Gold Dome Report - February 8, 2018

House members have begun working in earnest on the FY 2019 Budget with several Subcommittees of the House Appropriations Committee soliciting testimony on the Governor's budget proposal. Meanwhile, the General Assembly awaits release of the January revenue numbers from the Department of Revenue to determine more about the health of the State's economy.

Monday will be "Insurance Day" in the House, where legislators will take up three propositions relating to insurance. These include bills intended to increase transparency in billing for out-of-network medical services, extend the self-evaluative privilege for insurers created in 2015, and modernize and clarify the Insurance Code. Details on these propositions and more in today's #GoldDomeReport.

Inside this issue:

House Adopts Child Abuse Hotline Posting Bill Committee Reports New Legislation Rules Calendars for Legislative Day 19 HOUSE ADOPTS CHILD ABUSE HOTLINE POSTING BILL

Today, the House took up HB 655, legislation authored by Rep. Rick Williams (R-Milledgeville), that proposes to add at O.C.G.A. § 20-2-324.4 that every public school is required to post a sign containing the toll-free telephone number operated 24/7 by the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Services to receive reports of child abuse or neglect. The bill was considered and recommended by the House Education Committee and was adopted by a vote of 145-16.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

House Education Committee

The House Education Committee, chaired by Rep. Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth), met today, taking up five propositions:

HB 740, authored by Rep. Randy Nix (R-LaGrange), bars the expulsion or suspension for five or more days of a student in preschool through third grade before that student receives a multi-tiered system of supports, such as Response to Intervention. If a student has an IEP or Section 504 plan, the bill also requires a school also convene an IEP or Section 504 meeting to review appropriate supports being provided as part of such plan prior to expulsion or suspension for five or more days. Rep. Nix noted that the bill was revised based on feedback from speech-language pathologists and is supported by GAEL, Georgia Appleseed, and several other interests. Rep. Beth Beskin (R-Atlanta) offered an amendment to replace references to "five or more days" to "more than four days", which has no substantive effect to the proposal. The amendment failed because it did not do anything. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS as presented and be sent to the Rules Committee. HB 759, authored by Rep. Scot Turner (R-Holly Springs), was billed by the author as a "tweak" to eligibility for the Special Needs Scholarship. Under the bill, once a student achieves eligibility for the Scholarship, he or she maintains it going forward. The current law, which requires a student be enrolled in a public school for one year prior to becoming eligible, caused problems for students who have breaks in enrollment caused by the student trying home school or an alternative school. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS and be sent to the Rules Committee. HB 763, authored by Rep. Randy Nix (R-LaGrange), expands the scope of a public school's existing student attendance protocol committee to include a focus on school climate in addition to attendance. The legislation was recommended by a juvenile court judge in Rep. Nix's district. Rep. Scott Hilton (R-Peachtree Corners) inquired as to whether "school climate" is defined in statute, and Legislative Counsel responded that the term is undefined but used in other code sections and imported here for consistency. Georgia Appleseed spoke in favor of the legislation. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS and be sent to the Rules Committee. HR 992 and HB 781, authored by Rep. Kevin Tanner (R-Dawsonville), is a constitutional amendment and enacting legislation that will allow school districts to use up to 50% of their education local option sales tax to fund maintenance and educational programs of a school system. Rep. Tanner presented a substitute that simply replaces the tax purpose of "maintenance and operations" to "maintenance and educational programs." The enacting legislation also includes a list of expenses and programs (at lines 93-119) for which proceeds of such a tax may be used, including, but not limited to, school bus fuel, telemedicine, mental health services, foreign language programs, after-school programs, educational materials, and wraparound services. Chairman Coleman expressly stated that this proposal would not result in the diversion of QBE funds. Rep. Sam Teasley (R-Marietta) inquired why the legislation limits dedication of funds to 50%, and Rep. Scott Hilton (R-Peachtree Corners) expressed concern that, by allowing funding of operations, legislators could be "putting the gun to the head" of local voters to continue re-authorizing these taxes. Rep. Wes Cantrell (R-Woodstock), noted that his constituents do not support the legislation and asked Rep. Tanner why, to which Tanner responded that there remains a fear that the proposition will lead to diversion of state funds.

Representatives of the Dawson County School Board and Public Education Matters Georgia spoke in favor of the proposition. Public Education Matters did, however, warn against allowing this type of funding solution to distract from fully funding education on the state level. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS by a vote of 9-7, with Rep. Hilton and Rep. Teasley breaking party lines to vote against.

The Committee also assigned new legislation to subcommittees:

Academic Support Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Wes Cantrell (R-Woodstock): HB 852, HB 853, HB 874 Academic Achievement Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Joyce Chandler (R-Grayson): HR 1017 Senate Judiciary Committee - Subcommittee B

Subcommittee B of the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Josh McKoon (R-Columbus), met and heard one bill. SB 375, authored by Sen. William Ligon, Jr. (R-Brunswick), is the Keep Faith in Adoption and Foster Care Act. The proposition amends Title 49 to allow a child-placing agency to decline to accept a referral for foster care or adoption services under a contract with the State based on the child-placing agency's sincerely held religious beliefs. The legislation also bars the State from taking an adverse action against such an agency, including failing to renew a contract or license, withholding funding, or taking an enforcement action. Sen. Ligon stated that at least three states have taken adverse actions against faith-based adoption programs (IL, MA, CA), and the current state of law in Georgia has prevented faith-based providers from securing contracts. He also stated that these types of bills have passed in numerous other states.

Barbara D'Castro, a counselor with An Open Door Adoption Agency who appeared with Sen. Ligon, represented that her organization has been unable to secure a contract with the state for placement of children because of their Christian faith basis. She also stated that there are three other agencies in Georgia with the same problem and three additional...