Friday Is Crossover Day
Greetings my friends! I am pleased to share with you the latest of important session news.
On Tuesday, Feb. 21, we reconvened for the seventh week of the 2017 legislative. We completed day 24 on Friday, and we are all working to make the Crossover Day deadline which takes place this Friday! It was a lively week under the Gold Dome as we drafted, discussed and passed legislation to address a number of critical issues for the betterment of education, our foster care system and our military and veterans’ population.
In an effort to further support to Georgia’s foster parents and children, we passed House Bill 250. This bill would allow foster parent applicants who are early care and education program employees to submit their background and finger print check to satisfy the Department of Family and Child Services records check requirements.
Currently, any individual who cares for a foster child must complete a background check through DFCS, and the department does not accept background checks completed by other state agencies, which causes an unnecessary backlog within the foster care system. It is of the upmost importance that we place these children in stable homes immediately, and this bill which lessens regulation will allow us to do so in a timelier manner.
As we continue efforts to streamline our foster care process, we also worked to modernize Georgia’s adoption laws with the passage of House Bill 159. This bill includes many improvements to our state’s current adoption code and would align our process with other states through the following:
•Reduces the minimum age of a single petitioner from 25 to 21 and allows judges to use discretion on a case-by-case basis.
•Provides an exception to the 10-year age difference requirement between the adopter and the adoptee, in the case of relative and stepparent adoptions.
•Streamlines the path of a foreign adoption especially for Georgia parents
previously able to obtain guardianship through international adoption procedures.
•Individuals over the age of 18 may surrender parental rights upon signature, waiving the 10-day waiting period.
•Eliminates the six-month residency requirement for adoptive parents to petition to adopt.
•Allows non-residents to adopt Georgia-born children
•Allows Georgia residents to adopt from out-of-state agencies.
•Allows birth mothers in non-agency adoptions to receive limited living expenses to cover the cost of food, rent and utilities in private independent adoptions.
As home to the fifth largest veteran and military population, we regularly look for ways to improve the lives of our service members and their families. Last summer, the House Military Affairs Study Committee found that a quality public education was a top priority for military families.
This week we passed HB 224 and HB 148 that will aid our efforts in providing that quality education. House Bill 224 would give military students the ability to attend any school within their school system beginning in the 2017-2018 school year. House Bill 148, also known as the Educating Children of Military Families Act, would authorize the Department of Education to create unique identifiers to monitor the educational needs of students whose parent or guardian is an active-duty military service member or National Guard reserve member.
Another military measure passing the House last week was House Bill 222, which would allow Georgia National Guard and Army reserve members in Georgia to be classified as a legal state resident under eligibility requirements for HOPE Scholarships and grants. Under current HOPE eligibility standards, a student must be a legal resident of Georgia for 12 consecutive months. However, due to relocation requirements, many military students are unable to meet the residency requirements. HB 222 would close this loophole affording all servicemen opportunity to receive a quality education in Georgia.
Education reform continues to be of priority with the passage of House Bill 237. This bill would allow individuals, corporations and communities to financially assist Georgia’s low-performing schools by establishing the Public Education Innovation Fund Foundation under the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. The bill provides that the foundation could receive private donations to award grants to public schools aimed at improving student achievement, with priority given to low-performing schools. In order to donate to the foundation, taxpayers will be required to submit an electronic notification to the Department of Revenue of the donation amount which then must be approved by the state revenue commissioner. Allowable credits are as follows:
•$1,000 per year for single individuals, up to
•$2,500 per year for married couples filing joint returns and up to
•$10,000 per year for individual members of LLC’s, ‘S’ corporations or partners in a partnership.
•Corporations would be allowed a credit no more than the amount donated or 75 percent of the corporation’s income tax liability, whichever is less.
The total amount of credits, would be first come, first served and are limited through 2033, the bill’s designated sunset date. Finally, the foundation would be required to submit an annual report to the Department of Revenue showing the total number and value of donations, approved tax credits, as well as, the total number and value of public school grants awarded. It is our hope that HB 237 will promote partnerships between businesses, nonprofit organizations, local school systems and public schools while improving student achievement.
As we make our way towards the last day, also known as Sine Die, please feel free to reach out to me with questions or concerns. It is important that I hear your thoughts on the many issues we consider while in session! It is a pleasure to serve you and I thank you for the opportunity to work on your behalf under the Gold Dome!