Update from Lynne Riley for Georgia

Friday, March 11, 2011, marked the 28th legislative day of the General Assembly"s annual session. With Crossover Day (Day 30) and Sine Die (Day 40, the final legislative day) quickly approaching, we are busier than ever under the Gold Dome. As our capitol days get longer and the number of bills being debated grows, I want to help you stay up-to-date on a few key issues that may affect you and your family.

As I"m sure you have noticed, the increasing cost of healthcare and health insurance has received a lot of attention since President Obama signed the "Affordable Care Act" into law on March 23, 2010. Whether you like or dislike this federal health insurance law, it is clear that American families are already seeing the costs of the law"s new mandates. Health insurance premiums are increasing dramatically, making health insurance unaffordable for many Georgians. With that in mind, my colleagues and I passed House Bill 47. This legislation gives Georgians the option to purchase less expensive health insurance plans by allowing insurance companies licensed in Georgia to sell accident and health insurance policies that are approved for sale in other states. This simple change would create a more open insurance market with greater competition, ultimately resulting in less expensive health insurance options for Georgians.

Another key bill passed this week was House Bill 78, the Fiscal Year 2012 state budget. This legislation will direct state spending from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012 and totals $18.1 billion in state funds. While state funds have experienced a net increase of 2 percent as a result of improving economic conditions, total spending for FY 2012 has decreased by over 4 percent due to expiring federal stimulus funds. Not accounting for inflation, this puts us per capita below 2001 budget levels. Considering our population has increased by 18 percent in this same decade, it is clear that some difficult cuts had to be made. In general, we accounted for these reductions by asking state agencies and departments to cut spending by an average of 7 percent, keeping growth expenses in check, and by enacting measures that allow us to reduce service and payment costs. Within the limited budget, however, we were able to provide some needed improvements that have statewide impact.

Because education is one of our state"s highest priorities, we worked to protect our schools from as many budget cuts as possible. However, the fact that education makes up over half of Georgia"s budget makes it impossible to make the necessary budget reductions without some cuts to this area. The House was able to soften cuts to direct classroom instruction programs to just 1 percent and indirect classroom instruction to 4 percent. Additionally, we managed to soften the Governor"s recommended 10 percent reduction to school nurses to an easier to handle 4 percent. Despite these cuts, we made sure to include funding for differentiated pay for math and science teachers, as well as the innovative "Move on When Ready" initiative, which allows high school juniors and seniors to explore broader graduating options.

In lottery funds, the House adjusted the Georgia Pre-K program so that it remains financially stable. Originally, the bi-partisan plan for preserving Pre-K would have reduced the program from six hours of daily instruction to just four hours of daily instruction. However, after consulting pre-K teachers and providers, a new decision was reached. Under this new plan, as implemented by HB 78, Georgia Pre-K will remain a full day, six hour instruction program. This ensures full nutritional and educational opportunities for 86,000 children next year.

Instead of reducing the number of daily hours, the new Pre-K plan will reduce the Pre-K year from 180 days to 160 days. Additionally, two more students will be added to each Pre-K class, moving the class size from 20 to 22. Since all Georgia Pre-K classes have a paraprofessional in the room, the student to teacher ratio will max out at 11 to 1. Further, Pre-K providers will receive 94 percent of the operating funds they currently receive, and Pre-K teachers will receive 90 percent of their current salaries.

Other noteworthy portions of the FY 2012 budget include restored Medicaid funding that allows low-income Georgians access to vision, dental, and podiatry services. We also restored funding for Alzheimer"s Respite, Meals on Wheels, and Independent Care Waivers that serve aged, blind, and disabled Georgians. This budget also includes more than $19 million for economic development projects that will improve roads, bridges, and airports throughout the state as well as help bring jobs to out of work Georgians.

Now that House Bills 47 and 78 have passed the House, they will make their way through the Senate committee process. If passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, these bills will become law.

In addition to passing HB 47 and HB 78, the House also agreed with the Senate on final passage of House Bills 326 – the HOPE scholarship program revisions.

Under HB 326, next year, merit-based HOPE scholarship students attending public colleges and universities, as well as technical college students, will receive 90% of 2011 tuition amounts. HOPE scholarship students attending private colleges and universities would receive $3,600 for tuition. The HOPE Scholarship will continue to require a 3.0 GPA, but will no longer cover books, fees or remedial college classes. Additionally, students will only be allowed to regain the scholarships one time after losing it. Finally, HB 326 will also phase in new eligibility standards, one of which limits students" eligibility to the first seven years after they graduate from high school.

HB 326 also creates the Zell Miller Scholarship, which will offer full tuition to Georgia"s public colleges to students who graduate from high school as a valedictorian or salutatorian. Students will also qualify for the Zell Miller Scholarship if they graduate from high school with a minimum 3.7 GPA and 1200 on the SAT or 26 on the ACT. To continue receiving the Zell Miller Scholarship, these students will have to maintain a 3.3 GPA while attending college.

Home school students will be able to receive the HOPE Scholarship, HOPE Grant, and Zell Miller Scholarship just like their peers in public and private high schools. Also, the HOPE Grant will continue to cover remedial classes at technical schools.

Finally, the House also agreed to final passage of House Bill 77, the Amended Fiscal Year 2011 (AFY 2011) state budget. This legislation adjusts current state spending through June 30th of this year. These adjustments are necessary because Georgia is constitutionally required to maintain a balanced state budget, unlike our counterparts in the federal government who maintain massive budget deficits. The AFY 2011 state budget requires state agencies and departments to make an average of four percent budget cuts, totaling over $303 million. However, we made sure that these cuts do not apply to education. In fact, this budget includes an extra $152 million that the House added for K-12 education.

Now that the House has agreed with the Senate on final passage of HB 326 and HB 77, all that remains for these bills to become law is receipt of the Governor"s signature.

As the end of session draws near, I encourage you to contact me with any comments or questions you have about the legislation being considered at the state capitol. You can reach me at my capitol office at 404-656-0188. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative.

Please contact me at at any time.

Sincerely,

Representative Lynne Riley
House District 50 - Johns Creek, Fulton County