Official Press Releases
ATLANTA (April 27, 2011) – Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) and Sen. Horacena Tate (D-Atlanta) will host a press conference TODAY, April 27 regarding their request that Attorney General Sam Olens investigate a potential violation of the open meeting law. The potential violation is regarding a recent meeting between Gov. Nathan Deal, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and members of the Atlanta School Board.
Continue reading “Sen. Fort and Sen. Tate Request Investigation into”
By Sen. Johnny Grant
The 2011 Legislative Session came to a close late Thursday night after nearly 14 hours of action in the Senate Chamber. The headlining issue from the last day of session was the passage of HB 87, an illegal immigration reform package. Also this week, the General Assembly adopted a balanced spending plan for FY 2012. Hot topics that were addressed throughout the rest of session include reforming the HOPE Scholarship Program, reforming Georgia’s tax structure and the Sunday sale of alcohol in Georgia. I’m proud that we were able to create sustainable solutions to Georgia’s critical issues in 40 days.
We passed an $18.2 billion budget for the 2012 Fiscal Year, successfully balancing the spending plan amid a $1.5 billion shortfall. This budget falls 13.6 percent below the 2009 budget. Lawmakers prioritized spending to address the projected $273 million shortfall in the State Health Benefit Plan and to cover loans in the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. The budget also includes funds to improve state agencies’ frontline services to consumers and businesses and dedicates $12.9 million to the Department of Revenue to recover uncollected taxes. Among the budget’s bond projects are $45 million to fund reservoir development across the state and $32 million for the Savannah Harbor Deepening Project. To save money, the legislature is consolidating payroll services for a number of state agencies and programs and eliminating all state funding for the Aviation, Music and Sports halls of fame, making them self-sufficient.
In the final hours of the legislative session, the Senate and House reached agreement on a bill aimed at curbing illegal immigration in Georgia. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011 requires businesses with 10 or more employees to use E-Verify, the federal online program used to verify an employee’s citizenship. Small businesses will have an additional six months to come under the E-Verify requirement, and companies who commit “good faith” violations have 30 days to correct the error before facing penalties. In response to concerns about how the bill’s provisions would impact Georgia agriculture, the bill calls for a study about how the legislation would affect the industry and the federal guest worker program. The legislation also makes it a crime to knowingly transport illegal immigrants while committing another criminal offense, and allows law enforcement officers to verify a person’s immigration status while investigating a criminal suspect. The bill now goes before the governor for his approval.
Legislative leaders decided to delay the passage of tax reform legislation to allow for further examination of its effects. After months of study last year, a council of business and economic leaders delivered recommendations to the legislature on how to overhaul Georgia’s tax system. Based on the council’s suggestions, lawmakers drafted a bill aimed at flattening the tax code, primarily by cutting income taxes by 23 percent. To ensure the development of sound public policy, the legislature plans to continue analyzing the data and will revisit the issue next year.
Legislation aimed at letting local governments decide on the Sunday sale of alcohol received passage from the Senate. SB 10 allows local communities to hold voter referendums on whether or not to allow the sale of alcohol on Sundays in retail stores starting at 12:30 p.m. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature.
The Governor’s Office and General Assembly leadership crafted a sustainable solution for the broken HOPE Scholarship Program. Without our actions, the program would have been bankrupted by enrollment growth and lagging lottery funds. Reforming the program now keeps Georgia on the forefront of education innovation and it ensures our children and grandchildren will benefit from this generous program. The bill maintains the current merit-based scholarship but adjusts the amount annually based on lottery revenues. The bill was signed by the governor and will take effect in Fall of 2011.
SB 39, which creates a framework for mental health courts and SB 178, which provides for an intermediate level of care for our elderly, received final passage this week and both await the governor’s signature. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about legislation from this session or any other issues. Thank you for electing me to represent you, the 25th Senate District.
Sen. Johnny Grant serves as Chairman of the Public Safety Committee. He represents the 25th Senate District which includes Baldwin, Butts, Greene, Hancock, Jasper, Morgan, Putnam, and Taliaferro counties and portions of Jones and Warren counties. He may be reached by phone at 404.656.0082 or by e-mail at johnny.grant@senate.ga.gov.
COLUMN
For Immediate Release:
April 21, 2011
For Information Contact:
Kallarin Richards, Deputy Director
Katie Wright, Communications Manager
Katie.Wright@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028
By Sen. Jim Butterworth
The 152nd Legislative Session of the Georgian General Assembly came to a close late Thursday night after nearly 14 hours of action in the Senate Chamber. The headlining issue from the last day of session was the passage of HB 87, an illegal immigration reform package. Also this week, the General Assembly adopted a balanced spending plan for FY 2012, while choosing to hold tax reform legislation until a comprehensive overhaul could be confidently passed by both chambers. Another significant victory from this session was the rescue of the HOPE program from almost certain demise.
We passed one of the most significant pieces of legislation in the final hours of the legislative session when the Senate and House reached agreement on a bill aimed at curbing illegal immigration in Georgia. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011 requires businesses with 10 or more employees to use E-Verify, the federal online program used to verify citizenship status of an immigrant. In an effort to protect small business, a provision was added that allows an extra six months before they come under the E-Verify requirement. Additionally, companies who commit “good faith” violations have 30 days to correct the error before facing penalties. In response to concerns about how the bill’s provisions would impact Georgia agriculture, the bill calls for a study of how the legislation would affect the industry and the federal guest worker program. The reform legislation also makes it a crime to knowingly transport illegal immigrants while committing another criminal offense, and allows law enforcement officers to verify a person’s immigration status while investigating a criminal suspect. The bill now goes before the governor for his approval.
Fulfilling our constitutional duty to pass a balanced budget, the legislature passed an $18.2 billion budget for the 2012 Fiscal Year. We worked diligently to successfully balance the spending plan amid a $1.5 billion shortfall. This budget falls 13.6 percent below the 2009 budget. Lawmakers prioritized spending to address the projected $273 million shortfall in the State Health Benefit Plan and to cover loans in the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. The budget includes funds to improve customer service in state agencies and dedicates $12.9 million to the Department of Revenue to recover uncollected taxes. Among the budget’s bond projects are $45 million to fund reservoir development across the state and $32 million for the Savannah Harbor Deepening Project. To save money, the legislature is consolidating payroll services for a number of state agencies and programs and eliminating all state funding for the Aviation, Music and Sports halls of fame, making them self-sufficient.
Another hot topic from this session was the tax overhaul legislation. Because we could not confidently pass meaningful reform for Georgia families, the reform legislation did not move forward. Restructuring Georgia’s tax code is a major undertaking that demands patience, diligence and a thorough analysis. My concern that the fast-paced process would have unintended consequences was shared by many of my colleagues. I proudly support the perfection of this legislation in the off-session when we have more opportunity to hear from our constituents and re-evaluate the data that was used to craft this bill. Lawmakers may revisit the issue during the special session in August for redistricting and reapportionment or during the 2012 Legislative Session.
I am most proud of our victorious efforts to craft a sustainable solution for the broken HOPE Scholarship Program. I was honored to be the Senate sponsor of this legislation that ensures the financial stability of the program, which otherwise would have been bankrupted by enrollment growth and lagging lottery funds. Reforming the program now keeps Georgia on the forefront of education innovation and it ensures our children and grandchildren will benefit from this generous program. I worked with Gov. Deal and General Assembly leadership to perfect the legislation and ensure these changes were beneficial to all Georgia families.
As the Higher Education Committee chairman, a Governor’s Floor Leader and a member of the Committee on Assignments, I am proud of our work and I am excited about further accomplishments. As always, I’m honored to serve you, the 50th Senate District, this session and all year round. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding legislation from this session or any other issues.
Sen. Jim Butterworth serves as chairman of the Higher Education Committee. He represents the 50th Senate District which includes Towns, Rabun, Habersham, Stephens, Banks, Franklin, and Hart counties along with a portion of White County. He can be reached by phone at 404.651.7738 or by email at jim.butterworth@senate.ga.gov.
COLUMN
For Immediate Release:
April 20, 2011
For Information Contact:
Kallarin Richards, Deputy Director
Katie Wright, Communications Manager
katie.wright@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028
ATLANTA (April 20, 2011) – Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) made the following statement today regarding Governor Nathan Deal signing the Atlanta School Board bill:
Continue reading “Sen. Fort Statement on Gov. Deal signing Atlanta School Board Bill”
ATLANTA (April 20, 2011) –Legislation aimed at modernizing Georgia’s tax system was ultimately tabled during the last week of the 2011 General Assembly for further study. State Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) has been a strong advocate of state tax reform during his time in office, seeking ways to bring simplicity and fairness to the state’s tax code. Continue reading “Mullis: GA Tax Overhaul Delayed”