ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp vowed Thursday to give Georgia
teachers the second installment of a $5,000 pay raise, despite what promises to
be a tight budget year.
The Republican governor told a joint session of the General
Assembly his fiscal 2021 budget proposal will include a $2,000 increase for public-school
teachers, who got the first $3,000 of the two-step raise last year.
“This will enhance retention rates, boost recruitment
numbers and improve educational outcomes in schools throughout Georgia,” Kemp
said during a 31-minute State of the State address. “By investing in education,
we can build a strong house, a place where everyone learns and all Georgians
have an opportunity to thrive.”
The timing of the teacher raise had been in doubt going into
the 2020 legislative session that began on Monday. State tax collections came
in far below expectations during the first half of the current fiscal year, which
prompted Kemp to order most state agencies to reduce spending by 4% during this
fiscal year and 6% in fiscal 2021.
On Thursday, the governor didn’t mention specific cuts he is
recommending in his budget proposals.
But he peppered the State of the State speech with proposals
to increase spending in areas he considers priorities, including adoption and
the fight against criminal gangs and human trafficking.
Kemp asked lawmakers to triple Georgia’s adoption tax credit
from $2,000 to $6,000 and lower the age qualification for adoptive parents from
25 to 21. He also announced plans to launch a commission to look for ways to
improve the state’s foster care system.
“Our goal is simple: to keep our kids safe, to encourage
adoption and ensure that young Georgians – no matter where they live – has the
opportunity to live in a safe, happy, loving home,” he said.
While the governor was less specific on what he wants to do
on gangs and human trafficking, he promised to push for tougher legislative
measures aimed at street gangs and human traffickers.
“Gangs and drug cartels are fueling another public safety
crisis,” he said. “Every day, hundreds of people are bought and sold for sex in
our state. … We must advance legislation that closes loopholes that leave
children vulnerable to exploitation.”
Kemp also endorsed an effort already underway early in this
year’s General Assembly session to prohibit so-called “surprise billing” in
Georgia, which occurs when patients are charged extra for a service provided
inside their insurance plan’s network by an out-of-network specialist.
“We have hardworking Georgians who by no fault of their own
are on the brink of bankruptcy because there’s no transparency in health-care
billing,” he said. “Families are living on a prayer because the system is
rigged against them. This year, we will implement long-overdue reforms that put
our families first.”
Finally, Kemp announced the state will honor newly retired
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., by creating a Johnny Isakson Professorship for
Parkinson’s Research at the University of Georgia. After 45 years in public
service at the state and federal levels, Isakson announced in September he
would leave office at the end of last year, citing health problems including
Parkinson’s disease.
“Through this partnership, we will use technology and
innovation to break new ground,” Kemp said. “With the grit and resolve of
Johnny Isakson, we will move one step closer to a cure.”
After the governor’s speech, Senate
Democratic leaders said Kemp’s talk was thin on details about major issues this
year like the state’s budget cuts.
Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson said
lawmakers need more insight on what revenue-raising measures the governor would
support beyond an online sales tax, which cleared both chambers Thursday
afternoon.
“We were surprised that the State of the
State seemed to lack specificity and depth,” said Henson, D-Stone Mountain.
Other Democratic leaders in the Senate
took aim at Kemp’s budget cuts as well his anti-gang initiative.
Senate Minority Whip Harold Jones said
Georgia already has tough anti-gang laws and needs more funding for judges and
prosecutors to enforce them.
“What is not needed is any new draconian
efforts,” said Jones, D-Augusta.
Other Democratic senators speaking at a
news conference Thursday called for full Medicaid expansion and for restoring
the HOPE scholarship to cover full student tuition.
This story is updated with the Democratic
response to Kemp’s address.
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp vowed Thursday to give Georgia
teachers the second installment of a $5,000 pay raise, despite what promises to
be a tight budget year.
The Republican governor told a joint session of the General
Assembly his fiscal 2021 budget proposal will include a $2,000 increase for public-school
teachers, who got the first $3,000 of the two-step raise last year.
“This will enhance retention rates, boost recruitment
numbers and improve educational outcomes in schools throughout Georgia,” Kemp
said during a 31-minute State of the State address. “By investing in education,
we can build a strong house, a place where everyone learns and all Georgians
have an opportunity to thrive.”
The timing of the teacher raise had been in doubt going into
the 2020 legislative session that began on Monday. State tax collections came
in far below expectations during the first half of the current fiscal year, which
prompted Kemp to order most state agencies to reduce spending by 4% during this
fiscal year and 6% in fiscal 2021.
On Thursday, the governor didn’t mention specific cuts he
will recommend when he releases his budget recommendations later this week.
But he peppered the State of the State speech with proposals
to increase spending in areas he considers priorities, including adoption and
the fight against criminal gangs and human trafficking.
Kemp asked lawmakers to triple Georgia’s adoption tax credit
from $2,000 to $6,000 and lower the age qualification for adoptive parents from
25 to 21. He also announced plans to launch a commission to look for ways to
improve the state’s foster care system.
“Our goal is simple: to keep our kids safe, to encourage
adoption and ensure that young Georgians – no matter where they live – has the
opportunity to live in a safe, happy, loving home,” he said.
While the governor was less specific on what he want to do
on gangs and human trafficking, he promised to push for tougher legislative
measures aimed at street gangs and human traffickers.
“Gangs and drug cartels are fueling another public safety
crisis,” he said. “Every day, hundreds of people are bought and sold for sex in
our state. … We must advance legislation that closes loopholes that leave
children vulnerable to exploitation.”
Kemp also endorsed an effort already underway early in this
year’s General Assembly session to prohibit so-called “surprise billing” in
Georgia, which occurs when patients are charged extra for a service provided
inside their insurance plan’s network by an out-of-network specialist.
“We have hardworking Georgians who by no fault of their own
are on the brink of bankruptcy because there’s no transparency in health-care
billing,” he said. “Families are living on a prayer because the system is
rigged against them. This year, we will implement long-overdue reforms that put
our families first.”
Finally, Kemp announced the state will honor newly retired
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., by creating a Johnny Isakson Professorship for
Parkinson’s Research at the University of Georgia. After 45 years in public
service at the state and federal levels, Isakson announced in September he
would leave office at the end of last year, citing health problems including
Parkinson’s disease.
“Through this partnership, we will use technology and
innovation to break new ground,” Kemp said. “With the grit and resolve of
Johnny Isakson, we will move one step closer to a cure.”
ATLANTA – Gov.
Brian Kemp is turning to a veteran in Georgia transportation circles to serve
as the state Department of Transportation’s next planning director.
Kemp named
Jannine Miller Wednesday to succeed the post vacated by former Georgia Rep. Jay
Roberts last September.
Miller is
returning to Georgia after serving as senior advisor to U.S. Transportation
Secretary Elaine Chao.
Before that,
she built a lengthy track record with the state, including stints at the helm
of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and the state Department of
Economic Development’s Center for Innovation and Logistics.
“The
planning director sets the long-term strategic goals for Georgia’s infrastructure
investments and coordination at the federal, state and local levels,” Kemp
said. “Jannine’s experience in transportation policy, budgetary analysis and
planning, and big-picture infrastructure development is truly unparalleled, and
I look forward to working with her in the years ahead.”
The General
Assembly created the planning director position at the DOT more than a decade
ago to increase coordination between the transportation agency and the
governor’s office.
Roberts
became planning director in 2015 after the Republican from Ocilla ended a
legislative career highlighted by his successful sponsorship of a $900 million
transportation funding bill.
ATLANTA – A compromise bill to collect taxes on online sales overseen by large retailers like Amazon, plus the ride-share companies Uber and Lyft, was hashed out Thursday morning by a group of Georgia House and Senate lawmakers.
Both chambers in the Georgia General Assembly passed the bill Thursday afternoon. It now heads to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk. If signed, tax collections would begin on April 1.
Along with retail giants Amazon, Google,
and Walmart, the tax would apply to sales made on mobile apps run by Uber.
Earlier versions of Thursday’s compromise bill stalled last year in the legislature
when Uber sought an exemption to the tax.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, said the compromise bill nixes exemptions across the board. It would set up a structure to recoup taxes that Hufstetler said the Georgia Department of Revenue are already owed under state law, but are not being collected.
“There’s no special breaks for anybody in
it,” he said.
However, Hufstetler said Uber does plan to pursue a tax exemption in a separate bill. Hufstetler said that bill would likely be filed in the House, but he did not know any details of it otherwise.
Uber warned that passing the bill could hit Georgian ride-share users with higher trip costs and decrease earnings for drivers. The San Francisco-based company wants legislation that would give a “reasonable alternative” to a tax.
“We agree that addressing inequities between online and brick-and-mortar retailers is an important issues,” said Uber spokeswoman Evangeline Georgia. “However, if action is not taken to put a reasonable fee structure on ride-share in place, Georgians will end up paying one of the highest ride-share taxes in the nation.”
Some lawmakers like Sen. Renee Unterman voted against the bill on grounds that it seemed too close to a tax increase to stomach. Unterman, R-Buford, said she would have backed the compromise bill if she felt more certain that lawmakers would also pass an income tax decrease later this session.
“I’m just concerned about it being a tax increase,” Unterman said of the bill after Thursday’s floor vote.
Hufstetler has argued the bill would only collect taxes already owed to the state, not raise a new levy.
Thursday’s bill was settled in a conference committee of six House and Senate lawmakers including Hufstetler and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Brett Harrell, R-Snellville, who was the original bill’s sponsor. Harrell said the bill would allow the state and Georgia cities and counties to collect more than $100 million in additional revenue annually than is currently uncollected.
“It certainly will have an impact on the budget pressures we’re all aware of,” Harrell said from the House floor.
Other members of the conference committee
included Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan, R-Carrollton; Senate Minority
Leader Steve Henson, D-Stone Mountain; Rep. Bruce Williamson, R-Monroe; and
Rep. Matt Dollar, R-Marietta.
Resolution of the bill came hours before Kemp outlined his legislative priorities for the 2020 General Assembly session in his annual State of the State address on the House floor. His decision to order state government agencies to trim their budgets by 4% this fiscal year and 6% in the 2021 fiscal year has taken center stage as lawmakers look for ways to drum up more revenue in the legislative session that began Monday.
This story has been updated to reflect that the bill passed both chambers in the legislature.
The days of unexpectedly big hospital bills in Georgia could be nearing an end if a bill filed Tuesday in the state Senate reaches the finish line during the current legislative session.
Senate Bill 293 would prohibit medical patients from being charged extra for medical services performed within a person’s insurance network but done by out-of-network specialists. It’s sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, who has brought legislation on the same issue in recent years to no avail.
Dubbed “surprise” or “balance” billing, the extra hospital charges result from specialty procedures like anesthesiology or emergency-room surgery completed by out-of-network specialists. It can add hundreds or thousands of dollars to a patient’s final bill without their knowing in advance.
Georgia Senate leaders have targeted
surprise billing early in the 2020 legislative session, which started on
Monday. At a news conference Monday, Hufstetler said he has backing for
legislation to curb the practice from both Gov. Brian Kemp and influential
House members like House Rules Committee Chairman Richard Smith, R-Columbus.
“We’re going to finally this session get
the consumer out of the middle of this issue and leave it between the
health-care provider and the insurer to take care of,” Hufstetler said.
He also noted other states like New York
and Texas have passed restrictions on surprise billing in recent years. In
Georgia, legislation from Hufstetler and Smith stalled last year in the House.
Smith has also tried several times to pass legislation on the issue.
Sen. Chuck Hufstetler
Hufstetler’s latest bill calls for
patients receiving medical services at an in-network facility to be charged the
same amount regardless of whether the work was performed by an in-network or
out-of-network provider. That arrangement would apply for all health plans
contracted as of July 1, 2021.
The bill leaves it to medical providers
and insurance companies to work out the cost difference. Any disputes between
the two parties would be resolved through arbitration overseen by the Georgia
Insurance Commissioner’s office.
The bill would also require patients to
give consent first before receiving out-of-network services. Providers and
insurers caught skirting the in-network restrictions could face penalties from
the insurance commissioner.
Proponents for ending surprise billing in
Georgia are taking a wait-and-see approach so far, said Liz Coyle, executive
director of the nonprofit Georgia Watch.
Disagreements between insurers and
providers over how to cover out-of-network costs without handing the patient a
high bill have tripped up past legislative efforts. That history leaves
consumer advocates wary, but hopeful.
“We continue to believe the legislature
wants to solve this problem,” Coyle said Wednesday. “We believe this is the
year to do it.”
How insurers and providers will settle costs is shaping up to be a point of contention as the bill moves through the legislature. Derek Norton, the governmental relations director for the Medical Association of Georgia, said the group supports the bill’s creation of an arbitration process but would like to see the payment model lean more toward out-of-network providers’ benefit.
“There are many things we like and many things we don’t,” Norton said Wednesday. “I think this is the first step.”
Jesse Weathington, an Atlanta consultant representing the Georgia Association of Health Plans, said the insurer group is still reviewing the bill.
Hufstetler’s bill as currently written would safeguard patients against exorbitant bills, Coyle said. But state lawmakers will need to mediate a compromise between insurers and providers for the bill to have any shot at passage in both chambers.
“Getting the bill across the finish line to become law is what’s needed to protect consumers from balance billing,” Coyle said. “If they truly want to protect consumers from the horrors of (surprise billing), they’re going to have to make sure that it’s a fair brokering between those two powerful interests.”
