It is the WEEKEND! At long last, Lawmakers were trying to quickly wind up their work in an effort to head out of town and home to their family and friends. Day 29 will be Monday, March 13, 2011, and Cross-over Day for Bills will be Wednesday, March 15, 2011.

New legislation introduced today will be referenced in our next Report.

Floor News

House

The House heard a presentation by Rep. Terry England (R-Auburn) on HB 78, the FY 2012 Budget as drafted by the House Appropriations Committee. The Bill passed with a vote of 132 to 33, despite some remarks from the Minority Leader Stacey Abrams (D-Atlanta).

A few of the highlights of this Budget include:

Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities

Recommendations included added State funds to serve developmentally disabled youth aging out of the Division of Families and Children's Services' care. The House also added approximately $235,000 in State money to decrease the waiting list for services provided for children with developmental disabilities.

There was also money supporting the Department of Justice Settlement Agreement for the provision of community-based mental health. There was some language changes made: Governor's Language: "Realize efficiencies of serving fewer consumers in institutions by closing one state hospital." The House proposed: "Recognize savings from moving hospital patients into community services."

Department of Community Health

The House apparently heard loudly the concern regarding the proposed provider cuts to non-hospital and home and community based services providers. The Governor had proposed that providers, such as physicians, audiologists, speech therapists, physical therapists, and others providing services to Medicaid patients, would receive a one percent cut to their reimbursement rate. Public testimony from groups such as the ACCESS Coalition and others caused the House to reinstate one-half a percent.

Additionally, Governor Deal had proposed elimination of optional Medicaid services in the areas of dental, vision, and podiatry services for Medicaid adults. This cost would be $7 million in State funds.

The House version of the Budget also addresses the projected State Health Benefit Plan shortfall – which has been proposed to be approximately $250 million (but could be much higher than that). The House Appropriations Committee had opted to help by using $97 million in State funds which was currently targeted to fund the Low Income Medicaid Program and moved that money over to the State Health Benefit Plan. The Committee also proposed to increase State Health Benefit Plan members' premiums in calendar year 2012 by 20 percent instead rather than the 10 percent recommended by Governor Deal. It was estimated that without the cash infusion and without raising the member premiums to 20 percent, then State Health Benefit Plan enrollees could have seen hikes in their premiums as much as 67 percent. The General Assembly will have to further address these issues in the FY 2012 Amended Budget when they convene next year.

Medicaid/ICTF - Reimbursement/Financing

Reduced the Medicaid reimbursement reduction for all providers (except hospitals and community-based long term care providers) from 1% to ½%. This is actually an increase of $6.9M in State Funds.

In the Indigent Care Trust Fund ("ICTF"), the House directed the Department of Community Health to: 

• "Provide for a Medicaid state plan change that would allow hospitals with medical education partnerships with Morehouse School of Medicine to receive supplemental Upper Payment Limit payments financed by federal Medicaid funds and the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce."
• "Review utilizing the most recent data available to ensure Disproportionate Share Hospital payments are based on the best estimate of uncompensated Medicaid and uninsured patient care provided by hospitals during the year of payment."
• Reduced funding in the Low Income Medicaid program. This is a reduction of $98 million in State funds.

Supplanted State funds with fraud and drug company settlements. This actually will lower State funds by approximately $8.8 million.

Reduced State funds to recognize additional Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids managed care rebates available as a result of federal healthcare reform. This will be a savings of $1.5 million in State moneys.

Assumed additional bonus payments are available from the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act ("CHIPRA"). Again, this would be an approximate savings of $496,000 in State funds.

Medicaid/PCK - Member Impact

Funded the transition from 6 to 12 months of continuous Medicaid member eligibility, beginning January 1, 2012. This will be an addition of about $9.1 million in State funding.

Transferred funding from the Department of Human Services' eligibility funds for the "Express Lane" eligibility project to simply the Medicaid enrollment process. This would be a new initiative and would be a cost of $1.3 million in State funds.

There were 33 new slots funded in the Independent Care Waiver Program to help address the waiting list for community-based services for Medicaid members with disabilities. This would be a cost of approximately $545,000 in State money.

Public Health/Healthcare Access

County health department funding was restored cuts with money being placed in the amount of $2.5 million to fund the formula Grant-in-Aid payments to these county public health departments.

Restored funding for the Children 1^st Program. This will use $1.5 million.

Funded with $600,000 State money an operating contract with the Erlanger Life Force Air Ambulance.

Funded two new Federally Qualified Health Centerss in Berrien and Baldwin counties using $500,000 in State money.

Grady's Georgia Poison Control Center received $50,000 in State funds

St. Joseph's Mercy Care contract was reduced by approximately $10,000 in State funds.

Reduced funding for personal services in the Vital Records Program in the amount of approximately $182,000 in State funding.

Assumed State fund savings would be achieved by enrolling more Hemophilia and HIV/AIDS clients into the federal Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan ("PECIP"). This will restore approximately $350,000 in State Funds.

Medical Education

Added funding to support Houston Medical Center's residency program development with $75,000 in State funding.

Assumed savings by consolidating the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce and the State Medical Education Board with $5,000 savings (originally proposed at $250,000, bringing this to $255,000).

Department of Education

Under the Curriculum Development Program, the House restored the proposed cut to the GALILEO contract of $125,512.

Cuts in the Non-Quality Basic Education Formula Grants Program had money restored for the Residential Treatment Centers with all but a one percent reduction. Originally, these grants were to be cut more than $709,000. The House restored all of the money except approximately $39,000. The total reductions of roughly $1.3 million will be made to the Sparsity Grants (in the amount of almost $298,000) and to Special Needs Scholarships of almost $970,000).

Preschool Handicapped Program was originally to be cut more than $284,000. Due to declining enrollment, the House cut this program area by almost $575,000 in State funds.

In the Quality Basic Education Program, the House added almost $524,000 for the "Move on When Ready" per HB 149 from the 2009 Session. The House also added language to provide no more than "$5,200 in State and local equivalency funding for QBE formula earnings and all other State grant earnings for each full-time student enrolled in a virtual charter school approved by the Georgia Charter Schools Commission."

Regional Education Service Agencies Program were proposed to be cut by $602,000 in their "core services" but the House restored part of these moneys, cutting them only eight percent for a total cut of approximately $482,000.

In the School Nurses Program, Governor Deal had proposed a reduction of more than $2.7 million in grants. The House restored roughly $1.6 million so that only a cut of $1.1 million is proposed to be made.

Department of Human Services

In the Child Welfare Services Program, the House has eliminated funding for the EMBRACE Contract in the amount of $173,000 in State funds.

The Elder Community Living Services Program area also received some changes. Some of those included restoration of funds as follows:

Proposed reduction of non-Medicaid home and community based respite services of $1.4 million in State funds.

• Proposed reduction of funding for Alzheimer's respite services in the amount of $225,000.

• Elimination of the contract with the Center for the Visually Impaired in the amount of $178,000.

• In the Elder Support Services Program, the House added $1,045,000 for Meals on Wheels.

The House took a stance on the Family Violence Services Program funding. The Governor had proposed to replace State funding in the amount of roughly $4.5 million with federal TANF funds for this program. The House added this language: Retain State funds for Sexual Assault Centers. It is the intent of the General Assembly that these funds be administered solely by the Department of Human Services and shall not be administratively transferred by memorandum of understanding to any other State agency."

Under the Out of Home Care Program, the House reduced the added State funds of $520,000 to $120,000 by replacing the loss of enhanced Title IV-E funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with State General Funds.

Senate

The Senate convened on Friday afternoon to discuss the passage of a small calendar of Bills. Before the Senators got involved with legislation, the chamber was introduced to the Peace Officer of the Year, Mr. Mark Bracewell who was given the award for his valor during an emergency situation. SR 240 was read aloud in his honor.

A total of five Bills received attention from the Senators:

SB 79 was listed on the calendar as a Bill that would be reconsidered from the previous legislation day as motioned by Sen. Lester Jackson (D-Savannah). However, Sen. Jackson retracted his motion for reconsideration and the matter was dismissed. The Bill passed the Senate yesterday and would make it so that all school boards in Georgia would have their board members serve four year terms.

• HB 232 was then brought to the attention of the Senate and Sen. Bill Hamrick (R-Carrollton) motioned to engross. Both Sen. Steve Henson (D-Tucker) and Sen. Steve Thompson (D-Marietta) spent time in the Well harshly accusing the majority party for their decision to attempt to prevent amendments from being added to the Bill. Sen. Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) and Sen. Bill Heath (R-Bremen) spoke in favor of the motion to engross. A vote was taken on the motion to engross and it passed 34-19. Sen. Hamrick then presented HB 232 as a way of redefining the broad scope of who is considered to be a lobbyist by Georgia law. He argued that the definition needed to be narrowed so that certain persons who engage only incidentally in political activities would not be regulated as lobbyists. For example, people such as bona fide registered salespersons would not be included under the new definition. The Bill also included a provision in Section 7 that stated that a person would not be considered a lobbyist if he or she did not spend at least 10% of their calendar year actively engaged in supporting or influencing legislation. There were also some technical changes such as making it so that lobbyist reporting information could be sent in by mail and that fees could be waived in some circumstances based on the opinion of the Advisory Commission. However, many members of the minority party were very nervous about the implications of HB 232. Both Sen. Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta) and Sen. Steve Thompson (D-Marietta) were especially concerned about how the 10% provision would allow for "heavy hitting lawyers" to avoid having to register as lobbyists because they would fall below that percentage of their time used. They shared the opinion that it was a loophole for an influx of lobbyist activity. Sen. Don Balfour (R-Snellville) commented on the fact that the definition of lobbyist that was used in HB 232 came from Federal law. Sen. John Crosby (R-Tifton) also spoke in support of the Bill by saying that it would allow people from all over the State to have more access to the Capitol. HB 232 was voted on and it passed 39-13.

• SB 26 was the next piece of legislation discussed and it was presented by Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth). The Bill would make it so that public officials cannot use the pretext of a state of emergency to force citizens to surrender their firearms. He claimed that the Bill was inspired by some of the events that took place in the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans. Sen. Steve Thompson (D-Marietta) spoke against the Bill by giving the Senators a brief history lesson on his past experiences with voting on gun law. The Bill was voted on and passed 40-12.

• SB 76 was up next and it was authored by Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga). The Bill would make it so that the Georgia Trauma Commission would have the option to compensate emergency medical services for taking patients to trauma centers across state lines. He spoke about examples where people in North Georgia would have a shorter commute to trauma centers in Tennessee and people in South Georgia would have a shorter commute to trauma centers in Florida. After a brief round of questions, the Bill was voted on and passed unanimously 50-0.

• SB 151 was taken off the table and presented by Sen. Tim Golden (R-Valdosta). The Bill would extend the suspension of adjustments based upon the State-wide Reserve Ratio for the calendar year 2012. Sen. Golden argued that the Bill would help ease the burden on Georgia employers during difficult economic times. It would reduce the increase on unemployment insurance for employers and serve as a stop-gap solution for the next year. He continued to argue that SB 151 was necessary so that employers would not have a disincentive to create jobs. Sen. Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta) spoke at length about how continuing to push the date back further and further would only lead to trouble down the road. She argued that the Commissioner of the Department of Labor has too much power when it comes to manipulating exemptions on unemployment insurance payments. The Bill passed with a vote of 45-5.

Committee Meetings

Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee

The Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee convened on Friday morning to discuss a single Bill. SB 249 was presented by Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) and would require that government agency meeting notices be posted on their website. Sen. Mullis argued that in these modern times, the internet is the best way to pass along pertinent information. Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) asked a question about whether this was necessary. A representative from ACCG spoke in favor of the Bill and a representative from the Georgia Press Association said that his organization had no comment on the matter. The Bill then passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned.

Senate Insurance and Labor Committee

SB 166, the initiative which will comprehensively revise the law governing continuing care agreements, was passed out of the Committee. Lobbyist Tom Bauer presented the changes regarding these Continuing Care Retirement Community Contracts, noting that there would be required disclosure statements to be made up front and prior to executing an actual contract. Additionally, these providers would be required to escrow funds. Sen. Jack Murphy (R-Cumming) inquired if any of these facilities had filed for bankruptcy and the answer was no. The Department of Insurance indicated that it was satisfied with the language in the proposal.

SB 199, a Department of Insurance proposal, addresses fines and restitution which would be required. Current law permits the Commissioner to impose fines when violations of Code are found. The law however, does not presently permit unlicensed folks to be fined. This Bill would change that by allowing the Department of Insurance to also fine the unlicensed individuals and make the insurers make restitution. SB 199 was presented by Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth). He indicated that the industry had "expressed heartburn" for persons they have harmed to be made whole in the restitution process; however, the insurers and the Department are negotiating on some language. The Bill passed as presented with the idea that it may change in the House.

SB 251, another Department of Insurance proposal, would move Georgia to biennial licensing. The House Bill on this issue also cleared the House Insurance Committee. Currently, the Department annually licenses claims agents, adjusters, brokers and the like. There would be no increase in fees; fees would be just paid every two years at twice the current rate. The Bill also passed out of the Committee and onto the Senate Rules Committee for its consideration.

Next up was SB 252, addressing the Frank-Dodd federal legislation and reinsurance. This Bill also has the support of the Department. There was no discussion on the proposal and the Committee passed out SB 252.

Sen. Charlie Bethel's SB 203 to improve coverage for personal communications' devices also passed out of the Committee. It addresses use of claims adjudication systems by customer service representatives within call centers. They would be required to have 25 service representatives to every one licensed adjuster. The idea is to help save consumers money. They would contact the call center and it would then work through a computerized claims adjustment for determination. It was explained that Georgia has reciprocity with other states regarding licensure and this Bill would allow Canadian citizens to manage a call center (that individual may be licensed in Louisiana). Asurion has been pushing this proposal. This Bill would codify the process. There were questions as to why Asurion had not built a call center here in Georgia. The Substitute to SB 203 passed out of the Committee.

Senate Rules Committee (Standing Committee)

Chaired by Sen. Don Balfour (R-Snellville), the House Rules Committee first heard from Sen. Lester Jackson (D-Savannah) about SB 12. The Bill would designate the Georgia Mass Choir as the official mass choir in the State. Aside from some friendly comments to Sen. Jackson about his singing voice, there was little discussion and the Bill passed unanimously.

The main reason for convening on Friday morning was to once again examine SB 209 which has become known as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. With cameras all over the room, Sen. Balfour opened the discussion by addressing Earl Rogers of the Georgia Hospital Association. He revealed the fact that approximately 36,000 abortions take place in Georgia each year and about 1300 of them are during the third trimester. Mr. Rogers voiced some serious concern about the provision in SB 209 that would require all abortions to take place in hospitals. He did not like the idea of picket lines being in front of hospitals protesting abortions. He was also worried about a hospital eventually going down the road of requiring a doctor to perform an abortion based on hospital mandates. An individual representing the Georgia Obstetrical & Gynecological Society spoke against the Bill by saying that it would put a huge strain on hospitals and limit the abilities of other medical facilities. Sen. Greg Goggans (R-Douglas) voiced his concern about hurting private medical practices that do business outside the hospital sphere where many different complex surgeries take place. Sen. Balfour then asked a question about what a 35th or 39th week abortion actually entailed but no one could give him an answer. Sen. Judson Hill (R-Marietta) spoke in support of the Bill as did Rep. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth). A representative from the southeastern division of Planned Parenthood then gave testimony about constitutionality concerns with passage of SB 209. She voiced her opposition by warning that SB 209 would limit a woman's access to safe abortions and would drive up the cost. Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford) asked several follow-up questions about how many abortions Planned Parenthood performs each year and how much they cost. Sen. Balfour then announced his motion to table the Bill due to its controversial status. Without objection, the Bill was tabled and the Senate Rules Committee meeting was adjourned.

House Rules Committee

The House Rules Committee set the calendar for the House Floor for Day 29:

Modified Open Rule

HB323 - Motor vehicle; time of perfection of security interest; change

HB374 - Cosmetologists; examinations and applications for certificates of registration; change certain provision

Modified Structured Rule

HB33 - Budget Act; zero-base budgeting; provide

HB167 - Insurance Delivery Enhancement Act of 2011; enact

HB225 - Agriculture; state promote sustainable agriculture; provide

HB226 - Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities; regulate individual accounts; provision

HB248 - Health Care Sharing Ministries Freedom to Share Act; enact

HB256 - 9-1-1 system; regulation of charges on prepaid wireless services; provision

HB261 - Disclosure; certain public records exempt; provide

HB269 - Drivers' licenses; provide definitions; background checks; provision

HB272 - Juvenile court; rehearing an order of associate juvenile court judge; delete provisions

HB275 - Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; authorized to order not to resuscitate; clarify

HB280 - Emergency Telephone System Fund; additional uses for moneys; provide

HB285 - School employees; criminal background checks; revise provision

HB292 - Employment security; extend rates and credits; change certain provision

HB303 - Physicians assistants; delegation of authority by a physician; revise provision

HB339 - Emergency powers; challenge of quarantine or vaccination order; revise courts; provision

HB343 - Mental health; psychiatric stabilization or detoxification services; provide

HB371 - Insurable interest; state entity; not fund life insurance on public officers or employees; provide

HB373 - Designated felony acts; modify order for restrictive custody; clarify provision

HB423 - Unfair trade practices; certain residential contractors insurance claims; violations; provide

HR71 - Grady County; remaining state interest in a certain property; authorize conveyance

Structured Rule

HB117 - Withholding tax; person listed on closing statement subject to requirements; provid

HB181 - Special needs scholarship program; waiver one requirement; provide

Senate Rules Committee

The Senate Rules Committee met for about 15 minutes after the Senate adjourned on Friday afternoon. Chairman Don Balfour (R-Snellville) allowed each Senator present to select one Bill that they wanted to see on the calendar for Monday. Almost twenty Bills were then put on the calendar. They are SB 39, 40, 63, 98, 112, 135, 138, 140, 150, 161, 168, 177, 181, 186, 193, 245, and HB 41.