Capitol observers are accustomed to a slow pace of activity in the General Assembly for the first ten days or so of each session, but this year's rate seems especially slow. Perhaps it is because the legislators are still struggling with proposed solutions to the biggest budget crisis in years, and their desire to provide needed state services is in conflict with a need for revenue to provide those services without a tax increase. Heated discussions are certainly going on behind closed doors as "creative" solutions are sought.
The House tackled a two-bill calendar on this day, and the Senate dealt with seven bills. None were directly related to K-12 education, though the Senate did pass a bill (SB341) to mandate that a person must be a Georgia resident to be eligible for a HOPE GED voucher. Ah, the weighty matters that are discussed.....
In what must surely be labeled a "testament to tenacity," House Majority Whip Ed Lindsey (R-Atlanta) appeared once again before a subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee to lobby for a newly-revised version of his HB 1. Readers of this site will remember that resolution from early in the 2009 session, said resolution seeking a constitutional amendment to cap the annual growth in the assessed value of property. That particular version of the bill having not been viewed favorably by the needed 2/3 "yes" vote of the House, Rep. Lindsey now wants such caps to be voted on by local taxpayers in a referendum called by their locally-elected leaders. However, if those local leaders fail to call for a referendum, the legislation provides for the "legislative delegation" from that county to call the referendum. As noted, tenacious.....
On Thursday (Day Twenty, and the final legislative day of this week), Senator Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) will present before the Senate Education and Youth Committee his voucher bill, SB 361. As reported previously, the bill seeks to expand the current Special Needs Scholarship program to include foster children, children of military families, and students who have 504 plans (No one seems to have a clue as to how many children this might entail.). The presentation of the bill on this date is carefully coordinated with a "school choice rally" that will be held at the Capitol on this date, said "rally" sponsored by the Center for an Educated Georgia and other like organizations. Testimony and debate on this legislation is sure to be contentious, and its progress will be followed carefully by groups on both sides of this not-uncontroversial issue. What an issue to debate during a time of billion-dollar budget cuts to the public schools of this state!
Yesterday, we listed several recently-introduced bills that might be of interest to readers of this site (some serious attempts at lawmaking, some for other reasons), and today we'll add just a few more to the list:
HB 1087 -- would make it illegal to emit pentachlorophenol within 2 miles of a school
HB 1096 -- mandates distribution of unidentified sales tax receipts to local governments
HB 1108 -- seeks an end to "zero tolerance" discipline policies
HB 1109 -- more conservation easements
HB 1110 -- would prohibit a board member from being employed by his/her own system until one year after leaving office as a board member
HB 1113 -- requires additional reporting on weapons violations
SB 365 -- all RR crossings must have warning devices
HR 1219 -- calls for school systems to "protect the rights of children" from military recruitment
Other committee meetings will be held on Day Twenty. Stay tuned. |