ATLANTA – The Georgia House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation Tuesday that would make it easier to enroll low-income children in Medicaid.
Under House Bill 163, children in families that are eligible for food stamps could be enrolled in Georgia’s Medicaid program automatically rather than having to go through the normal application process.
“For many families, this is difficult,” said state Rep. Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta, chairman of the House Health and Human Services Committee and the bill’s chief sponsor. “They don’t have computers, they live in South Georgia where there’s no internet, or don’t have a car to go to the DFCS [Division of Family and Children Services] office.
“We have children today who are eligible for Medicaid but aren’t getting it because of this glitch.”
If it becomes law, the “express lane” bill would allow an estimated 60,000 additional Medicaid-eligible Georgia children to enroll in the joint state-federal health coverage program, according to the nonprofit advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future.
Cosponsors of the bill include Reps. Houston Gaines, R-Athens; Katie Dempsey, R-Rome; Spencer Frye, D-Athens; Eddie Lumsden, R-Armuchee , and Mesha Mainor, D-Atlanta.
ATLANTA – State employees and Georgia teachers would be able to take up to three weeks of paid parental leave under legislation the state House of Representatives passed overwhelmingly Tuesday.
The bill, which passed 155-2, would apply to parents following the birth of a child of their own, an adopted child or a foster-care placement.
The House passed the same bill last March, shortly before the General Assembly was forced to take a three-month break because of the coronavirus pandemic.
When lawmakers returned to the Capitol, the state Senate essentially gutted the bill and swapped in a different measure reducing legislators’ salaries in a bid to cut costs because of the pandemic. When the House refused to go along with the change, the bill died.
“This is something [former] President Trump and Ivanka Trump led on at the national level,” Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, the legislation’s chief sponsor, told his House colleagues Tuesday. “This is a positive step forward for the state.”
The legislation is a priority of House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, who instituted a parental leave policy for House employees two years ago.
The bill’s cosponsors include House Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones, R-Milton, and Reps. Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta; Marcus Wiedower, R-Watkinsville; Bonnie Rich, R-Suwanee and Terry England, R-Auburn.
Georgia Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson
ATLANTA – Georgia was ranked among the nation’s 10 top exporting states last year for the first time, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday.
Georgia businesses exported $38.8 billion in goods in 2020, reaching 215 countries and territories and suffering the lowest rate of export contraction among the top-10 states, despite the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Over the last year, hardworking Georgians showed their tenacity and their determination to transform obstacles into opportunities,” Gov. Brian Kemp said. “These numbers are yet another example of their strength.”
Georgia’s total trade last year reached $137.7 billion, spanning 221 countries and territories.
The state’s top five export markets were Canada, Germany, China, Mexico and Singapore. Several export markets experienced significant growth, with exports to Germany increasing nearly 50%, followed by China and Hong Kong at 45% and 41%, respectively.
Increased exports to China reflect purchases made under a trade agreement the U.S. and China signed in January 2020. The return of market access for U.S. poultry proved a huge benefit to Georgia producers.
About two-thirds of Georgia trade involves the 12 strategic markets where the state maintains representation: Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Europe, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Peru, and the United Kingdom.
“Georgia’s network of international representatives around the world provides our state’s businesses with a unique resource,” said Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “Particularly during 2020 – when needs, supply chains, and conditions were changing rapidly – our international offices provided timely information that proved to be an incredible asset for our state’s growers, manufacturers, and business community as a whole.”
About 90% of Georgia merchandise exports are manufactured goods, and the state’s manufacturing exports have grown by more than 30% over the last 10 years.
Aerospace products, the state’s second-largest manufacturing industry, remain the state’s No.-1 export, totaling $9.98 billion in 2020. Aerospace exports to Hong Kong surged more than 140% last year, while Germany remains the top customer for these products.
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp signed a $26.5 billion mid-year budget Monday that restores $2.2 billion in spending cuts the General Assembly imposed on state agencies last June due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
During a brief signing ceremony, Kemp noted the early reopening of Georgia businesses forced to shut down by the virus allowed the legislature to adopt the fiscal 2021 mid-year spending plan last week with no new cuts and no furloughs or layoffs of state employees.
“Thanks to our measured reopening and strong fiscal management, Georgia weathered the storm,” he said. “This balanced budget sets our state on a clear path to recovery in the coming months.”
The governor’s original mid-year budget plan called for $1,000 bonuses to Georgia teachers and other school workers saddled with the responsibilities of delivering online instruction to students stuck at home during the pandemic.
Later, as the spending plan went through the General Assembly, lawmakers ordered up the same bonuses for about 57,000 state workers earning less than $80,000 per year, and the University System of Georgia extended the bonuses to income-eligible employees of the state’s public colleges and universities.
The mid-year budget also includes $20 million to extend broadband connectivity in rural Georgia, $1 million in marketing funds to help bring back a state tourism industry rocked by COVID-19 and $289,000 to help the Grady Regional Coordinating Center continue its vital mission of coordinating emergency room use during the pandemic.
The General Assembly moved quickly to complete work on the mid-year budget in order to have state spending commitments through June 30 in place in case the virus forced a temporary shutdown in the legislative session, as happened for three months last year.
With the mid-year budget delivered and signed, lawmakers will focus next on the $27.2 billion fiscal 2022 state budget, now before the Georgia House of Representatives.
ATLANTA – Georgia Chief Justice Harold Melton will step down from the state Supreme Court effective July 1, Melton announced Friday.
In a statement to court staff and the Georgia Judicial Council, Melton said he doesn’t know what he’s going to do next.
“July 31 will mark my 30th year working in state government, 16 years with the Court,” Melton said. “This fall, all of our three children will be attending college at the same time. Now is the best time for me to explore opportunities for the next season of life that will allow me to best serve our legal community and my extended family.
“I do not now know what my next move will be. With this announcement, I can begin the search process in earnest.”
Melton will be leaving one year and two months before his four-year term as chief justice comes to an end. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2005 by then-Gov. Sonny Perdue, who he had served as executive counsel, and became chief justice in 2018.
“It has not been easy to decide the best time to leave a job with a mission that I believe in and people I love working with,” Melton said to court staff.
“We have done great work together for the benefit of the citizens of this great state, and this Court is well-positioned to continue the high calling that has clearly been set before us.”
