SWGA Politics

Change HOPE to Need Based?

Senator Jack Hill, the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has introduced a bill to allow HOPE scholarships based on need, with the explicit intent that these scholarships “be targeted at the neediest students”.

Now, before going too far into this post, I should note that this is in ADDITION to current HOPE scholarships, it is NOT replacing them.

With that said, HOPE is one of those entitlement programs that is costing the State quite a bit of money – money that, as I’ve been discussing for the past week on this site, the State really doesn’t have right now. The problem for legislators is that, like Social Security at the National level, HOPE really has become the third rail of Georgia politics.
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Zombie Bill!

This one just won’t die!

Last year, one of the first bills I took on head on here on this site was HB 614, the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. I teamed up with Jason and others across the State – including Neal Boortz at one point! – to get this bill killed once it was brought to our attention, and it died in the Senate only to have a resuscitation attempt made in the House in the form of an amendment to another bill.

Now, it has been re-introduced in a new bill, SB 418, minus the “Prescription Drug Monitoring Program” title. 418 is largely the exact same thing as 614. Clearly, there are elements within the General Assembly that desperately want this measure to pass.
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[UPDATED] Hypothetical State Budget – Or Is It?

I’ve been talking to several State lawmakers over the last few days trying to get a handle on the State budget – THE single issue that has come to dominate the 2010 Session.

Through these discussions, some hypothetical numbers have been thrown out there, and I think they merit a discussion here.

Let’s take the target as $1 Billion. This is the number everyone was working off of last week, and most still are.

Most special interest tax breaks expire after some number of years and have to be renewed to continue. It is thought that we can save $100 million in non-renewal of certain special interest tax breaks this year.

We could then try to convince people near retirement age to take an early retirement, and save another $100 million. ($200 million so far, $800 million to go)
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Roosters in Subdivisions? Say It Aint So!

Lately, some “liberty” (I use the term loosely here) activists have gotten it into their heads that local governments are trying to persecute them.

How?

By saying “no” to roosters in subdivisions.

So they had their go-to boy, State Rep Bobby Franklin, introduce a bill that would preempt local control on this issue and mandate that no local government could prohibit gardening nor the keeping of chickens, goats, or rabbits – and nor could they require a permit for these activities.
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Breaking: State Budget Worse Than We Could Ever Have Imagined

Last Friday, I wrote about the $1 Billion budget shortfall the General Assembly was facing.

This morning, we were told it is even worse than we could ever have imagined. The pic to the left, currently on the front page of AJC.com and taken by one of their photographers, says it all.

Per State Senator (and Insurance Commissioner candidate) Seth Harp via AJC’s Jim Galloway:

I just came from a budget meeting with the lieutenant governor. Two-point-four now. $2.4 billion shortfall….This is for fiscal 2011.

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Want to make an impact? Threaten something popular

Lately, there’s been a lot of flak about cutting 4-H and the Extension offices by the University of Georgia as part of their budget cuts.  Politicians on both sides of the isle are swearing oaths to defend 4-H programs with to their final breath.  Editorials in papers all over the state are condemning the move and citing the benefits for such programs.  The voters are screaming that they don’t want such programs to disappear, reflecting fondly on their youth in such programs.

And that’s all according to plan. Read More …

Open Letter to Members of House Government Affairs Elections Subcommittee

Dear Rep,

I know with the session starting back in full swing today, you really don’t have time to read a lot of emails, so I’ll make this short.

Please vote for favorable passage of Rep Reese’s HB 1141 in the Elections subcommittee meeting today.

I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but right now anyone who seeks to run for a statewide office under any banner other than Democrat/Republican/Libertarian must collect signatures from 5% of the registered voters in the state -roughly 50,000 signatures- on a nomination petition, just to be allowed to be on the ballot. This is in addition to the same filing fee D/R/L candidates pay. This represents an undue burden that has RARELY – if ever – been met. Rep Reese’s proposal changes this requirement to the lesser of 5% or 5,000.
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Once Unthinkable, State Legislators Now Poised to Raise Taxes

As recently as 6 weeks ago, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives David Ralston was saying that there would be no talk of tax increases to balance the state budget.

Now, it appears he and other legislators may be ready to sing a new tune – though they are going to do their best to avoid the term “tax increase”.

I know I’ve already talked to a few legislators who have mentioned this issue to me, and their claim is that this will charge the user what it currently costs the state to do the service.

The problem is, a lot of these things the State charges user fees for aren’t really things government needs to be handling in the first place.
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The State Budget

Over the last few days, a fairly large group of people all across the State – including here in the Lee/Dougherty area – have gotten very upset over various proposed cuts in education, specifically over 4H.

The first point I want to make here is that this is political gamesmanship and nothing more. The General Assembly ordered cuts, and the Board of Regents responded with cutting programs that they knew would attract this mass public outcry in order to try to pressure the General Assembly to not force them to make these cuts. Apparently, at least some in the General Assembly are already caving.

Even before then, however, you had several lawmakers – including State Rep Austin Scott (R-Tifton, running for Governor) get pissed that the Board of Regents would consider eliminating the very popular 4H program completely as one concrete example of the gamesmanship described above. Scott took the bait hook, line, and sinker. He told the Tifton Gazette “We asked them to bring us their proposed potential budget cuts and instead, they say they want to raise tuition and eliminate 4-H.” Scott has been in the General Assembly for more than a decade, approaching a decade and a half. He has been a Chairman of a couple of different committees. He wants to be Governor. He should know better than to engage in this petty gamesmanship, and he should rise above it.

But those are side issues to me – political noise that doesn’t amount to anything substantive, and indeed hides the substantive issues that need to be discussed.
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Deal to abandon Congress to continue campaign

WALB is reporting via email update that Nathan Deal is planning on leaving his seat in the House of Representatives to focus on his campaign for governor.   His resignation becomes effective at the close of business on March 8, 2010.