Volume 8, Issue 4 January 31, 2003 Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities ~ The Georgia ARC Network ~ Statewide Independent Living Council ~ Unlock the Waiting Lists! Campaign House Resolution 91 passed this week, which means that both the House and Senate adjourn on Tuesday, February 4 and remain in recess until the following Monday, February 10, so that members of the House Appropriations Sub-Committees may begin work on the details of the supplemental FY 2003 budget. Georgia has found itself with eighteen straight months of declining revenues, and a deficit that could be as much as $620 million. On Disability Day at the Capitol on March 13, 2003, individuals with disabilities and their families will have an opportunity to educate their legislators on the need for home and community based services at the Capitol and enjoy lunch together at the Georgia Freight Depot. Contact your local legislator to ask that they put Disability Day at the Capitol on their calendar. Visit www.gcdd.org for details. Legislation Tracker House Bill 81: Teachers; rights for continued employment; restore Sponsors: Lucas 105th district, Cummings 19th, Hugley 113th, Greene 134th, Reece 11th, Jordan 83rd. Status: Read and referred to Education Committee House Bill 82: Fair Lending; redefine points and fees; exclude certain fees Sponsors: O'Neal 117th district, Richardson 26th, Massey 24th. Status: Read and referred to House Banks and Banking Committee House Bill 34: Education; students committing certain acts of physical violence; disciplinary tribunal Sponsor: Greene-Johnson, 60th district post 3 Status: Filed House Bill 106: Cigar and cigarette taxes; certain local excise taxes; authorize Sponsor: Dean 49th Status: Referred to House Ways and Means Committee House Bill 107: Cigar and cigarette taxes; certain local excise taxes; aurthorize Sponsor: Dean 49th Status: Referred to House Ways and Means Committee House Bill 142: Fair Lending Act; amend provisions Sponsors: Floyd 132nd, Shaw 143rd, Parrish 102nd, Royal 140th, Channell 77th, Skipper 116th Status: Referred to Banks and Banking Committee House Bill 170: Fair Lending Act; repeal Sponsors: Franklin 17th, Joyce 2nd, Coan 67th, Burmeister 96th, Yates 85th, Amerson 9th Status: Referred to Banks and Banking Committee Senate Bill 12: Criminal Offenses and Penalties for Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation of Disabled Adults and Elder Persons Sponsor: Unterman 45th, Balfour 9th, Squires 5th Status: Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee Senate Bill 53: GA Fair Lending Act; amend provisions Sponsors: Cheeks 23rd, Starr 44th, Crotts 17th Status: Referred to B&FI Committee View the entire bill at http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2003_04/leg/legislation.htm Governor's State of the State Address Highlights Governor Sonny Perdue gave the State of the State address on January 27. Two weeks ago during his budget address, Perdue outlined a spending plan which proposes the largest tax increase in recent Georgia history, including a plan to reduce the Homestead Property Tax Exemption from $10,000 to $4,000 during the next fiscal year. While the plan would have saved in excess of $300 million, it was expected to cost the average homeowner around $155 on their yearly property tax bill. After a few weeks of budget deliberations, Governor Perdue said he has found $285 million to reinstate the $10,000 property tax exemption and also suggested that the exemption become permanent. There are also indications, according the the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that Perdue may be reconsidering his proposed alcohol and tobacco excise taxes. During the forty minute address, Governor Perdue outlined the direction he would like to see for Georgia over the coming year. Among those priorities were what the Governor has previously referred to as the "Three 'E's": ethics, education, and the economy. Despite the fact that Georgia has, over the last decade, devoted more than 50 percent of its yearly budget toward education, it still sits near the bottom when compared to other states. Governor Perdue allocates 55% of the budget to education. During his campaign Governor Perdue promised to give more local control to school systems. During the State of the State, he promised to consult and to work with educators and administrators to reshape Georgia's education policy, and to give teachers greater control over their classrooms through the power to remove disruptive students. He restated his support for creating a lottery fund lockbox, which would hold all lottery money to pay only for Pre-K programs and Georgia's HOPE scholarship. Perdue also spoke of an intention to centralize education policy direction by incorporating other agencies, such as the Office of Education Accountability, back into the Department of Education. Over the remaining 30 legislative days, the Governor's floor leaders will introduce the bills and resolutions designed to bring his described goals to fruition. Budget Overview This is the general picture of the Governor's new budget recommendations. Moving Forward will continue to update the budget each week as details emerge. FY 2003 Supplemental Budget- This is a mid-year adjustment to the year we are in right now. Georgia's budget shortfall is over $600 million of which $450 million is Medicaid. The proposed cuts in MHDDAD totals $8 million or 1.3% of their state budget. These include: state dollars Consolidation of Augusta Regional Hospital and Gracewood administration (259,000) Cut state MR service dollars and refinance with Social Service Block grant (462,500) One-time hiring freeze of state office and state hospital staff (1.5 million) Austerity Adjustments (new term for budget cuts) ($3.1 million) (All austerity adjustment items will be proposed by the respective departments to the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget.) Enhancements include: Transfer 11 children from nursing homes to community $222, 692 Transition planning for people with DD or mental illness who want to move to community from institutions $170,000 Start-up costs for 65 children moving from institutions to community $585,000 At this time it is unclear how the austerity adjustments will affect the home and community-based programs. FY 2004 Budget Revenues- The big budget contains temporary tax increases for tobacco and alcohol totaling some $400 Million. It also calls for using the Rainy Day funds. There are large budget cuts and provider rate increases. Enhancements Department of Community Health state dollars 145 people to move from nursing home to community $3.2 million Assessment of people to move from nursing home to community $75,000 15 people with serious mental illness will move from institutions to community and this reflects their primary care health costs $36,045 10 people off ICWP waiting list $220,369 Department of Human Resources The only enhancements to DHR are for child welfare and Olmstead/Waiting Lists items. The overall Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disability, and Addictive Disease FY 04 budget has been cut by $11 million state dollars. All cuts described below are from existing state dollars. These are not all the cuts to MHDDAD. These are only the ones which appear to directly impact DD Consolidate administration at Augusta Regional and Gracewood ($813,417) Reduce administration costs at CSBs ($2.6 million) Cut MR state funds and replace with SSBG federal funds ($761,108) Eliminate contract with Georgia Hearing Impaired ($50,000) Austerity adjustments (budget cuts) ($5.46 million) Pay raise from last year not annualized for 2004 ($3.61 million) Because so many people with DD are served in the Community Mental Health Centers, which include all the CSB's, the additional cut of another $4.2 million will affect people with DD. All enhancements are from projections for maximizing federal revenue through the ICF/MRs, ICFs and Skilled nursing facilities. The term used for this maximization process is upper payment limit (UPL). It is based on changing the federal reimbursement rates at the institutions so they can capture 100% of their costs in the future. This is a short-term fix during a fiscal crisis, not a long term solution. Enhancements state dollars Move 50 people from state hospitals to community Move 15 people with serious mental illness from institutions to Community Transition planning for moving the above 65 people 2 state office positions to certify and monitor services Serve 50 people with DD from the short term waiting list who need services in addition to what they are already receiving $2.6 million $432,898 $170,000 $148,644 $949,031 Aging There are also 84 people from nursing homes, who are being moved using the CCSP program at a projected cost of $421,523. Current Waiting Lists For Services Over 3,300 people are waiting for help, including: 3,142 Georgians with Mental Retardation or Developmental Disabilities 249 people with severe physical disabilities Weekly updates of Moving Forward will be available at http://www.gcdd.org/publicpolicy/index.htm . If you would like to receive Moving Forward by EMAIL ONLY, please send an email from the account you wish to subscribe with "Moving Forward email only" in the subject line and your first and last name and mailing address in the body of the message. Send email to ddoughman@dhr.state.ga.us . Do you know who your legislators are? Look up your legislators at http://www.vote-smart.org and type in your zip code in the left column. You can also call and ask at the Secretary of State's office at (404) 656-2971. Moving Forward is published by the Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities Phone: 404-657-2126 Toll Free:1-888-ASK-GCDD E-mail: ddoughman@dhr.state.ga.us TDD 404-657-2133 ~ FAX 404-657-2132 You may view Moving Forward each week at our Web Page http://www.gcdd.org To receive Moving Forward via email, send a blank email to ga-advalert-subscribe@egroups.com