LEGISLATIVE REPORT
House to address key legislation in final days
By REP. CHARLES F. JENKINS

Charles Jenkins

With no more than seven legislative days remaining in the 2007 session of the Georgia General Assembly, the House of Representatives will be considering a number of key bills and resolutions adopted earlier in the session by the Senate.

One such measure is SR 20, currently in the House Ways and Means Committee, a proposed constitutional amendment, which would prohibit the General Assembly from increasing the annual state budget by a percentage that is more than the state's population growth, plus inflation.

Once the spending cap is reached, any excess funds would be disbursed in the following order:

Full funding of K-12 public education Restore the state's reserve fund to 10 percent of the previous year's revenue Pay off state debt Return excess to taxpayers

The resolution also provides that any budget from a previous year can be used as a baseline, and the limits can be suspended upon exhaustion of the reserve funds and a twothirds vote by both the House and Senate.

Another significant piece of legislation is SB 148, which is in the House Science and Technology Committee. It seeks to promote medical research into stem cells derived from blood and birth tissues but not from embryos.

The House will also consider SB 145, awaiting consideration in the House Non-Civil Judiciary Committee. The bill would allow Georgia's 49 district attorneys to pursue sentences of life without parole against murderers who have not been convicted of a previous violent felony without seeking the death penalty.

Other bills from the Senate that will be addressed in House committees are:

SR 309- a proposed constitutional amendment to allow the creation of infrastructure development districts (private cities).

SR 130- in the House Governmental Affairs Committee; and proposes a Constitutional amendment whereby the General Assembly, by law, may create townships for the limited purpose of exercising the power of zoning; the regulation of land use and development within the boundaries of such townships; and provide for the funding and operation of such townships

SB 169- in the House Higher Education Committee; and would offer eligible Georgia students a state funded education loan through the Georgia Student Finance Authority

SB 89- in the House Governmental Affairs Committee; and would give local communities an alternative, other than forming new cities, for handling zoning matters

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported this week that the HOPE scholarship program has $744 million in reserve. It is critical that we, as lawmakers, use this money in an efficient and fiscally sound manner to ensure Georgia students have access to the resources necessary to obtain a quality college education. As a supporter of higher education, I intend to do so.

Rep. Charles Jenkins (DBlairsville) represents the 8th District (Rabun, Towns, Union and White counties) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact him at 411 Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-0126 or by e-mail at charles.jenkins@ house.ga.gov