Parent Press Week 10 of the 2024 Legislative Session
Just 5 days left in the legislative session and the political plot thickens at the Capitol! The news only tells you part of the story because there is so much going on behind the scenes.
Our office is very busy working to advance major Democratic priorities -- especially Medicaid expansion. And, we are ramping up to campaign full-time as soon as the session is over, because I have a primary election to win on May 21, 2024! Early voting starts on April 29.
In the midst of it all, we need a bit of fun, so please read to the end so you can vote to elect me the Best Dressed lawmaker in the final Championship round of the competition!
Spotlight on Democratic Legislation
Funding Child Care for Georgia's Working Families
CAPS, the joint federal and state Child and Parent Services administered by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), provides low-income working families with scholarships to help them afford quality child care while participating in the workforce or pursuing higher education. This critical program is losing $165 million of federal Covid-era emergency funding as of September 2024, which will result in TWENTY THOUSAND children being removed from the program. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute highlighted the 2025 budget for this essential program in its annual report. The media hasn't focused much on this issue, but they should.
I alerted my colleagues to the ticking time bomb last week to call for additional funding. Click HERE to hear my remarks.
This program is essential to our workforce and economic development today and in the future as well as to the foundation for success for Georgia’s young children. Yet, it is perennially underfunded and we are facing having to deny scholarships to 20K kids currently enrolled, even though we have a $16 billion surplus.
The economics of providing child care are complex with families and children needing quality care while child care providers - primarily small businesses staffed with poorly paid workers - struggle to cover increasing costs. Child care is an integral pillar to supporting Georgia’s economy and is crucial to many families’ economic security and to children’s long-term success. About two-thirds of Georgia parents with young children report that they or their partner have had to miss a shift or reduce their hours at work because of a problem with child care. Child care challenges in Georgia lead to at least $1.75 billion in losses in economic a study done by GEEARS and the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
I have fought for funding for early childhood programs for years, and it always astonishes me how difficult it is to get the Republican majority to put the budget where its mouth is. In 2017 I filed SB 98 to allow local school systems to tap into their capital building funds and build more pre-k classrooms, but I couldn't get a floor vote to pass the bill. It took 7 years, but with Senator Hickman's help, SB 360, essentially the same bill I sponsored in 2017, will reach passage this year.
Other states, like Louisiana, Alabama and North Dakota, are investing millions in early child care while Georgia's budget includes an extra $4.7 million that will simply not go far enough. Every additional dollar for child care is an investment in Georgia's current and future workforce. Even though we can't fund every child, we can do better than the current budget. I am pleased that Senator Clint Dixon is co-signing a letter from me to the Appropriations Chair, asking for an additional $20 million to fund 2,600 child care seats so fewer kids will lose the quality care they and their parents rely on.
The Battle for Gun Safety to Save Lives
Reducing gun violence has been a top goal since I first took office over 10 years ago. Sadly, gun violence has only become more pervasive and deadly. While we hear a lot about mass shootings, we don't hear as much about suicide by firearms even though this is an increasing issue.
You may not have heard, but Senator Sally Harrell and I filed SB 522, Donna's Law, to create a way for people battling suicidal thoughts to voluntarily put themselves on a “Do-Not-Sell” list for guns. We were very excited when Chairman Albers agreed to give the bill a hearing in the Senate Committee on Public Safety. While it's too late this session for a floor vote, the hearing allows us to get the conversation started and to refine the bill before pushing the bill forward during the interim and during the 2025 session.
Having professional experts and advocates is critical to efforts like this, and I was particularly pleased that Dr. Peter Ash and Dr. Mark Rosenberg - both constituents in my district - offered their support and expertise. You can watch the hearing by going to the March 13 recording HERE (begin at about 1.5 minutes) and the press conference (click on the image below).
It is not often that legislators can save lives. While Donna's Law will not save every person with suicidal thoughts, it is worth enacting this law if it even saves one life. Georgia is among about 12 states considering the law and could be the fourth to enact it.
Fighting the Republican Agenda
Healthcare for all and for our hospitals
Democrats have long been begging for Medicaid expansion in Georgia. Everyone across the political spectrum agrees that healthcare in Georgia is not working well. But we have very different ideas of how to improve healthcare outcomes for Georgians in urban and rural communities.
There was hope at the beginning of the session that we would be able to make a deal, perhaps trading Certificate of Need (CON) regulations required since the 1970s to build new hospitals for Medicaid expansion as North Carolina did in 2023 with bipartisan action. Hope faded as political motivations ruled the day. It became clear that Republicans were more focused on making sure Democrats did not have a "win" on healthcare before the presidential election in November.
Last week, the legislature erupted with a political maneuver that required our caucus to face some difficult choices. The Lieutenant Governor is determined to reverse the CON requirement. Why? As reported in the AJC, it appears that Burt Jones' family would benefit financially from building a hospital on or near land owned by a subsidiary of LG Jones' father's petroleum company. Read the paywall free AJC story for yourself. The measure didn't pass last year but has reared its ugly head again.
Republicans tried to sweeten the deal this year by creating 7 exemptions to CON including one for a Morehouse teaching hospital, perhaps betting that Democrats would not oppose such a project. While some members of our caucus voted for HB 1339, I and 10 others did not. We held a press conference to clarify our position. I was there though you cannot see me in the recording; however, do listen to Leader Butler's remarks HERE. The bottom line is that without Medicaid expansion, Democrats will not support loosening CON restrictions on building medical facilities. Why? Because facilities are only one piece of the healthcare delivery puzzle. We don't need more studies. What we need is facilities staffed by healthcare professionals who can offer quality care AND get paid so the hospital business itself is healthy.
School Vouchers
Thanks to more political maneuvering, SB 233, which didn't pass on the last day of the 2023 session returned last week. With a few changes, this school voucher bill, passed the House with the exact 91 votes needed to pass. I imagine tremendous pressure was put on several legislators as primary season is around the corner.
Instead of funding our school systems, the bill offers $6,500 per student for a private or home school, as long as the student resides in an area where the public school is in the lowest 25%-performing public schools. Republicans sweetened the bill with incentives like teacher pay raises into the school funding formula and allowing students to enroll in public schools outside of their districts. The amended bill will have to return to the Senate where I expect the Republican majority will pass it on to the Governor.
I remain committed to ensuring children are able to reach their full potential by ensuring that every child gets a quality education. I have not in the past and will not support school vouchers.
Business Dealings
We had heated debate on the fate of tax incentives for data centers. Republicans who filed the bill want to pause incentives for the construction of data centers, most of which are built in urban areas and which use electricity and water. Democrats voted against HB 1192 because luring businesses to Georgia with one set of rules and changing them midstream is not good business practice in the short or long run. We do all agree, however, that we need to be careful with offering business incentives in the future, especially in light of the Rivian debacle.
Join My Re-Election Campaign
I have a primary opponent in the May 21 election, and I hope I can count on your support and your vote to re-elect me to Senate District 44. Early voting begins on April 29, so I don't have much time to campaign and get the vote out. I am not able to accept monetary donations during the legislative session, but I can receive financial support on March 29 after Sine Die.
Many of you have reached out to ask how you can help, and I am so honored by your steadfast support. If you would like to help, please go HERE to complete this short form. There are many ways you can help, including volunteering to have a sign in your yard or at your business, help deliver signs, write postcards or host a fundraiser. Volunteering your time - no matter how much - means a lot to me. Your faith in me helps keep me going on the longest of days.
If you haven't done so already, be sure to check MY VOTER PAGE to confirm your registration - even if you've been voting for years. Call your County Board of Elections if you see any issues with your voter registration.