G-CAPP Policy and Advocacy News

2007 Georgia General Assembly Update
The Georgia General Assembly is in recess until Monday, March 19th, and committees continue to meet this week. G-CAPP will provide updates on a weekly basis during the session regarding bills and issues that affect adolescents and public health.

PEACHCARE UPDATE: Governor Sonny Perdue, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson have announced a temporary PeachCare solution to keep children enrolled in PeachCare insured while Congress finalizes its funding proposal for the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (S-CHIP). The solution will temporarily use state funds already in the budget for Medicaid to cover the shortfall in PeachCare until Congress appropriates the funding in the federal supplemental spending bill. The proposal would change state law to allow Georgia to borrow state funds already slated to be used to pay for Medicaid to cover PeachCare costs in this interim period, and any Medicaid funds expended would then be repaid from the Congressional shortfall funds when they are approved.

Other Legislation of Interest:

HB 542 (Rep. Carolyn Hugley, 133rd) would create a Georgia Legislative Youth Advisory Council to advise the General Assembly on proposed legislation, the state budget, and policy matters relating to youth in areas such as education, employment and strategies to increase youth participation in government. The Council would be made up of 40 members, ages 16 to 21, appointed by legislators to serve two-year terms. The bill is before the House Committee on Children and Youth.

SB 257 (Sen. Vincent Fort, 39th), or "the Dropout Deterrent Act", would require mandatory education for children from ages 6 to 17. Current state law only requires school attendance up to the age of 16. The bill is before the Senate Committee on Education and Youth.

SB 270 (Sen. William Hamrick, 30th) would create an Office of Runaway Children Assistance within the Department of Juvenile Justice to provide an alert system for runaway children, to create a procedure of sharing information among agencies regarding runaway children, and to assist in locating those children. The bill has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

SR 355 (Sen. Judson Hill, 32nd) would create a Joint Study Committee on Health Care Transformation, to be made up of four members of the House and four members of the Senate, to study issues surrounding the availability and affordability of health care insurance and access to health care services in the state. The resolution was approved by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

G-CAPP continues to monitor HB 526 to see if it will receive a hearing by the House Health and Human Services Committee:

HB 526 (Rep. Barry Loudermilk, 14th) would amend the state code regarding family planning services to require unemancipated minors (individuals who are under the age of 18 and unmarried) to be accompanied by a parent or guardian in order to receive referral services or contraceptives from any state-funded public health department or agency. If enacted, this bill would have a devastating impact on teens and their ability to prevent unintended pregnancies. For more information, click here.

Track Legislation
For the latest updates on legislation, visit the General Assembly web site and search by the bill number in the top right hand corner of the page. You may also find information for contacting bill sponsors and other legislators on the General Assembly web site, or find your legislators here. To follow legislative issues that G-CAPP is working on, click here.

G-CAPP Fast Fact
The National Domestic Violence Hotline has launched a National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline, a 24-hour web-based and telephone helpline created to provide confidential assistance to teens (ages 13 to 18) experiencing dating abuse. For more information visit the web site, www.loveisrespect.org. The hotline for teens and parents is 866-331-9474.