Budget subcommittee work important to process
January 26, 2007 -- Atlanta, GA -- State Sen. Tim Golden (D-Valdosta) As newly introduced legislation has started to move through the committee process, so has the proposed state budget for Fiscal Year 2008. As Secretary of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I participated in the initial budget hearings January 18-19, and now the panel’s various subcommittees are taking a closer look at each part of the record $20.2 billion spending plan.

I am pleased to be serving on two Appropriations subcommittees that oversee budgeting for two of the most important areas of state government: Transportation, which includes roads, bridges, railroads, air transportation and Georgia’s ports; and Community Health, which includes the vital Medicaid and PeachCare programs.

With regard to Transportation, this week I asked for and received a report from Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Harold Linnenkohl on the status of the Interstate 75 expansion projects in Senate District 8. In Cook County, the 9-mile-long widening project from the Lowndes County line to Georgia 37 is approximately 60 percent completed and is scheduled to be finished by September. In Lowndes County, the I-75 project is approximately 98 percent completed but hit a snag last week when the asphalt contractor for the project was placed in default on the contract. Commissioner Linnenkohl said he hopes to report on finishing that project in the next two weeks.

Earlier in the session, the Senate unanimously passed Senate Resolution 6, aimed at rescuing the PeachCare for Kids program. The measure urges Congress to fully fund the $131 million federal shortfall now faced by PeachCare, which provides health insurance for 270,000 children of Georgia’s working families. Parents and their children depend on this valuable program, and it touches families in every corner of our state, which is why it must be saved from its current economic peril.  A bipartisan team of legislators has traveled to Washington, D.C., to express the immediate need for Congressional action.

This week, I joined all of my Senate colleagues in co-sponsoring legislation that deals with one of Georgia’s most urgent health care needs, the lack of hospitals that can provide high-level trauma care to seriously injured patients. Senate Bill 60 would establish a nine-member Georgia Trauma Commission that would administer grant funding to enable trauma care hospitals around the state to continue operating.

Among legislation approved by the Senate and sent to the House of Representatives for its consideration this week were the following:

SB 11, which would allow judges who are serving in the military to continue in office and be eligible for re-election during such duty.

SB 15, which would increase the penalty for repeated offenses of driving without a license or driving while one’s license is suspended. Unlicensed drivers who are convicted a first time would face a sentence of two days in jail, followed by 10 days for a second offense and one year for a third offense within five years.

SB 24, which would crack down on Internet “phishing,” or scams designed to obtain personal financial information and money from unwary consumers. The bill would make the violation a felony, with a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.

On Thursday, a celebration was held at the Capitol recognizing the milestone of 1 million HOPE Scholarship recipients since the inception of the program in 1993. It is truly an outstanding achievement for Georgia to have been able to send a million students to our state’s colleges, universities and technical colleges at no tuition cost. Having voted for the original legislation that created HOPE back in 1991 when I was in the House of Representatives, this is a very proud accomplishment for our state and a reminder that we must continue to work diligently to protect HOPE against any attempt to cut, restrict or otherwise derail the program.

Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Sears presented the annual State of the Judiciary address to a joint legislative session Wednesday. Chief Justice Sears related, “In the halls of justice throughout the state, I have witnessed first hand first-rate judges, court staff and lawyers working together to provide for the peaceful resolution of disputes, to protect constitutional rights and to uphold the rule of law. Their commitment to Georgia is remarkable and gratifying.”

• State Sen. Tim Golden represents the 8th District (Brooks, Cook, Lowndes and Thomas Counties). During the legislative session, he can be reached at 121-A State Capitol, Atlanta, Ga. 30334; by phone at 404-656-7580; or by e-mail at tim.golden@senate.ga.gov.