REP. STEPHANIE STUCKEY BENFIELD'S
LEGISLATIVE REPORT
Week of February 5 - February 9, 2007
WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT - February 9, 2007
By Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield
Upcoming Events
DeKalb House Delegation Public Hearing will be held Monday, February 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the Manuel Maloof Government Building, located at 1300 Commerce Drive in downtown Decatur. This will be an opportunity for DeKalb citizens to share their views on issues pending in the Georgia General Assembly.
Avondale Mall Groundbreaking Ceremony : There will be a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Wal Mart at the corner of Memorial Drive and Columbia Drive (old Avondale Mall site) on Monday, February 12 from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Preview Screening of "Race to Execution" : There will be a free showing of this film, which traces the fates of two death row inmates, at the Decatur Library, located at 215 Sycamore Street in downtown Decatur, on Thursday, February 15 at 7:00 p.m. The film will be followed by a post-screening discussion with filmmaker Rachel Lyon and the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The event is sponsored by the Georgians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
Estate Recovery Seminar : Rep. Benfield will be hosting this event on Saturday, February 17 at 10:00 a.m. at Beverly Health Care, located at 4115 Glenwood Road, Decatur 30032, to educate the nursing home residents and the public on changes to Georgia's estate recovery laws and on how the elderly can protect themselves against fraud and abuse. Probate Judge Jeryl Rosch and DeKalb Solicitor General Robert James will be participating in the forum as well.
This Week's Legislative Issues
Jekyll Island Survey
I have received many letters and emails from citizens concerned about the future of Jekyll Island. On this website, please find a document entitled "The Future of Jekyll Island" which details the current proposals for developing Jekyll. Also on the website is a survey that I hope you will take the time to complete and return to express your views on this important issue. I encourage you to circulate this information among your friends and neighbors to help publicize that the natural beauty of Jekyll Island is being threatened by over development.
Legislation would help Georgia lead in biofuels
I am strongly supporting legislation that would give a sales tax exemption for materials and equipment used in the construction of biofuel facilities in Georgia . House Bill 186 makes a 4 percent tax incentive available to facilities producing and processing certain biofuels (ethanol, biodiesel and butanol) derived from Georgia-grown agriculture products and biomass for five years.
Sponsors of this tax credit say it will help make Georgia a national leader for the development of home-grown alternative fuel sources and help the nation decrease our dependence on foreign oil. Demand for biofuels is expected to increase due to a combination of factors, including the decision by U.S. refiners to replace MTBE, an oxygenate known to contaminate drinking water, with ethanol and the production and promotion of alternative fuel vehicles by major auto manufacturers.
The biofuel tax incentive will help Georgia to be a leader in attracting companies in the biofuels industry. HB 186 is under consideration in the House Ways & Means Committee.
Rep. Benfield Opposes Changes to Metro North Georgia Water Planning District
Legislation intended to exempt one small town in the northern portion of the Metro North Georgia Water Planning District could have more far-reaching and detrimental effects if passed into law. HB 70 would allow water authorities that are in the Water Planning District to withdraw from the district if they don't operate a sewer system. The provision is being sought to allow the city of Braselton in Jackson County to exempt itself from the water planning district's requirements.
The bill would apply to a number of other municipal water authorities in the district and could lead to an exodus of those systems which would produce a patchwork quilt of regulations and planning for water and sewer in metro Atlanta. Currently every water system in the 16-county region is a member of the Water Planning District which allows for unified water supply, wastewater treatment and storm-water runoff plans.
The metro region is the only area in the state that has a water plan in place and working. The plans were adopted almost five years ago and have been implemented in phases leading to a number of improvements in water conservation and sharing of services. A five-year update to the plans is scheduled to begin this year.
I will be working against passage of HB 70, which is pending in the House Natural Resources & Environment Committee.
Prescriptive Rights for Advanced Practice Nurses thwarted by State Board
In 2006, the General Assembly approved legislation that allowed Georgia to join the rest of the nation in authorizing advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to write prescription drug orders. Following passage of the legislation, the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners had the task of developing the rules and regulations needed to implement the law. After posting proposed rules governing how physicians are to practice under the new law, numerous nurses' organizations, hospital groups, individual physicians and state Public Health personnel spoke against those proposed rules at three public hearings. Despite the protests, the state board adopted the rules in December.
Almost all of the state's health organizations view the rules dealing with APRN protocols as not being in the best interest of quality health care delivery. The rules are very burdensome, including such requirements as additional training for the APRNs, more direct supervision by the physician, the attending physician's review of 100 percent of the medical records of the patients for whom the APRN writes prescriptions (and not just the representative sample needed for quality control), and Board approval of agreements between APRNs and their physicians. Most APRNs have determined the rules violate the spirit of the 2006 law and have opted out of participating in such a restrictive environment. As a result, the new rules have negated the intent of the legislation and its benefits to health care delivery in Georgia.
House Resolution 129 has been introduced in response. I am a co-sponsor of the legislation, which strongly urges the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners to redraft its APRN protocol rules in a manner that conforms to the letter and spirit of the law passed last year, so that the General Assembly is not forced to revisit the issue during our current session.
Rep. Benfield Opposes Eliminating Elementary School Foreign Language Program
I am among the many legislators concerned over Governor Perdue's proposal to eliminate the state's Elementary School Foreign Languages (ESFL) model program. ESFL is intended to prepare Georgia's students to be competitive in the 21 st century, and it is also a matter of national security.
Participating schools provide 30 minutes of daily instruction in French, German, Japanese or Spanish to all students in grades K-5. Students who study at least three years of a foreign language score higher on the SAT nationally and even higher in Georgia. Regardless of other factors, students taking a foreign language score better on standardized tests.
Georgia's ESFL model ranks No. 1 in the nation and has been described by the Center for Applied Linguistics as "excellent by any measure." It is a program worth keeping, and I will be working to see that we do so.
All readers of this newsletter are encouraged to vote in the polls found on my website, here.
• Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (D-Atlanta) represents the 85 th District (DeKalb County) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact her at 512 Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-7859 or by e-mail at stuckey@mindspring.com.
Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (D-Atlanta) represents the 85 th District (DeKalb County) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact her at 512 Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-7859 or by e-mail at stuckey@mindspring.com.
Friends & Neighbors of Stephanie Stuckey Benfield
940 Artwood Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
(404) 377-7014
Copyright ©2004 EyeCYou Software, All Rights Reserved
