Moving forward, vol. 11, no. 4 (2006 February 3)

Volume 11, Issue 4

February 10, 2006

Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities for Georgia ~ Unlock the Waiting Lists! Campaign

Make Plans Now to Attend
Disability Day at the Capitol
"My Vote Makes a Difference!" Thursday, February 23, 2006 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Georgia State Capitol and Freight Depot, Atlanta Invite your legislator to lunch or schedule a meeting with them! Not sure who they are or how to contact them? See www.vote-smart.org.
Registration required to attend the luncheon. RSVP 404-657-2126, Toll Free 888-ASK-GCDD,
TTY 404-657-2133, or http://www.gcdd.org For sponsorship opportunities, please call
Danielle Doughman at (404) 657-2125.

SB 367: Georgia Accuracy in Elections Act; require all electronic recording voting systems to produce a permanent paper record. Sponsors: Stephens 27th, Staton 18th. Status: Senate Prefile
SB 390: Classrooms First for Georgia Act; require local schools to spend minimum operating funds on direct classrooms expenditures. Sponsors: Chance 16th, Moody 56th, Carter 13th, Unterman 45th, Staton 18th, Hill 32nd. Status: Passed Senate, House Second Readers
SB 413: Compulsory School Attendance Law; exemptions; provide local board of education policies; minimum annual attendance; change certain provisions relating to mandatory education for children between ages six and 16; to provide that an unemancipated minor older than the age of mandatory attendance may not withdraw from enrollment in school without the permission of his or her parent or guardian. Sponsors: Moody 56th, Weber 40th, Douglas 17th, Thomas 2nd, Fort 39th, Tate 38th and others. Status: Senate Read and Referred

Contact Information Questions for House Members: 404-656-5082 Questions for Senate Members: 404-656-0028 General Mailing Address Information: Representative or Senator (Last Name) Georgia House of Representatives or Georgia Senate State Capitol Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Senate Leadership Presiding: Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor Senate President Pro Tempore: Eric Johnson, 1st Senate Majority Leader: Tommy Williams, 19th Senate Majority Whip: Mitch Seabaugh, 28th Senate Minority Leader: Robert Brown, 26th Senate Minority Whip: David Adelman, 42nd
House Leadership Speaker of the House: Glenn Richardson, 19th Speaker Pro Tempore: Mark Burkhalter, 50th Majority Leader: Jerry Keen, 179th Majority Whip: Barry Fleming, 117th Minority Leader: Dubose Porter, 143rd Minority Whip: Carolyn Hugley, 133rd

HB 728: "Mattie's Call Act"; relating to specific programs in elementary and secondary education, so as to provide for legislative intent; to provide for the administration of funds by the Department of Education for adapted sports and physical education programs. Sponsors: Franklin 43rd, Brooks 63rd, Jones 44th, Cooper 41st, Walker 107th, Drenner 86th.. Status: Passed House, Senate read and referred.
HB 898: Access to Postsecondary Education Instructional Material Act; to enact "The Access to Postsecondary Education Instructional Material Act"; to provide for definitions; to provide for requests to publishers for electronic versions of instructional material; to provide for duties of publishers. Sponsors: Hembree 67th, Millar 79th, Fludd 66th, Kidd 115th. Status: House Second Readers
HB 900: Adapted sports for disabled students; relating to specific programs in elementary and secondary education, so as to provide for legislative intent; to provide for the administration of funds by the Department of Education for adapted sports and physical education programs. Sponsors: Harbin 118th. Status: House Second Readers
HB 959: Mallory's Act; relating to parking permits for persons with disabilities, so as to change certain provisions relating to permits for permanently disabled persons; to provide for permits issued to permanently disabled minors. Sponsors: Maddox 172nd, Lindsey 54th, Fleming 117th, O`Neal 146th, Roberts 154th, and others. Status: House Committee favorably reported

House Appropriations: Chair--Ben Harbin, 118th Vice Chair Education--Jan Jones, 46th Vice Chair Health and Human Services--Jeff Brown, 69th
Senate Appropriations: Chair--Jack Hill, 4th Sub Com. Chair Education--Dan Moody, 56th Sub Com. Chair Community Health--Greg Goggans,7th Sub Com. Chair Human Develop.--Renee Unterman, 45th
Legislation Tracker You may view any bill in its entirety at: http://www.legis.state.ga.us
This is the second year of a 2 year session. Thursday February 9th is the 16th Legislative Day.
SB 208: Central Registry: relating to treatment and rehabilitation of spinal cord disabled and head-injured persons, so as to create a state-wide central registry for traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries; to require that certain information relating to brain or spinal cord injured persons be reported to the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission; to provide for certain duties of the commission. Sponsors: Meyer von Bremen, 12th, Stephens, 27th, Thomas, 54th, Hooks, 14th, Carter,13th. Status: House withdrawn, recommitted.
SB 84: Amendment to the Voter ID Act, HB 244: to change provisions relating to required presentation of identification by voters; to specify the types of identification which may be used; to provide for Georgia voter identification cards to be issued by each county board of registrars to persons who do not have a valid drivers license or identification card issued by the Department of Driver Services; etc. Status: Final version passed House 1-25. Signed by Governor Perdue on 1-26. Voter ID cards will be provided for free to anyone who needs one, and each county will be required to set up a location for residents to obtain the cards.
SB 266: Persons with Disabilities; taxicab companies; accessible for motorized wheelchairs; relating to access to and use of public facilities by persons with disabilities, so as to require that certain taxicab companies operating in this state shall have a certain number of taxicabs that are accessible to persons in motorized wheelchairs; to provide for related matters. Sponsors: Unterman 45th, Grant 25th, Balfour 9th.. Status: Senate Recommitted

HB 1045: Absentee voting; provision relating to absentee voting, so as to repeal the provisions of law concerning casting absentee ballots by mail without specifying a reason; to provide for the casting of absentee ballots on the day prior to a primary, election, or run-off primary or election. Sponsors: Powell 29th, Willard 49th, McCall 30th, Bearden 68th, Crawford 127th, and others. Status: House Second Readers
HB 1051: Income Tax credit, certain students and teachers; provide for income tax credits for students majoring in the education of special needs students and teachers who teach special needs students. Sponsors: Buckner, 76th, Reece 11th, Sims 151st, Dickson 6th. Status: House Second Readers
HR 1079: Creation of a Children's Budget Committee; creating the House Study Committee on the Creation of a Children's Budget; and for other purposes. Sponsors: Millar 79th, Burmeister 119th, Manning 32nd, Byrd 20th, Houston 170th. Status: House Second Readers
HR 1113: Joint Study Comm on Feasibility of a Children and Youth Cabinet; create. A RESOLUTION creating the Joint Study Committee on the Feasibility of a Children and Youth Cabinet; and for other purposes. Sponsor: Kathy Ashe 56th, Status: House Second Readers
HB 1212: PeachKids - Health Insurance for All Georgia Children Act; relating to programs and protection for children and youth, so as to enact the "PeachKids--Health Insurance for All Georgia Children Act"; to provide for a short title; to provide for definitions; to provide for the creation of the PeachKids health care insurance plan; to provide for eligibility, health care services, and payment of premiums and copayments. Sponsors: Teilhet 40th, Brooks 63rd, Sims 151st, Bryant 160th, Borders 175th, and others. Status: House Second Readers
HB 1217: Disabled persons parking permits; relating to prestige license plates and special plates for certain persons and vehicles, so as to provide for parking permits for disabled persons; to provide for specifications for such parking permits; to require that the person with the disability be the operator of or a passenger in the vehicle when such permit is being used. Sponsors: Murphy 23rd, Rice 51st, Talton 145th, Maxwell 17th, and Dollar 45th. Status: House Second Readers

Budget Overview

Fiscal Year 2006 Budget: HB 1026, the Supplemental Budget passed the House on February 3, and is now in the Senate for consideration.

DHR: Annualize the cost of the 925 waiver slots for the MR/DD waiting list in the

community services adult program [$2,720,005] and child and adolescent

community services program [$564,592]

State funds: $3,284,597

Total funds

$8,302,823

Fiscal Year 2007 Budget:

DHR

Olmstead - Fund 750 MR/DD slots to Unlock the Waiting Lists; Adult services,

$5,277,697; Child and adol. Services, $1,080,974.

State Funds: $6,358,671

Total funds

$13,281,233

Realize savings by reducing non-psychiatrist physicians at Central State Hospital in

the adult mental health sub-program ($900,000) Central State Forensic Secure

inpatient services ($300,000) and State Institutional Services Adult Developmental

Disabilities subprogram ($900,000)

Total:

(2,100,000)

Realize savings by consolidating the Craig Nursing Center and the Nursing Home Center in the State Hospital Services-Adult Mental Health subprogram ($1,041,854), the State institutional Services-Adult Developmental Disabilities subprogram ($307,269) and the Direct Care Support Services subprogram ($150,877) of the Adult Services program and eliminate 38 positions. (1,500,000)

Transfer 19 mentally disabled and seriously emotionally disturbed child and adolescent consumers from Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital to the community in the Child and Adolescent Services program and eliminate 32 positions.
(1,002,687)

Annualize the cost of 925 waiver slots on the Mental Retardation/Development

Disabilities Waiting List in the Adult Services program, $2,648,987; and the child

and adolescent community services program, $548,430.

$3,197,417

Total funds: $8,302,823

Provide community services and forensic placements for consumers at West Central

Georgia Regional Hospital through the following strategies:

$3,062,846

a. Transfer 20 adult mental health beds to Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital

by October 1, 2006

b. Transfer 35 adult mental health consumers to the community by 3-1-07

c. Provide community adult crisis stabilization services by establishing two 16

bed units by October 1, 2006

d. Transfer 40 forensic beds to Georgia Regional Hospital Savannah by 6-15-07

e. Provide community forensic transition services, 6 bed transition community

integration home by 2-1-07

f. Provide court ordered community placement for 35 forensic consumers by 6-

1-07

g. Transfer administration of 8 adolescent transition beds to Southwestern State

hospital

Transfer the American Association of Adapted Sports Program contract from DOL's Warm Springs program to the Community Services Program, Child and adolescent services
$248,069

Provide funds for an additional 500 slots in the Community Care Services Program

for eligible elderly clients to enable them to be cared for at home. $1,446,132

Total Funds

$1,725,750

Brain and Spinal Chord Injury Trust Fund; to annualize salary increases employer's

share health insurance

$7,691

GCDD Budget to annualize salary increases employer's share health insurance $464

DCH FY07

Fund the projected growth in Medicaid Benefits

State: $221,163,251 Total: $648,561,287

Contract with an enrollment broker to assist the care management population in the

selection of a CMO plan

$8,460,000

Reduce Medicaid costs generated in the Aged, Blind and Disabled populations through the provision of better business practices to ensure that the member receives the right services at the right time for the right cost
(20,000,000)

Replace Tobacco funds with state funds for the Independent Care Waiver slots.

(This does not reflect an increase in slots)

$2,143,025

Transfer state funds from the Department of Human Resources community services adult program to implement Georgia Healthy Families which serves Medicaid clients who receive mental health services.
$17,910,517

Additional costs associated with savings estimates for the FY 2006 budget cuts

that will not be realized for Disease Management, Emergency Room Pilot

Expansion and with the transfer of nursing home residents to the SOURCE

program.

Yes

DCA FY07

Provide grants for accessibility improvements at owner-occupied homes in which an individual with a physical disability resides
$300,000

DOE FY 07

Redirect $500,000 from Curriculum Development to Testing to align the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA) with the new Georgia Performance Standards Curriculum
YES

Provide funds for QBE enrollment growth of 2.5% and increase in teacher training and experience
$201,590,474

Provide funds to reduce the individual maximum class size for Grades K-8

$163,164,787

Provide for an increase in equalization grants

$46,575,439

Improve graduation rates by providing grants to school systems to fund 1 HS

completion counselor for every HS

$21,175,000

Provide funds for academic coaches in Needs Improvement Schools $2,467,578

DOL FY07

Reduce Special Purpose Contracts and Purchase of Service Contracts by 2% Within the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation Services division. [These funds provide employment services through community-based agencies]
(116,054)

Further details on the FY 2007 budget will follow. Subcommittee meetings on the FY 07 budget continue in the House and Senate.

For the compete budget reports, go to: http://www.opb.state.ga.us/

Don't Forget!!! Disability Day at the Capitol!
February 23, 2006 RSVP On-Line at www.gcdd.org

For current advocacy alerts, fact sheets and other information regarding the waiting lists go to www.unlockthewaitinglists.com, or the DD Council Website, www.GCDD.org/Public Policy.
Moving Forward is published by the Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities as a public information source. Please visit the Council's website for additional resources and tools to utilize in your advocacy efforts.

2 Peachtree Street, NW Suite 8-210 Atlanta, Georgia 30303 http://www.gcdd.org 888.ASK-GCDD
TDD 404-657-2133 FAX 404-657-2132
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