Just after Governor Deal signed the Amended FY 2018 Budget in Cedartown this morning, the House set to work adopting its proposal for the FY 2019 Budget. Notably included in the over $50 billion spending package ($26 billion in state funds) is just over $44 million in funding for initiatives emerging from the House Rural Development Council. More on the details of both of the budgets, along with reports from yesterday’s Committee Working Day, are inside today’s #GoldDomeReport.

In today’s Report:

• Governor Signs Amended FY 2018 Budget; House Approves FY 2019 Plan
• Committee Reports
• New Legislation
• Rules Calendars for Legislative Day 33

Governor Signs Amended FY 2018 Budget; House Approves FY 2019 Plan

In a ceremony at Cornelius Moore Field in Polk County this morning, Governor Deal signed the Amended FY 2018 Budget. In addition to funds to extend the runway at Moore Field, one of the 13 regional airports sharing in a $25.9 million allocation, the Amended Budget includes a number of notable increases in funding for state programs, including:

• $101.4 million for a midterm adjustment for K-12 enrollment growth;
• $15.7 million for school buses for local school systems;
• $9.6 million for growth in the Dual Enrollment program;
• $2 million to expand marketing efforts to promote educational opportunities available at the technical colleges;
• $10.3 million for technical college equipment replacement statewide;
• $28.2 million for the Indigent Care Trust Fund and Medicaid;
• $1.2 million for hospitals to offset costs due to the high number of flu cases;
• $15.1 million for child welfare services to care for children in state custody; and
• $3.5 million for autism services for children under 21.

Just as Governor Deal returned the Capitol, Rep. Terry England (R-Auburn), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, was presenting his Committee’s proposal for the FY 2019 Budget. Among the initiatives included were proposals totaling over $44 million tied to the House Rural Development Council, which Chairman England co-chairs with Rep. Jay Powell (R-Camilla), including:

• $1,717,000 to start the Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovations;
• $1,557,628 to establish a statewide leadership academy for principals;
• $1,416,611 for the development and statewide availability of a mental health crisis services and suicide prevention mobile application;
• $1,000,000 in funds for marketing and promotion of technical college opportunities;
• $887,500 in funds for the Georgia Cancer Control Consortium to fund the Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education and the five regional cancer coalitions;
• $738,828 to start and staff a Rural Development program in the Georgia Department of Economic Development;
• $500,000 in FQHC start-up funds for a primary care center in Bryan County and a behavioral health center in Emanuel County;
• $444,200 to fund four positions in the Center for Agriculture Business Development; and
• $250,000 in start-up funds for the Rural Health Systems Innovation Center.

After an unsuccessful attempt to attach Medicaid expansion to the bill, the House adopted the budget proposal by a 155 to 14. A more complete summary of notable budget items can be found in yesterday’s Gold Dome Report, and the full proposal can be found online here.

Committee Reports

Senate Health and Human Services Committee

Chairman Renee Unterman (R-Buford) and her Committee held a lengthy meeting on Thursday to consider a number of issues:

• HB 305 – Rep. Beth Beskin (R-Atlanta) authored this bill which addresses to whom parental power lies in O.C.G.A. § 19-7-1, adding that matters of custody are between the parents or either parent and a third-party limited step parent or former stepparent, grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, great aunt, great uncle, sibling, or adoptive parent.
• HB 513 – Rep. Pam Dickerson (D-Conyers) authored this legislation which addresses the leaving of newborn children at certain locations and the signs which are to be posted in medical facilities, police stations and fire stations.  The Department of Human Services is to develop such standards, rather than Department of Community Health as originally proposed by the author.  This change is added in O.C.G.A. § 19-10A-8.  This bill’s substitute received a DO PASS recommendation.
• HB 769 – Rep. Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper) offered this bill in response to the meetings conducted by the House Rural Development Council.  Sen. Dean Burke, MD (R-Bainbridge) offered a Substitute on the initiative.  It addresses “remote order entry” for hospital pharmacists and amends such definition at O.C.G.A. § 26-4-5(37.2) so that it is an entry made by a pharmacist in Georgia who is an employee or contractor of a pharmacy licensed in the State and that holds a nonresident pharmacy permit issued pursuant to O.C.G.A. §  26-4-114.2 from a remote location anywhere in the United States indicating that the pharmacist has reviewed the patient specific drug order for a hospital patient , has approved or disapproved the administration of the drug for such patient, and has entered the information in the hospital’s patient record system.  It allows the licensed pharmacist who is not physically present in the hospital to use remote order entry and won’t be physically present for 24 hours or the next business day.  It also adds a new Code Section addressing the Department of Community Health’s requirement to streamline and expedite the credentialing and billing process for state plans.   It also creates at O.C.G.A. § 31-2-16 the Rural Health System Innovation Center which would be a part of the State Office of Rural Health and would be the research organization to develop a reform plan on health.  It also requies that any board member or hospital authority member to have training, along with hospital staff, within 12 months of initial hiring or appointment and every two years thereafter – failure to comply would prohibit the hospital from receiving contributions from the rural hospital tax credit, ineligible for participation in other State grant programs, and a fine of $10,000.00 per violation.  The Substitute received a DO PASS recommendation.
• HB 844 – Rep. Penny Houston (R-Nashville) presented this bill which has been several years in the making.  It revises the provisions relating to the Georgia Commission on Hearing Impaired and Deaf Persons.  It incorporates the plan created by former Department of Public Health Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, MD to get more children reading on grade level by the third grade.  This initiative received a DO PASS recommendation.
• HB 909 – Rep. Deborah Silcox (R-Atlanta) offered this bill which seeks to provide designation of perinatal facilities in a new Article 3 of Chapter 2A of Title 31. Such designation would be made through the Department of Public Health. There have been concerns raised about how this designation would work with current Certificate of Need requirements and other hospital licensure rules and regulations.  Sen. Larry Walker, IV (R-Perry) raised his concern that this new designation for perinatal centers could be marketed to the detriment of smaller hospitals – taking away business from the smaller facilities.  This legislation received a DO PASS recommendation.
• HB 920 – Rep. Katie Dempsey (R-Rome) proposed this bill which addresses access to adoption records involving Department of Human Services’ adoptions.  It seeks to alleviate the problem of the time involved now for the Department to petition the court to unseal records.  It would allow that the Director of the Division of Family and Children’s Services or his or her designee have the ability to have such access in instances where there is a near fatality, when the child dies, or when the child is an alleged victim of abuse or neglect.  It permits DFCS to provide such information to the Office of Child Advocate for the Protection of Children.  This bill received a DO PASS recommendation.
• SB 53 – Sen. Valencia Seay (D-Riverdale) proposed this legislation so as allow for adult changing stations for adults in a new Chapter 3A of Title 31.  It was proposed that such stations would be made in public areas and in businesses which had a total occupant flow of 1,000 individuals – it is not intended to be required by small businesses.  It also contains language regarding retrofitting of such facilities by 2025.  This legislation received a HEARING; no action was taken due to concerns relating to building requirements.

House Education Committee

The House Education Committee, chaired by Rep. Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth), met and considered four bills on Thursday:

• SB 139, carried by Rep. Buzz Brockway (R-Lawrenceville), combines the original substance of the bill, which allows school systems, charter schools, and career academies to propose pathways to the State Board of Education, with Rep. Brockway’s HB 963, which encourages middle and high school students to pursue industry credentials. Specifically, the latter bill requires the State Workforce Development Board to annually develop a list of industry credentials and state licenses that are linked to an occupation in high demand and lead to an occupation with wages of at least 70 percent of the average annual wage in the state. The Department of Education is then required to distribute that list to middle and high schools. HB 963 passed the Education Committee earlier this session but did not make it to the House floor. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS and be sent to the Rules Committee.  
• SB 330, authored by Sen. John Wilkinson (R-Toccoa), provides for the extension of an agricultural education program in this state to include K-5th grades.  It is based on a three-component model that will help provide for a pilot program to develop and implement agricultural education in elementary schools; aide in the selection of at least 6 pilot sites; and assist the Professional Standards Commission to extend in-field certification for agricultural education to include K-5th grade. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS by Committee Substitute and be sent to the Rules Committee.
• SB 362, authored by Sen. Lindsey Tippins (R-Marietta), provides for the establishment of an innovative assessment pilot program in several school districts. The bill, which is part of an effort led by Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, exempts the participating districts from certain state-wide assessment requirements while the districts pilot other assessment models, like formative testing. The pilot program will include up to ten school systems who will apply to participate. Rep. Coleman presented the bill on Sen. Tippins’s behalf, and Irene Munn, Chief of Staff to Lt. Governor Cagle, and John Floresta from Marietta City Schools, provided details on the proposal. Speakers emphasized the importance of the bill to allowing flexibility for testing and eliminating duplicity in evaluation. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS and be sent to the Rules Committee.  
• SB 401, authored by Sen. Lindsey Tippins (R-Marietta), relates to individual graduation plans and requires that eighth grade students be counseled on career aptitudes and interests and that those aptitudes and interest be incorporated in their graduation plans and consulted when scheduling ninth grade classes. The legislation also requires the Department of Education to review school counselors’ role, workload, and program service delivery in grades six through twelve. Rep. Randy Nix (R-LaGrange) presented the bill in Sen. Tippins’s absence with the assistance of Irene Munn, the Lt. Governor’s Chief of Staff. Rep. David Casas (R-Lilburn) asked whether it was necessary to codify the DOE review and report, to which speakers responded that it was necessary to require the DOE to act. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS and be sent to the Rules Committee.

Senate Judiciary Committee

The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired on Sen. Jesse Stone (R-Waynesboro), met on Thursday and considered seven propositions:

• HB 654, authored by Rep. Beth Beskin (R-Atlanta), corrects legislation adopted last year relating to the use of worksheets for determining child support. Last year’s legislation was aimed at streamlining the worksheets necessary, but it actually had the effect of creating more paperwork. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS and be sent to the Rules Committee.
• HB 834, authored by Rep. Mandi Ballinger (R-Canton), requires a landlord to accept a 30-day notice of lease termination from a tenant who has had a civil or criminal family violence order issued protecting such tenant. The bill as presented incorporates SB 443, which clarifies provisions relating to the return of a security deposit and an action to recover such security deposit. The bill is supported by the Georgia Apartment Association and several domestic violence interests. The Committee took no action on the bill today pending additional work on the bill’s language.
• HB 825, authored by Rep. Rick Williams (R-Milledgeville), will allow the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to inter unidentified human remains after all efforts in identifying such remains have been exhausted. It also allows the GBI to disinter remains that are later identified. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS and be sent to the Rules Committee.
• HB 890, authored by Rep. Barry Fleming (R-Hiram), makes it a misdemeanor to use an emergency exit when shoplifting. The Committee had a number of questions related to the bill and took no action.
• HB 906, authored by Rep. Katie Dempsey (R-Rome), expands an exception to the Georgia Open Records Act to protect personal information of foster parents and former foster parents from disclosure by the Department of Human Services. Sen. Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia) inquired why the bill does not protect a foster parent’s name, to which Ashley Fielding of the Department noted that allowing access to foster parent names is consistent with how state employees’ personal information is handled under the Open Records Act. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS and be sent to the Rules Committee.
• HB 917, authored by Rep. Matt Dollar (R-Marietta) is a modernization of Georgia’s copyright law. The bill updates the terminology in the state’s piracy laws to cover modern forms of digital media. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS and be sent to the Rules Committee.
• HB 999, authored by Rep. Christian Coomer (R-Cartersville), was requested by the GBI and precludes the automatic purge of involuntary hospitalization records from the GCIC after five years. The Committee recommended the bill DO PASS and be sent to the Rules Committee.

House Judiciary Committee

The House Judiciary committee conducted a long hearing on Thursday on the Senate hate crimes bill SB 373 by substitute.  The Sub has added “political views” as a category for which an assault may rise to a hate crime.  The sub omits gender identify as a potential hate crime category.  The Prosecuting Attorneys Council, GBI and Georgia Police Chief Association testified in favor of the bill.  Rep Calvin Smyre (D-Columbus) and Rep. Karen Bennett (D-Stone Mountain) also testified in favor of the substitute.  The Georgia Baptist Mission Board, Faith and Freedom Coalition, Citizen Impact and Concerned Women of America Georgia chapter oppose the bill as unnecessary because the 14th Amendment already exists to protect all citizens. Georgia Equality and the Anti Defamation League support a hate crime bill but desire that gender identity be added to it.  In addition, ADL does not support including “political views.” Rep. Meagan Hanson (R-Brookhaven) moved to add “gender” to the list of discriminatory classes and the committee approved that amendment.  Rep. David Dreyer (R-Atlanta) moved that “gender identity” be added and the motion failed.  Rep. Hansen moved to strike “political view”  as a category and the motion carried.  The bill was voted DO PASS.

House Juvenile Justice Committee

Chairwoman Mandi Ballinger’s (R-Canton) Committee heard two bills on Thursday – no action was taken on either of the following:

• SB 74 – Sen. Josh McKoon (R-Columbus) authored this legislation which seeks to require a change for the court’s evidentiary standard in determining whether or not parental notification is required for a minor to be allowed to have an abortion.   His legislation seeks to move this standard from preponderance of the evidence to a “clear and convincing” standard.  Sen. McKoon argued that 22 states have a standard in their laws; 15 of those require a clear and convincing standard.  Sen. McKoon argued that the standard should be different than that required in automobile accidents – which is preponderance of the evidence.  He was asked if there was a problem; he said that there was no real data as the current hearings are held where they are closed to the public.  Some members of the Committee argued that this initiative is about the ‘age of majority’ – and Georgia’s law on age of “consent” is 16 years of age.  There was concern about this legislation’s impact on the current law governing statutory rape.    Rep. Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta) indicated that this legislation would make emancipation relevant prior to whether notice was no longer required to the parent.  The Feminist Women’s Health Center and ACLU spoke against the legislation; Faith and Freedom Coalition and Family Policy Alliance were among those in support of the bill.  Again, this was a hearing and no action was taken.
• SB 437 – Sen. Chuck Payne (R-Dalton) authored this initiative which seeks to amend Georgia’s current law relating to “DNR” orders.  Presently a parent has the ability to provide such authorization or two physicians, who mutually agree, may provide this consent.  Sen. Payne’s bill would amend O.C.G.A. § 31-39-4(d) so that “when a minor child is a candidate for nonresuscitation, an order not to resuscitate may be issued only with the oral or written consent of the minor’s parent, unless an exception applies pursuant to subsection € of this Code section.”  It remains that if the attending physician is of sufficient maturity to understand the nature and effect of an order not to resuscitate, then no such order shall be valid without the assent of such minor.  There was a lot of discussion on the proposal, pushed by the Family Policy Alliance.  Lawmakers inquired about whether either parent has equal authority and whether such may lead to a court order.  The Family Policy Alliance stated their goal was so that no parent has a nightmare with a DNR.  There was also some discussion about the actual definition of a DNR and “resuscitate.”  Again, no action was taken on this legislation.

New Legislation

The following propositions have been introduced in the House and Senate:

• SB 485, authored by Sen. Jen Jordan (D-Atlanta), proposes to increase the homestead exemption from City of Atlanta Independent School District ad valorem taxes for educational purposes from $15,000 to $50,000 of the assessed value of the homestead for residents of that school district. The bill would require approval by voters living in such district.
• SB 486, authored by Sen. Jen Jordan (D-Atlanta), proposes a homestead exemption from City of Atlanta independent school district ad valorem taxes for educational purposes in the amount of $100,000.00 of the assessed value of the homestead for residents of that school district who are 65 years of age or older. The bill would require approval by voters living in such district.
• SR 981, authored by Sen. John Wilkinson (R-Toccoa), recognizes May 6-12, 2018, as National Nurses Week at the State Capitol.
• SR 983, authored by Sen. Matt Brass (R-Newnan), creates the Joint Study Commission on Low THC Medical Oil Access. The Commission would study the in-state access of medical cannabis, low THC oil, including, but not limited to, the security and control of all aspects of the process from acquisition and planting of seeds to final destruction of any unused portion of the plant; quality control of all aspects of the manufacturing process, including, but not limited to, product labeling and independent testing for purity and safety; and all aspects of dispensing the final product, including, but not limited to, security, competency of the dispensing staff, training on dosing, and proper delivery methods

Rules Calendars for Legislative Day 33

The House will take up the following propositions on Monday:

• HR 944 -- People's Republic of China; organ harvesting; express concern
• SB 17 -- Alcoholic Beverages; provide governing authorities of counties in which the sale for consumption is lawful; authorize certain time on Sundays
• SB 356 -- Georgia Commission on the Holocaust; membership; change
• SB 371 -- Taxes; furnishing of sales and use tax information to municipalities and counties; change provisions

The Senate will take up the following propositions on Monday:

• HB 79 -- Law enforcement; retaining license plate data obtained from automated license plate recognition systems beyond certain periods; prohibit
• HB 422 -- Veterans Service, Department of; nonprofit corporation as a public foundation; authorize incorporation
• HB 441 -- Trusts; establish qualified self-settled spendthrift trusts; provisions
• HB 592 -- Insurance; compliance self-evaluative privilege; repeal applicability and sunset provisions
• HB 670 -- Georgia State Council for Interstate Juvenile Supervision; number of legislative branch representatives; revise
• HB 816 -- Revenue, Department of; mandatory fingerprinting and criminal record checks for certain individuals; provide
• HB 885 -- Georgia Air Quality Act; limitations on powers of certain Boards and Departments; revise certain provisions