Lawmakers picked up the pace today at the Capitol.  The House, while taking a short break for lunch, returned to its Session in the afternoon to address the immigration reform proposal brought to the House Floor by Rep. Matt Ramsey (R-Peachtree City).  Rep. Ramsey's Bill is more fully explained below but addresses an "Arizona-like" method of dealing with illegal immigrants.

The Governor's Floor Leader Doug Collins (R-Gainesville) along with several Senators met late in the day to discuss the proposal relating to the HOPE Scholarship program and its funding.  Led by Sen. Jim Butterworth (R-Cornelia), the group hosted a lengthy hearing on HB 326.  At the "saving HOPE" hearing, things became testy at a point requiring the Capitol police to be used to escort folks from the hearing room.

Floor News

House

Rep. David Knight (R-Griffin) introduced the Chaplain of the Day, Pastor Benny Tate of Rock Springs Church. Mrs. Kimberly Capacheski, whose husband is currently serving as a Platoon Sergeant on his ninth tour of Afghanistan, presented Speaker Ralston with a flag flown in Afghanistan by her husband's platoon in his honor. Many groups were present in the Gallery today, including the 2010 5-AAAAA State Championship Football Team, the Brookwood Broncos from Brookwood High School in Gwinnett County. There were over 100 football players, cheerleaders, trainers, coaches, and coaching staff present. A delegation, of five Pakistani government officials, was also recognized with their visit to Georgia.

• HB 264- Rep. Amy Carter (R-Valdosta) brought forth this legislation which seeks place the power and authority over the Georgia Council of the Arts with the Department of Economic Development passed the House with a vote of 155-3.
• HB 156- Rep. Mike Cheokas (R-Americus) presented this Bill which would allow for indemnification payments to state highway employees injured or kill while in the line of duty. HB 156 passed unanimously with a vote of 156 to zero.
• HB 189 – Rep. Joe Wilkinson (R-Sandy Springs) and the Georgia Dental Association brought forth this Bill to address contracting issues by insurers that mandate dentists to sign contracts for discounted services which have included non-covered services, passed with a vote of 165 to one.
• HB 142 – Rep. Wendell Willard (R-Atlanta) brought forth one of the three annual Official Code of Georgia revision bills.   He explained that this Bill addresses punctuation and spelling errors found by Legislative Counsel and others and makes no substantive changes in the law.  The Bill passed with a vote of 167 to zero.
• HB 123 – This Bill relating to firearms brings into the law a more comprehensive list of weapons that can be removed from a public official.  The Bill adds tasers and stun guns.  It was presented by Rep. Jay Powell (R-Camilla) and passed with a vote of 165 to one.
• HB 87- The majority of the nearly five-hour Floor Session was spent on HB 87 by Rep. Matt Ramsey (R-Peachtree City). Also known as the "Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011," HB 87 was a source of deep contention and spawned many passionate speeches by Lawmakers. The sponsors of HB 87 spoke strongly on the fact that this legislation is not anti-immigrant nor does it seek to promote racial profiling, but in fact it was pro-legal immigration and seeks to promote legal, safe immigration practices.  HB 87 requires that private employers (regardless of their size) must enroll in E-Verify, a federal program which quickly checks the immigration status of potential employees. Once entered into the system, in seconds potential employees are determined to be authorized for work or not found authorized and necessitate further inquiry. The sponsors of the Bill spoke to the efficiency and effectiveness of the E-Verify system, and the benefits it will have for Georgia Workers.  Rep. Cheokas (R- Americus) spoke in favor of the Bill and highlighted the ways it will help prevent identity theft and promote legal employment. Reps. Casas (R- Lilburn) and Pak (R- Lilburn) both spoke in support of the Bill as well through their experience as first generation Americans, coming as children from Cuba and South Korea, respectively. Both agreed that the proposal was not anti-immigrant. A video from CBS Atlanta was shown by Rep. Setzler (R- Acworth) showing the epidemic of illegal immigration and how it affects legal immigrants and American citizens looking for employment in these economic times. Over $1 Billion in Georgia taxpayer dollars are spent educating illegal immigrant children, according to Rep. Dempsey (R- Rome), which costs approximately $7,433 per student according to the Speaker Pro Tempore Jones (R- Milton). At a jail in Gwinnett County, after conducting a check on citizenship status of the inmates, 914 of the inmates were found to be illegal immigrants. Sixty-eight percent of the foreign population in Gwinnett County's prisons is illegal and 54% are previous offenders, according to Rep. Sheldon (R- Dacula).  The final sentiments of the majority came from Majority Whip Lindsey (R-Atlanta) who reminded Lawmakers that illegal immigrants have approximately a $2.4 Billion dollar impact, approximately $1 Billion of which affects K-12 Education.

While many Representatives made impassioned arguments in strong support of the Bill, many members of the Minority Party came to the Well to speak against HB 87.  Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Clarkston) spoke to the undue burden, both financially and ethically, which would be placed on law enforcement officials who would be responsible for checking documents of persons at traffic stops to verify their immigration status. Rep. Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) spoke to the economic repercussions Georgia could potentially experience from the legislation, particularly in the hotels, lodging, and hospitality industries. The State of Arizona, after passing somewhat similar legislation, suffered millions of dollars in losses in their conference and hospitality industry. Rep. Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta) discussed the message that HB 87 would send to potential businesses and industries which may want to make Georgia home, stating it would be unwelcoming and deter business from Georgia.  Rep. Stacey Abrams (D-Atlanta) had the final word, providing the Minority Report on HB 87, and echoed many of her colleagues' sentiments about the racial implications that passage of the Bill may have.

Chairman Rich Golick (R-Smyrna) had the final word on HB 87, and encouraged Lawmakers to pass the legislation so that Georgia would no longer be a haven to illegal immigrants. HB 87 passed the House with a vote of 113-56 and now moves to the Senate for its consideration.

Senate

The Senate session kicked off shortly after 10:00 a.m.  Sen. Robert Brown (D-Macon) introduced the Chaplain of the Day, Pastor Stephen Summerow of Oldfield Baptist Church in Perry, Georgia.  It was announced that March 3, 2011 was "Kids Challenge Day" at the Capitol and Senators were presented healthy snacks and a book on child obesity issues.  Georgia ranks second in the nation, in terms of numbers of children with obesity and that costs Georgia $2.1 million annually for hospitalization costs for those children.  A young man named Major Dukes led the Senators in a round of exercises in honor of the special day.  The Brookwood High School Football Team along with cheerleaders also made their way to the Senate for further recognition of their winning the 2010 AAAAA Championship.  Four pieces of legislation were discussed on the Floor:

• SB 19, authored by Sen. Judson Hill (R-Marietta), was first on the calendar. It would create the crime of medical identity fraud.  He warned the other Senators of the dangers of medical identity fraud in the near future and outlined what the penalties would be if you were convicted of the offense.  Sen. Hill explained that similar legislation had passed out of the Senate in 2010 but had stalled.  There were no amendments to the Bill on the Floor, and it passed with a vote of 53 to zero.
• SB 88 was then brought to the Floor of the Senate by Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga).  The Bill seeks to raise the age from 6 to 8 years old regarding when a child is required to use a safety restraint in a car.  Surprisingly, there was quite a bit of discussion about the Bill.  Sen. Mullis stated that the Bill was very important because it pertained to saving the lives of children.  He added that it did allow for some size exemptions and was supported by the Children's Hospital Network.  Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford) commented on the fact that such a law already exists in 27 other States.  Sen. Johnny Grant (R-Milledgeville) noted the Governor's Office on Highway Safety approves of SB 19.  However, Sen. Tommie Williams (R-Lyon) proposed an amendment to the Bill to change the age to 7 years old.  He argued that 8 years old was just too old.  The amendment was voted on and passed by a narrow margin of 26-25.  Because of the close vote, a motion to reconsider was put before Lt. Gov. Cagle.  He allowed the motion and the vote to reconsider passed with a score of 29-23.  The amendment was then voted on again and this time failed by a margin of 25-28.  After all of the voting surrounding the amendment was finished, the actual vote on SB 88 occurred and it passed 38-13. 
• SB 134 was presented by Sen. Bill Hamrick (R-Carrollton).  He stated that the Bill was simply intended to make some technical corrections to language related to guardianship and workers' compensation law.  No questions were asked and the Bill passed with a vote of 48 to zero.
• SR 103 was the last piece of legislation to be discussed on the Floor.  Sen. Buddy Carter (R-Pooler) presented the Resolution as a necessary measure to help 10 counties in Georgia, granting them nonexclusive easements for operation and maintenance of facilities and utilities.  Without any debate, the Resolution passed easily with a vote of 48 to zero.

New Legislation

HR 425 – Rep. Jay Neal (R-LaFayette) authored this Constitutional Amendment for Article I, Section II of the Constitution.  It addresses public funding of social services by allowing religious or faith based organizations to receive public aid, directly, or indirectly, for the provision of such services. 

HR 426 – Rep. Keith Heard (D-Athens) authored this proposal to create a House Study Committee on Procurement Policies of Georgia Departments and Agencies Regarding Businesses Owned by Minorities and Women.

HR 458 – Rep. Pedro Marin (D-Duluth) offered this Resolution to recognize the growing incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Georgia.  It encourages the Department of Community Health to enact regulations requiring data collection regarding the incidents of this disease.

HR 459 – Rep. Mike Dudgeon (R-Suwanee) authored this Resolution to support the Georgia Professional Standards Commission rule change on certificate upgrades for advanced degrees which come from providers that meet established quality standards and for degrees that are in a field for which the Professional Standards Commission offers a certificate.

HR 471 – Rep. James Mills (R-Gainesville) authored this Resolution urging the United States Congress to take actions as may be necessary to ensure that the Federal Defense of Marriage Act is defended against all challenges.

HR 477 – Rep. Tommy Smith (R-Nicholls) submitted this Resolution commending Mary Mac's Tea Room in Atlanta on the occasion of its 65^th anniversary.

SR 263 – Sen. Jason Carter (D-Atlanta) proposed this Resolution for a Constitutional Amendment so that legislative and congressional reapportionement shall be done by an independent, nonpartisan, commission instead of the General Assembly.  This amendment will be made at Article II of the Constitution in a new Section IV.

SR 265 – Sen. Frank Ginn (R-Danielsville) proposed this initiative creating a Joint Study Committee on State-Local Government Mandate Review.  This would be comprised of three members from the House and three from the Senate.  It would also establish a "task force" to made up of representatives from ACCG, GMA and the Department of Community Affairs which would staff this Committee.

SR 318 – Sen. Barry Loudermilk (R-Cassville) authored this piece of legislation recognizing the Civil Air Patrol for their service to the citizens of Georgia.

Committee News

House Education Committee- Academic Innovation Subcommittee

The Subcommittee reconvened this morning for further consideration of HB 271, otherwise known as the "Georgia Student Extracurricular Partnership Act" which seeks to allow students attending charter schools to take advantage of extracurricular activities at the public school where they are zoned to attend. Rep. Len Walker (R- Loganville) implored the Committee not to support "institutional protectionism" at the cost of providing opportunities to students. There was a substitution to the Bill since the Subcommittee's meeting on March 3^rd.  After discussion, the Committee sent a "do pass" recommendation to the full committee, passing the Bill in the new Committee Substitute form.

House Insurance Committee – Subcommittee on Administration and Licensing

HB 380 received a hearing at this meeting.  The legislation proposes to revamp the law governing continuing care retirement communities, establishing higher bonding requirements; requiring disclosure statements at the beginning of a transaction; and providing options for independent and skilled care.  It was described as a piece of legislation to help protect consumers in these expensive long-term care insurance products.

House Education Committee

Chairman Brooks Coleman (R-Lawrenceville) hosted a lengthy meeting moving forward several proposals:

• HB 271, by Rep. Len Walker (R-Loganville), passed out of the Committee after getting several "tweaks."  This Bill would enact the Bill Georgia Student Extracurricular Partnership Act permitting charter school students to participate in extracurricular activities offered at public schools in their attendance zone.
• HB 314, which will enact Jesse's Law, also sailed through the Committee.  It will allow a foster care student to be given credit for attending school if he or she must miss school for a court appearance.  A student, who had a perfect attendance record, lost that perfect attendance because of being in foster care and attending a court hearing.
• HR 248, the Resolution by Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs), also passed.  This Resolution states that the General Assembly should be urged to appropriate funds for payment of the ten percent salary increases for those teachers who have achieved National Board Certification.
• SB 38, by Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock), was presented by Rep. Steve Davis (R-McDonough) and passed.  This initiative addresses the State School Superintendent's authority to hire and fire its employees.  That is a change from current law which now allows the State's Board of Education along with the Department to make those decisions.
• HB 81, by Rep. David Casas (R-Lilburn), also passed out of the Committee.  It requires a fiscal note on legislation which will involve any expenditure to be made by a local school system and permits the effective date to be delayed in an effort to give those local school boards time to adjust to the new mandate.
• HB 285, by Chairman Coleman, also passed.  This Bill addresses background checks to be conducted on school personnel and specifically permits local units of administration to order those checks through the Georgia Crime Information Center and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

House Judiciary Committee – Non-civil – Setzler Subcommittee

The Setzler Subcommittee of House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee met to consider substitutes to HB 185 dealing with shelters for homeless children and HB 184 on electronic monitoring of controlled substances.  HB 184 was not taken up because of the long deliberations on HB 185. 

The Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic is working with the Subcommittee on HB 185 which will be known as the "Runaway Youth Safety Act." The underlying Bill makes changes to the criminal statutes dealing with harboring of delinquent youth.  It essentially carves out of the crime certain shelters for runaway youth which may keep them up to 72 hours. The goal is to provide a safe haven for runaway or homeless youth until they can be replaced with their families, guardians or Division of Families and Children's Services. The issues have involved which entities may qualify as shelters and the Subcommittee has discussed for several days what level of licensure or certification will be required for the shelters which get the benefit of exclusion from the harboring minors in the criminal statute.  In the Substitute, a shelter can be licensed as a child caring institution or child placing agency, or it may be a not-for-profit shelter that registers with the Department of Human Services and asserts that it has a least one health qualified staff person; that its other staff have received training in emergency protocols; that it has treatment protocols; that it maintains liability insurance; and that it conducts criminal background checks on its staff.  It is not clear whether volunteers qualify as staff persons.  The shelters are subject to Department of Human Services' ("DHS") inspection and other enforcement powers of DHS against child abuse.  The Subcommittee spent extensive time on the Bill and it may be amended further in full Judiciary Non-Civil Committee.

House Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee

This Committee convened late Thursday afternoon to first hear from a guest speaker.  Calvin Rhodes, from the Georgia Technology Authority ("GTA"), spoke to the Committee about IT and security-related services that the GTA provides for the Executive branch of State government.  He invited all Committee members to come and visit the high security data center located in North Atlanta.  Mr. Rhodes spoke at length about the specific services that the GTA provides and how it has saved the State a lot of money.  Rep. Mike Cheokas (R-Americus) asked Mr. Rhodes a question about how the GTA handles secure information from the GBI.  Rep. Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta) then wanted to know how much the State pays GTA per year for their services.  The number was approximated at about $200 million.  The only Bill discussed was HB 33 which was authored by Rep. Stephen Allison (R-Blairsville).  The Bill would require zero-based budgeting to be used in every Georgia department at least once in a six year period.  They would have the option of doing it more than once if they chose.  The Bill further seeks to create a Joint Budget Office for the House and Senate for the sake of efficiency and cost-cutting.  Rep. Martin strongly supported the merging of the two budget offices into one entity.  John Brown from the House Budget Office spoke in favor of the Bill.  HB 33 was voted on and it passed the Committee unanimously.

House Judiciary Committee – Jacobs Subcommittee

In an early morning meeting, HB 229 came before the Subcommittee.  The Bill by Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta) proposed to amend Chapter 4 of Title 49 to address provisions relating to the time requirements for taking action on a claim for medical assistance when treatment or services have been denied and the related administrative appeals and hearing process under the Medicaid program.  Chairman Mike Jacobs (R-Marietta) explained that there had been some negotiations with the Department and the Governor's office on the Bill and it had been decided that an additional changes would be made, essentially striking sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Substitute version of the Bill.  With those changes, the definition of the term "treatment or services" as defined in O.C.G.A. § 49-4-141(10) was eliminated.  Additionally, requiring the Department of Community Health 90 days to pay a claim or deny the claim as proposed in O.C.G.A. § 49-4-146 was also stricken.  The Bill left in place a change to O.C.G.A. § 49-4-153(b) so that the Department will be required, within ten days of receiving a request for hearing from the applicant or recipient, to transmit a copy of that request to the Office of State Administrative Hearings.  The decision by the administrative law judge will then be rendered in writing.  The decision of the administrative law judge will be the final administrative decision of the commissioner.  Further, the Subcommittee left in language that will require the Department in O.C.G.A. § 49-4-158 to annually submit a report to various General Assembly Committees detailing the Department's compliance with the required time frames mandated by the Code, including those outlined in O.C.G.A. § 49-4-146 and O.C.G.A. § 149-4-153.  There was testimony provided at the Committee by the Department of Community Health, detailing what it had done in an effort to address issues of timeliness for the Katie Beckett eligibility process (including collapsing information into a "check list" and making medical determination and medical necessity one process).   The Department outlined a number of statistics on its appeals that its staff of four full—time attorneys handle along with three contract attorneys.  In 2009, there were 587 appeals; in 2010, there were 847 appeals; and thus far in 2011, there have been 113 appeals.  Josh Norris, an attorney with the Georgia Advocacy Office, also testified about process and the timeframes for parents to get decision on the services needed by their children.  HB 229 passed by Committee Substitute as amended.

Senate Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee

The Senate Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee met to discuss Senate Bills 138 and 155. Sen. Tippins (R-Marietta) introduced SB 138 which would require a signed sworn statement by applicants for tag renewals. SB 138 also modifies the penalties for violations of driving without a license, driving on suspended or revoked licenses, and driving with expired tags. The Committee passed SB 138 unanimously.

Sen. John Albers (R- Roswell) presented SB 155, also known as the "Jared Little Act" to the committee, which would make indemnification payments to parents/siblings of the victims if he or she does not have an unremarried spouse or dependents. The eligible victims must be killed or suffer organic brain damage while serving as a: law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency technician, emergency medical specialist, or prison guard. SB 155 was tabled for further discussion by the Committee.

Senate Higher Education Committee

The Senate Committee on Higher Education met to hold hearings on HB 326 which makes comprehensive reforms to the HOPE Scholarship program and its funding. While HB 326 passed through the House on Tuesday with a vote of 152-22, it now must undergo the same approval and revision process in the Senate. The Committee room was packed for these hearings, and Chairman Butterworth (R-Cornelia) permitted persons wishing to speak, in favor or in opposition to the Bill, to sign up to be heard. The Governor's Floor Leader, Rep. Collins (R-Gainesville) was present not only to explain the Bill in full detail to the Committee, but also to answer questions for the Senators and other people speaking to the merits of the proposal.

Mr. Tom Daniels, a representative for the University System of Georgia's Board of Regents, spoke to the benefits of the Bill, noting that in order to save HOPE "sacrifices for everyone are needed to benefit everyone." The Committee spoke favorably to the potential of considering "grandfathering-in" or utilizing an implementation period that would allow rising seniors to adjust their finances to plan for the new changes.  Representatives from DeVry University and University of Phoenix thanked the Committee for maintaining proprietary institutions in the eligibility for the scholarship, and applauded the new 1% loan program to be awarded to needs-based students.

Mr. John Dutton, Student Government President of Georgia State University, spoke against HB 326, and encouraged the Committee to consider detaching HOPE funding from tuition rates.  Mr. Dutton spoke passionately against the HOPE changes and the affects that they would have on students.

Mr. Corey Boone, Student Government Association President at the Georgia Institute of Technology, spoke for himself as well as on behalf of the University of Georgia's Student Government Association President. Mr. Boone applauded Lawmakers for making compromises and concessions with all parties involved, especially pertaining to the 1% loan program, and lowering the requirements for the Zell Miller Scholarship from 3.7 to 3.3.  Mr. Boone called on the Committee to consider an "orderly transition period for current students to get their financial houses in order" who may be affected by the changes. Multiple Senators on the Committee complimented Mr. Boone as being "a source of pride for the University System of Georgia" and praised his excellent address.

Many other students from Georgia State University spoke to the Committee against HB 326. Mr. Juan Sebastian Quintero told the Senators that these cuts were "appalling," and would adversely affect the poorest students attempting to go to college. One student passionately and loudly spoke to the fact that the HOPE cuts would prevent economically disadvantaged, minority, and female students from being able to attend college in Georgia; and made the egregious claim that none of the Senators are, had been, or ever would be any of these things. Chairman Butterworth and Sen. Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) both shared personal anecdotes with the Committee and visitors about their own experiences with unemployment and financing college before the HOPE scholarship. Sen. Seabaugh reminded one of the students speaking against the cuts that the cuts are being done out of necessity because the State cannot continue even for two more years to finance the program if the State wants to ensure its existence.  After a two and a half hour meeting, the Committee adjourned and will reconvene on Friday, March 4^th to consider HB 326 further.

Senate Transportation Committee

The Senate Transportation Committee met on several Bills.  The first was HB 179 which seeks to modify the procedures whereby owners of legally erected and maintained signs obtain and renew permits for the installation of signs.  Chairman Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) limited arguments from each side to ten minutes a piece.  Wilton Rooks spoke against the Bill by saying that it should set height limits on billboards built in the future and that the total number of billboards in the State should be capped.  The Garden Club of Georgia spoke adamantly against the Bill with concern that many old trees would be threatened with the result of its passage.  Proponents of the Bill spoke about the jobs that the Bill could create and that money would be made available for beautification projects around the State as a result of collecting permit fees.  Sen. Valencia Seay (D-Riverdale) asked a question about how the Bill would affect the Beltline project in Atlanta.  HB 179 was then voted on and it passed unanimously. 

The second item up for discussion was SB 168 and it was presented by Sen. Valencia Seay (D-Riverdale).  The Bill simply names the "move over law" after Spencer Pass, the HERO worker who tragically died while he was on the job.  All Committee members then voted to pass the Bill onto the Senate. 

The last Bill on the agenda was SB 54 which seeks to clarify the definition of an "on-premise" or "on-property" sign.  This would include any advertising device which solely advertises the sale or lease of the real property upon which it is placed or an advertising device identifying the activities located on or products or services available on the premises or property.  The DOT presented this Bill as a necessary measure to make sure that the Federal government does not take away 10% of the funding that they receive.  Sen. Doug Stoner (D-Smyrna) asked several questions about how the Cobb Galleria Convention Center would be affected.  The Bill was passed out of Committee with only one dissenting vote from Sen. Bill Jackson (R-Appling).

Senate Education and Youth

The Senate Education and Youth Committee convened at 2:00 p.m. and heard from a guest speaker.  Stephanie Blank, the Chair of the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students otherwise known as GEEARS, addressed the Committee and spent most of her time talking about the Pre-K program in Georgia and how important it is to maintain.  She said that of all the ways that State government spends money, Pre-K education provides the largest return on investment.  Ms. Blank was against reducing the day from 6.5 to 4 hours and voiced concerns about being able to retain quality teachers if the hours are cut.  After Ms. Blank finished her speech, Chairman Fran Millar assigned several Bills to the Education Subcommittees. 

Chairman Millar then brought up discussion of SB 49.  The Bill seeks to increase the mandatory age that students would be required to continue attending school from 16 years old to 16.5.  The Bill was discussed as being relatively "cheap" with a price tag of only $6.5 -7 million a year.  Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) spoke in favor of the Bill, calling attention to the fact that he had passed similar legislation out of the Senate in the past.  The Bill was voted on and passed with two dissenting votes. 

Up next was SB 79.  This Bill simply makes it so that all members of school boards in the State would have four-year terms.  Currently Chatman County is the only school board system whose members serve two-year terms.  The Committee debated about whether or not a two- year term was long enough to accomplish anything while serving on a school board.  Sen. Carter claimed that it was causing some personnel retention problems.  The Bill then passed despite receiving two dissenting votes.

Senate Health and Human Services Committee – Ligon Subcommittee

In a very brief meeting, Sen. Bill Ligon (R-Brunswick) cleared out Sen. John Albers' (R-Roswell) proposal to impose the use of a pilot program to help combat Medicaid fraud by using "smart cards" and fingerprints to determine if Medicaid recipients were eligible for benefits.  SB 63, which has a lot of opposition from the provider community, passed with one dissenting vote by Sen. Johnny Grant (R-Milledgeville).  At this meeting, the Subcommittee members learned more about the potential costs associated with implementing this pilot program.  Costs for the six month pilot would be approximately $600,000.  If the Department of Community Health, which oversees Medicaid, would implement the program statewide, it would cost Georgia approximately $23.3 million and that is not including various ancillary costs (such administering a competitive procurement; making changes to Georgia's Medicaid Management Information System; shipping costs of equipment to providers; training for providers to use equipment and system; and etc.).  The argument has been that there may be three percent fraud in the program which would offset these expenses.