Moving forward, vol. 8, no. 6 (2003 February 14)

Volume 8, Issue 6

February 14, 2003

Senate Bill 53 passed the Senate on February 12. The measure amends the Georgia Fair Lending Act adopted last year that intended to stop lenders from extracting huge fees from unsuspecting borrowers. In the original legislation, punitive damages could be sought against lenders where the loan originated and anyone who later purchases the loan. The unintended result was that a substantial number of Georgians have become unable to receive loans for home purchases because of poor or no credit histories. SB 53 restores bond rating and caps liability of lenders and investors but still protects borrowers.
The Georgia Fair Lending Act applies to loans of less than $322,700. HUD reported a 900% increase nationally in high-fee, high-interest loans during the mid-1990s. In 2001, Georgians lost about $151 million in home equity because of predatory lending practices.
Legislation Tracker
HB 34: Education; students committing certain acts of physical violence; disciplinary tribunal Sponsor: Greene-Johnson, 60th Status: Filed
HB 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
HB 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
HB 130: Georgia Health Care Act Sponsors: Holmes 48th, Orrock 51st Status: Referred to Appropriations Committee
HB 142: Fair Lending Act; amend provisions Sponsors: Floyd 132nd, Shaw 143rd, Parrish 102nd, Royal 140th, Channell 77th, Skipper 116th Status: Passed the House; Senate read and referred to Banking and Financial Institutions Committee
HB 145: Health Maintenance Organizations; mental disorders; point-of-service options Sponsors: Gardner 42nd, Harbin 80th, Moraitakis 42nd, Henson 55th, Maddox 59th Status: Referred to Insurance Committee
HB 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
HB 211: Assistance dogs; interfering with, assaulting, killing; penalties Sponsors: Rice 64th, Millar 52nd, Dix 70th, Sholar 141st, Jenkins 93rd Status: Referred to Special Judiciary Committee
HB 256: Industries for the Blind; manufactured products; purchase by state employess; exception Sponsors: Broome 141st, Sholar 141st, Skipper 116th, Westmoreland 86th, Drenner 57th, Lunsford 85th Status: Referred to House State Institutions and Property Committee
HB 295: Education; deaf students; certification of interpreters Sponsors: Butler 88th, Smith 76th, Thompson 69th, Burmeister 96th, Bordeaux 125th Status: Referred to Education Committee
HB 318: Adult Day Center Licensure Act; enact Sponsors: McClinton 59th, Howard 98th, Ashe 42nd, Mobley 58th, Sinkfield 50th, Maddox 59th Status: Referred to Human Relations and Aging Committee

HB 352: Licensing boards; complaints against licensee; certain notification Sponsors: Harbin 80th, Campbell 39th, Powell 23rd, Boggs 145th Status: Read and referred to Governmental Affairs Committee
HB 357: Certain deaths; persons in compensated care; notify coroner Sponsor: Howard 98th Status: Read and referred to Human Relations and Aging Committee
HB 363: Electronic Textbooks; make available to local boards, schools, and students Sponsors: Fludd 48th, Greene-Johnson 60th, Marin 66th, Floyd 69th, Holmes 48th Status: Read and referred to Education Committee
SB 12: Criminal Offenses and Penalties for Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation of Disabled Adults and Elder Persons Sponsor: Unterman 45th, Balfour 9th, Squires 5th Status: Senate Special Judiciary Committee favorably reported; Senate passed, now moves to the House
SB 50: Health Insurers; Consumer Choice of Benefits Health Plan Act Sponsors: Seabaugh 28th, Golden 8th, Price 56th, Moody 27th, Mullis 53rd, Williams 19th Status: Read and referred to Insurance and Labor Committee
SB 53: GA Fair Lending Act; amend provisions Sponsors: Cheeks 23rd, Starr 44th, Crotts 17th Status: B&FI Committee favorably reported, passed the Senate, now moves to the House
SB 111: Death Investigations; patients receiving compensated care in facilties licensed by DHR Sponsors: Tanksley 32nd, Unterman 45th Status: Read and referred to Judiciary Committee
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View any bill in its entirety at http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2003_04/leg/legislation.htm

Budget Overview

Every Department in the State government submitted their proposed austerity cuts (budget cuts) to the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget last week. Suggested cuts for the Department of Human Resources are:

Proposed DHR Austerity Cuts for Fiscal Year 2004
Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities/Addictive Disease
State Dollars Convert 75% of state-funded DD family support slots to Medicaid waiver slots
$586,767 Reduce Emory contract for Autism Resource Center
$100,000 Reduce state-level reserve for autism support (unallocated dollars from the Clayton County autism respite center)
$35,924 Reduce room and board supplement for 1,362 consumers with Developmental disabilities by 30%
$2,039,731

FY 2003 Supplemental Budget The House has passed out their reccomendations for the supplemental budget and now it goes to

the Senate. 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)
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

FY 2004 Budget 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

DCH is proposing to develop premiums for the Katie Beckett waiver program, and DCH would use the child's custodial

parent's adjusted total income to determine what those monthly premiums are. To implement this proposal, DCH must

obtain Federal approval. Updates as they develop in Moving Forward.

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 Mental Health, Developmental Disability, and Addictive Disease. FY 04 budget has been cut by $11 million state

dollars. All cuts described in the following section are from existing state dollars. These are not all the cuts to MHDDAD, just

the ones which appear to directly impact DD.

State Dollars

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 Community Mental Health Centers, which include all the CSB's, the additional

cut of $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

$2.6 million

Move 15 people with serious mental illness from institutions to the community

$432,898

Transition planning for moving the above 65 people

$170,000

Add 2 state office positions to certify and monitor services

$148,644



Serve 50 people with DD from the short term waiting list

who need services in addition to what they are already receiving

$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

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