ATLANTA — Following a week’s recess for Appropriations Committee members to examine the Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed budget, the House of Representatives reconvened and made progress on some of the other major issues affecting Georgia. The past week dealt with legislation addressing wiretapping, synthetic marijuana and funding for our state’s Medicaid program.

 

The first piece of legislation approved by House members was HB 55, which would allow Superior Court judges to issue a warrant with statewide application. To issue a statewide warrant, the judge must have jurisdiction over a particular crime under investigation. HB 55 responds to a recent Supreme Court ruling that placed a multitude of wiretaps in jeopardy of being found unconstitutional.

 

The problem is particularly compelling because modern technology makes it easier than ever for criminal enterprises to extend beyond one single area of local jurisdiction. Judges, therefore, need the ability to grant statewide wiretaps, so that law enforcement can launch effective investigations against large scale organized crime.  The House approved this legislation with near unanimous support, so it will now go to the Senate for consideration.

 

House members also voted on HB 57, legislation to protect Georgians from the growing problem of synthetic marijuana and narcotic “bath salts.” These designer drugs can cause extreme paranoia, suicidal tendencies, hallucinations, or even death in some cases. HB 57 helps remove these dangerous substances from store shelves by expanding the list of substances that are considered illegal by the state of Georgia.

 

The General Assembly passed similar legislation last year, but the makers of these drugs constantly change their chemical formulas to avoid the newly passed laws.  Consequently, HB 57 is needed to add the most recently developed components that give these substances their narcotic effects to the state list of Schedule I narcotics.  The House also approved HB 57 with near unanimous support, so it too will now go to the Senate for consideration.

 

The final bill the House passed this week, SB 24, will ensure necessary funding for Georgia’s Medicaid program, which provides healthcare for indigent women and children, as well as elderly patients. This legislation essentially continues a funding mechanism first created in 2010 to cover a Medicaid shortfall that was in the hundreds of millions. The General Assembly enacted the 2010 mechanism after hospitals asked to enter into a payment agreement with the state in order to provide a funding stream that could be used to draw down additional federal Medicaid funds and returned to hospitals with an increased Medicaid reimbursement rate.

 

This provider payment allows the state to avoid a Medicaid rate cut that would be devastating for many Georgia hospitals and physicians.  In fact, this financial program is so successful that 49 states and the District of Columbia now have similar provider payment agreements.

 

The 2010 Hospital Provider Payment Arrangement stated that it would automatically end on July 1, 2013.  Now that this sunset date is drawing near, state leaders have once again worked with our state’s hospitals to assess the Medicaid funding arrangement used for the past three years and to decide how the state should move forward. SB 24 authorizes the Department of Community Health to establish, assess and discontinue provider payments on hospitals.

 

The delicate balance struck in SB 24 will once again allow our state to forgo substantial Medicaid cuts that would have likely resulted in the closing of at least 10 hospitals throughout the state.  These cuts would have most affected Georgia’s rural communities, where people already have to travel long distances to reach the nearest hospital. The loss of these hospitals would also hurt our attempts to encourage job creation and economic development throughout the state. Now that both the House and Senate have approved SB 24, it will go to the Governor for his likely signature.

 

To help promote agri-tourism as an economic development tool, I have co-sponsored legislation (HR 48) that would a designate scenic highway route through South Georgia as “Georgia Grown Trail: 37.” As the resolution states, “South Georgia is one of the few areas remaining in the United States where there are miles of rural landscape, historic small towns and abundant agricultural operations.” Dedication of Georgia 37 from Homerville to the Alabama state line and Georgia 76 from Nashville to the Florida state line as Georgia Grown Trail: 37 would promote economic prosperity through agri-tourism.

 

I have also co-sponsored HR 161, which would dedicate Georgia 122 from its intersection with Georgia 33 South to the city limits of Patten as the Trooper Roy Cecil Massey Memorial Highway. A native of Thomasville, Trooper Massey was a dedicated law enforcement officer whose life was cut short from injuries he sustained in an automobile crash in 1961.

 

Both highway designation resolutions are now under consideration in the House Transportation Committee.

 

Rep. Sam Watson (R-Moultrie) represents House District 172 in the Georgia House of Representatives. During the legislative session, contact him at 501-D Coverdell Legislative Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-0177; or by email at sam.watson@house.ga.gov