Day 13 - 2/07/2008

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The House Appropriations Committee met this morning to vote out the 2008 Amended budget. A key decision that the committee approved was restoring $30 million in education equalization grants that go to poor school districts.
 
The House and Senate convened at 10 am this morning.  The Senate spent time on the floor debating immigration issues and passed a bill that would outlaw sanctuary cities and another that would make the fourth offense of driving without a valid drivers license a felony.
 
On children’s issues, today, the action was in committees.
 
The House Industrial Relations Committee took up House Bill 901, the Parent Protection Act.  The room was packed with supporters of the legislation as well as lobbyists representing business in opposition to the bill.  Proponents, including Marc Marton from Voices for Georgia's Children, the PTA, and the Presbytery of Atlanta, spoke about the importance of parent participation to child development and the desire of parents to participate in the educational process.  They also detailed the numerous government mandates directed at parents and explained that parents cannot meet these mandates without flexible employment policies.  Opponents, including the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, decried the effect on small businesses and the exposure businesses might have to lawsuits if the legislation passes.  The majority of committee members seemed most sympathetic to the business arguments.  The bill was assigned to the Employment Security subcommittee chaired by Tom Knox.
 
The House Health and Human Services Committee met this afternoon and discussed HB 1054, “the Children and Family Services Strengthening Act.”  This bill, which Committee Chair Sharon Cooper is carrying for Governor Perdue, would consolidate 4 child-serving agencies into 2.  The Office of the Child Advocate will coordinate staff and supervise the work of the Child Fatality Review Panel.  A new office, the Governor’s Office for Children and Families, will be created to absorb the work of the Children’s Trust Fund Commission, the Children and Youth Coordinating Council, and the First Lady’s Children’s Cabinet.  The Office of the Child Advocate and the Governor’s Office for Children and Families will each have a separate director; however, the agencies will share office space.  After lively discussion about the functions of the offices, and the role of legislative oversight, the Committee added an amendment that will allow the House and Senate to appoint various members of the board of the Governor’s Office for Children and Families.  The Committee then gave HB 1054 a “do pass” recommendation. House Bill 1054 will promote collaboration and planning in a way that Voices for Georgia's Children believes will benefit Georgia’s children.