March 30, 2010
With less than 10 legislative days remaining in this year's session, the Senate dealt with a lengthy agenda last week. The following measures were among those approved and sent to the House of Representatives for its consideration:
SB 161, which would create a statewide autism task force to study autism spectrum disorders.
SB 291 and SB 308, which would allow persons with permits to carry firearms into athletic events, political rallies, parts of college campuses, bars, churches, airports, public transit systems and other public gatherings. Guns would still be prohibited in jails, prisons, government buildings, K-12 schools and mental institutions.
SB 385, which would provide increased monetary compensation to local law enforcement agencies for turning criminal illegal immigrants over to federal authorities.
SB 409, which would require that any tax break or exemption granted to a business that uses "raw forest products," such as a biomass energy plant, must also be granted to the owner of the property where that product is harvested.
SB 418, which would create a state database to help monitor the prescription and dispensing of controlled drugs.
SB 423, which would designate so- called "smash and grab" burglaries as a felony, with a penalty of two to 20 years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine. Currently, property damage and burglary are two separate crimes with less severe enforcement and penalties for juvenile offenders.
SB 458, which would end the exception to the state's seat belt laws for drivers and passengers in pickup trucks. The bill would exempt pickup trucks' off-road use and involvement in agricultural operations.
SB 496, which would expand the HOPE Scholarship to include a need-based category for low-income students.
SB 498, which would add products that are commonly known as "synthetic marijuana" or "K2" to the Schedule I controlled substances list, prohibiting their sale or possession in our state.
SB 505, which would provide for a process to recall members of the state Transportation Board. The bill originally called for a single, five-year term limit for board members.
SR 821, which would amend the Constitution to authorize the Department of Transportation to sign multi-year contracts for highway construction projects. The measure needs to win a two-thirds majority in the House and then be approved by the voters in November in order to become law.
Hospital Tax: In the past week, several Georgia hospital organizations announced their decision to support Gov. Perdue's proposal for a provider tax to offset the state's Medicaid deficit. For two years, the health care community and most legislators have opposed the governor's "bed tax" proposal. The hospital leaders who have changed their positions apparently decided the tax was the lesser of two evils when compared to the governor's other recommendation of a 10.25 percent decrease in Medicaid reimbursements and reinstatement of the sales tax on nonprofit hospitals. The House passed a 1.45 percent provider tax in HB 307 on March 26; the proposal is now under consideration in the Senate.
Busy week in Senate before cross-over day
March 25, 2010
Friday, March 26, will be the 30th legislative day of the 2010 session of the General Assembly. This is known as "cross-over day" because it is the final day for the Senate to pass legislation in time for it to be considered by the House of Representatives during this session, and vice versa. Because this is the second session of a two-year term, legislation that has not been approved by either house by Friday will be considered dead.
In the past week, the Senate approved several legislative measures and sent them to the House of Representatives for its consideration, including:
SB 299, which would overhaul the "zero tolerance" policies and give principals and school systems more discretion in how they handle disciplinary cases.
SB 321, which would enable private developers to build reservoirs.
SB 360, which would make texting while driving illegal and impose a $150 fine.
SB 364, which would increase enforcement and penalties on criminal offenses occurring at massage parlors and spas.
SB 397, which would create a statewide "Blue Alert" system to help track down criminals who have killed or assaulted a law enforcement officer.
SB 427, which would establish the Georgia Foundation for Public Education, which would solicit and accept financial contribution to support educational excellence in Georgia schools.
SR 821, which would amend the Constitution to give the Department of Transportation legal authority to sign multi-year contracts for highway construction projects.
State of the Judiciary: Chief Justice Carol Hunstein of the Supreme Court of Georgia addressed a joint legislative session on March 16, reminding lawmakers of the serious consequences that deep funding cuts in the court system are having on public safety and business in our state. The chief justice said judicial budget cuts have contributed to a considerable backlog of criminal and civil cases in Superior Courts around the state. She quoted the Wall Street Journal as recently reporting, "The wheels of justice in Georgia are grinding more slowly each day."
Sen. Stoner co-sponsors legislation to protect small businesses
March 19, 2010
This week, I co-sponsored legislation that would establish a state commission to review the health insurance benefit and provider mandates that Georgia's small businesses are required to offer their employees. SB 509 would provide a process for taking a closer look at these mandate proposals in the future and the impact they would have on Georgia businesses and their employees and advising the governor and General Assembly as to their findings.
Under this proposal, a 15-member Special Advisory Commission on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits would include representatives from the medical, business and insurance communities and the general public. The commission would work with the Department of Insurance to collect data and assess the impact of mandated benefits and providers, including costs to employers and insurers, effectiveness of treatment, costs savings in the health care system and other factors.
Thirty states have similar commissions, and this proposal is based on a Virginia law which has worked successfully. The legislation calls for the commission to evaluate existing mandated benefits and providers and report its findings to the General Assembly by Dec. 31, 2011, and conduct a similar assessment of all health insurance mandates proposed in the future.
Members of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) have listed health insurance as their No. 1 problem every year since 1986. On average, small businesses pay 18 percent more for health insurance coverage than large businesses. The insurance mandate proposals regularly considered by Georgia lawmakers, applying only to small group and individual plans, further increases the costs that small businesses must pay to provide insurance. Many individuals and small businesses simply cannot obtain affordable coverage, which results in increased costs to Georgia taxpayers under the Medicaid or Peach Care for Kids programs.
Georgia Chamber of Commerce President and CEO George Israel said of the situation, "Even a 1 percent increase in health care costs can impact an employer's decision to offer this important benefit to their employees and drive even more Georgians onto the rolls of the uninsured. Insurance mandates add costs that our state's businesses simply cannot afford." The legislation has the support of a wide range of business groups including the NFIB and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, among others.
SB 509, which has bipartisan support, was referred to the Senate Insurance & Labor Committee for its consideration.
Stoner legislation aims to bring efficiency to state government
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March 12, 2010
The legislature is faced with an unprecedented drop in revenues and challenged with balancing the budget with very little money. This could force a major shift in state government where consolidation and increased efficiency are top priorities. The Senate is already taking steps toward this goal, passing several bills on Tuesday to eliminate government waste and utilize creative solutions to help balance our state budget.
My legislation to increase efficiency in rural and human services transportation received broad support across the aisle, consolidating a system that is currently broken up between six different agencies.
SB 22 establishes the Georgia Coordinating Council for Rural and Human Services Transportation, which will be charged with finding efficiencies in providing and funding transportation services for rural citizens, the elderly and disabled.
In presenting the legislation, I used a chart (accompanying this article, which you can click to enlarge) depicting the tangled web of bureaucracy in Georgia that funding for rural transportation assistance must pass through to reach the citizens who need it most. This bill doesn't create another bureaucratic organization, but rather brings together affected agencies to find efficiencies. The council will be made up of representatives from the state school superintendent and the commissioners of the Department of Transportation, Department of Human Resources, Department of Community Health and the Department of Labor.
Governor's plan threatens Georgia hospitals
March 11, 2010
In a threatening move toward Georgia's financially struggling hospitals, Gov. Sonny Perdue announced Thursday his plan to cut Medicaid reimbursement rates by 10.25 percent and eliminate a sales tax exemption for non-profit hospitals. These actions will cost hospitals a total of $274 million during fiscal year 2011.
It is unfortunate that the governor would consider a proposal so damaging to our health care system without first supporting a concept that would bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue - without raising taxes. A number of Georgia cities participated in a pilot program for the local collection of sales taxes and showed the state was failing to collect sales tax revenue that consumers were paying but was going unreported.
The state is losing up to $1 billion per year because the Department of Revenue in this administration has been unsuccessful in cracking down on sales tax cheating. Legislation that would authorize local governments to collect sales taxes and help make up for these losses has been stuck in committee since last year because of partisanship by the Republican majority.
The governor's new plan to slash Medicaid reimbursements and charge a sales tax on non-profit hospitals is apparently an angry response to the health care community's strong opposition to his previous proposal to impose a 1.6 percent tax increase on all hospitals. This proposal will likely draw similar opposition because of the devastating effect it would have on health care facilities across the state, including many hospitals already on the verge of financial collapse.
Also Thursday, the governor announced he is shifting $342 million in federal stimulus funding from the FY 2011 budget to the current year's budget, in the wake of February's revenue report that showed a 9.9 percent decline from the previous year. Georgia's tax collections have now fallen for 15 consecutive months.
Property Tax Reform: There was some good news for taxpayers in the Senate this week. SB 346, a property tax reform measure that would assure that all property owners receive an annual tax assessment notice, was approved unanimously Thursday. Taxpayers would also receive information on when to file an appeal and have 45 days to do so. SB 346 now goes to the House of Representatives for its consideration.
Water Conservation: Legislation calling for increased water conservation measures cleared the Senate unanimously Wednesday. SB 370 would establish new rules for public water systems, stronger efforts to plug leaks and new standards to require high-efficiency plumbing fixtures. The measure is intended to help Georgia resolve its water dispute with Florida and Alabama, in response to a federal judge's ruling that threatens the cutoff of water withdrawals for metro Atlanta from Lake Lanier. However, the proposal does not address the controversial issue of inter-basin transfers, which threatens the water supply in communities up and down the Savannah River. The House passed similar legislation the same day.
Paperwork Reduction: On Thursday, the Senate voted unanimously in favor of legislation that mandates the electronic distribution and publication of state government reports, unless printing is legally required. The sponsor of SB 388 said this measure helps create a culture of efficiency and cost savings within state government, which is necessitated by the economic recession. The bill is now under consideration in the House.
Fee Assessments: The Senate voted Monday to approve legislation that would assess the current level of fees charged by state agencies and commissions and determine which ones should be adjusted. SB 381, which now goes to the House for its consideration, would require the governor's Office of Planning and Budget to prepare a comprehensive report on the fees that are assessed and collected by the state, along with the amount of revenues raised by each fee. Some of the fees charged for state services have not been raised or lowered since 1955.
First Aid Training: On Monday, the Senate passed SB 298, which would make first aid a standard part of secondary health education, alongside health, drug prevention and sex education. The measure is aimed at creating a generation of Georgians with basic first aid skills. The House will now consider the proposal.
Proposed cuts to higher education a major concern
March 9, 2010
The Appropriations Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives just completed two weeks of hearings on the annual state budget for fiscal year 2011, for the purpose of considering more cuts to the $18.2 billion spending plan proposed by Gov. Sonny Perdue.
The governor is forecasting a 4.2 percent growth in revenue for next year, despite the fact that state tax collections have declined for 15 consecutive months and are now down by 12.7 percent through the first eight months of fiscal year 2010. It has been estimated that the amended budget for this year will have to be cut by at least another $200 million, and the 2011 budget is facing an overall shortfall of at least $1.5 billion.
Legislative budget writers are considering drastic actions in order to balance the budget. More personnel cuts will probably be necessary. Department heads are being asked for lists of employees who are fully vested in state pension benefits and could be encouraged to retire early.
The most controversial budget proposal is a recommendation to slash another $300 million from Georgia's public colleges and universities. Having already cut $380 million from the University System budget since 2008, further deep reductions would be painful for college students, faculty and staff and the state's economy.
Under the proposal, Kennesaw State University would stand to lose $14.1 million in funding and 224 staff positions. The number of freshmen and transfer students would be reduced by 10 percent, while the elimination some degree programs would force other students to transfer to another institution. Statewide, a 35 percent student tuition increase is on the table, and elimination of the Georgia 4-H program has been suggested.
These proposals have resulted in a public outcry that is expected to increase as long as these catastrophic cuts to higher education are considered. Our University System has made great strides over the past 20 years in expanding opportunities for students all over the state to get a college education. No one I know wishes to see that progress reversed.
February Revenue Decline: Gov. Perdue announced Monday that net revenue collections for the month of February 2010 (FY 2010) totaled $567,251,000 compared to $629,448,000 for February 2009 (FY09), a decrease of $62,197,000 or 9.9 percent. The percentage decrease year-to-date for FY10 compared to FY09 is 12.7 percent.
Transportation Funding: Legislation proposed by Gov. Perdue, calling for a referendum on a 1 percent sales tax for transportation projects in each of 12 special districts across the state, is under consideration in the House Transportation Committee. While there is support for the regional approach to increased funding for transportation, there is also concern about several provisions in HB 1218. Some lawmakers object to its top-down policy, with the state dictating the makeup of the regions rather than counties voluntarily coming together to form their own regions and having more local control. Also, the governor's bill would not call for the referendum until 2012, meaning Georgia's transportation needs would have to wait an additional two years for a long-overdue funding solution. A Transportation subcommittee has already made several changes to the legislation, whose sponsor said the governor would likely veto any version of the bill that allows counties or regions to opt out of putting the sales tax referendum before the voters. The governor and legislative leaders have failed to agree on transportation funding legislation in the previous two sessions of the General Assembly.
'Zero Tolerance' Reform: The Senate Education & Youth Committee has approved legislation aimed at bringing common sense to Georgia's so-called "zero tolerance" school disciplinary laws, which were intended to crack down on serious charges of having weapons in school but have too often resulted in students being criminalized for minor and insignificant infractions. SB 299 would prevent the immediate jailing of a student without a hearing and give judges more discretion into how they handle cases. The legislation, along with SB 332, which would require schools to include on their annual discipline reports the number of zero tolerance cases, will now be considered by the full Senate.
Property Tax Revisions: The Senate Finance Committee has approved SB 346, which would revise and streamline the procedures for appealing property tax valuations. This measure would standardize the process by which property owners can appeal the value assigned by tax assessors to their property and would require counties to mail valuation notices to property owners every year, along with information on how they can file an appeal. SB 346 now awaits a vote on the Senate floor.
Teacher pay proposal another attack on public schools
March 1, 2010
Senate Bill 386, under consideration in the Senate Education & Youth Committee, would impose a so-called "merit pay" system for Georgia's public school teachers and administrators that would be largely tied to students' scores on standardized tests, rather than each educator's level of experience.
The past eight years have been difficult enough for Georgias public schools. Now, in his final year in office, Gov. Sonny Perdue has come up with another plan that won't help the education of our students. While student achievement is - and should be - the ultimate goal of our school system, connecting standardized test scores to teachers' and administrators' paychecks is not the way to reach that goal and could, in fact, have an adverse effect.
Standardized testing is only one means of measuring academic success and is not necessarily the most reliable. It is an even less reliable method of evaluating the performance of teachers, because there is nothing "standard" about the classroom resources, academic programs or socioeconomic conditions that exist from one school system to another.
The reliance by government on "common evaluation instruments" and standardized test scores has already led to charges of educators being encouraged to specifically "teach to the test" rather than providing a broader learning experience that our students will need for success in life. Even worse, dishonesty in the reporting of test scores has already been alleged in some school systems here in the metro Atlanta area. Bringing teacher pay into the equation would likely encourage even more cheating.
"Pay for performance" is promoted by its supporters as a vehicle for increased accountability in our public schools, and there is certainly nothing wrong with accountability. But when it comes to student achievement, there is plenty of accountability that goes beyond the efforts of our teachers in the classroom. In addition to holding our educators on the front lines accountable, we must also measure the performance of parents, school board members, state legislators and, yes, our governor.
Constitutionally, public education is the responsibility of state government. Yet over the last eight years, Gov. Perdue and the legislative majority have shirked most of that responsibility through budget cuts, higher class sizes, unfunded mandates, increased paperwork, teacher furloughs and shifting the tax burden to the local level. Why should our teachers be the only ones who are consistently told to do more with less?
Gov. Perdue proposed slashing another $299 million from K-12 education funding in his fiscal year 2010 supplemental budget proposal. The Legislature has reduced that number to $281 million, but it stills brings the total school cuts for this year to $692 million. Educators, like other state employees, must take three more unpaid furlough days between now and June 30.
At the beginning of the legislative session, state School Superintendent Kathy Cox told lawmakers that some 35 local school systems across the state are near the financial breaking point. Those school boards must decide whether to make payroll or keep up bond payments on school buildings. Superintendent Cox said more education cuts will have a devastating effect on many more school systems that are "teetering on the edge." She warned that some systems are already in the red. This leaves local school boards with no choice but to expand class sizes up to 40 students or increase local property taxes, or both.
Reducing government spending is to be expected in theses unprecedented economic times. But when it comes to reducing the funding of public education, this governor proposed drastic Quality Basic Education (QBE) funding cuts in seven out of his eight years in office - whether economic times were good or bad. The only year he did not was 2006, when he was running for re-election.
This administration's eight-year reduction in QBE funding totals around $2.3 billion, not only hurting our students but shifting the burden to the local level where property owners are forced to make up the difference. The majority of school districts across the state have had to raise property taxes because of the cuts in QBE funding from the state. The governor calls these "austerity cuts," but what is austere or fiscally responsible about merely shifting the tax burden from one level of government to another?
The Perdue administration's misguided education policies do not stop with QBE funding cuts. The governor has also attempted to eliminate state funding for school nurses and bonus pay for teachers earning national certification. Meanwhile, as public school funding is slashed to the bone, the governor and the legislative majority passed a $50 million tax break for private schools and repeatedly pushed for private school vouchers.
Now, on his way out of office, Gov. Perdue is proposing a teacher pay system tied to student test scores. It is the height of hypocrisy for the state government to demand higher test scores while pulling more state resources out of our schools year after year. SB 386 gets a failing grade.
District 6
P.O. Box 1781
Smyrna, GA 30081
Phone: 770.436.0699
Fax: 770.436.0699
Email: doug.stoner@senate.ga.gov
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