02/25/15: Legislative Report: Session at Halfway Point

By Rep. Alan Powell

On Monday, Gov. Nathan Deal released the final report and recommendations from the Rural Hospital Stabilization Committee, which was created last year to identify and provide solutions to address the financial struggles of Georgia’s rural hospitals.

The committee’s purpose is to review and recommend steps to ensure that all Georgians, no matter where they live, have the ability to receive adequate health care and to strengthen a system that affects not only our citizens’ wellbeing but also the condition of our local economies.

The recommendations include the establishment of a four-site pilot program, based upon an integrated “hub and spoke” model, to relieve cost pressures on emergency departments and ensure that the best, most efficient treatment is received by patients. The program aims to increase the utilization of new and existing technology and infrastructure in smaller critical access hospitals, Wi-Fi and telemedicine equipped ambulances, telemedicine equipped school clinics, federally qualified health centers, public health departments and local physicians.

An additional $3 million will be allocated in this year’s budget to the State Office of Rural Health within the Georgia Department of Community Health to fund the necessary tools the four hubs need to effectively implement the pilot program. The initiative is not intended to be a temporary fix, but rather a strong starting point toward providing high-quality health care throughout rural Georgia and the beginning of a long-lasting road to recovery for our rural hospitals.

Session at Halfway Point: Monday, Feb. 23, was the 20^th legislative day, or the halfway point of the 2015 session of the General Assembly. The first two general bills to receive final approval by both the House and Senate were HB 75, the midyear adjustment to the state budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2015, and SB 5, which would remove a potential legal barrier to Georgia’s ability to receive federal funds for the deepening of the Savannah Harbor.

As adjusted, the $21.1 billion total budget for fiscal year 2015 now goes to Gov. Deal for his signature.  Additional funding in the supplemental budget legislation includes $126 million to local school districts to account for enrollment growth; $49.5 million for increases in Medicaid reimbursements; $40 million for economic development grants; $35 million for expanded Internet connectivity in the public schools; $6.2 million for 103 new child welfare case workers; $4.9 million for medical cannabis trials at Georgia Regents University; $648,000 to establish the Georgia Film Academy to expand the potential workforce for the state’s growing film industry; and $203,000 for a charter school to help prison inmates earn high school diplomas.

HB 75 also includes language calling for the Department of Community Health to study ways to continue providing health insurance coverage for part-time school employees, including bus drivers and cafeteria workers. Legislative budget writers now turn their full attention to the proposed $21.8 annual budget for fiscal year 2016, which begins July 1.

SB 5 would authorize the Georgia Ports Authority to legally indemnify the federal government when it distributes its $430 million share of the $700 million project, which is aimed at increasing the number of products shipped to and from Georgia businesses via the Savannah port. The project, which began last month and is scheduled for completion in 2020, will deepen the Savannah River by five feet to allow the port to accommodate larger container ships, a vital project for the state’s economic future.

Both bills now go to the Governor for his signature.  House members also approved and sent to the Senate:

• HB 47, which would authorize certain prescription drug refills of topical ophthalmic products under certain conditions.
• HB 52, which would change provisions in the state’s child custody law to require parenting plans to be incorporated into final custody orders.
• HB 100, which would change the enrollment age eligibility date for school children from Sept. 1 to Aug.  1 for the 2017-2018 school year and July 1 starting in 2018-2019. Students would have to be 5 years old by those dates in order to enroll in kindergarten.
• HB 119, which would allow a probate judge who has signed an “order to apprehend” an ill or suicidal person to disclose to law enforcement officers if that person has HIV or AIDS.
• HB 160, which would allow the trapping of raccoons in eight Georgia counties where the practice is currently prohibited.
• HB 162, which would which would provide for insurance compliance self-evaluative privilege to protect the confidentiality of communications in order to encourage insurance companies to conduct voluntary audits.
• HB 172, which would amend Georgia’s “boating under the influence” law so that it would not apply to a person on a homemade or inflatable raft.
• HB 198, which would require annual suicide prevention education training for certified school system personnel. Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for young people ages 10 to 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The General Assembly is in session this week through Thursday, Feb. 26, which is the 23^rd legislative day. Please feel free to contact me throughout the session with your thoughts on pending issues, or whenever I can be of service. My legislative office is located in 613 Coverdell Legislative Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; phone 404-463-3793 or email [email protected]. For more information, visit www.alanpowell.net.