Tax and Revenue Bills Debated
on the Floor
Our last update discussed two revenue and tax bills
being debated.. As we noted previously, these are
not directly linked to afterschool, but changes to state
and local revenues impact the amount of public funding
available for afterschool and other human services.
Rep. Ed Lindsey's HR 1 did
not move last week, but the House Ways and Means
Committee quickly passed a similar bill. HB 233, also by
Rep. Lindsey, would place a 3% cap on property assessment
growth for the next two years. HB 233 would only need a
majority vote in both houses to pass, as opposed to the
two-thirds vote needed for HR 1.
Meanwhile, HB 143 passed the
Senate on Friday. The bill would require the Homestead Tax
Relief Grants (HTRGs) to be funded in the fiscal year
2009 budget and would require the HTRGs to be funded in future
years if revenues are sufficient. The HTRGs provide about $250
to property owners and cost the state roughly $428 million.
The Governor does not support HTRGs and has used the
cost-savings to help close the budget hole in the FY09 budget.
After passage, a request was made to reconsider the bill.
Senators will vote on reconsideration on Tuesday which will
either send it back to Senate Rules Committee or to the
Governor's desk.
A third tax bill is also seeing a lot of
action. Senator Chip Roger's homestead exemption bill, SB 83, would
double the state homestead exemption (from $2000 of assessed
value to $4000). SB 83, which would require a statewide
referendum by voters, passed the Senate last week by a 40 to
14 vote. |
Legislators Set Session
Calendar
The Legislature set a session
calendar that has them in session Tuesdays, Wednesdays and
Thursdays through March 25th, which would be day 35 (out of a
possible 40 legislative days). The hope is to have both the
amended fiscal year 2009 and fiscal year 2010 budgets passed
by this time. Legislators will recess and return on June 22nd
to either adjourn or reconsider the state budget in light of
federal economic stimulus dollars and/or new revenue numbers,
as well as consider overriding any of the Governor's
vetoes. |
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.
Education
HB 243 Rep. Jimmy
Pruett (R-Eastman) filed this bill to repeal the 10% salary
increase for teachers who receive National Board
Certification. Status: 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: House
Education
HB 252 (Rep.
Alisha Morgan, D-Austell) establishes the "Georgia Closing the
Achievement Gap Commission" to provide recommendations on
closing the achievement gap for students in Georgia. Status: House
Education
HB 278 Rep. Matt
Ramsey (R-Peachtree City) filed this bill on behalf of the
Governor to relax certain expenditure restrictions for school
systems for fiscal years 2008 to 2010. Status: House
Education
HB 279 Rep. Matt
Ramsey (R-Peachtree City) also filed this bill on behalf
of the Governor, which would adjust school system's
equalization grants. Status:
House Education
HB 280 Rep.
Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth) filed this bill on behalf of the
Governor to provide higher pay for math and science teachers.
Status: House
Education
HB 281 Rep. Len
Walker (R-Loganville) introduced the "Georgia Virtual School
Opportunity and Enrichment Act" to allow virtual school
students to participate in extracurricular activities offered
by the student's local school. Status: House
Education
HB 282 Rep.
Coleman (R-Duluth) filed HB 282 on behalf of the Governor. The
bill would establish the "Georgia Master Teacher Program" to
provide bonus pay for teachers receiving Master Teacher
Certification and Distinguished Teacher Leader Certification.
Status: House
Education
SB 84 (Sen. Bill
Heath, R-Bremen) is the result of a study on school board
governance, in light of the issues with the Clayton County
School Board during 2008. The bill would require local school
boards to have at most seven members and abide by an ethics
policy. The bill also gives the governor the power to remove
board members if a school system is place on probation by an
accrediting agency. Status:
Senate Education and Youth
SB 90 Sen. Eric
Johnson (R-Savannah) filed this "universal voucher" bill which
would provide vouchers to parents to send their child to any
private or public school in the state. The receiving school
would have to accept the student and parents would have to
arrange transportation. Status: Senate Education and
Youth
SB 93 Sen. Bill
Cowsert (R-Athens) filed this bill for the Governor to
establish the High School Principal Incentive Pay Program. The
bill would provide $10,000 bonuses for high school principals
serving at least two years in schools that: 1) increase their
graduation rate, end-of-course test scores, and SAT scores or
are in the top 5% of high schools in the state in these areas;
and 2) achieve adequate yearly progress. 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: House
Rules
HB 143 (Rep.
Larry O'Neal, R-Bonaire) would require the current budget
(FY09) to include funding for The Homestead 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; Request for
Reconsideration
HB 233 (Rep. Ed
Lindsey, R-Atlanta) would cap property assessment growth at 3%
for the next two years. Status: Passed House Ways and
Means
SB 83 (Rep.. Chip
Rogers, R-Woodstock) would increase the state homestead
exemption from $2000 of assessed value to $4000 and indexes it
to the Consumer Price Index annually. The bill requires a
statewide referendum. Status:
Passed the
Senate. | |
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March
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