[February 11, 2013] | This first full week of February at our Capitol was a busy one. I have never seen the building so full of folks from around the State. Visiting this week were Firefighters, County Commissioners, CASA representatives, Credit Unions, The Statesboro Chamber of Commerce, Ga Agribusinesses, Ga State University, Ga Archives, and Turkish Americans, to name some of them. The Capitol is truly the People?s House.
I had the pleasure of recognizing 4-H leadership winners from across Georgia on Monday. The 4-H State officers were there, and their President spoke to the House and did a fine job.
I had a nice group of Pages at the Capitol on Tuesday from Bagley Middle School in Murray County. Thanks to their teacher, Mr. Tim Howard, for organizing the trip.
On Tuesday after session I met with the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to learn more about their program and how it affects the many in my district who utilize their services. The Commissioner has great passion for his important job.
The House and Senate went into a joint session on Thursday in the House of Representatives for the ?State of the Judiciary Address.? We welcomed Chief Justice Carol Hunstein, the Georgia Supreme Court, and the Georgia Court of Appeals to the Chamber.
Chief Justice Hunstein focused on the State?s ongoing criminal justice reforms. These reforms first started in 2011, when the General Assembly created the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform. Since then, the Council has worked diligently to find ways to protect the Public?s safety and to hold offenders accountable, all while keeping an eye on the financial impact to the State budget. According to Chief Justice Hunstein, HB 1176 is already producing positive results for the State. For example, expanding the number of State drug and mental health courts, as well as the number of substance abuse and mental health treatment centers, has put Georgia on track to save $264 million in prison expenses over the next five years.
Thursday Governor Deal announced changes to the HOPE Grant, the program funded by the Lottery, which help people attend Technical Colleges. The proposal would allow Technical College students who maintain a 2.0 GPA to access the HOPE Grant. This was the standard until 2011 when the GPA requirements were raised to 3.0 to deal with a shortfall in all lottery-funded programs.
Gov. Deal?s plan would cost between $5 million and $8 million a year. He said the State can afford it, because lottery deposits were up $32 million in the first six months of this fiscal year, a 7.6 percent increase over the same period last year.
On Friday we approved the Amended FY2013 Budget. This is the result of two weeks of work by the various Appropriations Sub- Committees. I am a new member of the Education Appropriations Sub- Committee, and I am learning a lot. Each year the amended budget takes into account the difference between the budgets we passed last year and what has really happened in the economy of the State. Since our State did not reach the level of economic growth predicted last year, we balanced last year?s budget by reducing spending by $26.3 million. Despite this reduction, we are still able to make the budget meet the growing needs of the State. This allowed us to add $245 million for Medicaid and completely eliminate cuts to Georgia Youth Science and Technology Centers. We were also able to soften reductions to key education programs.
Like all legislation, the AFY 2013 Budget must still be considered by the State Senate. This means that the AFY 2013 Budget may change as we work alongside our Senate counterparts. As this process continues, I will keep you updated on the State Budget and on other important legislation. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding our state. You can reach me at my Capitol office at 404-656-0188 or email me at rick.jasperse@house.ga.gov.
Thank you for allowing me to serve you as your Representative in our Legislature.