March 15, 2009 Legislative Activity
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Georgia PTA’s weekly update on legislative activity – Mar. 15, 2009
The General Assembly has completed 30 of the forty days that it will meet in 2009. March 12
was Crossover day. If a bill has not passed at least one chamber by the 30th day it is considered
unlikely to pass this session.
Key:
HR- House Resolution
HB– House Bill
SR– Senate Resolution
SB– Senate Bill
Voucher Legislation SB 90:
Of major significance is what didn’t “crossover†by Mar. 12: SB 90! Thank you to all of you
who contacted your legislators asking them to oppose this legislation. The sponsor had two
opportunities provided to have his bill considered but declined. He didn’t believe he had enough
votes to win passage. You can let your breath out halfway but not all the way. The language
in this bill could still be added to another bill and the bill could still be considered next
session.
Update: School Nurse Funding
This week the Appropriations Education subcommittee heard public comment on the 2010 education
budget. GA Assoc. School Nurses spoke in favor of restoring funding. The Chair of the Appropriations
commented on all the Popsicle sticks he's received. Keep up the good work! The House will be
working on the budget this week.
Legislation to Watch
Every week we will report on new legislation and the status of existing legislation critical
to you. If PTA has an official position it will be shown next to the bill number. Please note
if PTA has an established position, a local unit cannot take an opposing position. This week
we’ll report on those bills that made it out of one chamber and still have a chance of passing
this session:
HB 23: Drivers under age 18 cannot use a cell phone nor text message while driving. Exceptions
are made for driver emergencies, reporting an accident or criminal activity, or using while parked.
Passed House.
HB 118: Supplemental Budget for 2009. Passed by both House and Senate and signed by Gov. The
Governor kept in the $145 M from the stimulus package so the cuts to the local systems will not
be as huge as originally feared. It would have been very difficult for local school districts
to make enough significant cuts between now and June 30 to meet the expected cuts required.
HB 120: 2009 sales tax holiday is from July 30 to August 2. Passed House and S. Finance.
HB 149: Move on When Ready: Students in 11th and 12th grades may enroll in Georgia public colleges
and take Department of Education approved courses that will meet both high school graduation
requirements and earn them college credit. Hours earned will not count against HOPE. What this
means to you: If a student is ready to attend college and only has a few high school credits
remaining to fulfill the high school diploma requirements, (s)he can earn those credits while
attending college. Passed House.
HB 193: Permits the required 180 day school year to be defined in hours, thus providing local
school boards with flexibility in setting the school calendar.. Passed House.
HB 229: Student Health and Physical Education Act. Starting in 2011-12 students in grades 1-12
enrolled in physical education must have an annual fitness assessment approved by the state board
of education during the PE class time. The aggregate results shall be reported to the state board
yearly. Results of any assessment shall be reported to parents. Passed the House, passed Sen.
Ed.
HB 243: Eliminates bonus for Nat’l Board Certified teachers. Grandfathers those currently receiving
the bonus and those who began the certification process prior to Mar. 1, 2009. Eliminates from
funding those teachers leaving teaching and going into administration or some other area effective
July 1, 2009. Subject to funding Passed: House.
HB 251: Provides for school choice in public schools. Passed the House, heard in Sen. Ed but
no vote taken.
HB 278: The expenditure controls for QBE are repealed for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 fiscal years.
The governor’s bill to ease requirements on local schools placed there by his austerity cuts.
Does not repeal the 65% expenditure test. Passed House.
HB 400: BRIDGE, Building Resourceful Individuals to Develop Georgia’s Economy Act. Department
of Education is to develop programs so a student can get courses at the home school, a technical
college, a two or four year college, a work site as an apprentice, and other approved settings.
Middle grades advisement shall provide counseling to evaluate each student’s academic skills
and career interests. In grade 8, students shall select a preferred focused program and study
and develop an individual graduation plan, IGP, with parents. High school students shall have
annual reviews of the IGP which are to include academic core subjects and course work in math
and science OR humanities, fine arts, and foreign language, OR sequenced career pathway courses;
include IEP components if applicable. Passed House.
HB 422: Bikes would be allowed to be ridden on sidewalks by children age 12 and younger. Passed
House.
HB 480: Sales and property taxes paid on motor vehicles are repealed for any purchased after
Jan. 1, 2011. The buyer pays 7% of the purchase price or $2000 as a one time title fee, whichever
is less. Applies to casual sales between buyers too. Vehicles can be registered for five years
for $80 or 10 years for $160. Passed: House.
HB 484: Children of military personnel stationed in Georgia can qualify for HOPE. Passed: House.
SB 5: SUPPORT Requires seatbelts be worn in all pickup trucks with an exception for those over
18 who are doing agricultural work.. Passed Senate.. SB 23 also requires seatbelt use in pickup
trucks.
SB 8: Allows students to carry epi-pens for emergency use. Passed:Senate.
SB 83: Increase the homestead exemption from $2000 to $4000 this year and starting next year
would increase by the percentage of the cost-of-living- index. Passed the Senate. Failed in the
House. Vote to Reconsider.
SB 84: 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 gives the Governor the power to remove
board members if a school system is placed on probation by an accrediting agency and board members
can remove fellow board members by a 2/3 vote. Passed Senate.
SB 114: Provides specific provisions and exemptions for military students transferring into
local school systems Passed: Senate.
SB 160: Schools shall be closed on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11 Passed: Senate.
SB 206: Requires tax expenditure reviews detailing for each item the amount of tax revenue foregone
for at least a three year period, the intended objective of the expenditure, an analysis of whether
or not it is achieving the objective. Taxes included in this report shall cover all state taxes
collected by the Department of Revenue. Passed: Senate.
SB 207: Allows public to attend hearings in juvenile court with certain exceptions. Passed:
Senate.
SB 239: Requires students who move into a new area to be registered for school within 30 days.
Passed: Senate.
Daily Reports with additional details on all the bills being tracked by GA PTA can be found
on the Capitol Watch website under News: http://www.ciclt.net/sn/new/n_main.aspx?ClientCode=gapta
Karen Hallacy
GA PTA
Legislative Chair
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