[March 21, 2016] | The House reconvened on Monday, March 14, for day 36 of the 2016 legislative session as sine die (the end) is just days away. We had a busy legislative agenda for the week, both on the House floor and in committee meetings to continue to vote on and review legislation. With day 40 right around the corner many more House and Senate bills received final passage this week and are now on their way to Governor Deal?s desk for consideration.
This week, the House unanimously passed Senate Bill 364, the ?Quality Based Education Act,? to revise annual performance evaluations for public school teachers and state mandated testing. SB 364 would revise evaluations so that student growth would account for 30 percent of a teacher?s evaluation, down from the current 50 percent. Additionally, professional growth would account for 20 percent, and the test component of teacher evaluations is lowered from 70 percent to 40 percent. The bill would also reduce the number of state-mandated tests from 32 to 24 for students in grades K-12 by removing social studies and science milestone tests in grades 3, 4, 6, and 7. SB 364 would also ask local school systems to move all testing as close to the end of the school year as possible to ensure the students have received maximum exposure to the material prior to testing. SB 364 also adds formative testing in 1st and 2nd grades to measure progress and early learning to guarantee that all students are proficient in reading by 3rd grade and proficient in math by 5th grade. The bill is the result of multiple meetings with teachers, administrators, advocacy groups, and parents from across the state who gave input and opinions on what should be revised in the current evaluation and testing systems. This legislation will give our teachers more freedom to teach Georgia?s students and will take the burden off both students and teachers. I spoke with teachers and parents across the district on this important issue in the weeks leading up to the vote this week.
Another bill that received unanimous passage in the House this week was Senate Bill 402, legislation that would place a moratorium on new applications for licensure of narcotic treatment programs and create a commission to study the current licensure requirements in Georgia. It is one of those issues you might not know about, and we need to fix some issues surrounding these treatment programs.
We also passed Senate Bill 350 this week, which would allocate funds from firework sales in our state to Georgia trauma centers, fire services, and local public safety purposes. Local governments will gain a lot of control of the sales of the fireworks in their communities. SB 389 is a rewrite of the Code relating to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program commonly known as TANF. It revises the eligibility requirements, establishes sanctions for misuse, creates a lifetime maximum, and requires work-related activity. It further requires verification of eligibility and annual reports. This measure attempts to streamline the process and ensure that those in need receive the appropriate benefits.
The House also passed a measure this week to toughen the penalties for criminals who commit domestic violence in Georgia. Senate Bill 193 would make it a felony if a person commits family violence and has a previous conviction for family violence battery in Georgia, or in any other state.
This week we passed another bill to keep Georgians safe in Senate Bill 367, a comprehensive update to Georgia?s criminal justice reform legislation. SB 367 would expand Georgia?s accountability courts to include ?operating under the influence? court divisions as an alternative to the traditional justice system with the ultimate goal of reducing recidivism rates. SB 367 would also allow the Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice to operate charter schools within state juvenile justice facilities under the control of the State Charter School Commission to allow children who are incarcerated to continue to receive an education.
Receiving the most debate was HB 757, which passed by vote of 104 to 65. This measure originally past the House unanimously as the Pastor Protection Act. In section 1, it was renamed the "Free Exercise Protection Act." Section 2 protects the religious liberties of clergy, churches, and faith-based organizations as well as individual citizens. Section 3 protects business and industry from being required to operate on a religious day of rest. Section 4 protects the property rights and service of faith-based organizations. Section 5 protects the employment decisions of faith-based organizations. Section 6 includes the language from the Federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, which states that the government shall not substantially burden a person?s exercise of
Religion. This carefully-drafted, narrowly-focused legislation has clear anti-discriminatory language that does not impact commercial transactions and strikes a balance between protecting our religious rights under the First Amendment while at the same time welcoming all to Georgia without fear of discrimination.
This week, we also had a special guest stop by the House. On Monday, we were honored to have Atlanta Braves legend Henry ?Hank? Aaron and his wife Billye join us on the House floor, where we recognized the couple for their work in the community.
Next week will be the final week of the 2016 legislative session. On Thursday, March 24 we will convene one final time this session for legislative day 40, or ?sine die,? the last day we have to pass any legislation this year. While the end is near, there is still work to be done and many issues to be considered, and your input on these issues is very important to me. My colleagues and I will work long hours every day next week to ensure that we are doing what is best for Georgia and its citizens. If you are following legislation that you would like to see passed, or if you have any questions about the bills that the General Assembly has considered this session, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Your input will help guide my decisions during this crucial time, and I appreciate all of your feedback. You can reach me at my Capitol office at (404) 656-7857 or by email at rick.jasperse@house.ga.gov.
As always, thank you for allowing be to be your Representative.