WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT—February 22, 2008

Senate approves supplemental budget proposal

By Sen. Tim Golden

The Senate voted Thursday to approve a midyear adjustment to the state budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2008, which ends June 30. The Senate version includes several differences from the supplemental budget approved earlier by the House of Representatives.

The House had voted to restore $30.7 million that Gov. Sonny Perdue had proposed to cut for equalization grants to less affluent school systems and added $65 million for school buses and technology.

Senate budget writers, however, believe those expenditures should be considered for the annual state budget for fiscal year 2009, which begins July 1, while using that money to offset previously imposed “austerity cuts” to local school districts.

The Senate agreed with the House to allocate $6.3 million to the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund to continue cleanup efforts of landfills and abandoned hazardous sites. More than $40 million has been added to finance the development of new reservoirs, plus 411 million to implement the new statewide water management plan in both versions of the budget.

Differences between the Senate and House versions of HB 989 will need to be ironed out by a conference committee.

On Wednesday, the Senate overwhelmingly approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow counties to join together and implement a special purpose local option sales tax, on a regional basis, for transportation projects. A majority of voters in those counties would have to approve levying the tax.

SR 845 is intended to address a revenue shortfall for transportation projects across the state and provide a regional solution for counties where the need to reduce traffic congestion or improve area roads and bridges is particularly dire.

The counties collecting the transportation tax, also known as T-SPLOST, would keep 80 percent of the proceeds for projects within those counties. The remaining 20 percent would be remitted to the state, which would be required to spend at least 10 percent of that amount on mass transit networks.

As a constitutional amendment, SR 845 requires two-thirds approval in both the Senate and the House, and majority approval by Georgia voters in the general election this November.

The Senate voted unanimously Thursday to approve SB 395, which would establish a safety net clinic grant program for indigent and elderly patient care. This legislation would assist programs like the Partnership Health Center in Valdosta, which provide free medical assistance to the working uninsured in Lowndes County.

I was pleased to work with the Lowndes County Partnership for Health in supporting Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle in his efforts to move this legislation through the Senate. Through the volunteer services of local physicians, these types of clinics go a long way toward making health care more accessible to all Georgians and clearly justify state grant assistance.

On Tuesday, the Senate approved two pieces of legislation aimed at protecting Georgians from identity theft and from an unwanted flurry of telephone calls during political campaigns.

SB 361 would enable consumers to protect their financial data from identity theft by requesting that credit reporting agencies put a freeze on the information. The bill incorporates more penalties to protect consumes and their financial data. The House of Representatives had earlier adopted a slightly different credit freeze proposal, so a conference committee will likely take up the matter.

SB 379 would make Georgia the first state in the nation to prohibit “robo-calls,” the automated telephone messages widely used by political candidates during election seasons. The bill would require telephone solicitations for votes to be made by live callers rather than through the automated playing of recorded messages. This would drive up the cost to the campaign and thus reduce the number of robo-calls interrupting voters’ time at home.

Legislation passed by the Senate on Wednesday would call for an accurate survey of the border between Georgia and Tennessee. Sponsors of SR 822 contend the border was improperly surveyed in 1818 and is about one mile south of where it should be. It is believed a true and accurate survey would give Georgia access to the Tennessee River for our state’s water supply.

• Sen. Tim Golden represents the 8th District (Brooks, Cook, Lowndes, and Thomas counties) in the Georgia State Senate.  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.