The great American author and humorist Mark Twain once said,
“No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in
session. And so it begins. Georgians
interests are once again piqued as the Georgia General Assembly embarks on its
annual 40 day legislative session beginning on Monday, January 11, 2016.
Numerous issues always confront the General Assembly each
year while we are in session, but our main priority is to set the state budget
for Fiscal Year 2017, while maintaining a balanced budget. The state’s
entire budget sets spending for the entire year for K-12 education,
transportation, postsecondary education, healthcare obligations and public
safety. In Fiscal Year 2016, these aforementioned policy areas received the
bulk of state spending, totaling approximately $17 billion, which is
approximately 77% of all state spending. The remaining amount was then
appropriated across other state agencies for a grand total of $21.8
billion.
Last session, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
passed out of the state Senate, but failed to pass out of the House Judiciary
Committee. This RFRA legislation would grant Georgians the same protection
of their right of free exercise of religion that they currently enjoy from the
federal government to practice their faith. Implementing a state RFRA would
send a clear message that people with varying religious beliefs can expect that
the state and our local governments will respect and honor those beliefs. While
some have argued that RFRA will be used to discriminate, there are no cases at
the federal level, or in the 30 state jurisdictions with RFRA in place, where a
court has upheld or protected an act of discrimination.
Casino gambling, and to some degree pari-mutuel betting on
horseracing, is being pushed as a funding source for the HOPE scholarship
program. Currently, the scholarship program is funded through state
lottery funds, but the inflated cost of higher education presents a funding
challenge despite the General Assembly’s prior reforms to attempt to keep the
HOPE program sustainable. There are serious societal consequences to consider
regarding this policy, and this issue will be debated heavily this year.
The Governor’s Education Funding Reform Commission has
released its list of recommendations to change Georgia’s current K-12 education
funding formula. Among numerous recommendations that will likely receive
vigorous debate includes teacher merit pay and future public education
funding.
The recommendation in the report is to give current teachers
an option to stay with the current pay schedule or be placed into a new
system. Newly hired teachers will not have an option, but will be
automatically be placed into the new system.
Local school districts will have more control over how they
set up their teacher merit pay system. The funding of public education
could transition to a “dollars earned” model rather than an allocation model
per student head count.
Other issues include a movement to reduce the state income
tax, as well as adopting a state policy to cultivate medical cannabis in
Georgia. There is a current proposal to reduce the state income tax from
6% to 4 % and increase in the state sales tax rate from 4% to 5%. This plan
would also apply consumption based taxes to downloadable services and phone
applications such as Netflix and satellite TV services. Any change involving
tax policy is sure to consume much of the General Assembly’s time and effort
this session.
In addition, the General Assembly will likely debate whether
or not to expand its recent, but limited, law to allow for the cultivation of
medical marijuana in Georgia. The new state law only allows for eight
specific diseases to be eligible for high concentration cannabidiol (CBD) oil.
However, due to the restrictions on cultivation in Georgia, eligible patients
must obtain this type of medicine outside of the state, which poses a
significant challenge.
Finally, I will be introducing the Georgia Spaceflight Act
(GSA), which begins the work of creating Georgia’s space policy to become
economically competitive with other space friendly states. This bill is
necessary for the success of Spaceport Camden. The GSA is aimed at
providing a limited liability shield to spaceflight operators and its
suppliers. By doing so, Georgia will then remove a competitive economic
disadvantage in order to compete with other space states such as Florida,
Texas, Virginia, and New Mexico, who have similar laws. The aim of the
GSA will be to make our law even more unique than those of our established
competitors, thus making Georgia a leader in the commercial space industry. By
offering distinct protections that will attract and retain this industry to our
state, we will create high paying jobs, boost tourism and introduce new
educational opportunities for our citizens.
Hopefully, my colleagues and I in the General Assembly will
not make too many decisions that are too painful and disruptive to your
lives. The goal is to pass meaningful legislation that protects your
rights, not undermine them. In the meantime, adhere to Mark Twain’s
advice for good measure.
If you have any questions, or want to visit your capitol during
the legislative session, please do not hesitate to contact my office in Atlanta
at 404-656-0177.
Representative Jason Spencer represents the citizens of
District 180, which includes Camden, Charlton, and Ware counties. He was
elected into the House of Representatives in 2010, and currently serves as the
Secretary of the Special Rules Committee. He also serves on the Game Fish
& Parks, Human Relations & Aging, Science and Technology, and Juvenile
Justice committees.
Source: Email from GA State Representative Jason Spencer. 28 Yachtsmen Court Woodbine Georgia 31569
Comments
The Georgia legislature should include a definition of
“religion” in the Bill, if it passes a bill. The danger is Islam that I contend
is an alternate form of government, not a religion. Unless this is examined, we would make things
worse if we pass a “religion” bill without addressing the Muslim problem. We should also pass a ban on Sharia law in
Georgia, reaffirming that our courts will not recognize Sharia law. Muslims can
continue to seek out help from their Imams for counseling in family and marital
concerns, but Muslims in Georgia will be under US law and Georgia law.
Georgia should consider laws that ensure low cost
electricity and water supplies for homes and businesses in Georgia. These
should favor coal, nuclear and natural gas and discourage higher cost wind and
solar. We need manufacturing jobs in Georgia.
Allowing Casinos to fund the Hope Scholarship program will
make no difference in reducing education costs.
It will be absorbed in the next round of tuition and fee increases. We
need to rethink all of our excessive education costs before demand drops any
further.
The Space
Industry Bill could work or not. I expect the global economy to continue to
retract.
Cultivation of medical marijuana in
Georgia could offer better control over the weed.
Lowering the State Income tax from 6%
to 4% and increasing the State Sales tax from 4% to 5% may have unintended
consequences. A higher sales tax could
kill the passage of future local SPLOSTS for Public Schools and City “pretty-up”
projects. Those states like Florida and Texas can offer zero income tax because
they have other revenue sources to supplement their slush funds and we don’t.
The Georgia
legislature need to have plans to expect lower “grants to states” after
2017. Georgia has received an additional
$21 billion in federal grants each year.
This is bribe money printed to force the states to “go along” with
federal fiscal irresponsibility and UN Agenda 21 implementation. Healthcare and
Education need to be reformed by the free market. Cuts in federal spending should come with
reduced regulations and cuts in grants.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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