GA Bills Update

Message to the TEA Party of Gilmer County

Below is a Summary of our recent monthly evening meeting at our new meeting place for 2016 at Gilmer Arts in downtown Ellijay. (Remember, our evening meeting is now on the 2nd Monday at 6:30 pm. at Gilmer Arts.)

1.  Charlie Paris, BOC Chairman, gave a report on the cleanup of the illegal dump site for slurry by Southeast Connection.  Charlie explained the consent order, the

Stop Work order issued and the refusal by the County to lift the Stop Work Order until we received all monies due for legal fees, the fines issued and our out of pocket expenditures.

2.  Charlie also gave us a report on the cleanup of the flood damage and the costs the county incurred.   He was asked if any of the money we receive from the State would be subject to the 30% matching and he said Yes, ALL OF IT IS.

It was then pointed out that we used to only have to match 10% of any money received from DOT before the T-SPLOST vote. So, in other words, the 30% matching we NOW pay is the

PENALTY the state has assessed us for NOT VOTING CORRECTLY. You would think that since only two regions actually passed T-SPLOST that someone in the State Legislature, maybe the Speaker of the House since he represents this flood-torn area, would revoke the blackmail portion of the FAILED T-SPLOST and return the matching to 10%, at least one would think that.

STATE LEGISLATIVE SESSION -- THEY'RE BACK!

At last Monday night's meeting Brian Pritchard and I gave separate reports on things to watch out for during this legislative session.  It was discussed that it is too time consuming and overwhelming for all of us, or at least those interested in affecting the outcome on certain bills, to try to watch everything. So it was decided that we would ask for volunteers to watch one bill and report to either Joene DePlancke or Frank Oglesby if action needs to be taken.  Keep in mind that this is an ever changing list as bills are introduced or tabled every  day.  I will list some of the ones we need to watch that have either been pre-filed or were re-introduced from last session.  Here is the link to the GA State Legislature official site so that you can look at all the bills and the latest updates, any  changes to the bill or how far it has moved along, i.e. what committee it is sitting in.  (Click below)

GEORGIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0015Ihcrv6n40A3Iy5FzLSFWX2hDvPf73nNpO50UtgnoD0fS40pVa3C4otl0qAHekKxJPA0IZddjso0oVgfZhW1F7ymrNyB3qLbwfw0_hVle1-hyOoXTHiPxclLDyE3xOwxlvIWLCJFiT8w5fQermdmuw6KrhgaRQ7uUQI1PAslBoBDOIVAqsb7OW554I_7WprdbAECHTxJga4=&c=BydZ4REeJWQDYT6REQy9qDzRH3cz2jfLTaZdqteD0mwmiEFb372ecQ==&ch=NWO2TbYydBatxHl-t3Aks0-gzjt9XykHviDm2bBf1wCConf68_7l9Q==]

When you get to this site you will find anything and everything regarding the Georgia Legislature.  You will note on the left hand side you can view live broadcasts of either chamber so when a bill is coming to the floor for a vote you can actually watch the process and listen to the comments.

Across the top you have the House of Reps., the Senate, and Legislation.  If you click on 'Legislation' across the top, the main page will explain the whole legislative process.  The list on the left side now shows the House and Senate Calendars.  Click on one of those and you will get a drop-down box with a choice of dates.  Whichever one you select will show you the agenda for that day by Bill Number, who introduced the bill and a short summary.

GO THERE.  CLICK AROUND, you will find out some fascinating stuff.  If you happen to click on a bill that you think needs watching, please send either Frank or myself an email with the Bill Number and what your concerns are. Today, the snow day when they have sent everyone home, I just happened to notice

HB 605 which would do the following: Georgia Judicial Retirement System; member who was serving in a fulltime position on his or her retirement may use prior part-time service for vesting; Wonder what the purpose of this is?  Do we know anyone that may be considering a judgeship that might want some kind of previous service counted? I guess I am becoming paranoid.  See below the list of some of the bills mentioned.

What to Watch

HB  14 - Fiscal Responsibility Act - this is that bill that almost passed  that would require the General Assembly to approve ANY and ALL Federal money received by State and Local governments, including school boards, tax authorities, water authorities, etc. for grants or any other Federal money.

Since the General Assembly can hardly get the bills passed during their 40 day session, and repeatedly says they don't have time to read it before they vote, how would they possibly find time to review and approve or disapprove ALL applications for Federal money made by all 159 Georgia counties, cities, school boards, etc.???

Think how many grants Fulton County alone must apply for. This would create an administrative nightmare but more importantly, look at the POWER the General Assembly would give itself.  If a county didn't vote the way the Speaker wanted, just like the 30% penalty for NOT voting for T-SPLOST, the General Assembly could just DISAPPROVE all federal grant money your county applies for!  Hmmmm, bet they hope we don't figure this one out.

RFRA:  (SB 129/HB 218) They want us to believe that $600M in convention business will dry up.  Speaker Ralston wants us to believe that his bill that he has substituted

known as the "Pastor Protection Act" will do the same thing for religious freedom.

All the Pastor Protection Act does is protect pastors from being sued if they refuse to perform a same sex marriage for religious reasons. BUT IT DOES NOT PROTECT the

average citizen, the Hobby Lobbies, the Wedding Cake maker, etc. for refusing to provide services because of their religious beliefs.   We need RFRA.

Gambling:  (Nicknamed "Save HOPE Act")  A bill will be introduced under the guise that the GA Lottery can no longer support the Hope Scholarship.  So watch for the Bill Number.  Funny that the GA Lottery used to be profitable for 30 years providing millions of scholarships and Pre-K money.  Maybe if we didn't pay Rebecca and the other top officials Millions and Millions in salaries and gigantic bonuses we would have more money?  And think of the cost to have 50 or 100 different scratch off tickets, printing them and delivering them to thousands of sites every week.  We obviously were much more profitable before we got so "big".  Maybe (if you are opposed to gambling) you should lobby for simplicity rather than other gambling sources.

Merit Pay for Teachers is going to be a biggy.  The Governor and the Speaker are determined to pass this.  Doesn't have a bill number yet and most teachers are opposed primarily because of the disparity in education and testing.  Merit Pay basically means that teacher's salaries will be primarily based on how well the students test.  This requires the teacher to put all his/her emphasis on the students passing the tests, not whether or not they learned anything, just getting a good score.  Not good for the kids or the teachers.

SB6 (Josh McKoon) Great bill that would keep non-citizens from getting GA drivers licenses.   For some reason has a lot of opposition. ????? (Josh McKoon)  wants a statewide referendum on amending the state constitution to make English the official language of the State of Georgia.  This also has opposition.

HB 693:  proposed state constitution amendment by House Majority Leader Jon Burns to establish the Georgia Legacy Trust Fund.  He wants to raise money to purchase private land and put it in the hands of the State.  Better than the federal government owning the land, but still not a win for private property rights.  It is going to be really important to read the wording of this bill.

Step 2 on legalizing marijuanna in GA.  Step one was getting it approved for medical use, but groups are now funding a bill for full legalization for recreational use (like Colorado).  To allow it to actually be grown in GA.

HB 243:  Education Reform, including Education Savings Accounts, which would allow parents to use State money to send children to a private school or a school of their choice as opposed to where the state requires the child be sent.  It would give parents more say in their child's education if the school is failing them.

BOTTOM LINE -- WE NEED HELP WATCHING THE BILLS.  PLEASE CONTACT EITHER FRANK OR MYSELF IF YOU ARE WILLING TO WATCH ONE BILL WHILE IT GOES THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, BUT WE NEED TO WORK SMARTLY IN CONJUNCTION WITH OUR LEGISLATORS. MOST OF OUR LEGISLATORS WANT TO VOTE THE VOICE OF THEIR CONSTITUENTS, BUT WE HAVE TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT IS IMPORTANT!

Joene DePlancke, Vice Chairman. If you have suggestions or comments for future meetings, please send an email to Frank at oglesby@ellijay.com or to me at joene@ellijay.com