2007 Legislative Preview

From Stephanie Stuckey Benfield

Legislature convenes for 2007 session

Eggs & Issues Breakfast on Saturday, January 13th: Please come to a breakfast meet and greet this Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. at

This Is It! Restaurant
4065 Memorial Drive (at Covington Hwy.)
Decatur

This will be an opportunity to meet with me informally to share your views about the 2007 session of the Georgia General Assembly. A complimentary breakfast will be served.

On Monday, January 8, members of the Georgia General Assembly will convene for our 2007 legislative session. This is my ninth year in the state House of Representatives, representing DeKalb County from the 85th District, and I consider it a privilege to serve as your voice at the Capitol.

Based on the number of legislative proposals that have already been pre-filed or announced for 2007, lawmakers will once again have our hands full of issues to address when we return to the Capitol. Here are just a few of the proposals to be considered:

• Prohibiting Georgia motorists from using handheld cell phones while driving.
• Increasing the minimum wage in Georgia to $7.25 per hour by January 1, 2008.
• Allowing local counties and cities to decide whether to let grocery stores and convenience stores sell beer and wine on Sundays.
• Expanding the judicial branch of state government to add two Justices to the Supreme Court of Georgia
• Changing the state’s Constitution to mandate that Georgia voters present a government-issued photo ID at the polls.
• Using public funds for private school vouchers. Implementing a 1 percent sales tax to raise revenue for transportation projects.
• Prohibiting governmental agencies from printing public documents in languages other than English.

Another important issue concerns the state’s “certificate of need” laws, regulating medical services. After 18 months of studying the regulations to recommend whether any of them needed to be modified, a Blue Ribbon commission unanimously recommended number of administrative and procedural changes but failed to reach a consensus on the most controversial issue, which is whether to give doctors more flexibility to open ambulatory surgical clinics. As a result, a spirited debate between advocates for physicians and on the hospitals’ side is expected to take place during this legislative session.

I am very concerned by recent public comments by the director of the state Department of Community Health that the PeachCare program is in serious financial peril. This program provides health insurance to 260,000 Georgia children, and the legislature must make it a top priority to restore its economic viability. The state should seek federal assistance to keep this program going if necessary.

One encouraging development recently has been the Perdue administration’s decision to back off from a proposal to eliminate the state healthcare benefits of retired teachers and state employees as a means of dealing with Georgia’s healthcare funding liability. Balancing the state’s books on the backs of these state employees and educators and their families is the last thing the government needs to be doing.

I will continue to work in support of our public schools and toward transportation solutions. Throughout the 2007 session, please contact me with your views on the issues we are addressing. I look forward to hearing from you. Please let me know when I can be of service.

For more information on these bills, please visit http://www.legis.state.ga.us/

Please feel free to contact Rep. Benfield with any questions or comments at stuckey@mindspring.com or (404) 656 0245 (Capitol Office) or (404) 377 7014 (Home).