GA PTA Legislative Recap June 4
by Karen Hallacy on 6/4/2009

PTA                       

Takes

Action

Advocating for every child

Georgia PTA’s weekly update on legislative activity – Jun. 4, 2009

 

The final report for the legislative session has been posted on the Capitol Watch website:  http://www.ciclt.net/sn/new/n_main.aspx?ClientCode=gapta.  All the bills PTA monitored that passed this session are listed along with a note on the three that the Governor vetoed:

 

HB 100 – allowed taxpayers contributing to a student scholarship organization to get a tax credit for up to 75% of the taxpayer’s income tax liability

SB 178 – extended the capital outlay programs, relaxed some expenditure controls for schools and also funded dual enrollment

HB 481 – provided an income tax credit of $2,400 for each employee hired by a business and retained for at least six months and also cut the capital gains tax by 50%.

 

Also posted is the budget for 2010 that the Governor signed.  While there were three minor cuts made (none to K-12 education) school nurse funding, as passed by the General Assembly, stayed intact.  It should be noted that the revenue for the state continues to come in at lower than expected levels so additional cuts will likely be required either through a special session this fall or through the amended budget next session. Stay tuned!

 

All this information and more will be presented in the legislative workshops at Convention and Leadership Training, July 10-11.  There will be five legislative workshops:

  • I’m the Legislative Chair, Now What: an introduction of the roles and responsibilities of the legislative chair
  • Economics, Education and Advocacy: a very special session with a representative from the GA Partnership for Excellence in Education and Sen. Jack Hill, Chairman of Appropriations, discussing the value of education and its impact on GA. A rare chance to listen to the funding decisions by a key decision maker and ask questions!
  • Motivating for Action: ideas for motivating your members to be active advocates. It’s not as hard as you think.
  • Legislative Recap: a recap of this year’s session and what to expect next year
  • Choosing your Issues and How to Talk to Legislators: getting a handle on how to understand the issues your school and the state are facing, how to pick a topic on which to advocate and how to talk effectively with elected officials from school board members to state and national legislators.

 

Plan to attend the Convention and Leadership Training today! Go to www.georgiapta.org to sign up. Make sure the new Legislative Chair at your school knows about these workshops and signs up to attend too.

 

Karen Hallacy

GA PTA

Legislative Chair