2007 session comes to a temporary end
April 20, 2007 -- Atlanta, GA -- State Sen. Tim Golden (D-Valdosta) The 2007 session of the Georgia General Assembly came to an end at midnight Friday, the 40th legislative day. But it will be only a temporary end as Governor Perdue has indicated he will summon lawmakers back for a special session to reconsider the supplemental budget for the remainder of this fiscal year, which he vetoed Thursday evening.

The supplemental budget included a $142 million property tax cut that might now be off the table.

Both the Senate and House of Representatives approved a $20.2 billion annual state budget plan for fiscal year 2008, which begins July 1.  Included in this budget are a number of appropriations that will benefit the 8th Senate District.  Our area delegation was successful in securing the following items in the budget:

• $4.0 million to renovate Nevins Hall at Valdosta State University
• $461,000 to open the 100 bed Corrections Department Valdosta Transition Center
• $2.2 million to expand Valdosta State Prison by 256 beds
• $1.9 million for improvements at Southwestern State Hospital in Thomasville
• $125,000 for Valdosta State University to start a charter school to train teachers

Legislation I introduced that would strengthen the drug-free workplace program in Georgia won final approval by both the House and Senate. SB 96, which would authorize employers to conduct pre-employment, on-site, oral testing for substance abuse, goes to the Governor for his signature.  As a member of the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee, I was pleased to see this bill pass out of committee unanimously and even more pleased when it passed the full Senate by a vote of 56-0.

As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, I was pleased to serve with Senators Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) and Chip Pearson (R-Dawsonville) on the Senate-House conference committee for HB 148. This bill in its final form includes a cap on sales tax on all forms of energy used by manufacturers through December 2009.

This will further help stem the tide of manufacturing job losses because it provides for a partial exemption on the state sales tax on energy costs for manufacturers.  In short, state sales tax on energy costs for manufacturers are frozen at the March, 2007 level.  Any increase in energy costs above that level will be exempt from state taxation.  This measure had the support of the poultry, textile, mining, pulp paper and other manufacturing industries, as well as the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Businesses.

I have been working for several years on energy tax relief for manufacturers and am pleased with the positive first step offered by HB 148.

Other major legislation that won final approval during the last week of the 2007 session includes:

I was pleased to support Senate changes to HB 214, which would extend the lease of the Jekyll Island’s governing body and, possibly, its residents for an additional 40 years. The legislation includes provisions to prevent the arbitrary sale of any land, establish an important oversight committee, and protect the South end of the island so that untold generations can enjoy the pristine natural resource.

HB 147, which would require all women seeking an abortion to be offered, by a medical provider, a chance to view an ultrasound image and hear the fetal heart before the pregnancy is terminated.

HB549, which was approved by both the House and the Senate, doubles the number of pre-approved therapy units from 8 to 16, helping therapists to better serve the developmentally disabled community and their children.  I was pleased to help pass this out of Senate Appropriations and on the floor of the Senate.  It is a giant step in the right direction.  In addition, the Aged, Blind, and Disabled populations were being proposed to be placed under the CMOs and we were successful in removing that provision from the budget in the Senate.  

SB 10, which would provide state money for parents of special needs students to send their children to private schools or public schools outside their district. Opponents, including me, of this measure believe that K-12 education has already endured too much of a decline in funding and vouchers will take away even more needed dollars from public schools.

SR 309 / SB 200, which would give developers the power to build planned communities with tax-exempt bonds without the authority to tax homeowners. House members removed “taxing” language from SB 200 and its companion constitutional amendment, SR 309. Yet, lawmakers preserved another section in the legislation giving the so-called infrastructure development districts the authority to raise a flat fee from homeowners. The districts could use the “special assessment” revenues to pay off debt on bonds issued to build roads, sewers and other infrastructure supporting their communities.

SB 95,  would make it a misdemeanor for a minor to attempt to purchase cigarettes or tobacco-related products.  It also requires vending machines to prominently display signs prohibiting minors from purchasing cigarettes or any tobacco related product.

SB 23, which would supersede any local rules and allow judges to investigate someone's immigration status before determining bail, handing down a sentence, or deciding on probation.

SB 38, which would close a license plate loophole requiring license plate applicants to have a valid Georgia driver's license or ID card.

SB 148, which would promote nondestructive stem cell research in Georgia. The bill would require all state hospitals by June 30, 2009, to inform pregnant women that they can donate placenta, umbilical cords and amniotic fluid to either public or private banks for medical research. Georgians who contribute to stem cell research would be eligible for a state tax break. The bill also would establish a 15-member state commission that would oversee a system of umbilical cord blood banks and seek grants for nondestructive stem cell research.

SB 72, which I co-sponsored, includes two other proposals related to education.  SB 72 allows administration managers to be employed in addition to, or en lieu of, assistant principals to handle business operations at schools.  It is only optional. The measure also includes provisions of HB 603, which allows school districts to permit alternative teacher certification programs for certain candidates, and HB 208, which changes the composition of school councils.

SB 157, which would require the Department of Community Affairs to establish a grant program to fund E-85 projects, which will convert storage areas for gasoline into storage areas for E-85, a fuel that is 85% ethanol.  The goal of SB 157 is to spark consumer interest in using alternative fuels.

Legislation that would have allowed judges to impose the death penalty with a less-than-unanimous recommendation of the jury failed to win final approval. HB 185, which had passed the House earlier in the session and would have authorized a death penalty recommendation of at least a 10-2 jury vote, was defeated unanimously in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Failing to pass out of the Senate Rules Committee was HB 89, which would have allowed motorists to conceal firearms anywhere in their vehicles. An attempt to amend the legislation in the Senate would have prohibited employers from banning employees’ possession of firearms in their vehicles parked on company property.

Just before midnight Friday and the end of the legislative session, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle's Charter System Act received final approval. SB 39 would allow entire schools districts, not just schools, to apply for charter status.  Charter schools are allowed to ignore many state and local rules in order to be flexible. In exchange, they have to meet performance standards.

•  Sen. Tim Golden represents the 8th District (Brooks, Cook, Lowndes, and Thomas counties) in the Georgia State Senate.  He serves as Secretary of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, is a member of the influential Finance Committee, as well as the Insurance and Labor, Higher Education, and Government Oversight Committees.  Contact him at 121-A State Capitol, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-7580; or by e-mail at tim.golden@senate.ga.gov.