By State Representative Jason Spencer (R-Woodbine)
The great American author and humorist Mark Twain once said, “No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.” And so it begins. Georgians interests are once again piqued as the Georgia General Assembly embarks on its annual 40 day legislative session beginning on Monday, January 11, 2016.
Numerous issues always confront the General Assembly each year while we are in session, but our main priority is to set the state budget for Fiscal Year 2017, while maintaining a balanced budget. The state’s entire budget sets spending for the entire year for K-12 education, transportation, postsecondary education, healthcare obligations and public safety. In Fiscal Year 2016, these aforementioned policy areas received the bulk of state spending, totaling approximately $17 billion, which is approximately 77% of all state spending. The remaining amount was then appropriated across other state agencies for a grand total of $21.8 billion.
Last session, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) passed out of the state Senate, but failed to pass out of the House Judiciary Committee. This RFRA legislation would grant Georgians the same protection of their right of free exercise of religion that they currently enjoy from the federal government to practice their faith. Implementing a state RFRA would send a clear message that people with varying religious beliefs can expect that the state and our local governments will respect and honor those beliefs. While some have argued that RFRA will be used to discriminate, there are no cases at the federal level, or in the 30 state jurisdictions with RFRA in place, where a court has upheld or protected an act of discrimination.
Casino gambling, and to some degree pari-mutuel betting on horseracing, is being pushed as a funding source for the HOPE scholarship program. Currently, the scholarship program is funded through state lottery funds, but the inflated cost of higher education presents a funding challenge despite the General Assembly’s prior reforms to attempt to keep the HOPE program sustainable. There are serious societal consequences to consider regarding this policy, and this issue will be debated heavily this year.
The Governor’s Education Funding Reform Commission has released its list of recommendations to change Georgia’s current K-12 education funding formula. Among numerous recommendations that will likely receive vigorous debate includes teacher merit pay and future public education funding. The recommendation in the report is to give current teachers an option to stay with the current pay schedule or be placed into a new system. Newly hired teachers will not have an option, but will be automatically be placed into the new system. Local school districts will have more control over how they set up their teacher merit pay system. The funding of public education could transition to a “dollars earned” model rather than an allocation model per student head count.
Other issues include a movement to reduce the state income tax, as well as adopting a state policy to cultivate medical cannabis in Georgia. There is a current proposal to reduce the state income tax from 6% to 4 % and increase in the state sales tax rate from 4% to 5%. This plan would also apply consumption based taxes to downloadable services and phone applications such as Netflix and satellite TV services. Any change involving tax policy is sure to consume much of the General Assembly’s time and effort this session.
In addition, the General Assembly will likely debate whether or not to expand its recent, but limited, law to allow for the cultivation of medical marijuana in Georgia. The new state law only allows for eight specific diseases to be eligible for high concentration cannabidiol (CBD) oil. However, due to the restrictions on cultivation in Georgia, eligible patients must obtain this type of medicine outside of the state, which poses a significant challenge.
Finally, I will be introducing the Georgia Spaceflight Act (GSA), which begins the work of creating Georgia’s space policy to become economically competitive with other “space friendly” states. This bill is necessary for the success of Spaceport Camden. The GSA is aimed at providing a limited liability shield to spaceflight operators and its suppliers. By doing so, Georgia will then remove a competitive economic disadvantage in order to compete with other space states such as Florida, Texas, Virginia, and New Mexico, who have similar laws. The aim of the GSA will be to make our law even more unique than those of our established competitors, thus making Georgia a leader in the commercial space industry. By offering distinct protections that will attract and retain this industry to our state, we will create high paying jobs, boost tourism and introduce new educational opportunities for our citizens.
Hopefully, my colleagues and I in the General Assembly will not make too many decisions that are too painful and disruptive to your lives. The goal is to pass meaningful legislation that protects your rights, not undermine them. In the meantime, adhere to Mark Twain’s advice for good measure. If you have any questions, or want to visit your capitol during the legislative session, please do not hesitate to contact my office in Atlanta at 404-656-0177.
Representative Jason Spencer represents the citizens of District 180, which includes Camden, Charlton, and Ware counties. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2010, and currently serves as the Secretary of the Special Rules Committee. He also serves on the Game Fish & Parks, Human Relations & Aging, Science and Technology, and Juvenile Justice committees.
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