Legislature makes gains on key issues

By Ashley Speagle

Correspondent

ATLANTA — With seven days left for legislative business, members of the Georgia General Assembly have made progress on issues such as education, jobs and water.

But there’s much work still to do, said Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga.

“In the final days, our focus will be on passing a balanced budget, working to pass a transportation funding package and asking the governor to sign key pieces of legislation,” Sen. Mullis said.

Here is an update on the status of big issues in the 2010 Georgia General Assembly:

* Budget: The legislature has not passed a final amended budget for the present fiscal year nor has it finished a working budget for the new fiscal year that starts July 1. State revenues had dropped each month for more than a year until last month. Lawmakers scrambled to find ways to pay for state operations without raising taxes.

To continue the Medicaid program, legislators wrangled with hospitals over a cut in payments or a provider fee. They finally passed a 1.45 percent fee, or “bed tax,” to bring in more federal matching funds.

* Guns: Legislators said they wanted clearer rules for those who legally carry guns and clearer penalties for those who carry or use them illegally.

The Senate passed a bill that allows licensed owners to carry their guns in more places. If the bill passes the House without any changes, guns cannot be carried in government buildings, courts, prisons, schools, state mental health facilities, nuclear power facilities and polling buildings. But owners or officials of bars, sporting events, churches and colleges can decide if they want to ban guns on their premises. Another bill allows owners to carry in airports.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, R-Sharpsburg, said the new law would keep gun owners out of “gotcha” situations. But some Democrats worried about the spread of weapons.

* Water: Gov. Sonny Perdue’s statewide water conservation plan passed the House and Senate. The state is appealing a federal ruling that Atlanta must stop taking water from Lake Lanier.

The bill requires water-efficient fixtures in new construction. It leaves water-producing measures up to the Department of Natural Resources and local governments. It would allow local communities to join with private businesses to build reservoirs. The bill passed the Senate and awaits a House vote, but some legislators worry about putting public water into private ownership.

* Education: Bills have passed to loosen some regulations on school budgets and tighten oversight of school officials. Both chambers voted to give schools power to waive some regulations, such as class-size requirements, to save money.

Some Democrats wanted a time limit on waivers but the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Brooks Coleman, R-Duluth, said schools need time to plan their budgets and shouldn’t have to deal with year-to-year changes.

The legislature also limited the size and salaries of school boards.

Running out of federal stimulus funds and missing out on federal Race to the Top money, legislators are looking for other ways to help schools get money, such as designating sales and use tax to school facilities and allowing schools to seek private funds for field trips.

* Jobs: The Jobs, Opportunity and Business Success Act, which has passed both chambers, remains one of the only bills directly aimed at increasing jobs. The bill would create tax incentives for job creation and business investment, upon approval of the tax commissioner. It would eliminate corporate net worth taxes, which the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute calls a tax benefit for the wealthy.

The policy institute says there’s no evidence that the tax credit will stimulate the economy, but legislators also may pass a bill requiring the effect of such breaks be documented in the state budget.

At 10.5 percent, Georgia’s unemployment rate remains above the national rate of 9.7 percent, but recent numbers show the state had some upswing.

Democrats credit the job growth to federal job legislation, the HIRE Act, which also offers tax credits aimed at job creation and helping small businesses.

Ashley Speagle covers the Georgia Legislature. Contact her at speagle.ashley@gmail.com.