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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
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AP Photo t«n*gory Smith
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, (right), states “the budget is not balanced, ” during a news
conference early Thursday, April 8, 2004, at the Capitol in Atlanta. The governor called
the legislature back for a special session.
BUDGET
From page 1A
Democrats warned could
occur under education cuts
Perdue proposed but which
they successfully softened.
At issue was the $16.4 bil
lion budget for the year
beginning July 1, which
includes SBOO million in
debt-financed construction
programs for schools, col
leges, ports and roads, a 2
percent pay raise for teach
ers and state employees, and
a continuation of the state’s
property tax relief program
for homeowners.
Buried within the meas
ure were 5 percent cuts for
most state agencies, a belt
tightening step to help the
state recover its financial
footing after two years of
sluggish tax collections.
House negotiators wanted
to moderate the school fund
ing cuts proposed by Perdue,
but their budget took money
from Medicaid to accomplish
that.
Perdue, stung by a
Medicaid shortfall in the
current budget year, wanted
the health care program
fully funded and his Senate
allies wrote a budget which
By The Associated Press
The status of mqjor legis
lation after the 2004
Georgia General Assembly.
REDISTRICTING
Lawmakers missed a
court-imposed deadline to
draw new House and Senate
election districts so the
court drew' the new maps for
them. The new election dis
tricts will be used in the
elections this summer and
fall.
CHILD
ENDANGERMENT
A bill creating a felony
crime for parents or
guardians whose reckless
behavior causes injury or
death to their children. Also
creates a crime for people
who manufacture metham
phetamine around children.
58467 has passed Senate
47-0 and passed the House
161-1. The bill now awaits
the governor’s signature.
GAY MARRIAGE
Republican senators are
leading a push to ban same
sex marriage in the state
constitution. Gay marriages
are already illegal in
Georgia, but the matter
isn’t addressed in the consti
tution.
5R595 passed. The ques
I NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC!
You are hereby notified that there will be heard before the presiding Judge of the Superior Court of Houston
County, Georgia, on the 23rd day of April at 8.30 o'clock AM. at the Houston County Courthouse in the City
of Ferry, Georgia, the case of the State of Georgia vs. Middle Georgia Regional Development Authority and Valley
Drive Development. LLC, Civil Action File Number 77999. in the Superior Court for that County, the same being
a proceeding to confirm and validate an issue of $13,500,(XX) in maximum aggregate principal amount Middle
Georgia Regional Development Authority Taxable Industrial Revenue Bonds (Valley Drive Development. LIJC
Project), Senes 2004 (the "Bonds") and the security therefor The proceeds of the Bonds arc used to finance the
acquisition, construction and installation of he facilities, improvements and equipment necessary for build a
warehouse facility in Houston County. Georgia (the “Project") for use hy Valley Drive Development, LLC. a
Georgia limited liability company (the "Lessee") and paying certain expenses relating thereto Upon its completion,
the Project will be leased to the Lessee by the Middle Georgia Regional Development Authority under a Lease
Agreement dated as of April I, 2(X>4 (the “Lease Agreement"). The Court in such proceeding will also pass upon
the validity and legality of such Lease Agreement and a Trust Indenture under which the Bonds will he issued
and certian other related issues Any citizen of the State of Georgia residing in Houston County, or any other
person wherever residing, who has a right to object, may intervene and become a party to these proceedings
This the 6 day of April, 2004.
Coleen B McClintic. Chief Deputy
Clerk
Superior Court
Houston County, Georgia tl4 i
did that, but was less gener
ous than the House budget
to schools.
The heart of the dilemma
was how to shoehorn fund
ing for both programs into
the budget without putting
it in the red.
The compromise solves
that by delaying until
January the 2 percent pay
raises for teachers and state
employees which Perdue
proposed, and by counting
on new revenue from two
additional sources.
The new fund sources
included $33 million from
better-than-expected collec
tions from the state’s motor
fuel tax through a law
passed last year that put the
burden for collecting the
money on fuel wholesalers
rather than retailers.
Another $57.7 million
would come from the indi
gent defense bill.
Delaying the pay raise for
two months saved $Bl mil
lion.
Medicaid would get an
additional $368 million
overall to pay medical bills
next year. That was roughly
the amount Perdue wanted
STATUS OF LEGISLATION
tion will appear on ballots
this fall.
RIGHT TO HUNT
A constitutional amend
ment saying “the tradition
of hunting and fishing and
the taking of fish and
wildlife shall be preserved
for the good of the people.”
Both chambers have
approved the amendment,
but in separate forms, so
they’ll have to agree on a
single version before send
ing it to voters for final
approval this fall.
5R563 has been approved
and will appear on ballots.
MIDYEAR BUDGET
The governor has signed a
midyear budget that trims
state spending for the final
quarter of the state fiscal
year ending June 30. Most
state agencies will feel a cut
of about 2.5 percent, which
will allow the state’s money
managers to reshuffle
money to Medicaid, to the
Peach Care health program
for children of the working
poor and to education.
HBIIBO is now law.
NEXT YEAR’S
BUDGET
HBIIBI has been
approved by both houses,
but immediately after the
to keep the program whole.
Still, some programs would
take a hit.
Several thousand preg
nant women would lose
Medicaid eligibility through
a change Perdue proposed
which would exclude those
with higher incomes from
the program. Currently, the
health program is available
to women with incomes of
up to 235 percent of the fed
eral poverty level - $35,861
for a family of three.
Perdue proposed reducing
the coverage to families with
incomes below 185 percent,
or $28,231 for a family of
three.
The compromise approved
Wednesday sets the limit at
a slightly more generous 200
percent, or $30,520.
In Peach Care. the state’s
health care program for chil
dren of the working poor,
the negotiators agreed to
calculate premiums on a
sliding scale based on family
income but with a cap 0f.570
per month. Currently, those
enrolled pay $lO per month
per child or S2O for all of
their eligible children.
final bell, Republican Gov.
Sonny Perdue declared the
budget unacceptable. He
vowed to force lawmakers to
return to Atlanta to redo the
budget in a special session,
although Perdue didn't say
exactly when that would be
EDUCATION
The governor’s education
package includes a plan to
put the oversight of pre
kindergarten and day cares
under the same department.
Another bill tweaks a
requirement that third
graders must pass a reading
test to advance to fourth
grade.
58456 has passed both the
House and Senate and is
ready for the governor’s sig
nature.
HBII9O also awaits the
governor’s signature.
FAITH-BASED
CHARITIES
A constitutional amend
ment proposed by the gover
nor would give the state new
power to let faith-based
charities compete for state
contracts for providing serv
ices to the needy and poor.
Passed Senate 40-14.
SRS6O was never sched
uled for a House vote.
HR 1457 was rejected by
the House, 106-60.
STATE
Tort reform fizzles in legislature
By Doug Gross
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA - An effort to
reform how lawsuits are
filed in Georgia fizzled
Wednesday in the final min
utes of the legislature’s ses
sion.
The push died when sena
tors voted to dissolve the
three-member panel they
hud appointed to help craft a
bill targeting medical mal
practice lawsuits and other
court cases.
Critics said Senate pan
elists were demanding that
House members agree to
caps on how much money
juries could reward in cer
tain lawsuits even though
the Senate did not approve
those caps.
“The process that has
gone on is a mockery,” said
Sen. Seth Harp, R-Midland,
an attorney who moved to
dissolve the panel. “When
are we going to listen to ...
Georgia lawmakers scale back
popular HOPE scholarship program
By Kristen Wyatt
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA - The nation’s
most sweeping lottery-fund
ed scholarship program was
scaled back by Georgia law
makers Wednesday out of
fear that its exploding costs
will soon outstrip the lot
tery’s ability to support it.
The popular HOPE schol
arships which cover books,
fees and tuition for B stu
dents at state colleges and
technical schools _ will get
new qualification rules in
response to warnings the
program is growing out of
control.
It went from costing s2l
million in its first year in
1993 to $440 million this
year and a projected $502
million next year.
Economists warned the fund
would be bankrupt by the
end of the decade if changes
weren’t made.
About 300,000 students
currently benefit from the
program. And the exploding
costs came mostly because
lawmakers kept adding on
to HOPE in its early years,
when the lottery was literal
ly making more money than
lawmakers knew what to do
with. The public fell in love
with HOPE, other states
copied the program and
even former President Bill
Clinton oversaw creation of
a federal college savings tax
credit called HOPE in 1997.
“This is landmark," said
Rep. Dußose Porter of
Dublin, the House s second
ranking Democrat. “This is
a very, very big deal, and
we’ve got to be very careful
when we talk about chang
ing it.”
Celebrate SiJ'e
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You are hereby notified that there will he heard before the presiding Judge of the Superior Court of Houston County,
Georgia, on the 23rd day of April at 8.30 o'clock A M., at the Houston County Courthouse in the City of Perry.
Georgia, the case of the State of Georgia vs. Middle Georgia Regional Development Authority ami Graphic Packaging
International, Inc., Civil Action File Number 77998. in the Superior Court for that County, the same being a proceeding
to confirm and validate an issue of S42.(XX).(XX) in maximum aggregate principal amount Middle Georgia Regional
Development Authority Taxable Industrial Revenue Bonds (Graphic Packaging International. Inc. Project). Senes
2004 (the "Bonds") and the security therefor The proceeds of the Bonds are used to finance the acquisition, construction
and installation of he facilities, improvements and equipment necessary for build an expansion to an existing carton
manufacturing facility in Houston County. Georgia (the "Project") for use by Graphic Packaging International. Inc.,
a Georgia corporation (the “Lessee") and paying certain expenses relating thereto Upon Us completion, the Project
will be leased to the Lessee by the Middle Georgia Regional Development Authority under a I ease Agreement dated
as of April I. 2(X)4 (the “Lease Agreement"). The Court in such proceeding will also pass upon the validity and
legality of such Lease Agreement and a Trust Indenture under which the Bonds will he issued and certian other related
issues. Any citizen of the State of Georgia residing in Houston County, or any other person wherever residing, who
has a right to object, may intervene and become a party to these proceedings
This the 6 day of April. 2(X)4
Coleen B McClintic. Chief Deputy
Clerk
Superior Court
Houston County. Georgia
*!«
what this body has passed
and stop playing games?”
Harp’s proposal passed
29-21. He had hoped to
appoint three different sena
tors to the panel, but with
less than an hour remaining
before the legislature’s mid
night deadline, no new panel
was ever appointed.
Members of the confer
ence committee said they
had been working with
House members toward a
compromise.
“The speech that you just
received is about as inaccu
rate as any I’ve heard,” said
Sen. Tom Price, R-Roswell,
a doctor and member of the
panel. “The bill we have on
the table right now has no
caps.”
Tort reform plans that
had been on the table
included tighter qualifica
tions for being an expert
witness, limited lawsuit lia
Lawmakers spent nearly a
year squabbling over what
to do to trim costs. On
Wednesday, the last day of
the legislative session, law
makers finally struck a deal
they hope will keep the
HOPE fund solvent but not
hurt students who have
come to depend on free
tuition.
Among other things, law
makers approved a new rule
for deciding whether high
school seniors qualify.
Currently students need an
80 numeric average, but in
many school systems an 80
mark is a C, not a B. That
means some C students
receive HOPE because they
had an overall average
above 80.
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NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC
FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2004
bility for some emergency
room workers and a legal
term called joint liability
which means that when
more than one medical
worker contributes to a mal
practice case, juries could
spread the settlement
among all parties.
The issue was hotly debat
ed between doctor groups,
like the Medical Association
of Georgia, and groups like
the usually-neutral State
Bar of Georgia, which
opposed caps on jury
awards.
One of the debate’s key
figures, Rep. Tom Bordeaux,
D-Savannah, lost his posi
tion as chairman of the
House Judiciary Committee,
when House Speaker Terry
Coleman removed him, say
ing he had raised the ire of
doctors too much with his
refusal to consider many
reform efforts.
The scholarship will start
requiring a 3.0 grade point
average instead by 2007.
That would be the biggest
cost-cutter because up to a
third of HOPE recipients
are thought to have grades
that fall below that mark.
The bill also sets up a slow
peeling back of the books
and fees currently paid for
by the scholarship.
If the year-end balance of
the state scholarship fund
drops, students would have
their book payments slashed
in half. If the fund continues
to lose money after several
years, HOPE would also
stop covering all books and
mandatory fees, which can
top SI,OOO a year per stu
dent.
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