![[Company Logo Image]](_borders/GA.jpg) |
Representative Ron Forster |
|
|
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Under the Gold Dome2006 General AssemblyMarch 03, 2006 -- Ringgold, GA – The Georgia General Assembly is moving steady towards it legislative forty days. We have just completed the 23rd day with the all important 30th day just a few weeks away. After the 33rd day, legislation that hasn’t passed at least one body (the House or Senate), cannot be considered for the rest of the legislative session. An important piece of legislation (of which I am a co-sponsor) passed this week has to do with juvenile proceedings and the determination of their mental health. With mental health issues of great concern for members of the Georgia General Assembly, we easily passed House Bill 1145, a bill that reorganizes and makes substantive changes to the juvenile code as it deals with mental competency. The bill redefines “dependent” as a child not mentally competent to stand trial and that age can be used as a factor for determining the juvenile’s competency. Parents now may ask the courts to stop the proceedings and ask for a mental evaluation of their child. It also requires the courts to appoint legal council should the family not have council and the child is having a mental health evaluation. We passed this legislation by a margin of 144-1. Furthering our commitment to a stronger education system through-out the state, we passed House Resolution 1081, a bill creating the Joint Higher Education Finance and Formula Study Committee. The resolution creates this committee that will review and evaluate the budgets and spending formulas used by the state’s university system and the technical and adult educations system. The committee will also report back on recommendations for revisions to the current funding formula for our colleges and adult education programs; evaluate alternatives for a performance-based funding component; review capital outlay projections and prioritization methodology; as well as, other tasks. The bill passed unanimously as many of us felt that the committee will provide us a deeper understanding of how our colleges and adult education programs are conducted and funded. We have passed H.B. 832, legislation that will allow physicians’ assistants to handle and dispense free dosages of medicine as long as the PA is under the guidance of a physician and does so in accordance with current regulations. Another bill was H.B. 881, a bill that would create an apprenticeship program for opticians by requiring training with a minimum of 3,500 hours of experience and instruction. The supervisor of the training program would be required to submit the plan of training to the opticians’ state board for approval. Both the PA dispensing legislation and the optician training legislation passed unanimously. We also passed a couple of transportation issue bills. In an effort to better insure the timely completion of our state’s road work, H.B. 1177 was passed saying that any construction contract that exceeds $300 million will be required to have performance and payment bonds. We also took it a step further by requiring the Department of Transportation, prior to granting a waiver on these performance and payment bonds, to take a vote in a public meeting. We also passed H.B. 1190, a bill that amends the State Road and Tollway Authority and the collection of unpaid tolls. In this legislation, we raised the fees and penalties on scofflaws. Both bills were quickly passed by overwhelming margins. I believe we all need to be informed about how our elected officials are representing us. I am getting an inside view that I want to share with everyone. Representative Ron Forster is serving his third two year term in the Georgia House of Representatives. He Chairs the Interstate Cooperation committee and also serves on the Public Utilities & Telecommunication, Appropriations and Insurance committees. In 2004 the American Legislative Exchange Council named him legislator of the year. His email address is ron.forster@house.ga.gov and he has a website at www.gasrd3.org. #### For More Information Contact:
|
|
Send mail to forster@catt.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
