GAIC Legislative Update

February 16, 2009
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House Education Committee Acts Swiftly

Members of the House Education Committee debated three bills in subcommittee and voted them out of the full committee last week. The "PE" bill would require fitness tests for 1st through 12th grade students during physical education class. HB 251 would allow students to attend any public school within his or her district providing space is available. Finally, the "Move on When Ready" bill, a recommendation from the Governor's Tough Choices or Tough Times Working Group, would allow 11th and 12th grade students to attend colleges, universities or technical schools in Georgia for high school credit.
Legislators Support Assessment Caps and Tax Relief Grants

House members spent hours debating property assessment caps last Thursday in the chamber's longest floor session yet. While HR 1, the constitutional amendment to cap property assessment rate increases at 3% per year, did not garner the 2/3rds vote required to move forward, HB 233 passed the chamber 110 to 63. HB 233 was amended in the Rules Committee before it came to the House floor. As passed, the bill would prohibit property assessment increases for two years.

In the upper chamber, Senators voted against reconsideration of HB 143 which would require the state to fund Homeowner's Tax Relief Grants in the FY09 budget. This means the vote to pass from the prior week stands, and the next stop for this bill will be the Governor's desk.
Congress Reaches Consensus on Stimulus Plan

The U.S. House and Senate passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Friday -- a $787 billion bill including about $54 billion to help states fill state budget gaps. President Obama is expected to sign the bill on Tuesday. A number of items will directly or indirectly support afterschool (Georgia figures provided where available):

--$53.6 billion for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund; $39.5 billion of this is allocated for education grants dedicated to keeping states at FY08 or FY09 education funding levels (whichever is higher) and supporting local school districts. (Georgia will receive $1.26 billion in education grants and $280.5 million in a more flexible block grant).
 
--$2 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant which provides subsidies for low-income working families to pay for afterschool and child care. ($82.8 million for Georgia including $6.85 million for quality expansion and $3.97 for infant and toddler care; national experts estimate this will provide subsidies for about 20,000 more children and youth).
 
--$13 billion for Title I to help disadvantaged students including $3 billion in School Improvement, both of which could be used to support afterschool programs ($420 million for Georgia).
 
--$1.2 billion for summer jobs for youth ($31.7 million for Georgia).
 
--$160 million for AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Vista which afterschool programs can use for staffing.
GAIC Legislative Tracking

GAIC tracks bills of interest to afterschool advocates throughout the legislative process. The following list includes status updates of all relevant bills filed or moving this past week.

Children, Youth and Families

HB 70 (Rep.Sean Jerguson, R - Acworth) would require employees of child care centers to have state and national fingerprint checks before hiring. Status: Passed House Children and Youth

Education

HB 149 (Rep. Jan Jones, R - Alpharetta), entitled "The Move on When Ready Act," would allow eleventh and twelfth grade students to attend postsecondary schools for high school credit. Status: Passed House Education

HB 229 (Rep. Brooks Coleman, R - Duluth) would require school systems to conduct annual fitness assessments for 1st through 12th grade students during physical education class. Aggregate results would be reported to the State Board of Education; individual results would be provided to parents. Status: Passed House Education

HB 251 (Rep. Alisha Morgan, D - Austell) would allow a student to attend any public school within his/her school system if the school has space available. The student would have to arrange his/her own transportation. Status: Passed House Education

HB 400 (Rep. Fran Millar, R - Dunwoody) is a new version of the "Building Resourceful Individuals to Develop Georgia's Economy" bill that passed the House last session but did not prevail in the Senate. The BRIDGE bill would require all students to have an individual graduation plan and provide grants for public schools to implement focused programs of study in high-demand career fields. The bill is an effort to reduce the dropout rate in Georgia and prepare students for college or careers. Status: House Education

SB 132 (Sen. Vincent Fort, D - Atlanta): the "Dropout Deterrent Act" would increase the compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 17. Status: Senate Education and Youth
 
Revenue and Taxes

HR 1 (Rep. Ed Lindsey, R - Atlanta) would cap property assessment growth to 3 percent per year or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. This is a Constitutional Amendment that, if passed by both houses of the legislature with a 2/3rds vote, would be put on the ballot in the 2010 general election. Status: Failed on House Floor

HB 143 (Rep. Larry O'Neal, R - Bonaire) would require the current budget (FY09) to include funding for Homeowner's Tax Relief Grants (HTRGs) - property tax breaks of roughly $250 per homeowner which the Governor did not include in his budget proposal. In future years, HTRGs would only be funded if state revenues are sufficient. Status: Passed the Senate

HB 233 (Rep. Ed Lindsey, R - Atlanta) would prohibit property assessment growth for the next two years.  Status: Passed the House
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