Legislative update [Jan. 29, 2007]

2007 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education

The Week Ahead:
Senate Higher Education Subcommittee of Appropriations Wednesday, February 7 (10:30 a.m. Room 310 CLOB Building)
Senate Higher Education Friday, February 9 (2:00 p.m. Room 450 Capitol)
Useful Links:
For more information on House and Senate members or to track legislation, logon to www.legis.state.ga.us
To access live committee meeting broadcasts in the House, logon to www.legis.state.ga.us, click on House, then select Georgia Legislative Network from the Daily Update which will provide a menu of broadcasts

Week of January 29, 2007
Friday, February 2, marked the 14th day of the 2007 legislative session. Lawmakers will recess Monday through Wednesday and will resume on Thursday, February 8, for day 15. Highlights for the past week include:
Interim Commissioner Ron Jackson presented the agency's fiscal year 2007 amended budget to the Senate Higher Education Subcommittee of Appropriations on Thursday. Jackson focused on the two primary issues in the supplemental budget replacement of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) funding for adult literacy instructors as well as the KIA training request.
All 34 technical colleges were represented at the Georgia Freight Depot on Tuesday night at the second annual "Taste of the Technical Colleges". The event was a tremendous success with 11 colleges showcasing their culinary arts programs while others demonstrated their exciting programs to state legislators and other key decision-makers.
Senator Joseph Carter reintroduced the Governor's HOPE Chest legislation, Senate Resolution 125, a constitutional amendment ensuring that lottery funds can only be used to pay for the HOPE scholarships, HOPE grants, and the pre-k program.
Senate Bill 39 (the Charter Systems Act), which enables entire school systems to operate under the charter concept, passed out of the Senate by a vote of 53 to 2.
Senate Bill 68, legislation that would allow for career academies to be established as charter schools in order to increase graduation rates and potential job and educational opportunities for students by providing start-up funds through the partnership of technical colleges and local boards of education, passed out of the Senate on Friday.
Representative Bill Hembree introduced House Bill 243, legislation that would exempt from the HOPE cap hours earned through the dual enrollment program for high school students.
Representative DuBose Porter introduced legislation that would restore all the HOPE statues to their pre-2004 status, essentially removing the cap for all technical college students.
Representatives Harbin, Hembree and Smith introduced House Bill 229 which revises certain provisions relating to the shortfall reserve account for the HOPE program, specifically the stipulation that reduces/eliminates payments for books and fees when the program's reserves drop. HB 229 would require the reserves to drop by at least 10 percent before students would be hit with potential cuts.

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