Legislative update [Feb. 27, 2006]

DTAE - Legislative Updates

2006 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education

The Week Ahead:
The Legislature will recess on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of next week and will reconvene on Monday, March 13 for day 30.
The House Higher Education Committee will tour the Quick Start facility on Tuesday, March 7.
Senate Higher Education will meet on Tuesday, March 7 (Senate Mezz)
Useful Links:
For more information on House and Senate members or to track legislation, log on to www. legis.state.ga.us
To access live committee meeting broadcasts in the House, log on to www. legis.state.ga.us, click on HOUSE, then select Georgia Legislative Network from the Daily Update and select from the menu of broadcasts.
Previous Updates:
January 9, 2006 January 23, 2006 January 30, 2006 February 6, 2006 February 13, 2006 February 20, 2006

Week of February 27, 2006
The Legislature ended a week of activity on Thursday, March 2 Day 26 of the 2006 session of the General Assembly. House and Senate leaders spent much of the week working on the fiscal year 2006 amended as well as the 2007 budget. Both houses will return to work on Monday as lawmakers continue their duties in the fourteen days that remain. Highlights for the week include:
q Representative Bob Smith, Chair of the Higher Education Subcommittee of Appropriations, released the committee's '07 budget recommendations on Thursday which include the following changes to the Governor's recommendation:
r ($1,250,000) Reduction due to formula enrollment decline r ($15,325,000) Eliminate Technology Building for Savannah
Technical College r $477,000 Nursing Initiative at Southwest Georgia Technical
College r $450,000 Georgia Aviation Technical College, Training Needs r $52,000 Pest Control Certification Testing Program r $7,000,000 MRR Funds r $5,000,000 Replacement of Obsolete Equipment r $10,350,000 Allied Health Building for North Metro Technical
College r $13,705,000 Allied Health Building at Columbus Technical
College r $3,300,000 Child Development Center at Middle Georgia
Technical College r $7,605,000 Expansion of South Georgia Technical College,
Crisp County
q The full appropriations committee will vote on final '07 recommendations on Monday, March 6.
q House and Senate budget leaders continued negotiations on the 2006 amended budget throughout the week.
q The Governor's proposed "HOPE Chest" legislation, which restricts the use of lottery proceeds, remains tabled in both the House and the Senate.
q Commissioner Vollmer testified before the House Higher Education Committee on Tuesday. Vollmer thanked the committee for their continued support of the technical colleges, particularly the department's high school dropout initiative.

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DTAE - Legislative Updates
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For questions regarding information contained in this bulletin, please contact:
Laura Gammage
lgammage@dtae.org (404) 374-6557

q The Higher Education Committee also heard testimony from Representative Pat Gardner regarding House Bill 490, legislation introduced during the 2005 session that would exempt credit hours earned through the dual enrollment program from the HOPE cap for high school graduates. "House Bill 490 was designed to be an incentive for students who are being discouraged from dually enrolling," according to Gardner. Ultimately, the committee endorsed an informal study group to address the concerns surrounding the over 20% decline in the dual enrollment program. The study group, consisting of several House members as well as representatives from the House Budget Office, Senate Budget Office, Governor's Office of Planning and Budget and the Georgia Student Finance Commission, will be charged with reporting recommendations back to the committee prior to next year's legislative session.
q Senate Bill 506, legislation which establishes mandatory fees for HOPE scholarships and grants for eligible public postsecondary institutions created after January 1, 2004, passed out of the Senate Higher Education Committee on Wednesday and now moves to the full Senate for consideration.
q SB 594, introduced by Meyer von Bremen and others, provides for weighting of grades for honors, advanced placement, and international baccalaureate courses for purposes of determining eligibility for the HOPE scholarship.
q Senate Bill, 415, which will expand the HERO (Helping Educate Reservists and their Offspring) Scholarship to include coverage to surviving spouses as well as to any member wounded during service, passed out of the Senate on Thursday and now moves to the House for consideration.
q Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson named the first Senate Hawks this week after several committee chairmen had difficulty getting a quorum. These specially deputized lawmakers are designated as hawks for a specific day as opposed to the House where the hawk holds the title until the Speaker appoints someone else.
q House Bill 1294, the department's carry forward legislation, currently awaits scheduling by the House Rules Committee for a floor vote.

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