Update

2015 Legislative Session: Week Twelve

On April 2nd, the House and Senate completed the final legislative day, also known as “Sine Die,” a Latin term meaning “without assigning a day for further meeting. Being the final day, we worked late into the night to ensure the passage of important legislation related to transportation and education in our state. While we passed numerous bills in the final days of session, I would like to bring to your attention several key pieces of legislation that were passed to improve the quality of life for all Georgians.

Throughout this 40 day legislative process in the General Assembly, it is not uncommon to see bills change slightly as they make their way through the committee process and pass the House and Senate. Should any one piece of legislation pass in different versions in the House and the Senate, the Speaker of the House and the Lieutenant Governor can both appoint a conference committee to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill. Once the conference committee reaches an agreement, their final, agreed upon version of that bill then goes back to the House and Senate for a final floor vote. Both chambers must vote on the conference committee’s version of the bill to ensure that all contents are completely agreed upon by both chambers. Finally, if approved by both House and Senate, the legislation is sent to the governor’s desk for consideration. Here is a recap of some of the important bills passed this session.

2015 Legislative Session: Week Eleven

We returned to the Gold Dome on Monday, March 23, 2015.  We had a full schedule last week, meeting every day to continually review legislation. We also convened on the House floor every day to continue voting on bills that have been passed through the committee process. Here are some of the bills we discussed this week.

• Senate Resolution 287– This bill would allow Georgians to vote on the creation of an “Opportunity School District” (OSD) in the state of Georgia.  SR 287, and its companion legislation, SB 133, were originally proposed by Governor Nathan Deal as part of his comprehensive plan to boost student achievement and create more educational opportunities for Georgia students.  In November 2016, Georgia voters will have the opportunity to vote on this measure, which would allow the state to step in and intervene in chronically failing public schools. If approved by Georgia voters, this district would assume all operational and managerial responsibility for failing public elementary and secondary schools. The constitutional amendment would appear on the November 2016 general election ballot and require support from a majority of voters.  This means that you will eventually have a chance to decide if the Opportunity School District model should be practiced here in Georgia.  In making that choice, I hope that you will study the Opportunity School Districts that have been implemented in other states. You will see that these programs have a proven history of success in expanding educational success and opportunities for all students.
• SB 133-This enabling legislation will establish the Opportunity School District upon ratification of the constitutional amendment set forth by SR 287. The Opportunity School District will provide oversight to schools that are defined as persistently failing, or as scoring below 60 on the College and Career Performance Index (CCRPI), for three consecutive years. The CCRPI is the Georgia Department of Education’s official measurement of accountability.

The jurisdiction of the school district would fall under the control of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, and the Opportunity School District superintendent would be appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation. The superintendent would be charged with developing operational procedures for the Opportunity School District and providing an annual report of progress and operations to the Georgia General Assembly.

In order to ensure areas needing improvement are addressed appropriately, the Opportunity School District would only select 20 affiliated in any single academic year, and the total number of selected schools would not exceed a total of 100 schools at any given time. Schools would remain a part of the Opportunity School District for at least five years, but not more than 10 years. The process for school selection would include opportunities for parent and community feedback through public hearings, but final selection is at the sole discretion of the Opportunity School District superintendent. Finally, before a school’s oversight is transferred to the Opportunity School District, the superintendent must meet with the administration to discuss the school’s evaluation and options for improvement. By creating an Opportunity School District in Georgia through this process, we could give every child in this state the quality education they deserve.

• Senate Bill 2-This bill, which passed unanimously, would allow local boards of education to award high school diplomas to students who have completed 9th and 10th grade requirements, and are dually enrolled in qualified post-secondary educational programs.  The bill would require:

1. The student complete state required 9th and 10th grade courses in the core subjects of English, math, science, and social studies, as well as one health and physical education class.
2. Test scores associated with the courses must meet the required scores by the postsecondary institution.
3. A completion of either an associate degree program, a technical college diploma program, or at least two technical college certificates of credit programs in one specific career pathway.

Also this week, we passed legislation designed to further protect the animals that support our men and women in uniform.

• Senate Bill 72, also known as “Tanja’s Law,” revises the penalties for harming a law enforcement animal in the performance of its duties by creating tiers of offenses based on the offender’s actions. Previously, a person intentionally causing serious or debilitating injury was automatically guilty of a felony. SB 72 clarifies the crime into four separate tiers, so that an individual may be charged according to the severity of his or her crime. This bill makes the harming of a law enforcement animal a high and aggravated misdemeanor with fines ranging between $5,000 and $50,000 with accompanying prison terms ranging from 12 months to 5 years. In addition, the offender must pay restitution to cover the necessary costs of veterinary treatment or the full cost of replacing the animal and its handlers. These animals often times put their own lives at risk for our officers, and SB 72 will allow justice to be served.
• Senate Bill 134-This bill also takes measures to ensure justice is delivered fairly to the citizens of this state.  SB 134 attempts to provide certain checks and balances for Georgia law enforcement by closing a loophole in Georgia’s anti speed trap law. Under current law, drivers can fight tickets in speed traps if the law enforcement agency derives more than 40% of their budget from speeding fines; however, current law has an exception that does not count tickets for speeding more than 17 miles per hour above the limit. SB 134 eliminates an exclusion of tickets written for speeds 20 mph over the limit so that citizens can more easily challenge tickets from speed traps. While speeding is a dangerous offense, law enforcement agencies should not create speed traps to generate their revenue.

This was also a very important week in the Senate, as our colleagues across the hall passed the following bills:

• House Bill 1 would decriminalize the use of medical cannabis oil in Georgia in an effort to improve the lives of hundreds of Georgians. After the Senate passage of HB 1, Governor Deal issued an executive order instructing state agencies to prepare for the implementation of this legislation and stated that he would sign HB 1 into law soon.  HB 1 will provide immunity for the possession of cannabis oil for individuals with certain medical conditions who have obtained cannabis oil legally in another state.  Qualifying conditions under HB 1 include:

1. Cancer
2. Multiple sclerosis
3. Seizure disorders
4. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
5. Crohn’s disease
6. Parkinson’s disease
7. Mitochondrial disease
8. Sickle cell disease.

Now that this legislation has been passed by both chambers, it will soon be signed into law by Governor Deal, and Georgia’s medical refugees can come back home to Georgia. I was proud to see the House and Senate chambers work together and come to a compromise to pass legislation that will help a great number of Georgians.

• A compromise on Senate Bill 1 to address the growing number of children with autism in Georgia. In a press conference held on Thursday, House Insurance Chairman Richard Smith (R-Columbus) and Senate Insurance and Labor Chairman Charlie Bethel (R-Dalton) revealed a two-pronged plan that will allow dozens of Georgia children to receive necessary treatment for autism.  First, the plan includes legislation that requires insurance companies to cover autism treatment for children 6 years of age or younger.  The measure, includes language from Senate Bill 1 and will be added to House Bill 429 and most likely voted upon next week.  The second element to the House and Senate compromise is a new piece of legislation that will be considered during the 2016 legislative session.  This bill would create a November 2016 referendum, so that voters could decide on a fractional state sales tax that would fund autism treatment for all children under the age of 18.  Between these two measures, I am hopeful that we can begin to address the growing autism epidemic.

Finally, during this busy week, we passed a series of resolutions creating study committees to review various issues affecting our state. House Resolutions 612, 743, and 744 establish House study committees to discuss fibroids education and awareness; annexation, deannexation, and incorporation; and the use of drones. All of these committees will meet throughout the remainder of the year, so that they can prepare any necessary legislation for the 2016 legislative session.  Although the 2015 legislative session will soon be ending, these committees are a testament to the work that we will be doing during the interim months.

Next week is the final week of the 2015 legislative session. On Thursday we will adjourn “Sine Die,” which is Latin for “without assigning a day for further meeting.” In this crucial last week, I hope that you will contact me with your questions and concerns.  Your comments help guide my decisions at the Georgia State Capitol, and I always enjoy speaking with you. You can reach me at my state capitol office at 404-656-0213 or through email at andy.welch@house.ga.gov. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative.

2015 Legislative Session: Week Ten

Last Friday was the 30th legislative day for the 2015 Georgia General Assembly. Also known as Crossover Day, this date was the final chance for bills to pass at least one of our two legislative chambers. With Crossover Day behind us, we returned to Capitol Hill this week to focus on legislation that has already been passed by the Georgia Senate. To ensure that every bill is fully vetted before its final passage, we spent most of our time this week in committee meetings reviewing Senate legislation.

In its review of Senate legislation, the House Education Committee heard public testimony on a very important measure, the creation of “Opportunity School Districts” in the state of Georgia, or Senate Bill 133. With strong support from Governor Nathan Deal, SB 133 and its companion legislation, Senate Resolution 287, would create an “Opportunity School District” to allow the state to temporarily step in to assist chronically failing schools. Because Opportunity School Districts have been implemented in other states across the nation, we have the advantage of learning about the program from teachers and school administrators that have experience with such schools, and will take that into consideration.

Although most Senate bills are still in the committee process, a few pieces of legislation passed out of their respective committees and made it to the House floor for a vote.

• Senate Bill 51– SB 51 will help patients enjoy greater convenience in Georgia pharmacies by allowing a pharmacist to give a patient a drug that is “interchangeable,’’ or “bio-similar,” with the patient’s currently prescribed, more expensive, biologic drug. As medical innovation continues to advance, more doctors are using complex drugs made from living organisms, called biologic medicines, to treat their patients with chronic diseases like arthritis and psoriasis. By allowing physicians to prescribe and pharmacists to dispense bio-similars, similar to a generic version of biologics, the cost of medication could potentially be reduced by up to 80%. Furthermore, to ensure patients have full disclosure and knowledge of the change, SB 51 requires the pharmacist to indicate the substitution on the original prescription and on its label. SB 51 also requires the pharmacist to notify the prescriber of this substitution within 48 hours so the doctor is aware of the changes made to the patient’s treatment. SB 51 will improve efficiency in the delivery of Georgia’s healthcare by making it easier for patients to obtain their prescribed medications and offering potential cost-saving benefits.
• House Resolution 303– HR303 urges the State Board of Education to develop and implement a comprehensive civics education curriculum to improve students’ civic knowledge and skills. This education should teach students about their legal rights, as well as their responsibilities as law abiding citizens. Classroom discussions on current events, community service opportunities, and extracurricular activities could all be used as means for delivering the important civics lessons.
• House Resolution 302– HR302 strives to increase the number of doctors in Georgia through a plea to the United States Congress. Currently Georgia faces a shortage of doctors, particularly in rural parts of the state. Last year, Gov. Nathan Deal appointed a committee of legislators and health care advisers to study the problem, and the House Study Committee on Medical Education found that the shortage of doctors is primarily caused by a shortage of residency slots in our state. While the state has taken great steps to increase the number of medical students in Georgia, we still need more support from the federal government to help fund residency slots. HR 302 urges Congress to enact reforms to the nation’s federally-financed graduate medical education programs, so that states like Georgia can receive the fair amount of support we need to meet the health workforce requirements of the future. Since doctors tend to reside where they do their residencies, it is important that we offer more residency slots in rural areas to ultimately gain more doctors in Georgia.

Also this week, we also took some time to recognize some distinguished guests in the House chamber. On Thursday, March 18, we welcomed Chris “Ludacris” Bridges to the Georgia State Capitol. Ludacris is a recording artist, actor, and rapper, record label executive, entrepreneur, philanthropist, hip-hop culture icon, and resident of Georgia. He is also the founder of The Ludacris Foundation, which has donated over $1.5 million and 5,000 hours in hands-on service to youth organizations across the country. Ludacris was recognized for his accomplishments with House Resolution 643.

Also on Thursday, we had the pleasure of hearing former Governor Jeb Bush speak before the House chamber. Governor Bush, who served as the 43rd governor of Florida, reminded us that academic achievement should be our number one priority every year. He discussed that diligence in bettering our education system will help every child in Georgia gain the skills they need to obtain good jobs in adulthood. It is clear that education is a key concern in the General Assembly, and I could not agree more with Governor Bush on this matter.

I am also happy to announce that our colleagues in the Senate this week passed a measure that continues to put education as the top priority for state spending. On Friday, the Senate passed House Bill 76, the 2016 Fiscal Year budget, which will guide state spending from July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016. The $21.7 billion state budget plan designates a majority of state revenue to education, proving that Georgia’s children are once again our most important investment. Behind education, other priorities include health and human services and public safety initiatives. Now that the Senate has passed their version of the budget, members from both chambers will work together to resolve any discrepancies through a joint conference committee. I look forward to seeing the final version of the budget soon, which we will vote on in the next two weeks.

We also had a town hall meeting on Thursday. Thank you to everyone who attended; it was great to hear from Henry County residents about the proposed legislation. 

As we continue working with the Senate to ensure final passage of bills, I encourage you to contact me with any concerns you might have. Your comments are always very important to me, so I hope to hear from you soon. You can reach me at my state capitol office at 404-656-3937 or by email at andy.welch@house.ga.gov. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative.