LEGISLATIVE REPORT
May 10, 2024
In Today’s Edition:
- Governor Kemp Signs FY 2025 Budget
- Signed Legislation
- Veto Statements
- Study Committees
- State Senator Sonya Halpern Visits Campus
- Governor Kemp Proclaims April as Child Abuse Prevention Month
Governor Kemp Signs FY 2025 Budget
On Tuesday, Governor Brian P. Kemp signed the $36.1 billion state budget for FY 2025 during a signing ceremony at the State Capitol. HB 916, is the state spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year and represents an increase in state spending of $3.7 billion, or 11.4% over the FY 2024 budget adopted last spring. The budget includes raises for 300,000 educators and state workers, plus additional funds for law enforcement, education and mental health programs.
Some items of interest to Georgia State University and the University System of Georgia (USG) include $66 million in the USG Teaching program to restore original FY 2024 formula funds and additional funds to support the Dual Enrollment program. Also in attendance at the ceremony were Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, Speaker Jon Burns, constitutional officers, members of the General Assembly, and other state and local elected officials.
Signed Legislation
Transferable Course Credits
SB 399, sponsored by Sen. Shelly Echols
(R-Gainesville), would encourage and state expectations for the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia to enter into and amend existing agreements with the Technical College System of Georgia for awarding postsecondary course credits that are transferrable between the university system and the technical college system.
Research and Economic Development Act
HB 1026, sponsored by Rep. Leesa Hagan (R-Lyons), would enact the “Richard H. Smith Georgia CHIPS Advancement in Research and Economic Development Act”; to provide for grant and loan programs to incentivize and attract semiconductor companies to locate or relocate to Georgia and for research and development and advanced packaging incentives to support these relocations. A consortium of higher education institutions is created to serve as an advisory panel and is overseen by an executive committee consisting of three members appointed by the governor, two members appointed by the president of the Senate, two members appointed by the speaker of the House, the chancellor of the University System of Georgia or their designee, and the president of the Technical College System of Georgia or their designee.
Peace Officer Loan Repayment
HB 130, sponsored by Rep. Matthew Gambill (R-Cartersville), establishes a student loan repayment program for eligible full-time peace officers. The total repayment amount must not exceed $20,000 or the total student debt amount, whichever is less. Payments will be paid in annual installments for a period not exceeding five years. The Georgia Student Finance Authority is authorized to establish rules and regulations to implement the program, and the program is contingent upon appropriation of funds by the General Assembly.
Georgia Higher Education Assistance
HB 985, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Martin
(R-Alpharetta), abolishes the Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation and transfers any obligations, liabilities, or assets to the Georgia Student Finance Authority.
Service Cancelable Loan Program
HB 872, sponsored by Rep. Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville), allows for dental students to be eligible for the service cancelable loan program when they agree to practice in rural counties with a population of 50,000 or less.
High-demand Career List
HB 982, sponsored by Rep. Matthew Gambill (R-Cartersville), would require the State Workforce Development Board to develop, approve, and annually publish a High-demand Career List identifying those careers most critical to the state’s current and future workforce needs.
High-Demand Apprenticeship Program
SB 497, sponsored by Sen. Billy Hickman
(R-Statesboro), would redesignate the High-demand Career Initiatives Program as the High-Demand Apprenticeship Program.
Accelerated Career Diploma Program
SB 440, sponsored by Sen. Matt Brass
(R-Newnan), would provide for the Accelerated Career Diploma Program and establish and provide for the ACE Grants pilot program.
AED’s in Public Schools
HB 874, sponsored by Rep. Lee Hawkins
(R-Gainesville), would require automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in all public K-12 schools and provide for the establishment of emergency action plans to address a person in cardiac arrest.
Georgia Promise Scholarship Act
SB 233, sponsored by Sen. Greg Dolezal
(R-Alpharetta), the “Georgia Promise Scholarship Act”, would provide for the establishment of promise scholarship accounts to be funded by the state in the amount of $6,500 per school year for each participating student. Families could use the funds to pay for tuition at a participating school, tutoring, curriculum and other approved educational expenses. This would only apply to children who attend schools that rank in the lowest 25 percent of the state’s school rating system.
Alternative Bus Transportation
HB 51, sponsored by Rep. Clay Pirkle
(R-Ashburn), would authorize local boards of education to use vehicles other than school buses for the transport of students to school and school related activities.
Paid Parental Leave
HB 1010, sponsored by Speaker Pro Team Jan Jones (R-Milton), increases the number of hours of annual paid parental leave for state employees and employees of local education agencies from 120 to 240 hours. Paid parental leave can be used for the birth of a child or the foster and adoption placement of a child.
Tax Relief
HB 1015, sponsored by the Governor’s Floor Leader Rep. Lauren McDonald
(R-Cumming), would cut to the state income tax from 5.75 percent to 5.39 percent.
HB 1021, sponsored by Rep. Lauren Daniel (R-Locust Grove), would increase the child tax deduction from $3,000 to $4,000.
Marriage and Family Therapist
SB 373, sponsored by Sen. Larry Walker III (R-Perry), would streamline the licensure process for marriage and family therapists by introducing an expedited license by endorsement for qualified individuals from other states who are in good standing and do not have a disqualifying criminal record.
Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
HB 557, sponsored by Rep. Ron Stephens
(R-Savannah), would authorize physicians to delegate the authority to prescribe Schedule II controlled substances to advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) and physician assistants (PA). The bill would limit the authorized Schedule II drugs to hydrocodone and oxycodone compounds. Also included, would allow APRNs and PAs to issue disability parking permits.
HB 1046, sponsored by Rep. David Clark (R-Buford), would authorize advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants to order home healthcare services. The bill also specifies limits on the number of APRNs or PAs a delegating physician can authorize or supervise at any given time, with certain exceptions for specific healthcare settings such as hospitals, educational institutions, public health departments, community health clinics, and emergency medical services systems. The limit is raised from 4 to a maximum of eight combined physician assistants or advanced practice registered nurses at a time.
Fatigue and Wellness in Healthcare
HB 455, sponsored by Rep. John LaHood (R-Valdosta), would provide that professional programs which are established to address career fatigue and wellness in healthcare professionals are not obligated to report to licensing boards except in certain circumstances.
Protecting Children on Social Media Act
SB 351, sponsored by Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas), would require local boards of education to adopt, implement, and enforce social media policies.
Health Care Workforce
SB 480, sponsored by Sen. Mike Hodges (R-Brunswick), would establish a student loan repayment program for mental health or substance abuse professionals who provide services to underserved youth or unserved geographic areas.
Georgia Defense Commission
SB 398, sponsored by Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick
(R-Marietta), would move the Georgia Defense Commission under the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Includes the Chancellor of the University System of Georgia or his or her designee.
Military Medical Personnel
SB 449, sponsored by Sen. Larry Walker III
(R-Perry), would streamline the certification and licensing process for military medical personnel transitioning into civilian roles within the healthcare sector in Georgia. Military medical personnel who have served as medics, medical technicians, or corpsmen within 24 months of seeking certification may be exempt from certain examination requirements to become certified nursing aides.
MIlitary Spouses
HB 880, sponsored by Rep. Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins), would allow military spouses to use an existing occupational or professional license in good standing from another state to obtain employment.
Trust Fund for Homeless Act
HB 1410, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula), known as the State Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless Act would establish a stable housing accountability program.
Human Trafficking
HB 970, sponsored by Rep. Robert Dickey (R-Musella), would provide that victims of human trafficking be eligible for the Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen (REACH) Scholarship.
SB 370, sponsored by Sen. Mike Hodges
(R-Brunswick), would require certain establishments to post human trafficking hotline information.
HB 1201, sponsored by Rep. Houston Gaines (R-Athens), will allow survivors of human trafficking to petition courts to vacate their sentences for crimes committed while they were being victimized.
Veto Statements
VETO 1
HB 228, would expand Georgia Tuition Equalization Grant Program, HOPE Scholarship, and Dual Enrollment Program eligibility for certain private for-profit institutions. Despite each of these programs having finite resources, the General Assembly proposed many ad hoc pieces of legislation to expand institution eligibility without additional funding or fiscal analysis addressing the impact of such expansion on current appropriations.
While I recognize the utility of tuition equalization grants for particular educational needs, the diversion of taxpayer funds to private institutions should only be sought on a measured and consistent basis.
For the foregoing reasons, I VETO HOUSE BILL 228.
VETO 2
HB 441, would create a statutory framework to regulate the practice of teledentistry in Georgia. The bill would also mandate that health insurers, including Georgia’s State Health Benefit Plan and Medicaid care management organizations, provide coverage for teledentistry by January 1, 2024. Notwithstanding the date error, which mandates coverage for teledentistry before the bill would even take effect, the fiscal impact of this mandate was not analyzed or funded by the General Assembly.
Adding teledentistry coverage without a full understanding of the fiscal impact risks financial harm to the State and affected employees. While I support expanding benefits to our state employees and access to dental services, I cannot do so without a clear understanding of the financial implications.
I appreciate that the growing practice of teledentistry in Georgia promotes expanded access to dental care, particularly for rural Georgians who may not have access to a local dentist. HB 441, however, may also inadvertently remove access to teledentistry services that are currently available, such as providing emergency advice to a patient.
My hope is that we can continue to expand access to safe and affordable dental care through teledentistry, rather than limit its proven utility due to unintended legislative consequences. I look forward to working with the General Assembly next year to revisit this issue.
For the foregoing reasons, I VETO HOUSE BILL 441.
VETO 3
HB 866, would create the Pike County Public Facilities Authority.
At the request of the sponsor, I VETO HOUSE BILL 866.
VETO 4
HB 956, would allow the Superior Court judges of the Conasauga Judicial Circuit to vote annually to select their chief judge for a one-year term.
At the request of the sponsor, I VETO HOUSE BILL 956.
VETO 5
HB 1019, as originally introduced, would have raised the state-wide homestead tax exemption from $2,000 to $4,000 upon voter approval through a referendum. After the Senate Finance Committee changed the exemption amount, the Senate adopted a floor amendment late on the final day of the legislative session to return the bill to its original form.
This amendment, however, did not change the language of the constitutionally required voter referendum, which references a $10,000 exemption. Voters would therefore be approving a different exemption which the legislature did not pass, while the statutory language would never receive the voter approval needed for it to take effect. This conflict between the statutory language and the referendum language precludes implementation of HB 1019.
For the foregoing reasons, I VETO HOUSE BILL 1019.
VETO 6
HB 1123, would establish an Adult Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Multidisciplinary (“AANEM”) Coordinator Program within the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council (“PAC”) to provide a network of regional coordinators. Upon such program being funded by the General Assembly, the district attorney of each judicial circuit would be required to establish an AANEM Team, which would be overseen and managed by one of multiple regional coordinators employed by PAC.
This bill would also create an elder justice coalition for various purposes related to elder abuse response and prevention, including creating a law enforcement training for responding to instances of disabled adult and elder abuse to be implemented by the Georgia Public Safety and Training Center (“GPSTC”). The coalition would be operated by a PAC-employed state-wide coordinator.
Fiscal estimates show that the proposals in this bill would require annual funding of at least $1,658,025 to PAC and $520,354 to GPSTC. Despite these substantial costs, the General Assembly failed to fund both the AANEM Program and the elder justice coalition.
For the foregoing reasons, I VETO HOUSE BILL 1123.
VETO 7
HB 1192, would implement a two-year pause on the issuance of sales and use tax exemption certificates to high-technology data centers and data center customers. Only two years ago the legislature extended these tax exemptions for an additional three years, through 2031. The bill’s language would prevent the issuance of exemption certificates after an abrupt July 1, 2024 deadline for many customers of projects that are already in development—undermining the investments made by high-technology data center operators, customers, and other stakeholders in reliance on the recent extension, and inhibiting important infrastructure and job development.
For the foregoing reasons, I VETO HOUSE BILL 1192.
VETO 8
HB 1231, would expand Georgia Tuition Equalization Grant (“TEG”) Program, HOPE Scholarship, and Dual Enrollment Program eligibility for certain private, nonprofit institutions, allow HOPE Scholarship recipients to utilize unused credit hours to pursue a first professional degree, and remove the initial and first-year achievement standards of the HOPE Scholarship for former foster youths. None of these three proposals were accompanied by additional funding or fiscal analysis.
As addressed in my veto statement for HB 228, expansion of TEG, HOPE Scholarship, and Dual Enrollment eligibility should only be sought on a measured and consistent basis with a full understanding of the expansion’s financial impact on such programs.
Further, the Georgia Student Finance Commission estimates that there are approximately 108,000 unused HOPE credit hours and, if fully utilized by their recipients to pursue professional degrees, HB 1231 could impose a cost in excess of $25,000,000 on HOPE funding.
I was proud to restore the promise made long ago to Georgia’s students by fully funding the HOPE Scholarship in 2023. To maintain that promise, and the financial support upon which it stands, we must only consider expansion with a full understanding of the effect it will have on available funds.
For the foregoing reasons, I VETO HOUSE BILL 1231.
VETO 9
HB 1479, would allow the Probate Court of Ware County to impose a technology fee of up to $5.00 on civil action filing fees and outstanding fines.
At the request of the sponsor, I VETO HOUSE BILL 1479.
VETO 10
SB 198, would require the Department of Community Health’s State Health Benefit Plan (“SHBP”) pharmacy benefits manager(s) (“PBMs”) to reimburse independent pharmacies filling plan member prescriptions in an amount not less than the average reimbursement provided to chain retail pharmacies for the same drug. The bill would also require compliance certification, records production, and cooperation from PBM(s). While I support independent pharmacies and the need for PBM transparency, fiscal estimates show the proposals in this bill would cost the Department between $11,000,000 and $45,000,000 per plan year and the General Assembly failed to fund this initiative.
Despite the lack of funding for this bill, the State’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget, HB916, directs the Department to use existing funds for an actuarial study on SHBP independent pharmacy prescription drug reimbursements and PBM outpatient pharmacy benefit practices. HB 916, also provides SHBP one-time funding for a $3.00 per prescription dispensing fee for independent pharmacists and provides funds to increase the dispensing fee to $11.50 for independent low-volume pharmacies filling Medicaid prescriptions. These budget items provide an appropriate, fiscally sound approach to supporting independent pharmacists this year while obtaining necessary information to aid the Department in evaluating current and future management of the State’s pharmacy plan and the General Assembly in examining PBM practices in future legislative sessions.
For the foregoing reasons, I VETO SENATE BILL 198.
VETO 11
SB 203, would require the Technical College System of Georgia to offer tuition-free commercial driver’s license (“CDL”) training programs to veterans, subject to appropriations by the General Assembly. This proposal was previously included in HB 249, which I vetoed on the grounds that the General Assembly failed to fund the initiative. The General Assembly also failed to fund SB 203 this year. I remain in steadfast support of our veterans and would encourage those wishing to pursue CDL training to seek out currently funded resources to cover tuition costs such as the Hope Career Grant.
For the foregoing reasons, I VETO SENATE BILL 203.
VETO 12
SB 368, would prohibit foreign nationals from making political contributions, which is already prohibited by federal law, and impose additional state-level registration requirements on agents of foreign principals, some of which were unintended by the bill’s sponsor.
At the request of the sponsor, I VETO SENATE BILL 368.
Study Committees
Assessing Semester and Quarter System
HR 1384, sponsored by Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire), creating the House Study Committee on Assessing the Semester and Quarter Systems at USG and TCSG Institutions.
Affordable Child Care
SR 471, sponsored by Sen. John Albers
(R-Roswell), creating the Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Child Care.
Improving Family Caregiver Services
SR 323, sponsored by Sen. Harold Jones (D-Augusta), creating the Senate Study Committee on Improving Family Caregiver Services.
Firearm Storage
SR 203, sponsored by Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur), creating the Senate Safe Firearm Storage Study Committee.
Artificial Intelligence
SR 476, sponsored by Sen. John Albers
(R-Roswell), creating the Senate Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence.
Veterans Mental Health and Housing
SR 527, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Payne
(R-Dalton), creating the Senate Study Committee on Veterans’ Mental Health and Housing.
Nicotine Vapor Products
HR 1283, sponsored by Rep. Alan Powell (R-Hartwell), creating the House Study Committee on Safety and Consumer Protection of Nicotine Vapor Products.
Alternatives to Opioids
HR 1360, sponsored by Rep. Katie Dempsey (R-Rome), creating the House Study Committee on Alternatives to Opioids for Pain Management.
State Senator Sonya Halpern Visits Campus
On Friday, May 3, Senator Sonya Halpern, who represents the 39th District in the State Senate, visited campus to speak with students in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. During her remarks, Sen. Halpern shared advice with students about how to navigate the political world by gaining allies, promoting respectful policy debate, and the importance of compromise. Sen. Halpern also talked about community involvement and how her experience volunteering with organizations like the YMCA of Metro Atlanta and the Andrew J. Young Foundation has contributed to her success.
Governor Kemp Proclaims April as Child Abuse Prevention Month
Representatives from PCA Georgia, which is housed in the Georgia State University School of Public Health, the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services Prevention and Community Support Section, the Georgia Essentials for Childhood initiative, and local PCA Georgia councils gathered for a photo with Governor Brian Kemp, First Lady Marty Kemp, District 50 State Senator Bo Hatchett and District 10 State Representative Victor Anderson.
A proclamation signed by Governor Brian Kemp commemorates April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
