By: Sen. Jeff Mullis (R – Chickamauga)
The 2014 legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly has only a few days left. This past Monday was the 30th day of the session; more commonly known as Crossover Day. The Senate passed 27 bills and resolutions ranging from adjustments to the State Health Benefit Plan to penalties for retail theft. After clearing Crossover Day, committee work doubles down to review the House Bills that were passed over to the Senate.
One of the most important bills considered in the Senate after Crossover Day was the FY 2015 general appropriations bill that sets the state budget for July 1, 2014 to June 31, 2015. The $20.8 billion budget allocates state dollars to important initiatives for education and technology, including:
- $539 increase for K-12 education, with $101 million for enrollment growth and training
- $314 million to increase instructional days, reduce teacher furloughs or increase teacher pay
- $14 million in capital funding to expand technology infrastructure
- $3.6 million in technical education for books to dually enrolled students, the development of digital curricula in the area of 21st century manufacturing and other critical needs industry areas used by dual enrollment programs
- $700,000 for the training and hire of a state autism coordinator, early intervention providers and support team members for earlier detection and diagnosis
A conference committee will be appointed to work out the differences in the House and Senate versions of the bills, and a final version will be approved before the legislative session ends on March 20.
The Senate also took legislative action on a number of bills on Crossover Day and throughout the rest of the week, including:
Senate Bill 98
SB 93 prohibits the State Health Benefit Plan or Affordable Health Care Act from offering abortion coverage, except in the case of a medical emergency.
Status: Passed Senate; under consideration in House.
Senate Bill 281
This bill would require the State Health Benefit Plan to offer at least one high deductible health plan paired with a health savings account.
Status: Passed Senate; under consideration in House.
Senate Bill 381
The Georgia First Informer Broadcasters Act directs the unified incident command system and the Georgia Emergency Operations Plan to create an emergency plan that allows first informer broadcasters to have more access to fuel, food, water and other materials necessary for maintaining a broadcast signal in state of emergency situations.
Status: Passed Senate; under consideration in House.
Senate Bill 382
This bill helps retail businesses defend against fraudulent attempts to get refunds. It establishes the penalties for these offenses, including harsher penalties for repeat offenses and for thefts of higher value.
Status: Passed Senate; under consideration in House.
Senate Bill 384
SB 384 requires the local boards of education, beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, to recommend high school students participate in a semester course of study in America’s founding philosophy and principles.
Status: Passed Senate; under consideration in House.
House Bill 774
This the bill makes changes to local government contracting, DDS record-keeping, traffic signals, maximum lawful speed limits and others.
Status: Governor’s Desk.
I am never too busy to discuss pending legislation or your district concerns. Please feel free to contact either my district office or my Capitol office at any time– my door and phone lines are always open. As always, it is an honor and a privilege to represent District 53 at the Georgia State Capitol.
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Sen. Jeff Mullis serves as Chairman of the Rules Committee. He represents the 53rd Senate District, which includes Catoosa, Dade, and Walker counties and portions of Chattooga County. He can be reached at his office in Atlanta at 404.656.0057 or by email at jeff.mullis@senate.ga.gov.
COLUMN
March 7, 2014
For Information Contact:
Jennifer Yarber, Director
jennifer.yarber@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028