Nuggets from the Gold Dome

Nuggets From the Gold Dome

Vol. 3, No. 2

February 9th – February 13th, 2014

Good Afternoon, All!

Below is your weekly installment of “Nuggets from the Gold Dome.” Today is the 16th day of the 40 day Georgia General Assembly. Without major ice storms this year (yet), the House and Senate are meeting in full session and committee work is running smoothly. Our advocates are busy visiting with their representatives to discuss important issues. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, or would like to see something added to the Nuggets, do not hesitate to contact me at .

For more information, hyperlinks have been added and are in blue and underlined.Official reports of daily legislative activities can be accessed at:

House Daily Reports

This Week in the Senate

Your Weekly Nuggets

Transportation Funding: The debate over HB 170, the Transportation Funding Act, continues to dominate this year’s legislative session and includes numerous changes to the original bill. The current proposal is said to be $200 million short of the $1 billion a year needed to make critical updates to an aging infrastructure. To fill the gap, lawmakers are considering going higher than the original 29.2 cents per gallon excise tax – how much higher is not yet clear. Also included in the new version of the bill is a provision allowing counties to levy an additional 6 cents per gallon excise tax as there were fears that losing that revenue would hurt their bottom line. The AJC has more on the changes here, and the Time Free Press has more from a local perspective.

Family Care Act: Sponsored by Tommy Benton (R-Jefferson), HB 92 awaits its first hearing in the House Industry and Labor Committee. The bill would allow employees with earned sick time to use up to 5 days of that leave to care for sick or injured members of their immediate families. The AARP has more on the prosed legislation here.

Less Time for Early Voting: HB 58, the Ballot Access Reform Act, sponsored by John Pezold (R-Fortson) would significantly reduce the number of early voting days from 21 to 12. The initial proposal mandated Sunday voting across the state, but the House Committee on Governmental Affairs removed that mandate to keep it “optional.” The bill will also ease the threshold for third party candidates to gain access to the ballot by requiring signatures from only 2% of those who voted in the previous election – currently candidates from outside the traditional Republican and Democratic parties must obtain signatures from 5% of all registered voters in the state. More on this from WABE and The Gainesville Times.

Education Reform: In Governor Deal’s State of the State address, he highlighted the need for reforms to our system to better meet the needs of our students. The bill put forward by the Governor’s Office calls for an amendment to the State Constitution to allow for Opportunity School Districts. Oversight for these districts will come from a superintendent that is appointed by the Governor. The Governor’s plan would bring up to 20 failing schools under state control each year beginning in 2017 and would be capped at 100 schools. A “failing school” is one that scores below 60 on the state’s College and Career Performance Index for three consecutive school years. There are currently 141 failing schools in Georgia. The AJC has more on the reforms here, as does Charter Confidential.

What We’re Following

Employment First: GCDD organized more than 100 advocates at the Capitol yesterday to push lawmakers into adopting an Employment First initiative in the state. Currently, in Georgia, only 14% of individuals with developmental disabilities are currently employed in the community. Currently, providers receive more money to support an individual in a non-work setting than they do for supporting an individual to work in their community. Advocates pressed their representatives to open the lines of communication between relevant state agencies to set inclusive employment as the priority outcome for individuals with developmental disabilities in the state’s service system.

Ava’s Law: SB 1, sponsored by Charlie Bethel (R-Dalton), which unanimously passed the Senate last week, is still currently waiting for a hearing in the House Committee on Insurance. Advocates have been meeting at the Capitol to speak with House members in hopes of gaining their support for a floor vote. We will continue to follow this and provide updates as they occur.

Take Action!

To find your representatives, usewww.votesmart.org.

Join us at the Capitol Thursday February 19th to speak with legislators about Inclusive Post-Secondary Education AND Youth Advocacy Day. Don’t forget that Disability Day at the Capitol is March 5th and will be held at the new Liberty Plaza behind the Capitol.

For more on Federal issues:

AUCD Disability Policy News In Brief

Tuesdays with Liz: Disability Policy for ALL

Nuggets from the Gold Dome is a weekly newsletter about selected issues being considered by the Georgia General Assembly. It is authored by J. Ryan Johnson of the Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University and is for educational purposes only. We welcome questions, comments, and concerns. If you would like to see something added to theNuggets, do not hesitate to .