The Ashe Advocate - January 8, 2007

Legislature convenes for 2007 session

By Rep. Kathy Ashe

On Monday, January 8, members of the Georgia General Assembly convened for our 2007 legislative session. This is my 17th year in the House of Representatives, representing “the heart of Atlanta” from the 56th District in Fulton County, and I consider it a privilege to serve as your voice at the Capitol.

Based on the number of legislative proposals that have already been pre-filed or announced for 2007, lawmakers will once again have our hands full of issues to address during this year’s session. Here are just a few of the proposals to be considered:

• Prohibiting Georgia motorists from using handheld cell phones while driving.
• Increasing the minimum wage in Georgia to $7.25 per hour by January 1, 2008.
• Allowing local counties and cities to decide whether to let grocery stores and convenience stores sell beer and wine on Sundays.
• Expanding the judicial branch of state government to add two Justices to the Supreme Court of Georgia
• Changing the state’s Constitution to mandate that Georgia voters present a government-issued photo ID at the polls.
• Using public funds for private school vouchers.
• Implementing a 1 percent sales tax to raise revenue for transportation projects.
• Prohibiting governmental agencies from printing public documents in languages other than English.

Another important issue concerns the state’s “certificate of need” laws, regulating medical services. After 18 months of studying the regulations to recommend whether any of them needed to be modified, a Blue Ribbon commission unanimously recommended number of administrative and procedural changes but failed to reach a consensus on the most controversial issue, which is whether to give doctors more flexibility to open ambulatory surgical clinics. As a result, a spirited debate between advocates for physicians and on the hospitals’ side is expected to take place during this legislative session.

I am very concerned by recent public comments by the director of the state Department of Community Health that the PeachCare program is in serious financial peril. This program provides health insurance to 260,000 Georgia children, and the legislature must make it a top priority to restore its economic viability.

One encouraging development recently has been the Perdue administration’s decision to back off from a proposal to eliminate the state healthcare benefits of retired teachers and state employees as a means of dealing with Georgia’s healthcare funding liability. Balancing the state’s books on the backs of these state employees and educators and their families is the last thing the government needs to be doing.

I will continue to work in support of our public schools and toward economic development. Throughout the 2007 session, please contact me with your views on the issues we are addressing. I look forward to hearing from you. Please let me know when I can be of service.