07 LC 33
2129
House
Bill 887
By:
Representative Butler of the
18th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 13 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to tobacco product manufacturers, so as to provide for the creation of the
Tobacco Prevention Master Settlement Agreement Oversight Committee; to provide
for its composition, powers, and duties; to provide for related matters; to
provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
13 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to tobacco
product manufacturers, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"10-13-5.
(a)
There is created the Tobacco Prevention Master Settlement Agreement Oversight
Committee within the Department of Human Resources to be composed of the
following:
(1)
Two citizen members appointed by the Governor with some type of expertise in the
field of tobacco prevention and education or smoking cessation;
(2)
Two members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the
House;
(3)
Two members of the Senate appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;
(4)
A tobacco prevention expert from the Department of Human Resources appointed by
the commissioner of human resources;
(5)
A tobacco prevention expert from the Department of Community Health appointed by
the commissioner of community health;
(6)
The following additional members appointed by the Governor:
(A)
A tobacco prevention expert from the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention;
(B)
A representative from a school of public health from a university within the
State of Georgia;
(C)
A representative from the American Cancer Society;
(D)
A representative from the American Lung Association;
(E)
A representative from the American Heart Association; and
(F)
A representative from the Medical Association of Georgia.
(b)
Members appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
and the Lieutenant Governor shall be appointed to terms of two years each.
However, for the purpose of providing staggered terms, of the Governor´s
initial appointments, four members shall be appointed for two-year terms and
four members shall be appointed for four-year terms.
(c)
Any vacancy on the oversight committee shall be filled in the same manner as the
original appointment, and any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring
because of death, resignation, or ineligibility for membership shall serve only
for the unexpired term of the member´s predecessor. A member shall be
eligible for reappointment.
(d)
Members of the oversight committee that serve in the Georgia General Assembly
shall receive the same compensation, per diem, expenses, and allowances for
their service on the committee as is authorized by law for members of interim
legislative study committees.
(e)
The oversight committee shall meet at least quarterly and upon the call of the
chairperson.
(f)
The oversight committee shall:
(1)
Determine the most effective means of establishing clear and meaningful lines of
communication between the oversight committee and the public and private sectors
in order to ensure that the process of developing and implementing the state
tobacco control strategy has afforded a broad spectrum of the public and private
sectors an opportunity to comment and make recommendations;
(2)
Review and make recommendations to the Governor and the legislature on funding
tobacco prevention and education programs and services; the oversight committee
may recommend the creation of a separate appropriations category for funding
services delivered or procured by applicable state agencies and may recommend
the use of performance based contracting;
(3)
Review various tobacco prevention and education programs and recommend, where
appropriate, measures that are sufficient to determine program outcomes; the
oversight committee shall review different methodologies for evaluating programs
and determine whether programs within different state agencies have common
outcomes;
(4)
Review the tobacco control strategies and programs of, and efforts by, other
states and the federal government and compile the relevant research with
emphasis given to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention´s
Best Practices for
Tobacco Control, as they may be
periodically amended;
(5)
Recommend to the Governor and the legislature applied research projects that
would use research capabilities within this state, including, but not limited
to, the resources of institutions of the board of regents, for the purposes of
achieving improved outcomes and making better-informed strategic budgetary
decisions within the budget;
(6)
Recommend to the Governor and the legislature changes in law which would remove
barriers to, or enhance the implementation of, this state´s tobacco
prevention strategy;
(7)
Make recommendations to the Governor and the legislature on the need for public
information campaigns to be conducted in this state to limit tobacco
consumption;
(8)
Encourage implementation of a coordinated, integrated, and multidisciplinary
response to the tobacco use problem in this state, with special attention given
to creating partnerships within and between the public and private sectors, and
to the coordinated, supported, and integrated delivery of multiple-system
services for tobacco users, including a multiagency team approach to tobacco
prevention and education; and
(9)
Review the original Master Settlement Agreement to assesses Georgia´s
continued commitment to tobacco prevention programs and the treatment of smoking
related illnesses.
(g)
The oversight committee shall submit to the Governor, the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, and the Lieutenant Governor, by December 1 of each year, a
report which contains a summary of the work of the committee during that year
and the recommendations required pursuant to subsection (f) of this Code
section. Interim reports may be submitted at the discretion of the chairperson
of the oversight committee."
SECTION
2.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.