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Gold Dome Update 
Highlights from the House 
Week Four
Last week, we completed the fourth week of the 2019 legislative session. As we have successfully made it through eleven legislative days, the hectic pace and meeting schedules continue to increase. This week, we passed several pieces of legislation on the House floor, including the Amended Fiscal Year 2019 budget. We also set an adjournment resolution that sets the legislative calendar for the remainder of our time on Capitol Hill.

2019 Amended Fiscal Year Budget

Friday, February 8, 2019 brought the passage of the 2019 Amended Fiscal Year Budget, House Bill 30, also known as the "baby budget." After weeks of Appropriation meetings, our committee submitted recommendations, which prioritizes school safety, education, healthcare and assistance for those in need of emergency relief following the devastation of Hurricane Michael. Included in the 2019 Amended FY budget are additional engineering scholarships for Mercer University, aimed at benefiting Robins AFB. We are grateful to our colleagues for recognizing the importance of ensuring a qualified workforce is readily available for Robins AFB.
 
Hurricane Michael Recovery
Hurricane Michael ravaged Southwest Georgia last October resulting in approximately $2.5 billion in losses within the agriculture and timber industries. As these industries are critical to our economic wellbeing the AFY 2019 budget addressed relief efforts through reallocation of funds in the baby budget. This includes $10 million for emergency disaster relief to aid our farmers in southwest Georgia, building upon the $55 million that was appropriated to the Georgia Development Authority (GDA) during the 2018 special session in November. GDA, thus far, has approved 124 of 412 loan applications, which means nearly all $55 million approved during Special Session has been used. I will keep you updated on how we plan to move forward with disaster relief assistance.
 
Education Funding
Education continues to take priority as the AFY 2019 budget allocates 55 percent, or $238.6 million, of the total new funds to be dispersed for our state's growing educational needs. The spending changes are as follows:
  • $69.4 million to provide school security grants of $30,000 for each of the 2,314 school facilities.
  • $38,000 in this year's amended budget to provide security to the state's FFA-FCCLA centers when students are present
  • $1 million to the Georgia School for the Blind and Georgia School for the Deaf to purchase new generators for residential students during severe weather.
  • 2019 AFY continues to fully fund Quality Basic Education (QBE)
  • $8.4 million for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to address mental health issues in Georgia high schools.

Healthcare Funding
All Georgia citizens deserve access to quality healthcare. The House approved version of the AFY 2019 budget provides the following:
  • $1 million in state funds, which matches $1 million in federal funds to analyze and recommend new Medicaid waver options.
  • $35.2 million to provide Medicaid coverage for enrollment growth, gene therapy drug coverage, Medicare Part B premiums and Part D Clawback payments.

Miscellaneous
As funding for education and healthcare remain crucial to our overall wellbeing, the amended budget also allocates additional funding to various areas in which we need to improve. Including but not limited to:
 
  • $3.5 million for the Georgia Student Finance Commission to assist students in the Duel Enrollment Program
  • $26,000 for the Engineer Scholarship Program
  • $2.9 million from new lottery funds to meet the projected needs of the HOPE Scholarship program.
  • $9.8 million in additional funds to address the 7.1 percent increase in utilizing the Out-of-Home Care program.
  • $790,000 for the Substance Abuse Prevention program to fight the growing opioid epidemic.
  • $490,000 in one-time funding to kick-off the first full year of the new Atlanta-region Transit Link (ATL) Authority, which is a regional transit governance structure that coordinates transit planning and funding and oversees all Metro Atlanta transit activity, including planning, funding and operations. 
Nathan Deal Judiciary Center

The first vote of the 2019 legislative session came in the form of  House Resolution 1  on Wednesday, February 6. This bipartisan legislation honors former Governor Nathan Deal and his legacy by naming the new state appellate judicial complex, which will house our Georgia Supreme Court and Georgia Court of Appeals, the "Nathan Deal Judicial Center." This is a fitting tribute to Gov. Deal as he is known throughout the country as a leader on criminal justice reform initiatives. Many of his policies and criminal justice reform models have been adopted by other states.

  Adjournment Resolution

Last week, the General Assembly also adopted our final adjournment resolution that sets our schedule for the remainder of the 2019 legislative session. Legislative Day 40 will take place on Tuesday, April 2. Now that we have set our deadline, the hurried pace will continue to increase. We will aggressively work to ensure that we tackle issues of most importance for the betterment of our great state.
Last week, it was a pleasure to welcome the Perry Youth Leadership group to the Capitol for their annual day under the gold dome. One of the best aspects of serving in the General Assembly is having the opportunity to educate our youth on the importance of becoming an active citizen. If you have groups that would like to visit Capitol Hill, we encourage you to contact our office to make arrangements.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out anytime. Thank you for allowing us the great honor of serving our home before the Georgia General Assembly. We look forward to the coming days where we continue our efforts for strong for simple, smart and effective government.

Respectfully,
Shaw Blackmon
Representative of Georgia's 146th House District

Contact:
478-918-7477
Pictured Above:
Great to welcome students from our district who were chosen to have their artwork displayed on Capitol Hill!
 
Representative Shaw Blackmon
District 146
Email: Shaw.Blackmon@house.ga.gov
Phone: 404-463-
Address: 401-K State Capitol
Atlanta, Georgia 30334


Rep. Shaw Blackmon represents District 146. He currently serves as a member of Economic Development & Tourism,Governmental Affairs, Insurance, Juvenile Justice, Rules, Small Business Development, Special Rules, and Ways & Means Committees. He serves as Chair of the Transportation Committee on Appropriations and also as House Appointee to the Joint Defense Commission.