[February 22, 2016] | Tuesday, February 16, marked the beginning of our seventh week of the 2016 legislative session. With ?Crossover Day? rapidly approaching, we are evaluating crucial pieces of legislation each day that we are in session. This week, we passed several bills, and among those was one of our most important pieces of legislation of the year: House Bill 751, the Fiscal Year 2017 (FY2017) State budget. For me it was busy week, as I had several bills in committees and chaired my own committee. We had some great Preachers of the Day and honored many Georgians each day for their good works or service to our State. I did get to attend the State playoff Game at Grady HS. Our Pickens guys played so hard. I was sorry they lost, but it was good to see so many from Pickens down there supporting the team for the State playoffs. It is a great accomplishment to be in the tournament; congratulations to the team and coaches.
As I have said many times, the General Assembly has one constitutional obligation each year: to pass a balanced state budget. This budget will serve as a spending guide for the State beginning July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017. The FY2017 budget is $23.7 billion, which is an increase of 2.9%, over the amended FY2016 budget. The House was able to secure funding for several of the State?s priorities, including: increasing education funding, additional funding for transportation as a result of the Transportation Funding Act of 2015, health care, and economic development funds.
Education spending accounts for more than half of the annual budget each year. This is the part of the budget I work on as a member of the appropriations committee. As a result of revenue increases, the FY2017 includes a $300 million appropriation for K-12 education for local school boards to give salary increases, eliminate furlough days or increase instruction days for education. It does allow the local boards of education to use as they see needed. I hope the local boards put all of these funds towards the classroom teacher. The House version of FY2017 also includes $5.1 million for a 3 percent pay raise to teachers in Agriculture Education and Tech/Career Education programs. During our negotiations, we worked hard to include those who make it possible to have school each day; we reallocated some dollars to give a 3% raise to our school bus drivers, lunchroom workers, nurses, and Regional Education Service Agency (RESA) employees. The budget provides an additional $28.6 million in funding for Pre-K teachers for salary increases up to three percent, as well as increasing salaries for assistant teachers.
The FY2017 budget also provides funding for higher education initiatives in our state, including the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarships. Since 2012, the number of Zell Miller Scholars at both public and private universities has significantly increased, and to account for this increase in eligible scholars, HB 751 allocates $59.1 million for FY2017 for Zell Miller and HOPE Scholarship recipients. FY2017 also appropriates $29.4 million in funding to the Move on When Ready dual enrollment program and an additional $1.2 million to the North Georgia Military Scholarship Grants program. Additionally, the budget establishes two new service loan programs of $100,000 each for large animal veterinarians and the Georgia National Guard to address the need for skilled individuals in those fields. It was good news to hear this week that college students will not experience a tuition increase next fall due to the diligence of the Board of Regents to keep college affordable and to the work of the Governor and General Assembly to provide adequate formula funding. Also for the many state retirees, there is also a one-time benefit payment of 3% to eligible members of the Employees Retirement System (ERS). House Bill 751 passed 167 to 1, and now it is the Senate?s turn to work on the budget. I can?t go into all the detail of the budget here; so if you email or call me, I will be glad to send you a summary of the 2017 budget.
In addition to passing the FY2017 budget this week, the House passed a number of important bills that are now being considered by the State Senate. House Bill 34 (Dudgeon, R., District 25), also known as the ?Georgia Right to Try Act,? was unanimously passed by the House and would give some terminally-ill patients faster access to experimental drugs and procedures that have passed the first of three phases in the FDA drug approval process. There are 24 states that have similar legislation in place, and it is my hope that Georgia will become the 25th state to enact this type of legislation to offer some Georgians an opportunity at life-altering treatment.
Another significant measure that passed out of our chamber with overwhelming support was House Bill 798. HB 798 would change some requirements for the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarships to consider home-schooled students and students graduating from previously ineligible or non-accredited high schools. Eligibility would be determined by standardized college admissions tests, such as the SAT and ACT, which are available to all students. The HOPE Scholarship was created to keep our state?s brightest students in Georgia for college, and this legislation would give even more students that chance.
Additionally, we passed HB 555 by Rep. Joyce Candler, District 105, by vote of 119 to 55. This measure requires the Clerk of a Juvenile Court to report the number of petitions granted or denied for an abortion without parental consent to the Administrative Office of the Courts on an annual basis. The numbers are for statistical purposes only, and the identities are never submitted. We hope that with this information we will be in a better position to address the ongoing problem of teen pregnancies. Next came HB 762 by Rep. Wendell Willard, District 51, which passed by a vote of 166 to 2. This very solemn measure amends the Code Section relating to the unlawful buying, selling, or offering to buy, or sell human body parts to include human fetuses. I was a co-sponsor of this legislation.
Now that we have passed the annual budget and are more than halfway through the 2016 legislative session, we will begin to vote on more legislation under the Gold Dome. During this time, I hope that you will contact me with your questions or concerns so that I can apply your ideas and opinions to these last few weeks of lawmaking. You are always welcome and encouraged to visit my office at the State Capitol. My office number is 404-656-7857, and my email is rick.jasperse@house.ga.gov. I look forward to hearing from you.
And as always, thank you for allowing me to serve as your Representative.