Rep. Barbara Massey Reece| Legislative Report | March 18, 2011

 

Wednesday, March 16, was the 30th day of the 2011 session of the Georgia General Assembly. This is also known as "cross-over" day because it is the last chance for the House of Representatives or the Senate to pass legislation in time for it to be considered by the other chamber this year.

 

Among the measures approved by House members before the deadline was a proposal that would require the state to use “zero-based” budgeting in the future. HB 33 would change the current budgeting process, under which more than 90 percent of the expenditures are rolled over automatically from year to year into a “continuation” budget. Zero-based budgeting would require that all appropriations be examined by legislative budget writers. Under the proposal, state agencies would be required, at least every six years, to submit an analysis of its appropriations for the two previous fiscal years to justify its budget requests. The report would also include purpose statements and benchmarks of each program’s efficiency and scope. HB 33 now goes to the Senate, which has already passed similar legislation.

 

Life Insurance Policies

Our educators and other state employees will be pleased to know that Rep. Howard Maxwell, chair of the House Retirement Committee, has sponsored legislation prohibiting the state from purchasing life insurance on employees unless the employee’s beneficiary is named. This was designed to prevent another proposal similar to the “Dead Peasant” bill we saw last year. HB 371 was approved by the House on March 14 and is now under consideration in the Senate Insurance & Labor Committee.

 

Private School Vouchers

On March 14, a majority of House members voted to approve HB 181, concerning taxpayer-funded vouchers for private school tuition for special needs students. Under current law, a student must be enrolled in public school for one year and be classified as “special needs” to meet requirements for the private school scholarship. This proposal would remove the one-year requirement in certain medical cases when parents feel the public school cannot provide for the student’s needs, including cases of diabetes and epilepsy, for example. I voted against the bill because our public schools are required to provide for students’ special needs. I believe our public schools can care for medically fragile children as well or better than private schools, especially now that we have school nurses. During my teaching career, I had students with diabetes and those who experienced epileptic seizures. HB 181 appears to be an effort to expand the use of public tax money for private school tuition. The measure now goes to the Senate for its consideration.

 

Corporate Tax Breaks: While the Special Tax Reform Council has recommended placing a tax on groceries, haircuts, auto repair, lawn care, club memberships including AARP and many other services, the legislative leadership continues to push for tax breaks for large corporations. A majority of House members voted March 16 to approve two measures that would extend sales tax exemptions to Georgia companies in the air travel industry. HB 322 would exempt Delta Air Lines from paying sales tax on the purchase of jet fuel for the next two years. HB 234 would extend until 2013 the tax break on the sale of aircraft parts repaired or maintained in Georgia, which is intended to help Savannah-based Gulfstream Aerospace. Many small businesses in our area are struggling to survive, yet they receive no special treatment from the state. They are just as important to our economy as Delta is to Atlanta and Gulfstream is to Savannah. I voted against both measures because the exemptions were put in place at a time when the air travel industry was in dire financial straits and are no longer necessary, especially at the expense of other taxpayers. To me, it is not logical to cut funding for public education and furlough teachers while granting multimillion-dollar tax breaks to Delta, which made a $1 billion profit last year, and Gulfstream, whose earnings rose 23 percent last year. Both bills now go the Senate for its consideration.

 

Landfill Fees

The House majority also passed HB 274, which relates to landfills and would continue for three years the $1 fee per tire when purchasing new tires. When this fee was first implemented, a fund was to be set up and used for the safe disposal of old tires. This has not occurred. Instead, these revenues have gone into the state’s general fund. HB 274 also allows the mixing of yard trimmings in landfills, which will cause them to fill quicker and generate the need for more landfills. Yard trimmings covered by dirt emit methane gas. The federal Environmental Protection Agency is presently studying the effects of methane on our atmosphere. I voted against this measure, which now goes to the Senate for its consideration.

 

Physicians’ Assistants

The House also approved HB 303, which would authorize physicians’ assistants to sign off on certain documents now requiring a physician’s signature, except for death certificates and assigning the percentage of disability rating for workers’ compensation. The documents must be listed in the scope of authorized practice between the physician’s assistant and the physician. HB 303 now goes to the Senate for its consideration.

 

Failed to Pass

Proposed legislation that is likely dead for this year because it did not make it through the House on cross-over day includes HB 59, which would have banned undocumented immigrants from attending Georgia’s public colleges and universities; HB 131, which would have exempted the Department of Transportation from paying state fines for water pollution caused by erosion and runoff from highway construction sites; HB 111 and HB 134, both of which would have placed tighter regulation on the inter-basin transfers of water; and HB 476, which would have set up health insurance exchanges in Georgia as part of the federal healthcare reform act.

 

Unemployment at 10.2%

Georgia’s unemployment rate saw a slight decline in February, falling to 10.2 percent from an adjusted rate of 10.3 in January. February was, however, the 41st consecutive month that Georgia had a jobless rate higher than the national rate, which is now 8.9 percent. Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said, “Job creation is the most important aspect of an economic recovery, and the slight increase in jobs in February gives me reason for cautious optimism. We continue to see a reduction in the number of new layoffs. However, the growing number of long-term unemployed is troubling.”

 

General Assembly Online

Throughout the session, you can read the details and check the status of legislation and watch live broadcasts of House and Senate proceedings and committee meetings online at www.legis.ga.gov. Lawmakers were scheduled to return to the Capitol on Monday, March 21, for Day 31 of the 40-day session.

• State Rep. Barbara Massey Reece represents the 11th District (Chattooga and Floyd counties) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact her at 512 Coverdell Legislative Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-7859; or by email at barbara.reece@house.ga.gov.