DARREL EALUM: Legislature wraps up 2016 session

Speaker Ralston announced “Sine Die” in the House Chamber about 12:35 a.m. last Friday morning, and we officially ended our 2016 40-day Legislative Session. “Sine Die” is Latin, and Mr. Speaker was declaring that we had no additional days scheduled for this year’s General Assembly. Obviously, the Governor can call a special legislative session if special circumstances warrant this action. Thursday the 24th was actually our last legislative day, but we passed several pieces of legislation well past midnight.

Our 2016 Legislative Session was highly successful for Albany, Albany State University, and Southwest Georgia, and our entire legislative team worked tirelessly to bring home $1.1 million to move our Georgia National Guard onboard our Marine Corps Logistics Base, $2 million to renovate our Northwest Library, and $2.1 million for equipment and fixtures for our new Fine Arts Building at Albany State University.

Most importantly this session, we passed House Bill 751, the Fiscal Year 2017 budget, the only legislation we were constitutionally required to pass. Due to our improving economy with increased revenue, we were able to pass our most far-reaching budget in state history for $23.7 billion. We approved salary increases for K-12 teachers, Pre-K teachers, bus drivers, nutrition workers, school nurses, public health nurses, and state law enforcement officers. Over half of our budget is for education, and our increases will allow our local school board to increase salaries for our classroom teachers. We have kept our rainy-day-fund sound and our state debt low, and this will ensure we will continue to receive an AAA government bond rating.

We passed several important education bills this session, and Senate Bill 364 may have the most impact; therefore, I will write separately about SB 364 in the coming days. Senate Bill 18 establishes new policies that will allow our Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) to grant academic credits to veterans and active duty military students for previously competed military courses they have taken. The military programs must have been college level proficiency skills and must have been accomplished before their enrollment in a TCSG. The training and experience obtained through their military service must be substantially related to TCSG coursework credit. This legislation will allow our military personnel and veterans to gain college credit from applicable military service.

Senate Bill 329 will expand the Quality Basic Education Act to award high school diplomas to students who complete college dual-credit coursework and earn certification to work in an “in-need” industry as determined by the State Board of the TCSG. The State Board will work with Georgia industry associations, the Georgia Department of Labor, and other state recognized industries to determine the technical college certificates that meet the requirements for industry and job related skills. Students taking this coursework will be eligible to receive the HOPE Scholarship or participate in the Move On When Ready dual-enrollment assistance program.

A backlog of “rape kit” evidence in hospitals, clinics, and law enforcement agencies has been a problem throughout Georgia, and our General Assembly tackled this problem with Senate Bill 304. This legislation was necessary due to the lack of defined procedures for rape kit evidence. With noteworthy bipartisan support, the House passed the “Pursuing Justice for Rape Victims Act” (Senate Bill 304) that approves the rapid transfer of forensic medical examinations to law enforcement. Originated in the House, Senate Bill 304 outlines proper protocol and requirements for recording and reporting evidence collected during a forensic medical evaluation for investigations of rape. Forensic medical examiners will be required to notify law enforcement officials of this evidence, and law enforcement officers will have 96 hours to collect the kit once the exam is completed. After collecting the kit, law enforcement officials will have 30 days to submit the evidence to the proper division. An annual report will be complied each December detailing the number of kits tested as well as those that were not tested, and the report will be given to the Governor, Speaker of the House, Lieutenant Governor, members of the House and Senate Judiciary and Non-Civil Committees, and also posted online at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s website.

The governor has 40 days as specified by the Constitution to sign or veto our legislation. Any bill or resolution that the governor has not vetoed by May 3 will become state law.

Until next time, stay in touch, and do not hesitate to call or write if I can be of help.

Darrel Ealum, D-Albany, represents District 153 in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact him at (229) 881-200 or (229) 888-2000, or email [email protected].