State lawmakers from around Georgia gathered January 8 in Atlanta for the annual, 40-day legislative session. It is Gov. Nathan Deal’s last session to move his major policy issues-education reform, economic development and criminal justice reform–forward as he finishes his second term in office. Every two years, elections are held for all of Georgia’s 56 state Senate seats and 180 state House seats. This legislative session will progress in the shadow of the May primary for all statewide offices, including the races for governor and lieutenant governor. Here are some of the top legislative issues to watch:

ADOPTION
House Bill 159 is intended to modernize the state’s adoption laws which have not been updated since the mid 1980s. The Adoption Bill makes it easier and faster to adopt children and place more of the state’s 14,000 foster children with families. The latest version of the adoption measure drops “religious liberty” provisions that doomed the legislation last year. Those provisions would have allowed faith-based agencies to avoid placing children with same-sex couples. Opponents of the provision said the language would discriminate against LGBTQ families who are looking to adopt. Gov. Nathan Deal and House Speaker Ralston have called for the bill to pass without “religious freedom” language. At press time, this bill had passed the Georgia Senate. The bill was going to the Georgia House.

BUDGET
This legislative session will have to approve Georgia’s budget for the 2019 fiscal year which runs July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019. The total budget available to the state is approximately $50 billion. That includes $26 billion in state funding, approximately $14 billion in federal funding, $4 million in Intra State Government transfers and $6+ billion in other funds. The legislature must address the growing gap between pension funding and pension obligations for state employees and teachers. Legislators need to deal with the increase in medical costs for the state employee health plan that continues to significantly exceed member contributions. Combined, these mandatory spend items will consume much of the available new funding on the cash side of the ledger. Due to the state’s strong credit position, expect to see another substantial bond package to fund a range of infrastructure priorities. (Source: Lexology)

CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS
The violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, that erupted last year over a plan to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee revived the conversation in Georgia about the fate of Stone Mountain and the many other memorials to Confederate leaders around the state. Current state law states it is illegal to “mutilate, deface, defile, abuse contemptuously, relocate, remove, conceal or obscure” Confederate monuments. HB 650 would amend state law to allow local governments to alter, conceal or remove any Confederate monument, plague, marker, or memorial within the jurisdiction through the adoption of a resolution.

HEALTH CARE
Legislative committees were formed to evaluate the issues relating to disparities in health outcomes and publish its findings with recommendations. Diabetes, opiate abuse, and obesity were just some of the health problems cited in the reports. Medicaid reform, hospitals’ Certificates of Need, and telehealth technologies will also be debated. The Senate Study Committee also took an in-depth look at the physician shortage. It explored how APRNs in Georgia could be a part of the solution for the access to healthcare crisis across Georgia which is particularly severe in the state’s rural areas. Many citizens of Georgia do not receive any care or drive long distances beyond their own counties to access primary care and other health services. Finding access to quality healthcare for all communities may be possible if Georgia follows the national trend removing legal barriers for APRNs to practice at the fullest scope of their education, training and certification.

MASS TRANSIT
Legislators have been looking into the issue of regional transportation with last session’s formation of the Georgia Regional Transit Council, which is supposed to develop a statewide plan for a “seamless transportation network with dependable trip times for commuters.” The topic of mass transit has been gaining momentum as the state continues to grow and is looking to attract businesses. The commission has yet to release its recommendations but will continue to look at the issue through the end of this year.

OPIOID ABUSE
Opioid abuse is another issue expected to come up. President Donald Trump declared Opioid Abuse a public health emergency in late October 2017, calling it “the worst drug crisis in American history.” According to a Georgia Senate report, 68 percent of the drug overdoses in Georgia in 2015 were due to opioids. Legislation that lawmakers are working on will address recovery centers, patient brokering, access to NARCAN — which is an agent used to counteract and reverse an overdose — and insurance fraud.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Last year, Georgia lawmakers crisscrossed the state visiting rural Georgia counties and held meetings with residents about what their county needs. That led to a report that found several common needs in rural communities: education, workforce development, broadband internet access and healthcare. In December, the House Rural Development Council released its recommendations for changes to policies around health care, economic growth, education and telecommunications. Many of those recommendations are set to become legislation. The suggestions range from expanding internet access in rural areas to potential tax breaks for people who move to rural counties.

This article originally appeared in the February issue of the EAST COBBER magazine, on pages 14 & 15. Click here to view the digital edition.