Brock Clay Capitol Report, Week 6

The pace and mood of the 2009 Legislative session changed dramatically this week as President Barack Obama signed into law the $787 billion stimulus package. For Georgia, this means:

$1.01 billion for roads and bridges and $168 million for transit capital grants

$420 million for Title I schools and $333 million for special education

$1.73 billion for increased Medicaid payments

The money Georgia receives from the stimulus package will aid the General Assembly immensely in their efforts to help plug a budget hole of approximately $3 billion. Governor Sonny Perdue appears to have kept his word to stop pushing his plans to impose a 1.6% provider tax on CMOs and hospitals.

This apparently hasn't stopped the leadership of the General Assembly from discussing plans for a revised legislative schedule that wouldn't require a Sine Die date in late June. Some well placed sources say that a resolution is being prepared which would place Sine Die on April 1, 2, or 3. While things have seemed to be moving extremely slowly for several weeks, the pace seems to have picked up dramatically.

Rep. Tom Graves (R - Granger), however, wasn't content to wait for help from Washington. This week, he introduced the Jobs Opportunity and Business Success (JOBS) Act of 2009. This legislation, in the form of House Bills 481 and 482, would do the following: create and preserve jobs by phasing out the corporate income tax; eliminating the sales tax deposit; eliminating the state inventory tax and giving businesses a $500 credit toward unemployment insurance tax and $2,400 income tax credit for each eligible employee hired. Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers joined Rep. Graves in support of the JOBS Act. With 98% of the employers in Georgia classified as small businesses, this is a step in the right direction. "After all," as former President Calvin Coolidge put it: "...the chief business of the American people is business."

While small businesses celebrated the possibilities presented by the Business Success Act, one of Georgia's largest employers continued their push for capital expansion, sitting in the crosshairs of many conservatives. Senate Bill 31 would allow Georgia Power to charge customers for the cost of constructing two new nuclear plants during the construction process, rather than waiting until after the plants begin producing power. Proponents of the bill argued that it would only result in a .001% increase in each consumer's power bill. If you'll remember, the bill passed the Senate last week with a final vote of 38 - 16. The House Energy and Telecommunications Committee held a hearing on the bill Wednesday of this week, and, at least for now, the bill's progress seems to have slowed a little. Proponents of the bill might be happy to know, however, that a February 2 poll conducted by Insider Advantage shows that 60% of respondents think it better to pay "1% now" and 10% of respondents prefer to pay "10% later." 25% of the respondents didn't have an opinion.

Senate Bill 16, dubbed the Sunday Sales Bill, is sponsored by Senator Seth Harp (R - Midland) and currently sits in the Senate Regulated Industries Committee waiting for a hearing. Rep. Roger Williams has a companion bill in the House, House Bill 352. This week, Senator Harp's legislation was merged with legislation proposed by Senator Dan Moody (R - Alpharetta) that would crack down on underage drinking. It should be noted here that Senator Moody is the Republican Caucus chairman. This week, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States released a report that showed a significant boost in revenue for Georgia if local governments were allowed to choose to sell liquor on Sundays. Wednesday, the Senate Regulated Industries Committee heard the bill and a strong debate was waged between conservative groups and business interests. The debate will continue in the coming weeks, but the opposition seems to have significantly less support from established leadership than in the last two years.

Former Senate President Pro - Tem Eric Johnson (R - Savannah) has introduced Senate Bill 90 , an innovative package that would make Georgia the first state in the country to offer vouchers in all public schools. Johnson stepped down from his post as President Pro - Tem to concentrate on his campaign for Lt. Governor, and currently serves as Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee. In the past, he has been a champion educational reform issues, including the successful passage of legislation providing vouchers to for students with disabilities. Senate Bill 90 would provide roughly $5,000 in taxpayer dollars that a family could use to help pay for private school tuition. The student would have to qualify for admission at the new school before receiving the funds, and the parent would have to provide transportation. Opponents of the bill have attacked the proposal as an attempt to weaken the public school system while proponents of the bill argue that this is a creative solution to stimulate higher performance within our education system.

This week, the effort to reform transportation governance, and fund transportation projects in Georgia began to pick up speed. If you'll remember, earlier this session, Senator Jeff Mullis sponsored and passed Senate Bill 39 and Senate Resolution 44, which continue to await a hearing in the House Transportation Committee. Senate Resolution 44 establishes a constitutional referendum to establish a TSPLOST and Senate Bill 39 is the accompanying legislation.

In the meantime, Chairman Vance Smith's (R - Pine Mountain) has continued to work to perfect House Bill 277 and House Resolution 206 . This legislation, called The Georgia 20/20 Transportation Act, establishes a statewide local option fundraising mechanism that would raise approximately $27 billion over the next ten years. The legislation places the funds under the authority of the State Road and Tollway Authority (or "another authority." Stay tuned, we now know why, and will discuss that shortly), and also places into statute a list of transportation projects on which the money may be spent. There are many varying opinions on the bill, and the transit community in particular is working hard to clarify certain portions of the bill with Chairman Smith. However, as the bill continues through the vetting process in subcommittee, more people are signing on in support. Get Georgia Moving has continued a posture of positive support for the funding efforts taking place on both sides of the Legislature. Many of GGM's members have now spoken in support of Chairman Smith's legislation.

This week, the House legislation unanimously passed out of Rep. Carl Roger's Special Funding Subcommittee. The House Transportation Committee met twice at the end of the week, and made several modifications to the legislation. Many of the amendments centered around governance and transparency. Rep. Tom Rice (R - Norcross) successfully offered an amendment to require that, if the General Assembly intends to re - authorize the legislation in 10 years by a ballot initiative, that the General Assembly must pass that reauthorization by 2/3 majority vote. Rep. Steve Davis successfully amended the bill to guarantee that on the legislative oversight committee, five of the appointees will be from metro Atlanta, five will be from outside the ARC region, and one will be at large. The legislation then passed the House Transportation Committee unanimously. Sources indicate that due to the increased pace of the session, the legislation will most likely be presented to the full House for a vote on Thursday of next week.

At the same time that the House Transportation Committee was meeting, legislators from the 12th Congressional District met to elect a new DOT Board member for that district. The race began including former state Senate Regina Thomas, former Statesboro District Attorney Joe Martin, former Georgia Chamber of Commerce Chairman Charles Tarbutton, and 36 year legislator Rep. Bobby Parham (D - Milledgeville). After two ballots, it was down to Charles Tarbutton and Bobby Parham, who eventually won the seat. Parham will replace Raybon Anderson, who abruptly resigned several weeks ago, citing personal reasons.

All of these legislative and regulatory developments are peculiarly interesting in light of a press conference that took place on Thursday and included Governor Sonny Perdue, Speaker Glenn Richardson, and Lt. Governor Casey Cagle. It was at this press conference that the three announced joint support for legislative proposals that will be introduced next Thursday. Sources indicate that the legislation will be carried by Senate President Pro - Tem Tommie Williams (R - Vidalia). The legislation will essentially relegate the Georgia DOT to road repair and maintenance, and transfer responsibility for larger capital projects to a newly created State Transportation Agency. This STA would be created on July 1 and merge the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and the State Road and Tollway Authority. This new Agency would be run by an 11 member board, with five members appointed by the Governor, three appointed by the Speaker of the House, and three appointed by the Lt. Governor. The Governor would also select the chair of the Board and the secretary (or administrator) of that agency.

For clarification of how all of this fits together, refer back to the transportation funding legislation sponsored by House Transportation Chairman Vance Smith. His definition referring all funding functions to SRTA or "another agency" seem to indicate an attempt to make allowance for this new agency. However, some feel that it's highly unlikely that the General Assembly will vote for a chance that will take away their direct influence over who controls and spends the billions of transportation dollars in Georgia.

Finally, we turn to trauma, and the struggle being waged by Georgia's EMS community and her 15 designated trauma centers to find financial backing for the vital services they provide. This week, The Senate Health and Human Services committee considered a much improved committee substitute for Senate Bill 156, sponsored by Senator Cecil Staton (R - Macon). This legislation, which would alter portions of the Georgia Code governing the Trauma Care Network Commission, proposes changes including adding burn centers to the trauma code, expanding the ability to cover cost of readiness, and clarifying the relationship of the GTCNC with the State Office of EMS and Trauma. The first draft of the legislation would have offered trauma funding to designated stroke centers, placed the Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission under the Administrative Procedures Act (allowing them to be sued), and left ambiguity in some definitions which might have allowed for non - designated trauma centers to make an argument for receiving some of the trauma money. However, a collaborative effort by the Lt. Governor and Governor's office addressed those issues, and the legislation passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee unanimously. There is an ongoing discussion about adding some language on transparency and accountability when the bill reaches the Senate Floor. There are also some concerns with language within the "vision" section of the bill that encourage building a system where all of Georgia's 152 acute care facilities become designated trauma centers, at least at a Level IV. While the language is in no way construed as a mandate, there is some concern about that being part of the discussion. Also, there is also some concern with the language describing the relationship between the State Office of EMS and Trauma and the Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission, and insuring that no undue regulatory responsibility is conferred upon the GTCNC.

Behind the scenes, there seems to be an effort by some in the healthcare community to broaden access to the funds controlled by the GTCNC. However, numerous conversations have taken place to assure that any trauma money designated for use by the GTCNC will only be used for designated trauma centers, core stakeholders, and carefully planned system expansion. Numerous members of Senate and House leadership have recently expressed concerns about the money being used as a "slush" fund for high volume acute care facilities, and will likely mount an effort to make sure that the money is used appropriately, and that the integrity of the GTCNC to use their individual expertise will be protected.

On Thursday morning, the Senate Finance Committee passed Senator Greg Goggans' (R - Douglas) Senate Resolution 377, which proposes an amendment to the Constitution to add a $10 fee onto all car tag purchases. That bill rests in the Senate Rules Committee, but conventional wisdom suggests that it won't move on through the Senate until the Lt. Governor sees the successful passage of Senate Bill 156 over to the House. Also, earlier in the week, Rep. Chuck Martin's (R - Alpharetta) Ways and Means Subcommittee held a hearing in which Rep. Fran Millar presented his proposal to divert the state's portion of the property tax (.25 mil) into the Trauma Care Trust Fund. The meeting was a hearing only and no action was taken.

Speaker Glenn Richardson (R - Hiram) has indicated an interest in entering the trauma funding discussion by instigating the amending of House Bill 480, which reforms Georgia's laws governing the car tag tax. The system the Speaker proposes would propose a flat fee on car purchases, capped at a certain amount, and then part of that revenue would be allocated to fund trauma. While more exact details are forthcoming, it's clear that the Speaker intends to try to become more aggressive in passing some sort of trauma funding, and at least at this point, he's looking at more creative ways of doing that. It would also appear that, as long as the House leadership is pursuing this particular method of funding, the funding bills introduced earlier on diverting the State's quarter mil, adding fees on cell phones and car tags, have been put on the proverbial back burner.

...and in other news...

...President Obama apparently still owes the City of Chicago almost $2 million for his inauguration bash. No word on whether or not the stimulus package will cover that..

...this day in history: On February 20, 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in the Friendship 7 Mercury Capsule...

...and...

...in Cape Haze Florida, a 23 year old man robbed a gas station with a Bowie knife, and promptly ran out of gas when he fled...


Have a great weekend.

Seth Millican
Brock Clay Public Affairs