Budget meetings on Monday and Tuesday...

Next week is shaping up as the time for public comment on the budget. Expect notices to be posted on our calendar at the last minute! You are more than welcome to come down and listen to testimony! Keep checking our Unlock Action Alert page for ways to help...

We dont have any budget items in the '07 budget - our issues are funded in the '08 budget...but just thought you might be interested...

The House Appropriations Human Resources Subcommittee will hold a public hearing on Monday, January 29, 2007 in Room 341 of the State Capitol at 2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment. The subcommittee will hear from individuals and organizations that wish to address the subcommittee with regard to the ’07 amended budget ONLY. Please limit your presentation to 5 minutes and bring 15 copies of a summary of your comments. If your comments are basically the same as others please join them instead of presenting a separate presentation. Sign up sheet is located in 245 State Capitol.

Two other meetings on the Senate that will cover issues in the Department of Community Health...things like ICWP, Source, Katie Beckett, and PeachCare for Kids...

DATE: Tuesday, January 30, 2007
TIME: 8:00 a.m.
PLACE: 450 Capitol
The Senate Community Health Subcommittee will meet to review the FY07 Amended Budget Submissions for the following agencies: Department of Community Health.

DATE: Monday, January 29, 2007
TIME: 10:00 a.m.
PLACE: 450 Capitol
The Senate Community Health Subcommittee will hold Public Hearing to discuss the FY07 Amended and FY08 General Budgets. Anyone requesting to speak before the Subcommittee must register on the sign-up sheet posted outside Room 234 Capitol.

Budget meetings are being set

Today I got a slew of emails from the House Appropriations Committee, setting times and dates for upcoming hearings on the FY07 and FY08 budgets. Primarily our issue lies under three state agency budgets: the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Community Health (DCH) and the Department of Human Resources (DHR). We are advocating for increased funding in the FY08 budget. All of these meetings are open to the public, with an opportunity to sign up for public comment.

The Appropriations Human Resources Subcommittee will meet on Thursday, January 25, 2007 in Room 516 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building at 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. The agenda will be DHR's FY07 budget.

The Appropriations Human Resources Subcommittee will meet on Thursday, January 25, 2007 in Room 516 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building at 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. The agenda will be DHR – ’07 Amended.

The Appropriations Health Subcommittee will meet on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 in Room 403 of the State Capitol from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. The agenday will be DCH & Cancer Coalition ’07 Amended Budget Presentation.

The Appropriations Health Subcommittee will hold a public hearing on Thursday, January 25, 2007 in Room 406 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building at 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. The subcommittee will hear from individuals and organizations that wish to address the subcommittee with regard to the ’07 amended budget. Please limit your presentation to 5 minutes and bring 15 copies of a summary of your comments. If your comments are basically the same as others please join them instead of presenting a separate presentation. Sign up sheet is located in 245 State Capitol. The agenda will be Public Hearing & ’07 DCH & Cancer Coalition.

The Appropriations Health Subcommittee will meet on Thursday, February 1, 2007 in Room 606 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building at 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. The agenda will be Final recommendations for DCH & Cancer Coalition ’07 Budget.

We will be updating our calendar for you to stay informed. Stay tuned for action alerts to be sent out tomorrow...Your response will be crucial!

Names for members of Senate's subcommittees for DCH and DHR released

Just picked up the list of members that serve on the Senate subcommittees that overseea our budget interests in the Department of Community Health and Humans Resources.

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Community Health
Greg Goggans - Chair
Cecil Staton - Vice Chair
Tim Golden
William Heath
Eric Johnson
Valencia Seay
Don Thomas
Regina Thomas
Renee Unterman
Tommie Williams

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Human Development
Renee Unterman - Chair
Don Thomas - Vice Chair
Greg Goggans
Johnny Grant
Steve Henson
Eric Johnson
David Shafer
Valencia Seay
Cecil Staton
Horacena Tate

Rumors of the Calendar

The House will convene today at 1pm and with a lot of committee meetings scheduled around 2pm or upon adjournment - it may be a quick day today.

It is rumored that Rep. Butler's Health subcommittee will take public comment on DHR's budget next week. We understand that they will be taking comment tomorrow on Department of Labor's budget. See our calendar for more details.

The Senate's Education and Youth has cancelled their standing meeting for Tuesday to instead hold a Joint Committee meeting today with the House. This meeting will be at CLOB in Room 606. Sen Weber, the chair of this committee, is trying to set up a replacement meeting for this Thursday, probably around 3pm in CLOB 307 where public comment on SB10 (School vouchers for children with disabilities) might be taken. This meeting has not been confirmed yet, but expect public comment to happen quickly for this bill.

Senator Shafer posted on this blog yesterday that he believes that the Senate will meet every day for the next two weeks - reaching February 2nd as the 14th legislative day.

Check out sidebar for useful sites, resources and links to legislators who are keeping blogs...

Names for Appropriations subcommittee are released

We finally got the names of the members of the subcommittee members for the House. The Senate is still saying "any minute."

The members of the DHR and DCH subcommittees are:

House Appropriations Subcommittee for Health (Community Health, Children and Youth Council and PeachCare: ICWP slots)
Mickey Channell - Vice Chair
Donna Sheldon - Secretary
Mark Burkhalter
Carolyn Hugley
Butch Parrish
Jay Shaw
Richard Smith
Ron Stephens
Pat Gardner

House Appropriations Subcommittee for Human Resources and Labor (DHR Budget Items: Unlock services, Provider rate increases)
Mark Butler - Vice Chair
Jeff May - Secretary
Buddy Carter
Keith Heard
Jerry Keen
Judy Manning
Bobby Reese
Len Walker
Stan Watson

January 2007 Alumni news

I hope 2007 has started off well for your family. Several Partners have sent me notices that they want me to share with you. Please feel free to send me any news you would like me to post.
Cobb county graduate, Sue Joe, recommends a new book called Raymond’s Room, written by Dale DiLeo. See comments from the website below:

Calling people with disabilities society’s “hidden citizens,” he describes a system that prevents people from working and living in our communities, despite new techniques and approaches proven effective in helping even those with the most serious challenges to be employed and to have a home to call their own.

If you live in Macon (January 23), Savannah (February 20), or Albany (March 20), please come out to the Town Hall Meetings on Disability that are going on this winter.

Graduates Nalini Isaac, Mary Poncy, and Rosalyn Horne have been working hard organizing the events in their town and need our support. Partners alumni are making these events a great success across the state. You can contribute by volunteering that night or by sending on the information to others in your email networks.

For a complete listing of dates, times and places, go to: Unlock's website.

Please register for Disability Day quickly, the Governor’s Council is taking only a limited amount of registrations, so please let them know if you are coming. This year they are offering a choice of either attending the breakfast or lunch. They will stop taking reservations after a certain number, so call or go online today! Please see their promotion below.

Register Now for Disability Day at the Capitol - February 22, 2007!
Visit their website or call 1-888-ASK-GCDD

Registration is required for either breakfast OR lunch.
Space is limited and is filling up quickly!
Tickets will be mailed to you prior to the event.

Schedule for Disability Day 2007
9:30 a.m. — Breakfast at the Freight Depot
11:00 a.m. — Rally at the Capitol Steps - Washington Street 12:30 p.m. — Lunch at the Freight Depot

WEAR RED!

Graduate concerns:
Rita Spivey, from Waycross, passed away last month. She was an awesome advocate and friend from South Georgia and will be greatly missed for her winning smile, attitude, and passion for working to better the lives of people with developmental disabilities.

Laura Royal from Vienna, Georgia is gravely ill. If you were in Laura’s class and would like to contact her, please send Rita an email and her contact information will be sent to you.

Governor addresses Joint Committee on Appropriations for House and Senate

The budget process took another step forward as Governor Perdue addressed the Senate and House members of the all important Appropriations Committee moments ago. His presentation leads off opportunities for State agency leadership to present their own budget priorities for their departments - allowing for time from members. Of course, our focus will be on the budgets under Departments of Community Health (DCH) and Human Resources (DHR). Commissioner Rhonda Medows of DCH will present (with her staff) this afternoon and Commissioner BJ Walker of DHR will have her chance tomorrow morning.

In about 30 minutes, the Governor laid out his priorities as education, roads and tourism. Governor Perdue repeated his commitment to education as a 3% pay raise for teachers and state employees. He talked about funding that will be directed to improving Georgia's roads as an investment in preparing for new and supporting existing businesses. Finally, he affirmed his focus on initiatives that focus on fishing and fishing as his "Go Fish Georgia" project. As evidence of the need for this expansion, he cited that Georgia has fewer bass tournaments than our neighboring states.

Following the Governor, the Department of Revenue presented an overview of their initiatives from the last year.

States press Congress for S-CHIP fix

Stateline.org published story on the Peach Care problem...

Georgia predicts that 260,000 of its children will lose health insurance in early March, when the PeachCare program that covers them runs out of money. Congress tried last month to keep such programs going, but as many as 14 states could find themselves short of cash by October if the states don’t receive additional funding for children’s health coverage.

Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island are projected to run out of federal money for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program by May, and they want Congress to fix the problem quickly. But states also want a long-term solution so they won’t have to ask Congress to retool S-CHIP’s funding formulas every year.

Estimates by the Congressional Research Serviceshow that Georgia would only get $1.2 million in extra money from the deal – barely enough to keep PeachCare running for a single day. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that oversees Medicaid, are making the final calculations. Still, Georgia officials aren’t optimistic.

“I am going forward with what I have, which is nothing,” said Dr. Rhonda Medows, who oversees PeachCare as the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Health.

She said the only way Georgia could keep PeachCare running is if it put off paying doctors, hospitals and other providers until it got federal money. But Medows said providers “would never come back” if they weren’t paid, which would also harm the state’s Medicaid and state employee health insurance programs.

Congressman Barrow and the survival of Georgia's Peach Care

An appointment to a key House committee could give U.S. Rep. John Barrow, D-Savannah, a voice in trying to bail out Georgia's health care program for some low- and middle-income families, the congressman's office said Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Gainesville, and Charlie Norwood, R-Augusta already serve on this important House Committee.

Barrow, part of the first Democratic majority in the House in a dozen years, has joined the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, his office announced. The panel oversees joint state-federal health care plans like Georgia's PeachCare, which covers children whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance.

According to state officials, PeachCare is faced with a shortfall of more than $130 million and could be forced to stop offering coverage as soon as March if Congress doesn't intervene soon. A stop-gap measure approved by Congress last year doesn't offer much relief, they say.

The committee also handles energy policy, trade, telecommunications and consumer protection measures. Barrow said the committee should focus on alternative energy sources such as biofuels, which Georgia officials are looking to promote through incentives.

Contact Congress Barrow and let him know how important PeachCare is to Georgia!
Washington Office: 202.225.2823
Home Office: 706.722.4494
Click here to Email

Also make sure that you contact Congressmen Nathan Deal, R-Gainesville and Charlie Norwood, R-Augusta.

Robin Nash: advocate and friend passed away

Judge Robin Nash died in his home in Decatur Georgia on January 11, 2007. A native of Decatur, Georgia, he was born at Emory Hospital on March 11, 1953. Judge Nash joined the faculty of Emory University School of Law in April, 2006 as director of the Barton Child Law & Policy Clinic. He coordinated the expanded scope of the Barton Clinic by directing the work of the clinic in two main areas, child welfare policy and defense of juveniles charged with delinquent and unruly offenses. Judge Nash came to Emory Law School after retiring as Chief Presiding Judge of DeKalb County Juvenile Court, where he served with distinction from March 1995 to December 2005. He served as the statewide President of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges from 2004-2005. Before becoming a judge, Nash was in private practice for 15 years concentrating on rights of the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled, particularly in the area of deinstitutionalization. Judge Nash graduated Briarcliff High School in 1971. He received his BA in Economics from Emory College in 1975 and his JD from Emory University School of Law in 1978. Judge Nash served on numerous boards and advisory committees during his career, including the DeKalb Bar Association, the Atlanta Foundation for Psychoanalysis, the DeKalb Developmental Disabilities Council, the Georgia Senate Study Committee on State Foster Care and Adoption, the Georgia Independent Living Council, and the Georgia School Age Care Association. He was a 1995 alumnus of Leadership DeKalb and received many awards in recognition of his tireless community service, including the 1995 Bobby Dodd Award from Atlanta Association of Developmental Disabilities, the 2001 Advocate of the Year Award from the Atlanta Association of Developmental Disabilities, and the 2002 Juvenile Court Judge of the Year for the State of Georgia from the Child Placement Conference. In addition to his work in children's law and disability law, Judge Nash was active in the international community, both in Georgia and throughout the world. He volunteered with a number of immigrant and refugee groups in Atlanta and engaged in public service in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Judge Nash is survived by many loving friends, his brother and sister-in-law Bill and Cindi Nash, his nephew Andrew Nash, his niece Melissa Hunt, his godson Sam Barclay and his adopted brother Vincent Thompson. A service will be held on January 21, 2007 at 3pm at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the Emory University campus. No flowers please. It is requested that any memorial contributions be made to the Marcus Institute affiliated with Emory University and the Kennedy Krieger Institute or the Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic at Emory University School of Law. A. S. Turner & Sons.

The quiet before the...

Legislators are trying to communicate with their constituents in new ways...like Blogs.

After rising about 6 a.m., the Duluth Republican takes a half an hour or so to write and post an update on his blog at www.davidshafer.org, giving readers his views about the coming legislative day or explaining one of his bills...

Rep Chambers press release mentioned the issue of Peach Care...

The looming PeachCare for Kids insurance program was the focus of Thursday’s session. PeachCare is funded 73 percent with Federal funds. The House unanimously passed a resolution urging Congress to fully fund this program or risk having 270,000 children in Georgia lose their health care insurance. Currently, 17 states are facing a shortfall of Federal funding. In the past, Congress has redistributed funds from states with a surplus to states with a shortfall. Programs funded by federal/state matching funds are prohibited from being funded with 100 percent state funds...

This week will focus on the budget - which is where our issue will be resolved! The Governor has made his recommendations, and now it is up to the House and Senate.

"This is our chance to directly talk to department heads to start to develop our opinion of what the budget should look like," said Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Hill, R-Reidsville.

Republican leaders have drastically scaled down the meetings, which often lasted for several days under Democrats. Now, only the heads of major agencies step into the limelight, shortening the process to just two days.

Meanwhile, budget writers have plenty of money to deal with; Mr. Perdue's proposal broke the $20 billion mark for the first time in state history, coming in at $20.2 billion. Legislators have to stay within the revenue estimate Mr. Perdue gives them because of state law requiring a balanced budget.

"I think that's the good news, is that we are growing, (but) we've got a lot of needs we need to meet," said House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin, R-Evans...

Capitol Round Up

The unlock the waiting list issue is about funding...the bottom line. So we ought to pay attention to how much money we will have to work with - or how much revenue is collected by Georgia through various state taxes. Senator Jack Hill is the Senate Chair of Appropriations. In other words, he has a lot of power in making decision about how Georgia spends this revenue. He sent out these notes yeterday...

December revenue figures contained good news and some continuing perplexing news. Total Revenues were up 6.2% over last year. Sales Taxes were up 9.2% and corporate taxes were up 35.1% due to a one-time collection of $29.3 million. Personal Income Taxes, 50% of state revenue, were down 2.8%. Total revenue gain for the month was $452 million of which $104 million was motor fuel taxes (dedicated to roads and bridges mostly). Year to Date (YTD) total revenues are up 5.7% or $452 million. Personal income taxes are up 6.5% but sales tax revenues for the state (after distributing local collections) are up only 1%. Corporate income taxes are up 4.5%, although a single refund of $29 million amounts to more than the increase. Year to date numbers are troubling on several fronts. Of all revenues collected, $159 million of the increased $468 million are accounted for fuel tax increases. The general revenue collections increase only amounted to $309 million. This increase is only about half the increase ($600 million) of a year ago signaling a significant decrease in state revenue growth.

A new distribution system instituted by the Department of Revenue has resulted in a significantly increased distribution of revenues to local governments. While over the rest of the year state collections may balance out, there is a possibility that the new system reveals a weakness in the range of sales tax collections. For example, food is a growing category of sales tax revenue taxed only by local governments who receive 100% of those revenues. Food sales taxes have grown $132 million or 15.6% YTD. So one fourth of all sales tax growth is accruing only to local governments. At 25%, it is a significant percentage of all sales tax growth.

The House adjourned until Jan 22nd at 1:00pm, this will be the 5th day of the 40 day session. No bills are expected to be debated on the floor. Yesterday the house voted and passed HR 13, urging Congress to fund the Peach Care program.

In th Senate, Sen Tommie Williams introduced the Georgia Speaks website as a way for citizens to present their ideas for new legislation. Articles from around the state...

Vital investigative reports reveal failed mental system
Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription) - Atlanta,GA,USAWith mental health care insurance, it's even worse. It's often a constant battle for patients to get the care they need." ...

Casey Cagle: Georgia’s new lieutenant governor settles in
Walker County Messenger - LaFayette,GA,USACagle, who in his old job was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, says this follows suit with what other states have done and protects Georgia’s ...

Busy first week for lawmakers
Henry Herald - McDonough,GA,USAMickey Channell, R-Greensboro, who introduced a resolution to appeal to Congress. Locally, Henry County’s nine-member delegation elected officers for the ...

Capitol round up - Fourth Day

We were very lucky to have two volunteers yesterday help us talk with legislators and distribute fact sheets. If you are interested in coming done to the Capitol - check our Calendar at email Paulette and let her know that you want to help us! We really need you!

After Wednesday, we spent our time combing through the State budget trying to confirm what the Governor decided to earmark to the unlock the waiting list issue. There is both good news and bad news...the good news is that the Governor showed a significant improvement this year in the number of services he has decided to fund - a total of 1,500! The bad news is that number is shy of the goal set by the Departments of Human Resource and Community Health of 2,000 that was recommended to the Governor. We have our work still cut out for us and we will need your help!

We are still waiting for assignments to be made public for the Appropriations subcommittee members. These are the members that will be working with Rep Mark Butler in great detail on our issue. As soon as we know, we will ask you to contact them to request their support.

Today they are not in session and most legislators have headed home for a long Martin Luther King Jr holiday weekend.

Some stories from around the State:

Georgia House of Representatives Daily Report
Duluth Weekly - Duluth,GA,USAMickey Channell of the 116th - House Committee: Rules - Rule: Modified-Structured - Amendments(s): N/A - Yeas: 166; Nays: 0 * ...

Plan in works for mental health ills
Augusta Chronicle (subscription) - Augusta,GA,USA"State hospitals are very specialized places where you have some of the toughest people to work with," said Division Director Gwen Skinner. ...

Speaker in sights of ethics panel?
Florida Times-Union - Jacksonville,FL,USASeth Harp, R-Midland; Jack Hill, R-Reidsville; and Michael Meyer von Bremen, D-Albany, also will serve on the committee. ...

LEGISLATIVE NOTEBOOK
Macon Telegraph - Macon,GA,USAIncidentally there's a spirit of bipartisanship in the entire Georgia Senate this year, which Staton jokingly called a "lovefest" in a conversation with ...

Governor Perdue Presents Budget for State of the Future

With the state on a firm foundation, Governor Sonny Perdue today delivered his annual State of the State Address before a joint session of the Georgia General Assembly. The Governor formally submitted his Amended FY07 and FY08 budget recommendations, which are focused on education, land conservation, economic development, tax relief for seniors and health care.
“We have made great progress,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “We have laid the foundation and have begun moving Georgia from a good state to a great state, a state of the future.”

Healthcare
Governor Perdue’s budget also works toward increased healthcare transparency and a focus on rural health care. The Governor introduced the Rural Health Access Project to promote health care as a strategic industry in rural Georgia. The Rural Health Access Project will “increase access to primary care, create stable networks and use technology to lower costs and improve outcomes.”

The Governor’s budget recognizes the enormous toll that traffic accidents and trauma care exact on Georgia and its citizens. Traffic accidents not only cost billions of dollars every year, but also the lives of over 1,700 people just in Georgia.

“Car accidents cause more trauma than any other source,” said Governor Perdue. “And drivers who travel recklessly at high speeds will be held accountable in Georgia. We will make those drivers pay for a statewide trauma network. This will allow us to not only improve Georgia’s trauma care system, but also to reduce the actions that cause pain for so many Georgia families.”

Medical access continues to be a concern for many Georgians and the cost of state-provided coverage is a growing component of the state budget. The Governor’s budget includes
$176 million to fund health insurance costs for state employees and includes $100 million to begin to meet the costs of Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) as required by new national accounting standards.

The budget also keeps Georgia healthy by:
Continuing to partner with the federal government on programs such as Medicaid and PeachCare; Providing $1 million to implement the Health Information Technology pilot program; Committing $1.5 million to increase access to primary health care facilities throughout the state; Funding $4.8 million to develop a real time information system to improve cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment; making Georgia a national leader in cancer information technology; Funding almost $16 million to fully fund the purchase of antiviral medications to treat a pandemic flu; Funding $9 million to provide additional funds for the operating expenses of state hospitals.

Capitol Round up

The House will reconvene for its 3rd Legislative Day at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 10, 2007, and there is still a sense that legislators are still in a huddle. No legislation is scheduled for any official action. I have heard that committee assignments were finished yesterday, so we will be posting key legislators to our legislative agenda soon with links to their emails. We are waiting for the Governor's presenation to a Joint Session today at 2pm eagerly to learn how many services he has decided to unlock. To view his speech, please visit the Georgia Legislative Network’s link at www.legis.ga.gov A few articles from around the state...

Legislature has quiet second day
Macon Telegraph - Macon,GA,USAJim Cole, who represents much of Monroe, Jones, Lamar and Jasper counties in the Georgia House of Representatives, was named assistant floor leader, ...

Golden to oversee state budget
WALB-TV - Albany,GA,USATuesday morning Lt. Governor Casey Cagle appointed Golden secretary of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for the annual state budget ...

Lawmakers hear testimony on court issues
Rome News-Tribune - Rome,GA,USAHouse members expect to have their committee and office assignments early today, said state Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome. ...

More news to come following the Governor's Budget address.

Capitol Round up

I will post articles related to various issues from newspapers from around Georgia throughout the session. We hope that you find them useful.

Perdue, state lawmakers kick off session
Rome News-Tribune - Rome,GA,USASonny Perdue took the helm Monday for a second term as governor, saying he was “humbled by history” and promising to leave Georgia on firm footing for the ...

Health, taxes at top of legislature’s agenda
Moultrie Observer - Moultrie,GA,USAEd Rynders, R-Albany, vice chairman of the House Health Committee, foresees aggressive lobbying from both sides. “I do not believe that the certificate of ...

House re-elects speaker; ethics complaint filed against him
Access North Georgia - Gainesville,GA,USAATLANTA - Lawmakers in the Georgia House re-elected Glenn Richardson as leader of the 180-member body Monday, hours after Democrats filed an ethics ...

Lawmakers launch 2007 legislative session
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer - Columbus,GA,USARepublicans say the hawks are usually employed to allow a committee to meet its quorum, so a bill can be considered. Hugley and Porter see more sinister ...

Jones: Limited budget options could spoil Republicans' fun in Atlanta
Online Athens (subscription) - Athens,GA,USAHouse Ways and Means Committee Chairman Larry O'Neal, who chaired the House study committee, said not yet. "I don't think we are anywhere near silver-bullet ...

Forums solicit special-needs views
Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription) - Atlanta,GA,USA... School's headquarters in Suwanee for people who want to share their views on suggested state changes to the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. ...

Opening day behind them, new leaders ready for work
Gainesville Times - Gainesville,GA,USAThe Senate voted 44-10 to hand those duties -- including appointing committee chairmen and deciding which committee handles each piece of legislation ...

Partners in Policymaking Mock Testimony

Last week, the particpants of the Partners in Policymaking program took part in practicing giving testimony at the Capitol on disability issues.

This experience is a unique one that gives participants on the course a chance to practice giving testimony to legislators so that they learn from their mistakes.

The event was well attended with seven state legislators and three staff persons.

Partners in Policymaking was created in 1987 by two experts in developmental disability issues: Colleen Wieck, Ph.D., Director of the Minnesota Governor's Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities, and Ed Skarnulis, Ph.D., of the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Drs. Wieck and Skarnulius designed the program's model to be flexible and responsive to paradigm shifts in the disability field. In addition, the program provides state-of-the-art training from leaders in the field, enabling Partners learn to histories, philosophies, and concrete strategies for creating systemic change in disability areas.

The goal is simple: to establish and maintain productive partnerships between people needing and using services and those who make public policy and laws. To accomplish that objective, the program works to educate its participants about current issues and best practices and familiarize them with policymaking and the legislative processes at the local, state and federal levels. Participants also learn what they can do to act as a catalyst for change. Upon graduation, participants use their new skills to work to obtain state-of-the-art services for themselves and others.

Governor Perdue Delivers "State of the Future" Address

Inaugural Address of Governor Sonny Perdue

8 January 2007
Before I begin my remarks today, I would like to ask three gentlemen to join me at the podium....the former governors who are present with us today, Governor Carl Sanders, Governor Joe Frank Harris and Governor/Senator Zell Miller.

Ladies and gentlemen, not too many years ago, a man traveled to and fro across this state telling everyone who would listen a folksy story about a turtle on a fencepost. The point of the story was that if you drive down the road and see a turtle on a fencepost, then you can be assured that turtle didn't get there by himself...that he had help.

On behalf of a grateful state, I want to ask our audience to stand with me as we acknowledge that you all helped put Georgia on a high...high fencepost.

My fellow Georgians, I stand before you once more, as I did four years ago, humbled by history . . . lifted by your support. It is an incredible honor to be playing my small part in a long line of great Georgians.

The 13th original colony. The fourth state to ratify the US Constitution....

For the rest of his speech, go to his website.

Important Online Advocacy Resources

There will be a number of online resources that you may be interested in knowing about as we move into the 2007-2008 legislative session.

To find the budget documents as they move through the process, go to the House of Representative's budget site or the Senate's budget site.

Find information on the legislative process from the Carl Vincent Institute on the General Assembly

Great online stops for information are the House Communication webpage and the Senate Press Office.

A great site for more information on the Georgia budget, go to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

A powerpoint presentation on the Division of MHADDD for DHR recently given by Director Gwen Skinner.

Let us know if there are other resources we should pass along...

Governor Perdue Announces December Revenue Figures

ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that net revenue collections for the month of December 2007 (FY07) totaled $1,634,704,000 compared to $1,539,857,000 for December 2005 (FY06), an increase of $94,847,000 or 5.7 percent.

The percentage increase year-to-date for FY07 compared to FY06 is 5.7 percent.

The Session...less than a week away

With only 6 days left to the Session, legislators are preparing this week for a quiet time under the gold dome. A recent article in the Savannah Morning News quotes Sen Eric Johnson, R-Savannah as saying that "I don't know that the citizens of the state want radical change and radical solutions whether they are on the right or on the left." Vicky Eckenrode goes on to write that

The state's finances also are murky despite a nearly $600 million surplus in the spending year that ended June 30. Georgia could need billions of dollars in the next 30 years to provide health care for retirees, and new accounting rules will require states to at least mention those costs in their budgets.

Famous last words - in the end, you never know...As House Majority Leader Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons Island said, "There are always things that pop up that you don't see on the radar." Check back here for daily entries from the Capitol on our progress.