Nuggetsfrom the Gold Dome

Nuggetsfrom the Gold Dome

Vol. 2, No. 1

January 13th– 31st, 2014

Good afternoon, All!

It is that time of year again – The Georgia General Assembly is back in session! So that means another edition ofNuggetsfrom the Gold Dome. Each week, I will select a few items being discussed or taking place at the Georgia Capitol. Some of the information will be disability related, and some of it will be indirectly related. The issues discussed will range from the very serious to the utterly silly. As many of you know,anythingcan happen in Georgia politics. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, or would like to see something added to theNuggets, do not hesitate to contact me .

For further information, hyperlinks are in blue and underlined.

Your WeeklyNuggets:

• Primary Dates Moved Forward:Georgia lawmakers have passedHB 310which will move the date for Georgia’s federal primary elections to May 20th. The Senate was able to pass the bill with relative ease and the House this morning has voted 159-1 in favor of the bill. The movement of the date will allow more time for military and overseas ballots to be counted, especially in critical runoff situations.HB 310also includes new language on campaign finance requirements and qualification dates for candidates. NPR has more on the billhere.
• State of the State:Governor Nathan Deal delivered the annual State of the State address from the Capitol Wednesday morning. You can read the entire speechhere. In the speech, Governor Deal proposed adding $547 million to the state’s educationbudget.WSB-TV has more on that in this article. Also in his speech,. Gov. Deal re-committed the state to not expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
• Committee Make Up:The 2014 Georgia General Assemblycommittee and subcommittee assignmentsare out! Find out what committee assignments your representative has.
• Budget:Governor Deal has released hisFY15 Budget. In his $42 billion proposed budget, highlights include the $547 million for education, a majority of which will be given to local school districts to end furloughs, restore dropped days from the school calendar, and to increase teacher salaries. Georgia’s HOPE scholarship will be raised by 3% over last year, and will include $10 million to establish low-interest loans for students in Georgia technical colleges. His budget also includes $29 million for employee raises.BusinessWeekhas more on the budget inthis article.

What I am Watching:

• Post-Secondary Education:TheGovernor’s FY15 budgetincludes a continuation of $100,000 for inclusive post-secondary education, and the Georgia Inclusive Post-Secondary Education Consortium is requesting an additional $200,000 to support current programs, develop new programs, and to fund scholarships for qualified students. For more information on inclusive post-secondary education visit gaipsec.org.
• State Rep. Dusty Hightower has introduced what he calls the "Georgia Student Religious Liberties Act of 2014," a bill that aims to "put faith back in our schools." HB 861aims to "put faith back in our schools." The Times-Georgian has more on this bill.
• Good news for fresh food advocates. Rep. Keisha Waites has introduced HB 17, which promotes the use of Georgia grown food in our local and independent school systems.

Take Action!

To find out who your representatives are, use