The Ashe Advocate – January 18, 2008

Legislation would expand Pre-K for 3-year-olds

By Rep. Kathy Ashe

This week, I co-sponsored legislation designed to help Georgia’s children become better prepared for the classroom and have more success as students. HB 939 would provide for a field study on expanding the state’s popular pre-kindergarten program to cover 3-year-olds. The criteria for this expansion would be established by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning.

According to experts, the earlier children are prepared for school, the better they perform. Thousands of parents would take advantage of this wonderful program for their children at 3 years old. The Pre-K program helps teach children that learning is fun, a concept that stays with them the rest of their education. Other states have implemented Pre-K for 3-year-olds, and their students achieve higher test scores. Georgia is currently at a competitive disadvantage with those states.

The Georgia Lottery, which funds Pre-K, has a $600 million surplus. Providing a meaningful study of expanding Pre-K will be a worthwhile investment of a fraction of those funds.

On Monday, the first day of the 2008 session of the Georgia General Assembly, the House of Representatives made history by voting overwhelmingly to override Gov. Sonny Perdue’s vetoes of 12 bills adopted during the 2007 session.

All of the bills were approved unanimously or nearly so last year by both the House and Senate but were vetoed by the governor after the session. It takes a two-thirds majority to override a governor’s veto (120 votes in the House), and all of the Jan. 14 override measures were supported by at least 147 members.

The vetoes overridden by the House involved the following bills:

HB 549, related to occupational speech and physical therapy services for children with disabilities.

HB 229, which would change the way lottery reserve funds are measured to protect book allowances for HOPE recipients.
HB 451, which would authorize a state tax refund to provide an incentive for developing tourist attractions in Georgia

HB 218, which would modify the authority for security guards for the Georgia Ports Authority to exercise police powers.

HB 69, which would eliminate the fee charged for access to online driver’s records.
HB 91, which would require the reporting of financial information by state agencies to the General Assembly.
HB 529, which would correct references to the legislative budget office throughout state law to recognize the current status of the House Budget Office.
HB 162, which would provide sales tax exemptions for the construction of performing arts centers and volunteer health clinics.

HB 441, which would repeal a 2005 law regulating bank dividends.

HB 559, which would authorize state health insurance benefits for public charter school teachers and employees.
HB 807, local legislation for the city of Auburn.
HB 413, a sales tax exemption for the sale of property to expand the Chattahoochee Nature Center.

All of the motions were sent to the Senate, where a two-thirds majority is also required to override the vetoes.

House members voted Friday to approve the statewide water management plan recommended by the Georgia Water Council, and the Senate passed similar legislation. The plan establishes 11 regional water planning districts that will decide such policy issues as whether and where to impound reservoirs to ensure a sufficient supply of water for Georgia residents.

However, the legislation is not without controversy. Supporters said the plan is not perfect but if the General Assembly failed to take action then the state would be placed at risk for not protecting its water resources. There were also assurances by the Speaker of the House that this will not be the last chance that lawmakers will have during the session to vote on water.

On Wednesday, the governor delivered his State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate, announcing his proposal for a constitutional amendment that would eliminate the state portion of ad valorem taxes paid by home and automobile owners. He said the move would provide $94 million in annual tax relief, an average of $30 per household.

Gov. Perdue also outlined his annual state budget proposal for fiscal year 2009. His $21.4 billion spending plan is about $1 billion more than the current budget, and includes the following line items:

~ $1.2 billion in state bonds to pay for construction of new highways and other state facilities.
~ A $142 million tax cut for affluent senior citizens.
~ $50 million for a revolving loan fund to assist local governments with completing road projects.
~ $17 million to help small businesses provide health insurance coverage to their employees.
~ $53 million to upgrade the state’s trauma care system.
~ $120 million for water infrastructure and reservoirs.
~ $14 million to launch a program aimed at reducing truancy in public schools.

Unfortunately, the governor is also recommending another $141 million worth of cuts in state funding to local school systems, bringing the total for his administration to more than $1.5 billion in six years. These cuts hurt our students and shift the tax burden disproportionately to local property owners. He is recommending only a 2.5 percent pay raise for public school educators, which is woefully insufficient to offset inflation and rising costs of health insurance.

I was privileged to have had the opportunity to deliver the Democratic response to the governor’s address. For the full text of my remarks, click here. The legislative session is in official recess until Jan. 28. Budget hearings will be held Jan. 22-25.

• Rep. Kathy Ashe (D-Atlanta) represents the 56th District (Fulton County) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact her at 409 Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, GA  30334; by phone at 404-656-0116 or by e-mail at kathyashe56@mindspring.com.