Crossover Week per usual is a rushed affair. We had many bills shuttle through the committees, including the FY 2021 Budget. That discussion began on Monday, March 9th, at 7 in the morning and was on the House Floor for a vote by Tuesday, March 10th, at 11 am. Another bill fast-tracked bill was the Governor's Income Tax Cut, which supposedly gives $800 million back to you, the citizens. More later on these two issues, but issues and priorities change hourly at this time of the Session. We finished Crossover Day at midnight last night --- a marathon of work.



Speaking of hourly changes, the Democratic Caucus voted Thursday morning that because of the Coronavirus the 2020 General Assembly should adjourn. During Crossover Day, the Speaker announced that we would finish out day 28, but that he and the Lt. Governor had agreed that the   House and Senate would be suspended indefinitely. He asked members to go home and to take care of themselves and their loved ones.  Earlier in the week, Speaker Ralston suspended the Page Program and the guests that members, Chaplains, and Doctors of the Day can bring onto the Floor. The Gallery to the House is still open for guests to come and watch the show when we return to work.  There are only guesses as to when we will reconvene, and the timing will depend on the impact and spread of the virus.  Very scary, and members' conversations were much about home and whether we would be bringing the virus back to vulnerable elderly relatives and babies.  There was strong bipartisan agreement to temporarily end our Capitol work and go home.

Previous Survey Results

 

Thank you for responding to my last survey question. We have reordered the issues based on what respondents said was most important to least. Here are the results:

On the survey, you ranked the following issues from most to least important to you, with 1 being most important and 5 being least important. As always, there was a place for an optional comment.

- Increasing protections for seniors in assisted living facilities*

- Lining coal ash ponds to protect ground water*

- Raising the age for juveniles to be tried as adults from 17 to 18

- Raising the Cigarette Tax to $1

- Keeping the high school dual enrollment program the same

* tied as most important

Written responses included*:

GA Power should follow the same rules that our municipalities must when dumping our household trash...they have run roughshod over Georgians for far too long.

Too bad they can't all be #1.

Raising the tax on tobacco products would help solve some of the budget problems, in addition to preventing people from taking up smoking and incentivizing current smokers to quit. Raise the tax $2 and Georgia will still have the cheapest cigarettes in the nation. This legislation is a win-win, please do support it!

Of these issues, protection of seniors in assisted living is the most critical, ranking up with the need for quality care for veterans who have served the nation in foreign countries! Also, the environmental protection of groundwater is an issue that no elected official -- nor any citizen for that matter -- should not be deeply concerned about!

Raising the age of juveniles to be tried as adults is a bad idea. Adult crimes call for adult punishment.

*The responses reported were chosen by staff as exemplifying common themes from all points of view.

Ralston announces plan to cut Georgia income tax again 

Vaping Bill

New taxes, regulations proposed for vape sales in Georgia 

State Law nix nicotine-based vape products

Committee hearings were full leading up to Crossover Day,  March 12th. During this Governmental Affairs meeting, HB 955 passed the Committee, but in a much weaker version than as introduced. The bill would have made it a felony for any person to intentionally abuse, neglect, or exploit a disabled or elderly adult and increased  the crime of failure to report such abuse to a high and aggravated misdemeanor. The most controversial provisions that certain nursing home deaths be reported to the coroner were eliminated based on pressure from the nursing home lobbyists.  I am a cosponsor of HB 955, and very disappointed that the coroner bill might be dead for the 2020 Session.

The FY2021 Budget, HB 793, passed out of the House this week with 134 yes votes to 35 no votes. Here are some key takeaways: 

• Maternal Medicaid Coverage increased to 6 months (from 2 months). This expansion of coverage for new mothers is a significant response to the terrible statistics of maternal deaths in Georgia, but it does not replace funds that would be available through ACA Medicaid overall expansion.

• $2.5 million increase in funds to private prisons based on existing contract obligations.

• Zero dollars allocated for COVID-19. In the 2020 Amended Budget, which passed on Crossover, the Governor has proposed $100 million to be appropriated from the Rainy Day Fund for Coronavirus.

• Teacher pay raise reduced from $2,000 to $1,000.

• State employee pay raise of $1,000 will go to employees in high turnover positions rather than everyone earning $40,000 and under. The targeted increase represents 11% of the state's workforce in the Departments of Agriculture, Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, Corrections, Driver Service, Human Services, Veterans Services, and Juvenile Justice.

As you know, I serve on the Appropriations Human Services Subcommittee. These are a few of the items we added to the budget.

• Adds $10.8 million for crisis beds and behavioral health services.

• Adds $1.5 million in the residential capacity for the treatment of addiction, increasing the bed count by 44 statewide.

• Restores $750,000 to the Marcus Autism Center in my district.

• Restores nearly $3 million for two crisis respite homes, serving an additional 32 children.

Sometimes we are grateful for the forward movement of the good rather than the perfect. Today was one of those times. HB 1121 sponsored by Rep. Chuck Efstration (R - Dacula) would give victims of sexual harassment the right to sue individuals or employers under state law. Currently, these actions can only be brought under federal law. Many of you contacted me about 1121, which I supported. It was good bi-partisan legislation, and Georgia would join the 47 other states that have such a law. 

However, in the Special Committee on Access to the Civil Justice System, a substitute bill was presented that struck the right to sue employers, leaving victims recourse only against individuals.  I am on that committee, which had one hearing on the bill the day before. When the substitute bill came to a vote, I told the committee it was an insufficient step. But a step it was, so I voted for the substitute bill, which passed out of the committee, and planned on restoring stronger provisions in the Senate as the bill moved to the other Chamber.  However,  HB 1121 was not called to the Floor for a vote on Crossover yesterday, and Representative Efstration and I wlll be looking for vehicles to add 1121 to another moving bill.  We have not quit trying.

As the only woman committee member present, I was reminded of my recent remarks on Political Rewind about the female candidates in the national Democratic primary.  When will we accept female politicians as readily as we do male?  LINK to AJC Opinion: Womens' History Month and Democratic angst over Raphael Warnock