DARREL EALUM: Controversial bills are working through Georgia House committees

We have completed the first month of our 2017 legislative session and, unlike the far-reaching bills we worked early in our 2015-16 Sessions (HB 170 and SB 133), bills we have passed thus far in the House are singularly focused or routine. However, tension is building in the air, as several upcoming bills will address controversial topics like guns, campus sanctuary, low performing schools, etc.

Several controversial bills are making their way through committee, and I will write about those bills as they come to the House Floor. All bills coming before the House for a vote must first be heard in the Rules Committee, therefore I attend the Rules Committee to gain early background information about bills before they reach the House Floor.

Funding for completion of our Carlton Construction Academy at Albany Technical College and funding for our Southwest Georgia Medical Student Housing Complex at Phoebe are top session priorities and will require a concerted effort.

Phase II of the Construction Academy will provide Albany Tech with additional resources to teach building and construction skills. With one-third of our homes damaged during the two recent storms along with extensive damage to our Marine Base, P&G Plant and Pfizer Plant, we badly need construction job skills.

Quality housing at Phoebe for medical interns seeking to do their medical residency in Southwest Georgia will be a powerful incentive for future medical students to choose Albany for their residency program.

Protection and appreciation for our brave first responders was of note as we celebrated Georgia Firefighter Appreciation Day at the Capitol. Firefighters from across the state gathered with us at the Capitol as we acknowledged and applauded the contributions made by all fire service personnel. We honored and presented commendations to award recipients of the Georgia State Firefighter Association, Georgia Association of Fire Chiefs, and the Georgia Fire Inspectors Association.

In addition to the traditional celebration activities, we passed House Bill 146 to help firefighting men and women who risk their lives for the safety of our communities and state. HB 146 would require fire departments to provide and maintain insurance for Georgia’s firefighters who have served on-duty within their department for 12 consecutive months and have been diagnosed with cancer and are disabled or unable to continue to work as a result of their diagnosis.

The insurance benefits would include a lump sum of up to $25,000 depending on the type and severity of the cancer, as well as a monthly benefit equal to 60 percent of the firefighter’s monthly salary if the cancer renders the firefighter unable to work. Due to the extremely dangerous nature of firefighting, our firefighters are increasingly exposed to cancer-causing carcinogens, and therefore show a higher likelihood of developing certain types of cancer than the rest of the population.

Our duty is to continually support these heroic men and women when they are actively fighting fires as well as during their long-term health and wellness.

We continued to show our gratitude to Georgia’s courageous firefighters with the unanimous passage of House Bills 83 and 84, two bills that would support the Georgia Firefighters’ Pension Fund. This fund was established in 1955 and according to current laws, prohibits investing more than 5 percent of its total assets in alternative investments. If these new bills become law, they will double the investment percentage allowance from 5 percent to 10 percent and offer greater flexibility and investment options for the Firefighter’s Pension Fund by allowing real estate investments as well as alternative investments, in turn helping the organization provide better benefits for our valiant firefighters.

I dropped my first bill (HB 251) that would allow certain responders who are working directly under control of the emergency operations center during a declared State of Emergency to provide assistance on private as well as public property. The Public Safety and Homeland Security Subcommittee passed HB 251, and after revisions, the full committee will soon hear my revised bill.

State Rep. Darrel Ealum, D-Albany, represents Georgia House District 153. He can be reached at [email protected] or by calling (404) 656-0116.