Final Final wrapup lunsford

Under the Gold Dome

State Representative John Lunsford's Weekly Capitol Update

Final Wrap up of session

April 22, 2008

 

In coffee shops, diners, and community meetings, much has been debated about the 2008 Georgia General Assembly session that concluded two week ago.  Some have criticized, some have ballyhooed, some jumped for joy, while others registered indifference.  The reality is that it was a successful session. The question that always begs to be answered is did we get everything done?  (The answer is no we didn’t)   But we did a lot and here are some highlights.  

 

Let’s start first with the fact that we passed a balanced Fiscal Year 2009 budget and amended the 2008 budget in a time when revenue projections for the state have been downsized.  We returned $50 million in austerity cuts to education and we gave teachers, state employees, and law enforcement officers pay increases.  We also funded eight new or expanded libraries, funded Georgia’s first dental school, and additional new community health centers.  Close to 50 hospitals received increased funding for indigent care and set aside $10 million for land conservation.

 

One of the most important bills passed was Senate Bill 342, a bill designed to help alleviate future water problems by developing and expediting the building of additional water reservoirs. 

 

We protected our children by passing Senate Bill 1, a bill that prohibits sex offenders from photographing minor children without parent or guardian consent.  We also passed a bill, S.B. 474, which would provide greater protection for children from sexual predators using the internet to try and lure our children.  We also cracked down on habitual drunk drivers by making their fourth DUI conviction  a felony with the necessary penalties.

 

We helped protect our 2^nd Amendment rights by allowing Georgians licensed to carry concealed weapons in parks, historic sites, recreation areas, wildlife management areas and prohibiting employers from searching employee vehicles and conditioning employment on regulation of firearms.  This was done through House Bill 89.

 

We passed a major reform of our medical care system by passing S.B. 433.  The Certificate of Need reforms relaxed outdated regulations that limited health care options available to Georgia citizens by increasing access and competition.  The bill also allowed for a new state-of-the-art cancer hospital to open within 25 miles of the Atlanta airport.

 

We continued our  effort of bringing transparency to our state government by passing S.B. 300 creating a free, publicly accessible website providing information on state expenditures.  With our efforts to reform the Department of Transportation, we passed two bills that will make them more accountable to the citizens of Georgia.  The first bill, House Bill 1189, will require the Department of Transportation to report on a Statewide Strategic Transportation Plan.  The second bill, S.B. 417, will require DOT to develop and publish benchmarks to provide a time frame for the completion of transportation projects. 

 

We passed House Bill 948 which continues the popular back-to-school sales tax holiday set for July 31 through August 3 and the energy efficient products sales tax holiday set for October 2-5. 

 

We passed H.B. 1019, ( lunsford)  a bill that allows communities to fund new road construction using the newly created Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank.

 

 We created a law in H.B. 1159 9 (lunsford) that will give families a $2,000 tax credit for adopting a child in the Georgia foster care system. We allowed home school or private school children to qualify for the HOPE scholarship as well as military or GED recipients

And many many more issues of local or state wide importance.

 

With these remarkable legislative initiatives passing the General Assembly, with too little fanfare in our media, I think many of us would say that this session was a success.

 

 

In conclusion, it has been my privilege to serve as your state representative carrying your needs and beliefs to our state’s capital.  I am honored to be your public servant. I will keep you informed through weekly updates. Your opinions and concerns are important to me and I consider it an honor to serve you at the state capitol and in our district. If you would like to reach me, please call me at (404) 656-7573 or write me at: State Rep. John Lunsford, 401, State Capitol, Atlanta, GA  30334 or e-mail me at    john.lunsford@house.ga.gov

 

 

 

legislative wrapup lunsford

Under the Gold Dome

State Representative John Lunsford's Weekly Capitol Update

 

April 18, 2008

 

The Georgia General Assembly concluded the business of the state at midnight on Friday, April 4.  Day 40 if viewed from afar would resemble chaos, but up close, was a fairly well orchestrated attempt to pass meaningful legislation.  I will be the first to admit, some very good legislation didn’t make it.  The reasons are many but the reality of the General Assembly is consensus.  It takes a majority to pass legislation in the House and in the Senate and sometimes those bodies, filled with independent thinking men and women, fail to reach a consensus.  But often they do.

 

Some of the highlights from the last day of the session included some very important legislation.  Much of the day was filled with agrees and disagrees, the process where we agree to the modifications or amendments that the Senate has placed on the legislation.  There also was legislation that managed to be debated on the last day after going through the required vetting at the committee level.

 

One of the more important bills debated allowed for more construction of Public Water supply reservoirs.  Senate Bill 342 funds up to 20% of the cost of obtaining permits for and constructing improvements to any dam that was originally constructed or financially assisted by the Natural Resource Conservation Service.  The bill also funds up to 40% of the cost of obtaining a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  The bill passed 111-59.

 

We also passed S.B. 406, a bill that strengthens our penalties for dealing in pirated recorded materials.  The bill increases the penalties for reproducing or distributing recorded materials with the first offense of a minimum fine of $500 and up to $25,000.  The second offense would set a minimum fine of $1,000 and requires a minimum of 48 hours of prison, with the third and subsequent offenses with fines at a minimum of $2,000 up to $250,000 and a prison term of two to five years with at least six days served.  The bill passed 143-9.

 

One bill that passed shows the methodical process of passing meaningful legislation is Senate Bill 433.  This bill basically became the culmination of four years of work on the certificate of need (CON) issues for medical providers.  The bill is a compromise measure agreed to by most of the stakeholders and worked out by the legislators who had authored and carried CON legislation.  S.B. 433 includes the unanimous and majority recommendations of the Commission on the Efficacy of Certificate of Need, in addition to, the allowance for a destination cancer hospital within 25 miles of the Atlanta airport.  The bill passed overwhelmingly by a margin of 138-17.

 

We also passed S.B. 474, a bill that will provide greater protection for children with regard to the use of the internet.  The bill establishes parental controls over internet access to children and enhanced the penalties for failing to report certain information      to the Cyber Tip line at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  The bill passed 153-1. 

 

We passed a bill that will allow our outdoorsmen and women by lowering the fee for hunting and fishing license renewal so that Georgia residents receive the same financial benefit as non-residents who purchase temporary licenses.  The bill, S.B. 382 passed 162-1.

Last week the Governor signed into law three very important bills each having been worked on for a number of years (CON certificate of need for medical care), (State transportation infrastructure bank) and  a (state wide reservoir plan) .

 

In the Next few weeks, I will provide a recap of the legislative highlights from this year’s Georgia General Assembly. Including what the Governor signs into law and what he veto’s   I will keep you informed through weekly updates. Your opinions and concerns are important to me and I consider it an honor to serve you at the state capitol and in our district. If you would like to reach me, please call me at (404) 656-7573 or write me at: State Rep. John Lunsford, 401, State Capitol, Atlanta, GA  30334 or e-mail me at    john.lunsford@house.ga.gov

 

 

 

lunsford weekly update

Under the Gold Dome

State Representative John Lunsford's Weekly Capitol Update

 

April 4, 2008

 

The end is near for the 2008 Georgia General Assembly session.  By the time many of you read this, the session will be completed and we will have adjourned Sine Die.  In the next few weeks I will provide you with the highlights of the session, but for now, this is what happened in the final week.  Most of the debate these final days is based on the amendments that have been added to some bills as they have gone to the Senate for their approval.  The committee process allows the Senate to make changes to the bills that we have passed and they send them back to us.  We then have a choice to “insist” on our position or to disagree with the Senate position.  We also are working on some high-profile legislation that has taken a while to be properly vetted by the committee process.

 

One of the bills that we hope to pass that will make your state government more transparent is Senate Bill 300.  This bill provides for the creation of a free, publicly accessible website to provide state expenditure information.  The bill passed unanimously.  Another bill that passed unanimously would revise and streamline the ways Georgians may “give the gift of life” by being an organ donor.  S.B. 405 updated and more importantly, harmonized the giving rules with other states to make the laws more “uniform.”

 

We also passed unanimously, S.B. 196, a bill that provides free scholarships to children of our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen who died of combat wounds or were injured suffering a 50% or greater disability.  This was a great way for us to help Georgia citizens who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the Global War on Terror.

 

One bill we passed is designed to create three student loan programs that will allow students to apply for low interest financial aide programs.  S.B. 169 will have three programs which will allow for a 1% need-based loan that will act as a bridge gap for financial aid the student may receive in that the primary financial aid doesn’t quite cover the costs.  The second program, called Graduate On Time loan, has an interest rate that would be no higher than the prime rate.  If the student graduates with a grade point average of 2.0 or higher and completes school in four years, the loan gets a reduced retroactive rate of 1 percent.  If the student graduates in five years and with a 2.0 GPA or better, they would get a 2 percent rate.  The third program creates a loan for people who want to work in community service, they would receive a 1 percent rate if the spend between 5 and 15 years in public service.  S.B. 169 passed 158-1.

 

S.B. 1 is a bill we passed that would make it unlawful for sexual predators from photographing minors without the consent of the minor’s parents or guardian.  This would apply only to registered sex offenders and the bill passed 133-32. 

 

S.B. 374 amended a number of lien laws. The bill basically updates the state lien laws that are used in building or renovating homes and commercial structures.  The bill passed 160-3.

 

We easily passed legislation urging the state Department of Audits to closely examine the use of state-issued credit cards by continuing to audit certain accounts to ensure that transactions are authorized, legal, and ethical.  The resolution passed 155-2.

I will keep you informed through weekly updates. Your opinions and concerns are important to me and I consider it an honor to serve you at the state capitol and in our district. If you would like to reach me, please call me at (404) 656-7573 or write me at: State Rep. John Lunsford, 401, State Capitol, Atlanta, GA  30334 or e-mail me at    john.lunsford@house.ga.gov