WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT - JANUARY 20,2006

House legislation targets dangerous sex offenders

By Rep. Hugh Floyd

In the coming week, the Georgia House of Representatives will consider House Bill 1059, which would considerably tighten penalties and restrictions on sex offenders.

The measure, sponsored by the House Majority Leader, mandates at least 25 years in prison for aggravated instances of child molestation, sodomy and sexual battery, prohibits registered sex offenders from working within 1,000 feet of any place children congregate, and compels all convicts classified as “sexually dangerous predators” by a state board to wear electronic tracking monitors for life.

While the bill is expected to have broad bipartisan support, concerns have been expressed about the practice of removing sentencing discretion from judges regarding minimum prison terms and making it harder for sex offenders on probation to find work, unemployment being a contributing factor to recidivism among those who have served time for sex crimes. There are also reservations about the longer prison terms contributing to jail overcrowding and forcing construction of expensive new correctional facilities.

Hopefully, these issues will be reconciled during debate in committee and on the House floor and we can pass a bill that strengthens the protection of all Georgians, especially children, from the most dangerous of these criminals.

Another proposal that House members will be considering is HB 18, which would remove the exemption for drivers and passengers in pickup trucks from the state’s seat belt laws. This exception is costing Georgia $20.7 million in federal highway funds, and AAA has estimated that 22 lives could be saved each year if state law required seat belt usage in pickup trucks. I’d like to know what you think about this issue. Please contact my Capitol office at 404-656-0314 or send an e-mail to hughfloyd@mindspring.com and express your views.

This week, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees held hearings on the governor’s proposed $18.6 billion fiscal year 2007 budget, which is 8.2 percent higher than last year’s state spending plan. I am pleased to report the Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville is slated to receive a $1 million allocation in the new budget year to cover startup costs.

Georgia Gwinnett College will enroll up to 500 students this fall. University System projections estimate there will be 5,000 students enrolling in fall 2007, with that number increasing to 9,000 by 2008 and at least 10,000 by fall 2009.

I agree with interim Chancellor Corlis Cummings, who told legislators this week, “The return on the state’s investment in Georgia Gwinnett College will be significant for the region and the state. We will be able to provide access to public higher education to an additional 10,000 students in the region, which will contribute to the continued economic growth of the area.”

Last week, I discussed the spending proposals for K-12 education. However, I am also concerned that the governor’s plan to require that 65 percent of new education funding is spent in the classroom, known as the “65 percent solution,” does not consider media centers or libraries as classrooms. These facilities are more than just resources for our students, they are places of learning. And the librarian/media specialist is a certified teacher, not “support staff.” This is an issue I will be looking into when the session reconvenes Monday.

The governor also wants to spend $47.8 million on major capital projects at the Okefenokee, Savannah, Lanier (Forsyth campus) and Chattahoochee (Paulding County campus) Technical Colleges. His choices bypass colleges in some other areas of the state that had been deemed as higher priorities by the Department of Adult and Technical Education.

Regarding health care, part of the $10 billion Department of Community Health (DCH) budget is slated for health care initiatives in the Medicaid and PeachCare programs and the State Health Benefit Plan. United Healthcare’s new contract with DCH to administer the benefit plan raised concerns among state workers because some doctors and hospitals they use were excluded from United’s provider network. On Tuesday, DCH Commissioner Rhonda Medows told Appropriations Committee members the issue was being addressed. Legislation has been proposed to give state legislators, employees and health care providers a bigger voice on any future changes to the Health Benefit Plan.

The “Paving the Way Home” transportation budget initiative involves $234 million in already-earmarked federal funds that during the next two fiscal years (2006 and 2007) would go to Georgia cities and counties for high-priority transportation projects. Federal taxes on motor vehicle fuels would pay for this. The Local Assistance Road Program proposal takes $60 million from the total in each year to resurface and patch deep holes in roads, while $57 million in state funding is allocated in both years to pave rural dirt roads, improve intersections and resurface and repair existing roads.