WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT – February 10, 2006

House demonstrates support for troops and families

By Rep. Hugh Floyd

Maj. Gen. William G. Webster Jr., commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, addressed a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate on Wednesday and took the opportunity to thank members of the General Assembly and all Georgians for supporting the troops in Iraq. He said the division’s mission of improving security and stability in and around Baghdad was a success.

To show further support for our active duty military personnel, House members adopted legislation that would enable military parents and children to spend more time with each other before the parent has to leave for overseas duty or his home on leave.

House Bill 984 would allow students in Georgia’s public schools to take up to five school days to visit with their parents in such situations and not be counted absent. The bill passed unanimously and now goes to the Senate for its consideration.

Also, I hope you will support the Georgia National Guard Family Support Foundation Inc. with a tax check-off donation on Line 31 of your 2006 state income tax return. During tax return season, this check-off, which the General Assembly established last year, is a way for us to support the families of our active-duty Guard members who, among other sacrifices, have had to leave their jobs to serve us overseas.

If Atlanta wins the NASCAR Hall of Fame, will the Governor’s proposed $27.4 million investment in the museum have been justified? Museum advocates cite the economic benefits they claim the project  will bring to Georgia – $124 million for the Georgia economy in year one, $1.5 billion after 10 years, $519 million in new personal income for Georgia residents, 1,600 construction jobs over two years and another 1,700 paying positions connected to the Hall of Fame in year one.

Detractors suggest the financial impact is overstated. Atlanta itself would only gain 116 new jobs – no bargain, since that’s one job for each $280,000 in public funds earmarked for NASCAR. Skeptics ask why taxpayers should pay a third of the estimated $92 million price tag when NASCAR itself is so rich: it reaps $2 billion a year in merchandise sales, and the corporation than runs many of its tracks is worth $2.5 billion.

Which case is better may depend on answers to two key questions that the Hall’s major boosters – Central Atlanta Progress and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce – haven’t answered yet. Who will own the museum? Who will get the revenue from merchandise sales and admissions? The public deserves those answers.

Legislation adopted by the House and sent to the Senate this week included:

HB 728, the Mattie’s Call Act, which would provide a statewide alert system to assist in the search for missing or disabled adults, including Alzheimer’s patients, the developmentally impaired and others who suffer from dementia. The bill is named for Mrs. Mattie Moore, an Alzheimer’s patient in Atlanta who became lost and unfortunately died before she could be found. Her case led to the establishment of a Mattie’s Call system in the City of Atlanta, which has already been 100 percent successful in 11 Mattie’s Call alerts so far. All 11 individuals were found alive and safe and returned home.

HB 1107, which would give income tax credits to individuals or corporations that donate property or conservation easements. Currently, Georgians can claim a state income tax deduction for permanent conservation easements and charitable land gifts, but not an income tax credit. This new credit would be available when the land or easement is donated to the state, county, city or a charitable nonprofit group. The state Department of Natural Resources would have the final say on whether the donated property qualifies as conservation land.

HB 1066, which would expand mandatory newborn screenings from 13 to 26 tests and would include genetic disorders. Those parents who do not wish to have their children tested because of religious reasons would have to submit a formal objection in writing. To offset the costs of the new tests, the state Department of Human Resources would be allowed to establish fees as long as they do not exceed costs, and services could never be denied because of inability to pay. Preventive medicine and early treatment can save countless lives and millions in health care costs.

In the face of substantial opposition, supporters of HB 1022 pulled back their proposal, which would have awarded $128 per day in expense reimbursement to a member of a constitutional commission who is required by law to live more than 50 miles from that commission’s principal place of business. The bill was specifically written to assist a Public Service Commissioner who represents a South Georgia district. The proposal would have added $40,000 in taxpayer-funded reimbursement to his $109,000 annual salary. A number of House members spoke in opposition to the bill, citing its dangerous precedent, and the bill was sent back to committee, where House Speaker Glenn Richardson predicted it would stay.