House Approves Amended Budget for Remainder of Current Fiscal Year

By Rep. Alan Powell 

On Jan. 24, the Georgia House of Representatives voted to approve a $320 million addition to the state budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2014, which ends June 30.

A majority of the additions will go toward K-12 education funding to account for increased enrollment and to enhance Internet connectivity in Georgia’s public schools. Part of the $183 million in new education appropriations will also be added to the dual-enrollment Accel Program awards and the virtual state charter schools’ funding formula and program development.

The amended budget, if approved by the Senate and signed by the governor, would also add $51.5 million for OneGeorgia and Regional Economic Business Assistance grants in local communities, $47.6 million for additional Medicaid reimbursements and $27 million for transportation projects.

The total increase of $313.9 million would bring the total budget for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, to $20.2 billion – an increase of only 1.5 percent, while state revenues have seen a steady 5 percent increase. The state is directing taxpayer dollars toward the most important areas of education, jobs, infrastructure and public safety.

The supplemental budget legislation (HB 743) goes to the Senate for its consideration. Now only nine legislative days into the session, the House Appropriations Committee will turn its full attention to the proposed $20.8 billion annual state budget for fiscal year 2015, which begins July 1.

Medicinal Marijuana: Legislation is being introduced in the House for the purpose of legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana in Georgia in certain circumstances. The proposed legislation will be narrowly drafted to allow doctors to prescribe cannabis oil, a marijuana derivative, to treat seizure disorders in children.

The proposal is supported by the Medical Association of Georgia and has received generally positive response from the public about the medical uses of marijuana to effectively treat patients with certain illnesses.

The proposed legislation deals only with a particular strand of cannabis, called “Charlotte’s Web,” which is low in THC (the compound that makes a user “high”) and very high in CBD (the medical component).  “Charlotte’s Web” is applied orally in an oil based form and is not smoked.

In the only published study on the treatment, significant seizure reductions have been seen in 85 percent of patients.

The measure includes tight restrictions and regulations for physician management and is limited in scope to individuals with seizure disorders. The medication would be applied in an oil-based formula orally, intravenously or by pill form, not in dry form. I will keep you posted on the progress of this legislation in the weeks ahead. 

State Health Plan: Responding to concerns from teachers and other state employees about the new structure of the State Health Benefits Plan and at the request of Gov. Nathan Deal, the Board of Community Health has voted to institute changes to the plan, which provides health insurance coverage for more 650,000 educators, state employees and their dependents.

The changes will institute co-payments for office visits, medical services and prescriptions, lowering the out-of-pocket expenses for participants by more than $100 million. The Department of Community Health will use money from the plan’s reserve fund to cover the expense of the co-payments for this year.

On Jan. 1, administrative control of the health plan was shifted from two carriers to one, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, and plan members had complained about changes to a high-deductible health reimbursement account and limitations on the network of participating physicians and hospitals.

Unemployment Benefits: Legislation pending before the House Industry & Labor Committee would prevent employees of private companies that provide third-party educational institution services from receiving unemployment insurance benefits during breaks in the school year. HB 714 is aimed at strengthening Georgia’ unemployment insurance system following a ruling by the federal government last year that Georgia law did not cover unemployment  insurance for private companies as it relates to educational institution workers.

The legislation would not affect public schools or public school administrators, teachers or employees. It would only apply to the third-party vendors that some school systems in Georgia choose to supply student transportation, school meals and other services. Some of these private companies actually encourage and train their educational institution employees to file for unemployment benefits during breaks in the school calendar, at a cost to the taxpayers estimated at $8 million annually.

Educational institution employees of private companies would still be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits if they are not given reasonable assurance their position will be available to them at the end of the temporary break or if the private company does not rehire them at the end of the break. HB 714 was approved by the subcommittee handling the legislation and now awaits a vote by the full committee.

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• State Rep. Alan Powell (R-Hartwell) represents the 32^nd District (Franklin, Hart and Madison counties) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact him at 613 Coverdell Legislative Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-463-3793; or by email at [email protected].