proposal
By Rep. Pat Gardner
In last week’s report, I detailed the shortcomings of Gov. Sonny Perdue’s state budget proposal for fiscal year 2009 in the areas of education and transportation. This week, I would like to share some insight into the human resources portion of the budget, provided to me by Linda Smith Lowe and Mary Frances Williams on behalf of Family & Policy:
“The Department of Human Resources (DHR) budget shows considerable funding being switched from one category to another ‘to align budget and expenditures;’ for example, $12.9 million is moved from child and adolescent mental health to adult, and millions in Temporary Assistance to Needy Families will move to fund eligibility determinations for Medicaid and food stamps. DHR previously exercised considerable latitude in spending funds appropriated to it, but legislators want to understand where the money actually goes. After years of cuts, DHR’s budget includes about $7.16 million more in grant-in-aid for health departments. At the same time, considerable public health funding is being ‘realigned.’
“The DHR budget also includes funding for 500 MR waiver slots. (DCH has funds for 50 Independent Care Waiver slots for people on the waiting list and 100 ICWP slots for the Money Follows Person Demonstration.)
“With the numbers of uninsured already high and ERs crowded, DCH is returning $33 million to the Treasury from the current fiscal year budget. The funds are left over because 100,000 people (mostly children) have lost Medicaid, and 25,000 children have lost PeachCare. Georgia will lose over $57 million in federal funds for FY 2008, and the 2009 budget also reflects reductions from lower enrollment. People have lost coverage due largely to extra red tape imposed on new applicants and those seeking to recertify eligibility.”
The joint House-Senate Transportation Funding Study Committee has issued its recommendations for addressing a serious shortfall in state funding for much-needed improvements to the state’s highway system and other projects.
In addition to calling for greater efficiency in state Department of Transportation operations and an expanded use of public/private partnerships, the committee is recommending two potential methods of raising revenues for road building:
- A statewide, 1 percent transportation sales tax that would replace the current 7.5 cents per gallon motor fuel tax. This proposal would require a constitutional amendment, which must be approved by two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate and by a majority of voters in the next statewide general election.
- A regional SPLOST, under which counties could join together and implement a special one-cent local option sales tax to fund regional transportation needs if a majority of voters in those counties approve.
Both of these recommendations will be introduced in the form of legislation to be considered during the current session and are certain to generate much debate as a solution to traffic congestion in the metropolitan Atlanta area and the need for better highways throughout the state.
On Tuesday, House members adopted legislation that would modify the state’s sex offender laws with regard to residency restrictions. HB 908 would address the law’s provisions that were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Georgia.
The current law requires registered sex offenders to move from their residence if a school or day care center opened within 1,000 feet of their home. The court ruled that provision amounted to an unconstitutional taking of property.
HB 908, which now goes to the Senate for its consideration, provides that if a registered sex offender has purchased a home and is in compliance with the law at the time of purchase, he or she can continue to reside there if a school, church or day care center later opens within the 1,000 foot radius.
Legislation that would impose tougher criminal punishments for dog fighting in Georgia was adopted by the House on Jan. 28. HB 301 would make it a felony offense to own, transport, train or sell a dog for the purposes of fighting, or to advertise, host or bet on a dog fighting event. Attendance at a dog fight would be a misdemeanor for the first offense.
Awareness about cracking down on dog fighting in Georgia was raised during the case of former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who is serving time in federal prison after pleading guilty to dog fighting offenses in Virginia. HB 301 moves to the Senate for its consideration.
Georgia consumers wanting to stop identity theft would be able to freeze their credit reports under legislation that passed the House on Jan. 30. HB 130 gives consumers control of their credit reports for the first time by allowing them to pay a fee of up to $3 to each of the three credit rating agencies, totaling $9, to stop the buying and selling of their credit information. The Senate will now consider the measure.
On Thursday, a majority of the House voted in favor of HB 881, which would improve the process for the creation of charter schools in Georgia. A seven-member state commission would be established and charged with approving new charter schools, working in conjunction with local boards of education. The measure now goes to the Senate for its consideration.
- Rep. Pat Gardner (D-Atlanta) represents the 57th District (Atlanta and DeKalb County) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact her at 604 Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-0265 or by e-mail at pat@patgardner.org.
