WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT—March 23, 2007
Supplemental budget pulled for reconsideration
By Rep. Hugh Floyd
The state’s supplemental budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2007 was adopted by the House of Representatives on March 20, but there was a motion later in the evening to reconsider, so House Bill 94 remains in the House pending resolution of a conflict with the Senate leadership.
As adopted, HB 94 earmarks $194 million for a 2.65 percent jump in K-12 school enrollment. Addressing the federal funding shortfall in the popular PeachCare for Kids Program, which now provides over 273,000 children with health insurance, HB 94 contains $81 million for the program to keep it up and running giving Congress time to pay their portion and reimburse the state.
This week, I officially introduced two alternative proposals to expand the Gwinnett County Commission from four members to six. HB 740 proposes a newly reapportioned county map with six distinct districts. HB 741 proposes to keep the current four district and add two “super districts” which would each overlay two of the currently drawn districts. I have outlined the reasons behind these proposals in previous reports, and maps for both alternatives can be accessed on www.hughfloyd.com.
By a vote of 106-65, House members approved HB 185, which gives a judge the option to apply the death penalty if at least 10 out of 12 jurors in capital cases vote for that recommendation. I voted against this legislation in favor of current law, which requires a unanimous jury to apply the capital punishment. We have had too many cases in Georgia recently where it was determined years later the wrong person had been sent to prison for certain crimes, and we cannot afford to lower the standard for condemning a defendant to death row.
HB 77, which passed by a vote of 110-60, would require counties and municipalities to conduct a traffic study prior to utilizing red-light cameras in law enforcement. It also requires that 75 percent of the money collected as the result of the devices, after cost of incurred for operation has been taken out, to be used to fund a trauma care system in Georgia.
Other legislation approved by the House this week includes:
- HB 487, which would change the date of Georgia’s presidential primary from March 3 to February 5, 2008. It also would reduce the requirement to win an election and avoid a runoff from the true majority to a plurality of 45 percent.
- HB 16, which would ensure the same “whistleblower” protections that state employees, who file a complaint of fraud, waste and abuse in state programs and operations enjoy, would be extended to local government employees.
- HB 147, which would require that women seeking an abortion have to be offered an opportunity to first see a sonogram of the fetus.
- HB 429, which would require physicians who provide prenatal care or delivery to test mothers for HIV unless the mother specifically declines the test. The bill requires that a woman be informed of the test and of her right to refuse.
- HB 102, which would authorize the Department of Corrections to compensate Robert Clark, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 23 years, in the amount of $1.2 million over a 15-year period.
- HB 227, which would establish a state-level franchise authority for cable television service, allowing providers to obtain a single franchise rather than having to apply for local government franchises in each community served.
There is growing opposition to two bills under consideration, namely HB 610, which would allow for excessive tree-cutting around billboards along Georgia’s interstates, highways and roads, and HB 340, a plan to reduce eligibility for PeachCare from 235 percent of the poverty level to 200 percent, thus keeping thousands of children of Georgia’s working families out of the program.
Legislation that would have repealed the state’s prohibition of “payday lending,” and strictly regulating the practice, failed to receive the necessary 91 votes for approval. The House vote on HB 163 ended in an 84-84 tie.
Tuesday, March 27, will be the 30th legislative day of the 2007 session. That is “cross-over” day, the final day in which legislation can be moved from the House to the Senate, or vice versa, for consideration by the other chamber before the end of this year’s session.
- Rep. Hugh Floyd (D-Norcross) represents the 99th District (Gwinnett County) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact him at 611 Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-0314 or by e-mail at hughfloyd@mindspring.com.
