After a flurry of education-related activity by the House and the Senate on the previous day, things returned to "normal" (as normal as things can get around the Gold Dome!) on this eleventh day of the 2010 session of the Georgia General Assembly.  Most action of interest returned to the committee level.

It was in the House where most of that "action of interest" occurred (and, is scheduled to occur).  Representative Ed Lindsey (R-Atlanta) moved a revised version of his HB 122 forward in the Governmental Affairs Committee.  This bill requires pubic reporting of budgets, expenditures, and audits by local commissions, city councils, and school boards through a web site that is under the control of the Carl Vinson Institute of Governance.  Representatives of that entity have worked long and hard to develop a "user friendly" reporting mechanism, and they have consulted frequently with ACCG, GMA, GSSA, and GSBA in developing the procedures.  This bill, which moves now under the concept of greater transparency in government, will undoubtedly move rapidly when it reaches the House floor.

Most are anticipating that, when the House Education Committee meets on Thursday, they will move forward with some form of SB 84, the much-debated and not-uncontroversial school board governance bill that has been pushed by the Governor's office since the 2009 session.  While the House Education Committee is fully expected to give a "do pass" recommendation to the bill, still to be learned is what type of amendment they will make to the nepotism part of the bill that disqualifies certain citizens from running for a school board based on who their relatives are and what positions they might hold in a school system.

Education bills continue to be introduced.  Summarized/analyzed by GSSA for today's report are:

HB 997 -- changes certain requirements regarding Social Security coverage for ERS employees (affects those few who are employed by local school systems)

HB 998 -- another shot at eliminating corporate income taxes

HB 1001 -- income tax credits

HB 1004 -- makes it illegal for school systems to use Social Security numbers or birthdates (or any portion of them) as student identifiers (Note:  Very few, if any, do this now.)

HB 1007 -- deals with the sale of real or personal property to a board of education

HB 1008 -- another sales tax exemption, this one on gas used for manufacturing

HB 1013 -- would require local boards to publish an annual report on SPLOST expenditures

Day twelve of the 2010 session is set for Thursday, February 4.