The House Education Committee Wednesday asked tough questions about Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed plan to allow the state to take over failing schools.
At a packed committee hearing, Rep. Christian Coomer, R-Cartersville, one of the governor’s floor leaders, presented Senate Bill 133 and Senate Resolution 287, which would set up a state “Opportunity School District.” If the legislation that’s already passed the Senate gains House approval, state voters would make the final decision in a 2016 election.
House Education Committee Chairman Brooks Coleman, R-Duluth, said that the committee will vote on the legislation Monday. A list of around 35 speakers signed up Wednesday.
Before they spoke, committee members questioned Coomer and Erin Hames, the governor’s deputy chief of staff for policy. While Democrats expressed doubts about aspects of the plan, some of the most probing questions came from Rep. Tommy Benton, R-Jefferson.
“We already have in Georgia code that the state board can take over a failing school. Why do we need another bureaucracy?” Benton asked.
Coomer responded that the governor’s model will “get some of those schools that have been unable to succeed in a position where they would be able to succeed.” In response to other questions, Coomer said the state intervention would allow a complete makeover of a school’s culture, with fresh ideas and fresh management.
Benton, following up later, said “I’m concerned with this top-down approach that we seem to have.“ He said that none of the many e-mails he’s received support the plan. “It seems to be one more poke in the eye for public education,” he said
Senate Democrats oppose transportation bill: Democrats carried the transportation spending bill to victory in the House, but the Senate’s minority party is turning against the legislation.
A day after three black members of the Senate Transportation Committee voted against the Senate’s version of the bill, three black Democratic senators spoke against the proposal Wednesday. The Senate’s legislation passed the committee Tuesday, and the full Senate is expected to vote on it this week. A conference committee is expected to hammer out a final bill.
Sen. Harold Jones, D-Augusta, who represents one of the three areas of Georgia that approved T-SPLOSTS in 2012, told Senators that his constituents are concerned that the bill will force them to pay even more for transportation.
Jones told InsiderAdvantage Georgia that he hasn’t ruled out voting for the bill, which would establish a 24-cent-per-gallon state excise tax and impose an annual $25 highway impact fee on drivers.
“I’m still listening,” Jones said. “But our constituents are very worried.” After already paying a tax under the so-called Transportation Investment Act, Augusta area residents are wondering “why are we being hit again?”
Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Tommie Williams, R-Lyons, who authored the Senate bill, also represents a TIA area. Along with the single excise tax, composed of present state levies, the Senate bill also adds the highway impact fees, and a $5 rental-car fee. An Enterprise rental car spokesman told the Senate committee Tuesday that 70 percent of the state’s rental car business comes from Georgians, which surprised Williams, who said he believed most of it comes from out of state travelers.
The Senate Democrats are also opposed to the Senate bill’s transferring $250 million to the DOT from the general budget to help pay the department’s debt service. That would not be a permanent expenditure but come from projected increases in state revenues. They are also dissatisfied that the bill doesn’t include mass transit funding and a provision for minority contractors to be considered for the additional highway work under the bill.
Senate medical marijuana hearing: A House bill that allows the use of cannabis oil for a variety of illnesses goes before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Thursday. The Senate panel s expected to combine the bill by Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, with Senate legislation that sets up clinical trials for marijuana use by youth suffering from epileptic seizures.
Peake huddled Wednesday for a spirited discussion with Committee Chair Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford. Peake has said he doesn’t believe the Senate bill goes far enough in helping suffering Georgians.
State budget advances: The Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday morning approved its version of the Fiscal Year 2016 budget, which the entire Senate will vote on this week and send back to the House.
