This fourteenth day of the 2009 session of the Georgia General Assembly saw action on the tax cap front.  Frustrated that they could not convince 120 members of the House of Representatives to vote for HR 1, Republican leaders have apparently decided that HB233 is their new, best hope for limiting the ability of local governments to raise revenue.  This bill, which would place immediate limits on the growth in the assessed value of property, literally raced through stages of the legislative process, a sure sign that it is on a fast track and that dissent is neither welcomed nor tolerated.  In less than an hour, the latest iteration of this just-introduced bill (which, by the way, eliminated an earlier "opt out" provision for local governments) received a "do pass" recommendation from both a subcommittee and the full committee of House Ways and Means.  Observers fully expect it to speed to the floor of the House on Friday, where finding 91 votes will prove to be much easier than the 120 needed for their proposed constitutional amendment.  Assuming that this bill passes and is signed by the Governor, a legal challenge is considered highly likely.

That same House Ways and Means Committee gave a "do pass" to a bill that local governments and school boards applauded, though -- HB181.  This bill extends a sunset provision in some earlier legislation and allows the Department of Revenue to distribute some $18 million in sales tax proceeds that were collected from local jurisdictions but were unidentifiable as to where they should go.  This bill was allowed to expire last session, so the "renewal" of it is welcome news.

Conversation among education groups continued on this day regarding the potential for extremely negative effects from HB 279, Governor Perdue's latest attempt to change the method for calculating and distributing equalization grant funds.  System leaders realize that the method proposed in the bill will penalize all equalization grant-eligible systems and that those systems with lower millage levies will be penalized even more severely.  Phone calls and emails to legislators have been the order of the day as superintendents and finance directors begin to comprehend the magnitude of the cuts their systems may be facing.  On top of that, rumors continue to circulate that the January revenue numbers are dismal, raising the specter of even deeper cuts.

GSSA staff has now had time to review and summarize the content of several pieces of highly-anticipated legislation, some of it from the Governor and some of it from other legislators.  Available for review now are:

HB 280 -- Governor Perdue's bill seeking to pay math and science teachers at a higher level

HB 281 -- not a highly anticipated bill, but one calling for virtual school students to be eligible for participation in public school extracurricular activities (Reminiscent of a bill from previous session seeking eligibility for home school students, and offered by the same legislator!)

HB 282 -- another Governor's bill, this one calling for extra compensation (merit pay?) for master teachers

SB 84 -- the bill that emerged from the Commission on School Board Excellence, this one laying out requirements for school boards (and, including a nepotism provision sought by a key legislator)

SB 90 -- Senator Eric Johnson's much-ballyhooed voucher bill for this session

SB 93 -- another Governor's initiative, this one calling for incentive pay for high school principals

The General Assembly will meet for its fifteenth official day on Friday, February 6.  That session is expected to start and end early.