Demetrius Mazacoufa, P.C. - Legislative News

January 16, 2000:

FIRST WEEK OF 2000 GEORGIA SESSION

Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor and Speaker Tom Murphy jointly gaveled the Georgia Senate and House of Representatives respectively at 10:00 A.M. Monday, January 10 to mark the beginning of the 2000 session of the Georgia General Assembly. The first day was taken up with the certain formalities which come with the beginning of a term. This year was also marked with the legislators introduced to the completed renovation of both chambers to their 19th century look. The new furbishings gave the chambers an interesting twist with the chambers also wired for 21st century technology with each legislator issued a laptop computer at their desks to track legislation and receive e-mail from constituent.

The next day, Gov. Roy Barnes went before a joint House-Senate gathering to deliver his recommendations on how to apportion the $14.4 billion budget proposals for the upcoming fiscal year. The general appropriations bill for the upcoming fiscal year which begins July 1 is HB 1160. The supplemental appropriations bill, revising the spending plan for the current fiscal year, is HB 1162.

The larget portion of the Governor's budget is $7.9 billion for education. Health care sees $87 million of the tobacco settlement money spent on school nurses, anti-smoking programs, developmentally disabled programs, and expansion of Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women and infants. $39 million of non-tobacco settlement monies would go toward increasing reimbursements for physicians, dentists, hospitals, and nursing homes. Other budget items include $30 million to encourage local governmetns in fast-growing areas to shield 20% of their open spaces from development; $166 million in tax cuts in the form of raising the homestead exemption; and pay raises for state employees, including teachers and other school personnel in the form of a 3% salary increase.

On Thursday, the Governor outlined his education reform agenda before another joint session. These reforms would eliminate tenure for new teacher hires, allow students to move to another schol within the same district if the current school is "low-performing" as determined by the Department of Education for three years, the creation of a school nurse program, add more counselors and psychologists in schools, increase student testing, and create locally run councils to help each of the state's public schools.

Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham addressed the final joint session of the legislature of the week to report on the State of teh Judiciary. He stressed the need for the state to fund specialized Juvenile Court Judges as part of a response to problems children face and the legal issues they are involved with througout the state.



	January 16, 2000: FIRST WEEK OF 2000 GEORGIA SESSION Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor and Speaker Tom Murphy jointly gaveled the Georgia Senate and House of Representatives respectively at 10:00 A.M. Monday, January 10 to mark the beginning of the 2000 session of the Georgia General Assembly. The first day was taken up with the certain formalities which come with the beginning of a term. This year was also marked with the legislators introduced to the completed renovation of both chambers to their 19th century look. The new furbishings gave the chambers an interesting twist with the chambers also wired for 21st century technology with each legislator issued a laptop computer at their desks to track legislation and receive e-mail from constituent. The next day, Gov. Roy Barnes went before a joint House-Senate gathering to deliver his recommendations on how to apportion the $14.4 billion budget proposals for the upcoming fiscal year. The general appropriations bill for the upcoming fiscal year which begins July 1 is HB 1160. The supplemental appropriations bill, revising the spending plan for the current fiscal year, is HB 1162. The larget portion of the Governor's budget is $7.9 billion for education. Health care sees $87 million of the tobacco settlement money spent on school nurses, anti-smoking programs, developmentally disabled programs, and expansion of Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women and infants. $39 million of non-tobacco settlement monies would go toward increasing reimbursements for physicians, dentists, hospitals, and nursing homes. Other budget items include $30 million to encourage local governmetns in fast-growing areas to shield 20% of their open spaces from development; $166 million in tax cuts in the form of raising the homestead exemption; and pay raises for state employees, including teachers and other school personnel in the form of a 3% salary increase. On Thursday, the Governor outlined his education reform agenda before another joint session. These reforms would eliminate tenure for new teacher hires, allow students to move to another schol within the same district if the current school is "low-performing" as determined by the Department of Education for three years, the creation of a school nurse program, add more counselors and psychologists in schools, increase student testing, and create locally run councils to help each of the state's public schools. Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham addressed the final joint session of the legislature of the week to report on the State of teh Judiciary. He stressed the need for the state to fund specialized Juvenile Court Judges as part of a response to problems children face and the legal issues they are involved with througout the state. [back to top]
Copyright © 1999, 2000, Demetrius Mazacoufa, P.C. All rights reserved.