Capitol Corner

As we near Crossover Day, many of the most prominent issues discussed this session are beginning to come across the desks of House members. Last week was the first of what is likely to be a frenetic sprint to the finish. Here are the week’s highlights:…

Week 4 flew by with testimony on Spencer’s HB 750, Habitat for Humanity Day at the Capitol and several bills passing through the chamber. Check out the rundown for this week here….

Much of President Obama’s signature domestic legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, officially took into effect January 1st of this year. One of the most significant reforms of the ACA includes the expansion of Medicaid eligibility to individuals and families with incomes up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level, a critical step to providing access to healthcare for the country’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. Yet as reported last legislative session, Georgia, along with 22 other states, has chosen to opt out of receiving the federal funds to implement the expansion and appears no closer to changing its position. For most of these states, the main concern in carrying out the Medicaid expansion provision lies in the costs incurred for individual states after the initial three years of implementation, during which the federal government will begin tapering its funding of the program from 100% to 90% after 2021. Even so, due to increased scrutiny from healthcare and consumer advocacy groups, several states are employing plans that would enable them to accept federal Medicaid funds on their own terms, including Arkansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Utah….

What a week! Tuesday night, President Obama began his State of the Union Address by saying, “Today in America, a teacher spent extra time with a student who needed it, and did her part to lift America’s graduation rate to its highest level in more than three decades.” The President probably didn’t realize how true those words were for teachers, bus drivers and staff in metro-Atlanta who answered the calling in incredible ways. More than 10,000 Atlanta-area students were stranded in schools and on school buses as roads iced and became impassible on Tuesday evening. Teachers and bshinholseristrators stayed with children overnight, entertaining kids with movies and basketball in gyms trying to make the best of a tough situation….

Electric cars have become increasingly popular in recent years with more than 50,000 completely electric and plug-in hybrids sold in 2012 and only slightly less in 2013. Of the many reasons for switching to electric cars, one upside rests in the gas savings. Electric cars can save the average driver thousands of dollars a year on fuel costs. Unlike gas powered vehicles, electric cars “top off” rather than fill up, and the cost of this top off is normally around two to three dollars. This discount is appealing considering the astronomical price of a full tank of regular unleaded at pumps today….

The second week under the Gold Dome was a quiet one compared to the first week as legislation begins to ramp up in committee and work on the Amended Fiscal Year 2014 Budget concluded in the House. Here is the rundown for week two:…

Spencer is happy to report that a legislative provision allowing guns on college campuses is off the table for the 2014 session. Introduced in 2013, House Bill 512 would allow gun owners to carry their weapons on college campuses as well as in churches, bars and some courthouses and government buildings. Two of the bill’s leading sponsors announced today that this legislation would no longer include the campus carry provision. …

If you are a follower of politics in Georgia you have heard a few dozen times by now that this session will be one of the fastest in recent memory. The first week of the legislative session lived up to that billing as the legislature scheduled their first nine legislative days consecutively (with the exception of the weekend and Martin Luther King Jr. Day today) and budget hearings were trimmed from three days to one afternoon. Here is a rundown from the first week:…

As we enter the enter the summer offseason, legislative news occurs less frequently. However, here in Athens there are passionate volunteers and great organizations that work all year to make Athens the community it is. To highlight their work we are launching Capitol Corner 2.0: Profiles in Service Edition. Along with our normal legislative updates and policy primers we will be sharing the stories of Athens’ volunteers and organizations. …

March 28th was the final day of the forty day legislative session in Georgia. Legislators voted on proposals related to guns, the HOPE Grant Scholarship, ethics reform and the annual requirement, the state budget. Here is a summary of the legislative accomplishments by the General Assembly in 2013. …

Wednesday, Spencer and I took advantage of some public transportation options to get down to the Capitol. One of the little known options for getting from Athens to Atlanta is the Megabus. Megabus is a low-cost, daily express bus with routes from Athens to Atlanta and fares that start at as little as $1 each way. From the end of the Megabus route, Spencer and I jumped on a MARTA train to the Capitol. After a great experience, we wanted to take the opportunity to discuss this and other transit options in both Athens and Atlanta….

Recently, Spencer signed onto House Bill 503, a bill establishing portfolio standards for renewable energy production by Georgia’s energy companies and creating a Renewable Energy Credits Trading program. The program will allow companies who efficiently produce energy with renewable resources to sell that energy and help other companies meet their renewable energy portfolio goals….

Earlier this week, Florida’s Republican Governor announced that he would be accepting the federal expansion of medicaid that would provide healthcare coverage to one million new Floridians. After much political resistance, Governor Scott joined seven other Republican Governors in embracing a key provision in President Obama’s Affordable Care Act….

This week I had the honor of taking part in a very special moment on the House Floor. Each legislative day during February, a morning order is dedicated to a moment in black history. Last Tuesday, Representatives Earnest Smith and Ronnie Mabra came to the well of the House to speak about Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball and a native of Cairo, Georgia….

Today, Spencer and his staff were joined by staff from Representative Stacey Evans’ office at Budget School on the campus of the University of Georgia. Alan Essig, Executive Director of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, gave a presentation on how to read and understand the Georgia budget. Check out the details here…

The last week and a half has been very busy for Spencer and our team as we begin to settle in at the Gold Dome. At the end of last week, Spencer and the House cast their first three major votes of the session on House Bill 55, House Bill 57 and Senate Bill 24. Here is an update on those votes:…

The second week of this legislative session was all about the budget. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the joint appropriations committee met to receive budget overview presentations from different agencies in Georgia’s government. Each agency sent a representative to review their budget proposals and answer questions from lawmakers. Here are some of the overviews from both the Governor’s Amended FY 2013 budget (the budget from July 2012 to July 2013) and the Governor’s proposed FY 2014 budget (July 2013 to July 2014)….

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?” -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This Monday, January 21st, is a day that we honor one of the icons of the Civil Rights Movement and one of the most influential leaders in American history, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr….