As anticipated, the pace of approval of the state's FY2009 Amended Budget proceeded rapidly this day when the House gave its overwhelming approval to their version of the document.  In the world of education (and, as reported two days ago), some federal stimulus dollars were included in this House version of the document in an attempt to mitigate some of the damage caused by the increase in austerity cuts that have come down since the General Assembly started its session.  [To see the changes to the Governor's original FY09 Amended Budget recommendations that have been recommended and approved by the House, click here and scroll to page 33 of the document.]

Representative Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth) gathered his House Education Committee late on this afternoon, and the main item on their agenda was a report from Superintendent Kathy Cox on her one-day trip to Washington on the previous day, a trip during which she heard the latest details on dollars to be available to states as part of the federal stimulus package.  Superintendent Cox gave the overview and responded to questions, a format which she also will be likely to follow in her communication session with local system superintendents scheduled for Monday, March 2 at 1:00 p.m.  In addition to hearing Superintendent Cox's report, the committee gave a "do pass" recommendation to the following bills:

• HB 400 -- the "BRIDGE" bill, seeking to require graduation plans for all students and providing for reform grants for schools and systems wishing to pursue other tenets of the legislation.  The bill passed unanimously.
• HB 278 -- relaxes expenditure controls on certain state monies for both FY2009 and FY2010.

Early on this morning, the Senate Education and Youth Committee met once again, this time to discuss and act upon the following bills:

• SB 114 and SB 137, both bills authored by Senator Ed Harbison (D-Columbus) and seeking to ease the path of military children as they enter Georgia schools; both bills received a "do pass" from the committee.  [Editor's note:  SB 137 is a reprise of last year's Interstate Compact on Opportunity for Military Children, which was vetoed by Governor Perdue after having passed the General Assembly.  SB 114 does many of the same things that SB 137 seeks to do, but SB 114 leaves the decisions in the hands of local and state officials rather than ceding the right to make those decisions to out-of-staters (which, apparently, was a major concern to the Governor last year).]
• SB 178 -- extends, once again, the sunset dates for the school capital outlay programs.  This bill also received a unanimous "do pass."

Over the last few days of reports from the Capitol, this author confesses to having gotten a little behind in posting for readers' consideration GSSA's summaries of recently-introduced legislation.  And, to try to list them all on this page might prove to be a daunting task for both the poster and the reader (especially considering that tax legislation, which we have tried to track more closely over the last couple of years, continues to be introduced at a dizzying pace).  However, in an attempt to both "catch up" and make available GSSA's summaries of legislation for those who count on us, let us attack it this way:

For those who are interested in the various and sundry tax-related bills (Rest assured that, except for one or two, they are all tax cuts, tax exemptions, or tax caps; very few legislators seem anxious to propose tax increases!), go to the "Legislation" part of this web page, and drag and click on the "Overview" link.  Once on the new page, go to the "Issues" column and click on "Finance--Taxation."  That will take you to the entire list of 73 tax bills that have been submitted thus far, and the summaries are there for your reading pleasure.  [Editor's note:  Some of the bills really do deserve a look, including such ones as HB 446 (a revision of the taxation system on motor vehicles), HB 482 (statewide freeport exemption), SB 167 (exempts school systems from the motor vehicle excise tax), HB 520 (ad valorem tax relief for disabled veterans), and HR 369 (ad valorem tax relief for public servants).  One only wishes that the General Assembly would pass and take seriously HR 442, a proposed study committee to take a serious look at all the tax exemptions granted by this state over the years and just what impact they have had on the state's economy and its citizens.]

Other bills of interest to readers of this site that have been recently summarized include the following:

• HB 455 -- proposes to extend (for this school year only) until May 15 the deadline for issuing teacher contracts, letters of notice of termination, etc.
• HB 484 -- HOPE eligibility for children of military families
• HB 501 -- more stringent promotion criteria for public school students
• HB 508 -- the "Teacher Access to Resources" Act
• HR 341 -- a bill proposing greater access by school systems to a 1% sales tax for operations
• SB 178 -- extends, once again, the sunset dates for the school capital outlay program
• HB 524 -- proposed amendments to the compulsory school attendance statute
• HB 566 -- once again, this year's version of the "Blind Person's Education Act"
• SB 210 -- home schoolers eligible for participation in the Governor's Honors Program

The General Assembly will reconvene on Tuesday, March 3, for their twenty-fifth day.