By: Sen. Larry Walker (R – Perry)
This week, the Senate took a slight pause from its regular cycle of legislative days in order to dedicate a significant amount of time to additional budget discussions. The Amended Fiscal Year 2020 Budget and the General Fiscal Year 2021 Budget have been a topic of concern over the last couple of weeks, as members of the General Assembly must ascertain which areas in our state agencies will see funding increases and which areas will see cuts. Business wise, Georgia is prospering. Our industries are growing, unemployment is at a record low and our workforce participation is at an all-time high; nevertheless, state revenues have been basically flat and we budgeted for increased revenues. Therefore, we need to make cuts in our spending plan to ensure we end the year with a balanced budget. Also, Governor Kemp wants to reallocate some resources in order to fund his priorities. Our state economy is strong, but we want to make sure we are operating as efficiently as possible and spending your tax dollars wisely.
In order to determine the most effective allocations of our budget, members of the Appropriations subcommittees met throughout the week to do a thorough review of the proposed funds. Overall, we expect to see some consolidation of programs across all sectors, such as agriculture, environmental protection, community health and insurance and labor. While this may slightly alter the operational structure of our state agencies and departments, I remain optimistic that proposed and finalized budget allocations will improve the efficiency of our state programs, while continuing to provide critical services to all Georgians. Following this week, members will submit their recommendations for a final budget and I except to see a proposed piece of legislation soon.
Along with budget discussions, this week I was tasked with chairing the Senate Insurance and Labor Subcommittee on Senate Bill 313. SB 313, sponsored by Sen. Dean Burke (R – Bainbridge), attempts to increase transparency on pharmaceutical pricing by instilling greater regulatory processes on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). These are third party entities that serve as the liaison between physicians, pharmacies and drug manufactures, and are now being commonly used across all types of healthcare plans. While the pharmaceutical distribution chain of transactions can be rather complicated, the idea of SB 313 is to protect patients and the important role of your local pharmacists by creating a mechanism for maintaining fair costs. This mechanism will utilize the national average drug acquisition cost as a benchmark, give greater regulatory powers to the Department of Insurance and attempt to address issues with the prior authorization process, rebates and steering. We heard a lot of great testimony from both sides and I believe we will continue to do so as the conversations go on. My goal is to make sure this bill puts the best interest of the consumer first, maintains free market competition, and adds price transparency and fairness for your local pharmacy.
This break has also allowed me to dedicate some extra time to meeting and celebrating members of our state. On Tuesday, I attended the dedication ceremony of the Nathan Deal Judicial Center, which included opening remarks from United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Justice Thomas wonderfully represents Georgia’s virtues of fairness and integrity on a national stage and his presence, coupled with the Center’s establishment, illustrates Georgia’s commitment to the sanctity of law.
I have also visited with a number of community groups at the state Capitol, including the Perry Area Chamber of Commerce Youth Leadership Group, the Perry Area Chamber Adult Leadership Group, the Robins Regional Chamber Youth Leadership Group, the Georgia Forestry Association, the Georgia Agribusiness Council, Citizen Impact, Georgia Young Farmers and Georgia Farm Bureau. If you would like to schedule a group visit to the Capitol, or have any questions or concerns about legislation, please reach out to my office. I would love to help and meet you.
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Sen. Larry Walker serves as Caucus Vice Chairman for the Majority Party. He represents the 20th Senate District, which includes Bleckley, Houston, Laurens and Pulaski counties. He may be reached by phone at (404) 656-0095 or by email at larry.walker@senate.ga.gov.