Senior issues newsletter [Vol. 32, No. 7 (Feb. 25, 2011)]

Senior Issues Newsletter

House and Senate Calendar
The scheduleHhoaus sbeeeannpduSbleisnhaetdethCroaulgehndmaidr-March as follows:
Monday, February 18 Friday, March 4: 20th 24th Days Monday, March 7- Thursday, March 10: 25th 28th Days
Monday, March 14: 29th Day Wednesday, March 16: 30th Day Crossover Day
Check http://www.legis.ga.gov/en-US/default.aspx for schedule.
The General Assembly convenes at 1:00 on Monday, February 28, for the 20th Legislative Day of the 40-day session. March 16th will be the 30th day known as "Crossover Day." This date is the deadline for one chamber to send an approved bill to the other chamber for consideration. Proposed legislation which has not "crossed over" will have to be considered next year (2012).
Senior Week at the Capitol
The Georgia Council on Aging and the Senior Citizens Advocacy Project, part of the Georgia Gerontology Society, conduct advocacy at all levels: educating elected officials, their policy advisors, aging services professionals, and the general public. Senior Week at the Capitol held February 22-24, 2011 was an example of successful grass roots advocacy. Hundreds of seniors came to the Capitol to watch the legislative process and talk to their Senators and Representatives. Council volunteers and staff helped senior groups as they met with legislators, called them from the Session, and located their offices while our Senior Citizens Advocacy Project consultant gave daily legislative updates along with tips for talking with their elected officials.
On February 23rd, Governor Deal and Representative Ann Purcell presented the House Senior Week Resolution to Council members and staff and the senior group from Coastal Georgia.
The Senate Resolution, sponsored by Senator Renee Untermann, was read earlier in the week.
On February 24th, Dr. Arthur Leroy Dorminy of Ocilla, GA was introduced at the Georgia House of Representatives by his State Representative, Jay Roberts, as the 2011 Distinguished Older Georgian. Co-sponsors included Speaker of the House David Ralston, House Majority Leader Larry O'Neal, and House Appropriations Vice Chairman Human Resources Subcommittee Penny Houston. Dr. Dorminy eloquently addressed the House of Representatives and his own words were powerful in reminding all in attendance of what seniors do. He gave recognition to his family and dear friends, such as Melba PaulkVeazey of the Georgia Council on Aging, Representative Jay Roberts and Representative Gene Maddox, Vice-Chair of House Human Relations & Aging. He then spoke about his passion for a volunteer activity that combines his profession of veterinary medicine with a faith-in-action assistance for struggling nations. At an international conference many years ago held by the Baptist World Alliance, Dr. Dorminy talked with an African woman delegate whose area needed help. When she told Dr. Dorminy, "We need people with skills to teach us, so that we can do for ourselves," he found her words to be the inspiration to put him on his path to organize what are now 2,500 veterinarians who take their skills and their faith to teach others in underdeveloped nations. Read HR 108 at http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2011_12/pdf/hr108.pdf
In this photo, Dr. Dorminy accepts the Senior Week Proclamation from Governor Deal.

The Senior Issues Newsletter is a publication of the he Georgia Council on Aging, the Senior Citizens Advocacy Project and the Georgia Gerontology Society. Volume 32, No. 7 February 25, 2011

The Budget Process
Governor Deal's FY2011 Amended Budget and FY2012 Budget proposals can be found in their entirety by selecting "Governor's Budget Report FY 2011" and "Governor's Budget Report FY 2012" at http://opb.georgia.gov. Budget tracking documents can now be found on both the Senate and House web pages at www.legis.ga.gov. These documents allow the reader to track original appropriations, the Governor's recommendations, the House decisions, the Senate recommendations, and then the recommendations which will be agreed upon in conference as the budget makes its way through the process.
Amended FY2011 Budget Passes the Senate & Heads to Conference Committee
On February 24th, the full Senate voted to approve the Fiscal Year 2011 Amended budget 46-4. While there were few differences in the Senate budget, there was one item of concern to aging advocates: a $1.4 million cut to Department of Human Services Administration not found in the House version. Because DHS Administration includes the Division of Aging Services and transportation funding for seniors, such a cut could negatively impact service delivery.
When the House version and Senate version of the budgets do not agree, the bill is sent to Conference Committee, consisting of three members of the House and three from the Senate. It is expected that the Conference Committee will work out a compromise early this week. With the help of Senator Jack Hill and Senator Renee Unterman and the support of Governor Deal, it is expected that this reduction will be restored in the Conference Committee.
Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Hearings Begin in the House
The House Appropriations Committee has turned its attention to FY2012 and heard testimony on February 21, 2011 from many State Agencies, including the Department of Human Services.
On February 24, 2011, the House Appropriations Sub-Committee on Health held a Public Hearing on the Department of Community Health Budget, and 26 individuals signed up to give testimony. Service recipients, persons on waiting lists, and representatives of health providers asked for restoration of cuts to providers, support of family care and ob/gyn physicians, breast cancer detection support, improved access to pre-natal care for low-income women, independent care waiver program slots, and restoration of dental care and podiatry care which are proposed for complete elimination. Karen Bacheller, Volunteer Legislative Advocate with the Georgia Council on Aging, spoke about podiatry services which prevent more acute and costly care needs.
Other Committee Meetings
House Human Relations & Aging Committee met on February 23rd to learn more about the Division of Aging Services (DAS) from Dr. James ("Jay") Bulot. Dr. Bulot covered Home and Community-Based Services, Adult Protective Services, the Senior Community Service Employment Program, and the Long Term Care Ombudsmen Program. As an introduction to the DAS' Aging & Disability Resource Centers, Dr. Bulot explained that he believes the future of aging services is access to information. The ADRCs are "information stations," located within the Area Agencies on Aging around the state, with the goal of being the one place where older adults or adults with disabilities can go for any question about services. Georgia was chosen from among 40 states for the ADRC initiative to win the national award "Outstanding Achievements in Changing Systems by a State." One number provides access to ADRCs: 866-55-AGING. Rep. Purcell concluded the Committee meeting by recognizing the group of senior citizens from the Coastal Region who were in the audience and had come to the Capitol for Senior Week.
House Health & Human Services (H&HS) Committee also met on February 23rd to consider HB 214, a bill to create a Public Health Department as an independent, cabinet-level agency reporting directly to the Governor. One of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Mickey Channell (116th), began by providing background about the 1970's consolidation of agencies into the Department of Human Resources (of which Public Health was a division). In 2009, the Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities was created, and Public Health was moved into the Department of Community Health, restructuring DHR as the Department of Human Services. Community Health and Public Health have very different missions, reported Rep. Channell. DCH is a department which pays for services rendered by other providers, in contrast to Public Health, a direct provider of health services. Representative Channel stated that, for over 4 decades, Public Health has consistently been "lost in the shuffle" resulting in bad outcomes, poor management, underfunding, and lack of vision. Rep. Channell also emphasized that HB 214 has a single purpose: to move Public Health to its own department not to change policy or create bigger government.
Phillip Williams, Ph.D., founding Dean of the College of Public Health at University of Georgia and member of the Public Health Commission, testified that the Commission, comprised of 9 public health experts and business consultants, representing both public and private interests, met extensively to study several scenarios. The contingencies were: maintaining status quo, moving Public Health to another department, making Public Health an attached agency, or creating a stand-alone agency. The Commission unanimously voted to recommend creation of a stand-alone Public Health Department. Ann Mintz, representing United Way, also testified to inform the members that United Way strongly endorses the bill. A substitute bill was favorably reported out of the H&HS Committee.

SAVE THE DATE
CO-AGE meeting will be held on Thursday, April 28th at the South Georgia Technical College in Americus. This meeting is rescheduled from April 14th.
For more information, contact Eric Ryan, Georgia Council on Aging office: 404-657-5343 or joryan@dhr.state.ga.us.
Legislation of Interest to Seniors
HB 47. Sponsors: Ramsey (72nd), Meadows (5th), Maxwell (17th), Sheldon (105th), Peake (137th), Lindsey (54th): authorizes out-of-state individual accident and sickness insurance policies, health insurance contracts that have been approved under other states' laws, to be sold in Georgia. Effectively, this bill would allow insurers to sell plans to Georgians that do not cover certain benefits that must be covered by plans licensed in Georgia. The bill was favorably reported out of the House Insurance Committee on February 24th.
HB 76. Sponsors: Kidd (144th), Powell (29th), Epps (140th), Maddox (127th), Williams (89th). Approved on February 24th by the House Economic Development & Tourism Committee as a pilot project only, this bill creates the Georgia Certified Retirement Community Program designed to attract retirees to Georgia and assist communities with developing and marketing senior living options.
HB 99. Sponsors: Clark (104th), Cooper, (41st), Sims (119th), Rynders (152nd), Parsons (42nd): requires fingerprint record checks for applicants for licensure as a licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.). This bill passed the House 156-9 and has been referred by the Senate for consideration by the Senate Health & Human Services Committee. Registered nurses already are subject to the background checks.
HB 103. Sponsor: Stephens (164th), Chairman of House Economic Development and Tourism Committee, exempts food and food ingredients from local sales and use taxes, although the recent recommendations from the Special Council for Tax Reform would include a tax on groceries. In addition, Rep. Stephens introduced HR 81 which proposes an amendment to the Constitution so as to provide that the sale or use of food and food ingredients shall be exempt from the state sales and use tax or any local sales and use tax. The House Ways and Means Committee will review this further.
HB 214. Sponsors: Channell (116th), Parrish (156th), England (108th), Cooper (41st), Sheldon (105th). This bill creates a new Department of Public Health and removes the Division of Public Health from the Department of Community Health, the recommendation that emerged from a report issued on December 1, 2010 by the Public Health Commission pursuant to the legislation that restructured the Department of Human Resources in 2009. Public Health would become an independent, cabinet-level state agency, with the Commissioner reporting directly to the Governor and serving as the state's chief health officer. A substitute bill was favorably reported out of the House Committee on Health and Human Services on February 23rd (see related article in this Newsletter).
HB 229. Sponsor: Cooper (41st) prevents the Department of Community Health from overturning hearing officers' decisions. When the state denies a person Medicaid or refuses to approve services, the individual can request a fair hearing. An administrative law judge from the State Office of Administrative Hearings takes evidence from the individual, the agency, and other witnesses, reviews the law, and writes a decision. Currently, DCH can and does often issue a different decision in its own favor, requiring the individual to go to court to reinstate the administrative law judge decision. The bill is assigned to House Judiciary Committee.
HB 258. Houston (170th), Neal (1st), Oliver (83rd), Cooper (41st), Meadows (5th), Dempsey (13th). This bill would help to expand the abilities and the requirements of personnel contracted with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities when working with mentally ill persons.
HB 260. Sponsors Powell (29th), McCall (30th), Powell (171st), Epps (140th). This bill would, among other things, repeal the definition of a "qualified local government", would provide that comprehensive planning by local governments shall be optional and eliminate reviews of developments of regional impact. The Department of Community Affairs would provide planning assistance to local governments This change would potentially be of concern to advocates in aging because these comprehensive plans were a way that local governments could consider, and effectively plan for, their aging populations. The House Committee on Government Affairs will review the bill.
HB 275. Sponsors: Cheokas (134th), Cooper (41st), Carter (175th), Clark (104th), Harden (147th), Purcell (159th) seeks to clarify the health care providers authorized to effectuate an order not to resuscitate (DNR), including a proxy caregiver. This bill is assigned to the House Health & Human Services Subcommittee and will be reviewed by the Subcommittee at a meeting on March 2nd at 3:00 p.m.

HB 278. Sponsors Bearden (68th), Cooke (18th), Roberts (154th), Powell (29th), Clark (98th), Braddock (19th) would clarify the entitlement to nourishment or hydration of a person receiving health care. This bill would also amend the standard form of Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care to provide a presumption of hydration and nutrition if the intention of the patient is not known by the agent through other means. It is assigned to the House Human Relations & Aging Committee and was on the Agenda for the Committee meeting held on February 23rd, but Chairperson Rep. Purcell indicated the committee's consideration of the bill would be postponed for a brief time, because a substitute bill was in progress.
SB 1: Zero Based Budgeting. During the 2010 session of the General Assembly, SB 1 passed the General Assembly but was vetoed by Governor Perdue. On January 27, the State Senate voted to override the veto by a vote of 52-0. SB 1 requires that in any given year the Governor's budget report includes zerobased budgeting for no more than one-third and no less than one-quarter of all programs. Each budget unit is required to include in its budget estimate an analysis summarizing past and proposed spending plans organized by program and revenue source. The House is not expected to take up the override, but is expected to move forward this session on another Zero-Based Budgeting bill (HB 33) (Allison 8th).
SB 17. Sponsors: Golden (8th), Goggans (7th), Shafer (48th): whereby the Governor will appoint a 16member Special Advisory Commission on Mandated Health Benefits. The Commission would be comprised of 2 citizen members, a physician, dentist, a chronic disease specialist, health care executives, a health insurer representative, the Georgia Association of Health Plans, a medical ethicist, and members of the subcommittees of the House and Senate responsible for health care and insurance. The purpose of this Commission is to study existing benefits and assess the social and financial impacts of certain mandated benefit requirements of Federal Health Care Reform (the Affordable Care Act). The full Senate passed the bill on February 24th (32-16)
SR 140 proposes a Constitutional Amendment to dedicate $10 from the current vehicle registration fee to a trauma trust fund, to be established by the Legislature. If passed, the amendment would be placed on the 2012 ballot for ratification. The resolution is assigned to the Senate Finance Committee.
Department of Community Health Board: Next Meeting, March 10, 2011
Meets every 2nd Thursday of each month at 10:30 a.m. on the 5th Floor at 2 Peachtree.
Department of Human Services Board Meeting: Next Meeting, March 16, 2011
Meets every 3rd Wednesday of each month at 10:30 a.m. on the 29th Floor at 2 Peachtree.
Information about specific legislation: Georgia Council on Aging (404)657-5343. Bills and information about the General Assembly: www.legis.ga.gov/en-US/default.aspx.
Copies of bills: House Clerk's office (404)656-5015. You can watch the General Assembly and some Committee Hearings in action at http://www.gpb.org/lawmakers. Watch GPTV's "Lawmakers" each evening at 7:00 pm to see the events of the day at the Capitol.