Rep. Terry Rogers (R-Clarkesville) represents Georgia House District 1o. His district includes portions of Habersham and White Counties. Rogers is one of Gov. Nathan Deal’s House Floor leaders for the 153rd Georgia General Assembly.
Representative Terry Rogers says Habersham County’s ailing hospital could see increased state funding under Georgia’s 2016 budget. Habersham County Schools will see more state tax dollars too after lawmakers set aside more than $500 million for K-12 education in the new spending plan.
Rep. Rogers provided the following report to Now Habersham:
Monday, February 23 marked the half-way point of the 2015 legislative session. With only 20 days left to pass legislation this year, there were some very important items voted on before the House. Among the bills passed this week was one of the most crucial pieces of legislation of the session, the Fiscal Year 2016 (FY 2016) budget.
The budget is the only piece of legislation that we are required to pass, according to the Georgia Constitution. The 2016 budget, or House Bill 76, is the initial guide for all state spending from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016. This year’s budget was set by a revenue estimate of $21.7 billion, a 4.5 percent increase from the previous years budget. With the increase in revenue, the House was able to fund a number of priorities including education, transportation, insurance and support for Georgia’s rural hospitals.
Of the new revenue in the budget, 60 percent will go to K-12 education expenses. These funds, totaling $571.9 million, will help fully fund enrollment growth, allow for additional training for teachers, increase opportunities for agricultural and career/technical education, and distribute more dollars to local school systems in hopes of eliminating furlough days and raising salaries for teachers. I was very pleased that the House version of the budget includes additional funds to continue insurance coverage for non certificated school workers,such as bus drivers, nutritional workers and custodians who are so important to our community.
Transportation has been a major topic of discussion, and funding for state transportation projects was also set as a key priority in the budget. HB 76 includes an infusion of $55 million in state dollars and $210 million in bonds to improve our roads, rail, airports, bridges and cargo.
Finally, the FY 2016 budget also funds a variety of health initiatives, including $3 million to improve the financial health of struggling and closing hospitals in rural Georgia, a problem our area has recently dealt with.
Besides passing the budget, we also passed a measure which greatly improves the quality of life for Georgia’s children and adults. HB 1 passed overwhelmingly in the House and decriminalizes the possession of medical cannabis oil in Georgia for individuals with certain medical conditions who have obtained this oil legally in another state. These individuals would only be allowed to possess 20 fluid ounces of oil with a maximum of 5 percent THC. Patients would be required to register with the Georgia Department of Public Health and would then receive a registration card indicating that they are legally in possession of this oil.
Because we realize there are unanswered questions , this bill also creates the Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis . This commission will include the Director of the Governor’s Office for Children and Families, the Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency, the Commissioner of Agriculture, the governor’s executive counsel, members of the General Assembly, medical professionals, law enforcement officials, and pharmacists. With the work of this commission and the other measures in HB 1, we hope to eventually ensure that no Georgian will ever have to move to another state in order to treat a debilitating disease.
Now that we have passed the half-way point for the 2015 session, it is really getting busy. You are always my first priority, and I hope you’ll take the time to contact me if i can be of any help. You can reach me at 404-656-0178 or [email protected]. As always, I’m honored to represent you.
For more on recent events at the Georgia Capitol and how state lawmakers impact life here in Habersham, visit the Now Habersham Politics Page
