UNDER THE GOLD DOME

WEEK 9

BUDGET

The Georgia House of Representatives reconvened for the ninth week of session and Legislative Day 28, otherwise known as Crossover Day, on Monday, March 6, 2023. Crossover Day is a crucial deadline for the House and Senate as this is the last day for bills to pass out of their chamber of origin in order to remain eligible for consideration this session, and as a result, the House took up legislation well into the night to send to our Senate counterparts. 

Each legislative session, the General Assembly has a constitutional obligation to pass a balanced state budget, and last week, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 19, or the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY 2024) budget. The FY 2024 budget will go into effect on July 1 and is set at a revenue estimate of $32.4 billion, which is $2.2 billion, or 7.4 percent, more than the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY 2023) budget. This budget reflects many of the House’s priorities that focus on keeping Georgians safe, healthy and prosperous, and I want to bring your attention to just a few of our major budgetary initiatives. 

We also voted overwhelmingly this week to adopt a Conference Committee Report to give final passage to House Bill 18, or the Amended Fiscal Year 2023 (AFY 2023) budget. Once this bill is signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp, HB 18 will immediately go into effect and will determine our state spending through June 30. 

You can read both budgets here.

Education

House Bill 538 – Georgia Early Literacy Act

Last fall, the House Study Committee on Literacy Instruction held several hearings to examine the extent of early reading education programs across the state. Following this study committee’s recommendations, the House passed legislation on Crossover Day to require evidence-based literacy instruction in our public schools. I was proud to sponsor House Bill 538, or the Georgia Early Literacy Act, would require school systems to teach high-quality literacy instructional materials in Kindergarten through third-grade classrooms. The State Board of Education would oversee this new standard of literacy instruction, and the Georgia Department of Education would train teachers on the science of reading so that teachers have the necessary skills and knowledge to teach young students how to read. The bill defines the science of reading as the body of research that identifies evidence-based approaches of explicitly and systematically teaching students to read, including foundational literacy skills that enable students to develop reading skills required to meet state standards. This bill would also require students across the state to take universal reading screener assessments to monitor their progress in foundational literacy skills throughout the school year. This legislation would help our schools identify young readers who are struggling with their foundational reading skills earlier and ensure that our teachers our equipped with evidence-based instruction plans to keep these students reading at grade level. 

Medical Cannabis

We also passed House Bill 196 to provide a better pathway for Georgians struggling with chronic diseases to have access to medical cannabis products. The first portion of HB 196 would increase accountability for the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, which oversees and issues licenses for the cultivation, production, manufacturing and sale of low-THC oil. The commission would be subject to Georgia’s Administrative Procedures Act, state purchasing laws and open and public records requests, and commission members would submit annual financial disclosure reports to promote transparency with their activities. Additionally, this bill would authorize the commission to issue several new Class 1 and 2 production licenses, and previous applicants who missed out on the initial round of licensing would have the chance to secure a license. HB 196 would resolve some of the issues to help spur the production of this vital medicine so that eligible patients can start getting the treatment that they need.

State of the Judiciary

Later in week nine, the House and Senate convened for a joint legislative session for the annual State of the Judiciary address. During his first address to the joint session, Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs provided insightful remarks regarding the current challenges and the overall state of Georgia’s entire judicial system. Chief Justice Boggs highlighted that the judicial system is continuing to work to reduce the crushing backlog of criminal and civil cases that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic; he also noted that it could take years before the courts reach more manageable case numbers. Furthermore, Chief Justice Boggs brought our attention to the workforce shortage our judicial system faces, including a lack of judges, prosecutors, public defenders and court reporters, which continues to impede efforts to address the case backlog.  I was inspired by the chief justice’s remarks this week, and I look forward to partnering with the state’s judicial branch to develop legislative solutions that target these ongoing issues. You can watch the State of the Judiciary Speech here.

We only have a handful of legislative days left in this session, and we will spend the remainder of our time considering bills that were passed by our Senate counterparts before the Crossover deadline. The House will also give final approval to House legislation that could undergo changes by the Senate in our last two and a half weeks.         

As we wind up the legislative session, I encourage you to reach out to me with your thoughts and opinions about legislation, including the state budget. Your feedback is crucial to developing good, sound policies for our state, and I look forward to discussing my legislative goals for this session with you. I can be reached at (404) 656-0325 or bethany.ballard@house.ga.gov.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your state representative for the 2023-2024 legislative term.