DARREL EALUM: House bill allowing inmate labor during emergencies goes to Senate

Crossover Day was last Friday, March 3, our 28th day of the 2017 Legislative Session. Friday was the last session day we could pass a bill in the House and cross it over for consideration in the Senate. We worked extremely hard on Crossover Day, passed 65 bills, and did not stand adjourned until almost 11 o’clock that evening.

According to unofficial sources, 65 bills are the most bills passed in a single legislative day. I immediately left Atlanta, drove through the evening, arrived back home about 2 a.m., and slept a little late Saturday morning.

Luckily, one of our 65 bills was my House Bill 251, a bill that would allow Department of Corrections personnel and individuals in their custody (inmates) to work on private property during a declared state of emergency. During our recent emergencies, we needed all the help available.

Inmates had been allowed to go onto private property to remove debris, restore services, etc. during past emergencies; however, new leadership had questioned this procedure. HB 251 simply clarifies that, during an emergency declared by the governor, inmates working under the direct control of local emergency management may assist on both public and private properties. As a strong proponent of private property rights, we incorporated into my bill the private property owner’s right to simply tell the Department of Corrections personnel to vacate their property if they do not need their help.

Last week was especially intense in that it ensured all bills not pass by the House before Friday midnight would not be considered during this Legislative Session. House Bill 65 would expand our current medical cannabis law that we passed in 2015 to add eight additional medical conditions whose patients would be allowed to apply for the THC oil registry: tourette’s syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, Epidermolysis Bullosa, Alzheimer’s disease, HIV, AIDS, peripheral neuropathy and those being cared for in hospice.

Other provisions of HB 65 would allow approved patients to possess a maximum of 20 fluid ounces of cannabis oil that has no more than 5 percent THC. Authorized patients would also be exempt from Georgia prosecution for possession of medical cannabis oil that had been legally obtained in another state and had met our Georgia requirement and laws.

After passing the 2015 law allowing the limited use of medical cannabis oil, we heard from patients who expressed concern for being prosecuted for bringing the legal medicine amount in from other states. If the Senate passes HB 65, prosecution exemption outlined in this bill should ease their worries. A Senate version would lower the THC amount from 5 percent to 3 percent and would expand the current law to include only Autism Spectrum disorder.

Rural health care limitations continue to weigh heavily on our minds, so last week, we passed legislation that would give an incentive to health care practitioners willing to serve in less populated areas. House Bill 427 would expand the current service cancelable loan program for physicians and practitioners in underserved areas and would expand the program to loans available to dentists, physician assistants, and advanced practice registered nurses who agree to provide health care services in rural areas. This legislation would specifically address the shortage of physicians and other health care practitioners in our underserved Southwest Georgia areas.

As a result of off-session findings by our House Military Affairs Working Committee, we are continuing to pass legislation aimed at furthering our reputation as a “military friendly” state. Last week, we passed two bills for the betterment of our military communities: House Bills 245 and 470.

HB 245 would require the Georgia Professional Standards Commission to streamline the Georgia work force entry process for military spouses. Last session, we passed the Military Spouses and Veterans Licensure Act, which requires our state’s professional licensing boards to implement a process by which military spouses could receive expedited licenses. While this bill worked to address many occupations, the act inadvertently omitted teacher license from eligibility. HB 245 corrects this exclusion by authorizing military spouses who serve as certified educators in another state to teach in Georgia’s public schools immediately upon relocation while awaiting permanent licensure.

The second military bill, House Bill 470, would authorize the Department of Economic Development to create a grant program to assist in the identification of development opportunities around our military installations. Military communities would need to submit a grant application to the Department of Economic Development, and the department would determine the grant amount on a case-by-case basis. HB 470 gives our military communities the financial means to invest to improve the military significance of our military installations.

With a breathtaking number of our state’s children in kinship care, we continued our efforts to improve temporary guardianship conditions through the passage of House Bills 330 and 331. Both bills were authored by our Minority Leader, Stacy Abrams. HB 330 would require the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) to provide relatives, or family friends who have taken on the guardianship of a child, with caseworker contact information. This contact person must be a regional DFCS caseworker with knowledge about kinship care and information about available assistance programs.

House Bill 331, known as the Caregiver Educational Consent Act, would authorize a kinship caregiver to give legal consent for educational services, medical services relating to academic enrollment, and curricular and extracurricular participation. The bill also creates the Kinship Caregiver’s Affidavit, which validates and designates for one year the caregiver as a school’s point of contact for the child regarding attendance, discipline and educational progress.

The bill would not affect the rights of the child’s parent or legal guardian. Current Georgia law provides that Kinship Caregivers must obtain a signature from the child’s parent, which is not always possible with an absentee parent. There are more than 100,000 children in Georgia in kinship care, and this legislation would provide support to those families by simplifying the kinship care process and providing the caregivers with the necessary resources to raise the child.

We will spend the vast majority of our remaining legislative days considering Senate bills and approving compromises between House and Senate bill versions.

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

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