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GEORGIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
ROOM 505, LOB 30334
404-656-5082 1-800-282-5800
Daily Report Number 23
March 4, 2004
Back to PIO
The ongoing financial crunch being experienced by the state has overshadowed
every aspect of the 2004 session, and forced lawmakers to examine all
areas of state government, looking for ways to provide the same services
for less money. Today’s session brought a number of items which
attempt to save state dollars, while maintaining high levels of service.
One area where costs are continuously rising is within the Department of Corrections (DOC). A “get tough on crime” political movement in the early 1990s, along with the state’s “two strikes and you’re out” laws, have brought Georgia a prison population which ranks sixth in the nation. At a cost of approximately $16,000 per inmate, the state’s DOC budget has spiraled to nearly $1 billion. Realizing this, newly appointed Commissioner James Donald expressed a desire to try to get a handle on costs by utilizing a more flexible approach when dealing with lesser offenders. Less costly approaches such as diversion centers, and monitored probation could save the state millions of dollars, while preserving costly prison slots for more hardened criminals.
HB 1160, and HB 1161 are products of this search for new, more flexible methods for dealing with lesser offenders. Both items lay the groundwork for a system of handling less serious violations without involving the courts, or taking up jail or prison beds.
HB 1160 deals with electronic monitoring devices which are used to monitor parolees and probationers. Such devices are strapped to the offender, and used to monitor their location and movements at all times. This allows a judge, or the department to place an offender under home confinement, or home to work only restriction, and to ensure those orders are carried out, thus saving money on incarceration, or diversion center bed space. Currently, removing or disabling these devices is considered to fall under the escape laws. Lawmakers found that this stiff penalty made many probationers and parole supervisors somewhat reluctant to utilize the devices. Therefore, HB 1160 addresses the issue specifically by making it illegal to disable, remove, or interfere with the operation of an electronic monitoring device. Furthermore, the legislation makes it illegal to contract with, or solicit another person to disable, remove, or otherwise interfere with the proper operation of such equipment. Violators could be punished with a prison sentence of between one and five years.
Members see electronic monitoring as a potential cost cutting tool, which could provide some flexibility to corrections personnel while saving hard-time beds for hardened criminals. They voted 168-0 to pass HB 1160 and send it to the Senate for consideration.
The second part of the equation is HB 1161, which was passed by a vote of 163-0. During their study of the Corrections Department, lawmakers learned that the majority of probation violations are technical in nature. However, these small infractions can be very costly to the state, since the violator often spends weeks in jail before they can get a hearing before a judge to determine their punishment. HB 1161 hopes to avoid court and incarceration costs for minor violators by allowing DOC officials to establish a pilot program which uses a system of departmental administrative sanctions as an alternative to judicial intervention when dealing with technical violators.
Under the experimental plan, when an alleged probation violation has occurred, or a probationer has been arrested on due to a suspected violation, the chief probation officer of the local department would conduct a hearing within 15 days to determine whether an infraction did occur, and if so, the punishment to be administered. These administrative sanctions could not be more stringent than the original judicial sentence, and include such actions as sending a violator to a probation detention center, substance abuse treatment facility, probation boot camp, or probation diversion center. Less serious offenders could also be ordered into a more intensive probation program or day reporting center, or fitted with electronic monitoring devices. Failure on the part of a probationer to comply with the order of the administrative hearing would constitute a separate violation of probation.
Because a probationer’s ability to avoid criminal behavior is often directly linked to their ability to stay clean and sober, lawmakers also took advantage of HB 1161 to insert language to ensure the proper administration of drug testing for probationers. The amendment language states that it shall be the duty of each probation supervisor to administer random drug tests at least once every sixty days for each probationer who is ordered to undergo random drug testing.
The pilot program set up in HB 1161 would be operational in Floyd, Bibb, and Clayton Counties, and would sunset in two years to allow the department to evaluate its effectiveness. Should this type of administrative program be practical and fully implemented in Georgia, it is estimated that the state could save tens of millions of taxpayer dollars each year.
Another bill which is designed to save the state a few dollars is HB 1354. Georgia pays roughly $9 million each year to facilitate Public Service Commission (PSC) oversight of the state’s various public utility industries. This cost is offset slightly by a $1.5 million fund, which is made up of fees paid by the regulated utility companies. These fees are collected by the PSC, with each company’s share being determined by its yearly revenue totals.
HB 1354 would increase this fund to $3 million in 2003, and $4 million by 2005. The increase would be mitigated somewhat by including the state’s natural gas marketing and distribution companies, which are currently exempt from paying the fee, into the collection fund. These fees would be paid into the general fund, and designated for the PSC.
The proposal would also implement a new payment structure for PSC rate hearings. Currently, the cost of any rate hearings for Georgia’s electrical power industry are spread over all the state’s electrical power providers. HB 1354 would instead require that the cost of any power company rate change hearing be borne by the company that is the subject of the hearing.
A number of members expressed their opposition to the plan. They said the cost of these fee increases would simply be passed on to the consumer, resulting in higher utility bills for Georgia consumers.
A majority of members, however, saw HB 1354 as a more fair distribution of the fee collection structure; they suggested it would save the state money in these harsh budget times, while ensuring sufficient funding to allow the PSC to protect the interests of Georgia’s utility customers. The legislation passed by a vote of 96-69.
The House also passed one resolution which is designed to ensure that the state gets the best value for its money. HR 1263, which legislators passed by a vote of 159-4, urges all state departments to contract with an independent and objective third-party technology consultant when undertaking technology upgrade projects which cost more than $5 million. These expert consultants would enable the departments to ensure they are receiving optimum equipment and services at the best price.
Finally, today’s proceedings also saw the revival of a piece of legislation designed to protect the welfare of small children. HB 1138, which is similar to legislation that passed the House during the 2003 session, seeks to make it unlawful for any person to smoke in the presence of a child who is in a child restraining system in a passenger vehicle. Persons who smoke with a young child in the car would be fined $15.
Critics of HB 175 called it harsh, with some suggesting that it infringes upon the personal freedom of Georgia citizens.
The authors pointed out, however, that the legislature often steps in when the safety and well being of Georgia’s children is on the line. They noted that because the lungs of small children are not fully developed, they are particularly susceptible to the effects of secondhand smoke. Research has found secondhand smoke to be the cause of more than 26,000 new cases of asthma in children each year. More than 300,000 cases of bronchitis and pneumonia in toddlers each year are also attributed to secondhand smoke, with nearly 15,000 of these cases requiring hospitalization. Most ominous, however, are studies which link secondhand smoke with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Finally, the authors pointed to research indicating that as the number of cigarettes smoked around a child increase, so does the risks of harmful effects. HB 1138 passed by a vote of 120-39.
Other items receiving passage by the House today include:
- HB 158 (165-0)– would allow Georgia law enforcement
officers who become disabled in the line of duty to retain their
badge and weapon as a part of their disability compensation package.
- HB 234 (172-0)– would negate the spouse compensation option in
the Superior Court Clerk’s Retirement Fund if the member’s spouse
predeceases the member. Should this occur, the member would be entitled to
100 percent of their earned benefits under his or her specified plan.
- HB 394 (157-0)– would allow for members of the state Employees
Retirement System who formerly worked as temporary or full time state workers
to purchase, at full cost, up to 12 months of credible service to be applied
toward their ERS benefits calculation.
- HB 1036 (165-0)– deals with the Superior Court Clerk’s Retirement
Fund. It would establish a benefits package for members with at least eight
years of service immediately preceding their retirement. The bill also provides
a Dec. 31, 2004 cutoff date for any members to pay any overdue membership fees
without losing the credible service for the unpaid months. Finally, HB 1036 extends
from 60 to 90 the number of days a clerk or other retirement dues collecting
authority has to remit the money to the retirement fund.
- HB 1265 (166-0)– seeks to create a medical training license for
postgraduate medical students who are training to become physicians. The license
would be effective for the duration of the person’s medical internship
with a certified training institution, and could be subject to revocation by
the medical examiners board.
- HB 1272 (131-32)– would allow for the purchase of state lottery
tickets via the internet. Tickets could be purchased from an account or directly
purchased electronically. Purchasers could use confirmed payment such as pay-pal,
a debit card, or a credit card. However, credit card purchases would be limited
to $5 per day.
- HB 1285 (161-2)– seeks to make it illegal for adults to use a child’s
social security number to establish financial accounts such as credit card
accounts, loan accounts, and utility accounts. An exemption was included for
bank accounts.
- HB 1379 (150-5)– dubbed the “Industrial Hygiene Title Protection
Act.” HB 1379 would establish qualifications for certified industrial
hygienists, and forbid any person who does not meet the specified qualifications
from holding themselves out to be a certified industrial hygienist. Violators
would be guilty of a misdemeanor, and could be fined up to $1000.
- HB 1394 (158-2)– would forbid anyone who is not a licensed athletic
trainer from holding themselves out to be such, and performing for compensation
the duties of an athletic trainer.
- HB 1408 (152-18)–seeks to establish a system for inspecting, permitting,
and regulating companies, and their vehicles and equipment, which are used
to evacuate and dispose of commercial waste such as grease from restaurant grease
traps, or motor oil from separation units, or sand traps. The measure also
establishes fines for violating this code section.
- HB 1496 (156-3)– would make it a felony, punishable by up to five
years in prison and a $10,000 fine, to sell or distribute contact lenses without
a license in Georgia. It also brings Georgia law into conformity with the federal
Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act.
- HB 1529 (165-0)– would change the name of the Department of Industry,
Trade, and Tourism to the Department of Economic Development.
- HB 1582 (159-1)– would allow the Dept. of Technical and Adult Education
to write-off obligations of as much as $3,000. This does not affect the department’s
ability to collect on these debts, and the same write-off authority is already
allowed for the state University System.
- HR 1256 (105-65)– urges the federal government to purchase land
currently being sold off by various timber companies in Middle Georgia to create
a federal wildlife and hunting preserve.
- HR 1349 (157-6)– would dedicate the bridge over the Coosawattee
River on U.S. Highway 411 as the Rembert Olen McAfee Bridge.
Lawmakers will be in recess tomorrow and Monday, but will return on Tuesday, March 9th at 10:00 a.m. for the 30th legislative day.Georgia House of Representatives
Public Information Office
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