State Representative Eddie Lumsden has released his legislative report for the eleventh week of the Georgia General Assembly’s highly unusual legislative session.  The Georgia House and Senate are finishing up this 2020 legislative session, something that is normally done in early spring. The legislature has passed the Fiscal year 2021 budget which starts today and the largest expenditure is for education.  You can read Rep. Lumsden’s complete report below:

     Legislative Update

     Week Eleven

       Sine Die

 

On Monday, June 22, 2020, the Georgia General Assembly reconvened at the State Capitol for the final week of the 2020 legislative session. My colleague and I were in session every day last week and voted on more than 100 bills and resolutions. The last day of this extraordinary session was Legislative Day 40, or “Sine Die,” which is a Latin term meaning “without assigning a day for further meeting.” We worked long hours most days last week and passed many vital bills that will now go to Governor Brian Kemp for consideration.

We fulfilled our only constitutional obligation last week when we passed the conference committee report on House Bill 793, legislation which sets our state’s budget for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY 2021) starting on July 1, 2020. Earlier in the week, Gov. Kemp reduced his FY 2021 revenue estimate from more than $28.1 billion to approximately $25.9 billion, a reduction by $2.19 billion, or 7.8 percent. This new revenue estimate includes a loss of more than $1.9 billion in state general funds, more than $233.6 million in motor fuel funds and more than $14.1 million in lottery revenues. Gov. Kemp’s revenue estimate also accounts for a $250 million transfer from our Revenue Shortfall Reserve to mitigate the impact of revenue declines on our state government and local education operations. Despite these reductions that were required to balance the FY 2021 budget, the General Assembly maintained its priorities by restoring cuts and mitigating reductions to the greatest extent possible to several essential areas, including services for Georgia’s most vulnerable citizens, such as those with disabilities and mental health disorders; health care access; the criminal justice system; and public education.

Our largest single expenditure in the budget is Georgia’s K-12 education system, which totals $9.6 billion, or 44.1 percent, of the state general funds portion of the budget. With a revised revenue estimate reflecting an eight percent decline to state general fund revenues, it was nearly impossible to balance the state’s budget without a reduction to K-12 education. The Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula and corresponding grants are reduced by $950.2 million to reflect a temporary decline in state revenues. However, the FY 2021 budget reflects federal funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, including $457 million through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund and $144.5 million through the Child Care and Development Block Grant. The FY 2021 budget also provides the Department of Education (DOE) with $141.7 million for enrollment growth and training and experience, accounting for 1,438 new teachers and corresponding health insurance costs, and it also maintains full funding for Georgia Pre-K, reflecting 84,000 slots and a full school calendar. My colleagues and I were also able to make these adjustments in the budget while still fully funding sparsity grants.

The FY 2021 budget also recognizes other vital educational needs. The Georgia Student Finance Commission would receive $54 million in additional funds in the FY 2021 budget to provide a projected 439,041 total awards across all HOPE scholarship and grant programs. HB 793 also provides $1 million in new funds to expand the REACH Scholarship Program to include 13 new school systems in the coming year. Our budget accounts for $157 million in CARES Act funding for the University System of Georgia and more than $37 million in such funds for the Technical College System of Georgia; approximately $36 million of those funds were awarded to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and minority-serving institutions across the state. HB 793 also accounts for nearly $12 million in additional federal funds for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act; those funds are currently available to the state’s Workforce Opportunities Zones to assist workers affected by the economic impact of COVID-19. We also restored $3.2 million to fully fund the Georgia Public Library System’s materials grants, which are especially vital for rural and smaller systems, to provide resources that are utilized more than 36 million times annually by Georgians.

House Bill 793 restores funds to multiple initiatives that support criminal justice and public safety efforts across the state. HB 793 restores $1.7 million of the proposed cuts to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s (GBI) Forensic Scientific Services program; the agency would be able to hire as many as 17 scientists and 10 lab technicians with these restored funds. This budget also includes $1 million to outsource chemistry testing, allowing approximately 5,555 pieces of evidence of the 17,000 in the backlog in chemistry to be tested; this funding would also allow our state to eliminate the current the current backlog of 768 unprocessed sexual assault evidence kits. HB 793 also restores $3.5 million of the proposed cuts to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and includes an additional $15 million to establish a law enforcement training grant program for state and local law enforcement agencies, which has become an even greater focus for the state after recent events. The $2.65 million cut to accountability courts is completely restored to allow 1,901 participants to continue to participate this program that diverts non-violent offenders from jails or prisons to successful rehabilitative programs within communities; this restoration represents $34.8 million in diversion savings and $6.7 million in economic impact. This bill also restores $2.1 million to the Georgia Public Defender Council to hire 22 more attorneys, some of which would fill vacant positions in eight counties without a state public defender; these additional attorneys would reduce the average caseload from 148.8 to 131.6 per public defender.

One area of the FY 2021 budget that my colleagues and I have worked hard to preserve during this difficult time is funding for health care in Georgia. HB 793 provides $268.7 million for growth in the Medicaid programs to meet the projected need and $165.4 million in savings due to a temporary 6.2 percent increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) rate through the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act. We also restored $13.9 million in reductions to the public health grants to counties, and we eliminated 12 furlough days proposed for the Department of Public Health (DPH) to minimize the impact on the county public health departments which are on the front lines fighting the spread of COVID-19. The FY 2021 budget also accounts for $261.7 million dollars in federal funds for COVID-19 testing from the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. To further support health care in rural Georgia, we also restored the $463,000 cut to the Rural Health Systems Innovation Center at Mercer University School of Medicine. HB 793 also adds $12 million to the existing $3 million for the Rural Hospital Stabilization program to further support its work to identify solutions for the state’s rural hospitals. The final budget bill also restores $1.5 million in proposed cuts for maternal mortality prevention grants to Georgia hospitals.

Another area of the state budget we worked to protect is funding for agencies that provide services to some of Georgia’s most vulnerable citizens. The FY 2021 budget restores $53.5 million to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Department of Veterans Services. This funding restores over 200 positions and prevents the furlough of nearly 9,500 state employees. The positions restored are essential for areas like child and foster care support, federal eligibility case management, veteran’s services and behavioral health. We restored $46 million in the state’s Out of Home Care program and $1.4 million to DHS to prevent the closure of 54 Department of Families and Children Services (DFCS) offices statewide, which would have been 33 percent of the division’s offices. This budget bill also restores $6 million for behavioral core services, $2.5 million for 95 new crisis beds to serve nearly 5,000 people across the state and $3.6 million for addiction and recovery services. Furthermore, $5.6 million in new funds were added for 100 new NOW/COMP waivers for the intellectually and developmentally disabled.

Other important budgetary highlights include a $1.8 million restoration to the Department of Agriculture, which allows for continued funding of over 30 positions in the Consumer Protection program and $2.7 million to the State Forestry Commission for operations and personnel for the commission to keep and maintain necessary equipment that assists in disaster clean up. We also prevented any reductions to the Department of Labor (DOL) while providing additional administrative flexibility as the agency continues to provide support to unemployed Georgians, and the DOL also will receive more than $38 million in federal CARES Act funding for the agency’s response to fallout from COVID-19 in Georgia. We also included $10 million for the Governor’s Emergency Fund to allow for quick responses to unforeseen emergencies, including future responses to COVID-19. HB 793 also avoids additional reductions to the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s Office to ensure support for the state’s upcoming elections, and it recognizes more than $10.8 million in CARES Act funding to improve access and safety during future elections amid the threat of COVID-19. While we have passed a balanced budget for FY 2021, the House and Senate Appropriations committees have requested that various state agencies to continue to examine their budgets for the coming year.

The General Assembly also passed two important measures in HB 426 and HB 838 which set out additional penalties and procedures to protect certain individuals and police officers under specific circumstances. One of the most important bipartisan bills of the legislative session is HB 426.  House Bill 426 was first passed by the House during the 2019 legislative session and due to recent events around our state and country it became a focus for many people around our nation.  Under the final version of House Bill 426, anyone convicted of a crime that has been determined to have been committed because of the individual’s belief or perception regarding race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, mental disability or physical disability will be subject to increased penalties for these crimes. The sentencing for a designated misdemeanor hate crime, such as simple assault, simple battery, battery, criminal trespass and misdemeanor theft, will range from six to 12 months of jail time and a fine up to $5,000. Offenders of a felony hate crime will face a minimum of two years in prison along with a fine up to $5,000. Under this bill, if a law enforcement officer investigates a potential hate crime, regardless if an arrest is made, the officer will prepare and submit a written “Bias Crime Report” designed by GBI to detail a potential hate crime incident; these reports will allow our state to collect essential data regarding potential hate crimes. Local police departments will also submit reports regarding such incidents to GBI, which will compile and analyze the data to be published annually in the Georgia Uniform Crime Reports. Gov. Kemp signed HB 426 on the final day of the legislative session on Friday, June 26. This momentous bill addresses a gap in Georgia law to provide vital protections for all of Georgians, and this bill sends a strong message that there is no room for hate in Georgia.

 

Police Officers also received some additional protection in HB 838 which will protect Police and other First Responders from bias motivated crimes. This will also allow officers to sue individuals who make false complaints against them. This measure shows our support of those who risk their lives to protect us.

Also this week, the House unanimously passed Senate Bill 313 to increase transparency and address excessive prescription drug pricing by pharmacy benefits managers (PBM), which are companies that manage prescription drug benefits on behalf of health insurers. SB 313 mirrors legislation that the House previously passed, House Bill 946, which received final passage this week and will go to the governor for consideration. Under the amended version of these bills, physicians who are employed or contracted by a PBM could only provide advisement within a specialty that they have worked in for the past five years. Additionally, when the Department of Community Health (DCH) enters into PBM contracts, the department would be encouraged to require the use of a licensed Georgia physician for prior authorization, step therapy appeals or determination reviews for contracts and amendments entered into with a PBM. DCH would also have authority over PBM audits that affect those enrolled in Medicaid and state benefit plans. In this version of the legislation, PBM pricing methodologies submitted to the Department of Insurance (DOI) would remain confidential. These measures also update the PBM price reporting process, which is the heart of these efforts. PBMs would be required to submit a report to DOI every four months that details all drugs appearing on the national average drug acquisition cost list that were reimbursed at certain rates, and PBMs would be responsible for the cost of publishing these reports for the public. These bills would also require PBMs to pass on 100 percent of all rebates that it receives from pharmaceutical manufacturers to patient’s health insurance plan. Also included in both bills is a provision that would prevent PBMs from “spread pricing” in Medicaid and state benefit plans, which has cost the state millions of taxpayer dollars. The bills would also ensure that PBMs apply copays to generic drugs, as well as clarified sections that deal with audits. If signed into law, our state would have one of the toughest laws in the nation that addresses PBMs and ensures that prescription drug costs remain fair and transparent for all Georgians.

Before the end of Legislative Day 38, the House unanimously passed an integral measure to address maternal mortality in Georgia. House Bill 1114 would extend the duration of postpartum Medicaid coverage for new mothers from two months to six months. This measure would authorize DCH to seek a Section 1115 Medicaid waiver with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to allow Georgia to extend the duration of postpartum Medicaid coverage for new mothers. Included in this legislation is a provision for lactation care and services for expectant and new mothers, as well as children who are nursing. Furthermore, the FY 2021 budget added $19.7 million for this postpartum Medicaid coverage and $125,000 to provide lactation care and services for new mothers. The legislation would become effective only upon the effective date of these specific appropriations of funds by the General Assembly, and it will now go to Gov. Kemp for consideration. My colleagues in the House Study Committee on Maternal Mortality spent the previous year studying Georgia’s maternal mortality rates and recommended this legislative measure, and we will continue our work to develop strategies to combat this terrible crisis.

My colleagues and I passed Senate Bill 321 to increase the number of important medical workers in hospitals across the state, especially in areas like rural Georgia, which has experienced doctor shortages in recent years. SB 321 would raise the number of physician’s assistants who work under a doctor to four, as well as the same number of advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) who work underneath a doctor to four. This bill would also improve the scope of practice for APRNs by authorizing APRNs to order radiographic imaging tests in non-life threatening situations if directed to do so by a physician; this would be vital to ensuring that patients in areas with less doctors can receive their care in a timely manner. SB 321 is one more way the legislature is working to improve access to quality health care across the state.

We also passed Senate Bill 367 during the final week of the session to reduce the number of state assessments given to Georgia students. SB 367 would eliminate the fifth grade end-of-grade social studies assessment and reduce the number of end-of-course assessments in high school from eight to four. To maximize instruction time in the classroom, this bill would require school systems to administer the state required end-of-grade test for grades three through eight within 25 school days of the last day of school. This bill would also authorize DOE to conduct an analysis of locally implemented assessments and provide guidance to eliminate redundant tests to improve student achievement. Not only would this bill allow the state to redirect critical state funding for other educational needs, but it would allow teachers to perform their jobs more effectively without having to focus their time on early testing deadlines or an excess of state assessments every year.

Now that the 2020 legislative session has come to an end, Gov. Kemp will begin reviewing the legislation that passed in both the House and Senate, where he can veto or sign bills into law, which you can keep up with at https://gov.georgia.gov/executive-action/legislation. Even though the legislature has adjourned, I remain dedicated to serving the families and businesses in House District 12. I hope that you will contact me with any questions or concerns you may have regarding the legislation that may become law in the next few weeks or with any legislative recommendations to better our state. You can reach me at my capitol office at 404-656-5087 or by email at Eddie.Lumsden@house.ga.gov. Also, because the House has adjourned for the year, I will be spending much more time in our district. You are welcome to contact me locally at 706-232-1870.

As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative.

 

Eddie Lumsden