Day 4: State of the State of Georgia

Day 4: State of the State of Georgia

Thursday 1/17/2013. Fourth Day of the Georgia session. We start our day with the GeorgiaHispanic Chamber of Commerce Annual Legislative Appreciation Breakfast (thank you very much Rep. Pedro Marin). The breakfast had Gov. Nathan Deal and US Senator Johnny Isakson among other important political leaders as participants. In my opinion, the best quote was from Minority Leader Stacey Abrams: “Politicians are like 15 year old teenagers. We respond to money, peer pressure and attention”. Gotta remember that J.

The big event today was the State of the State (SOS) by Governor Nathan Deal. The SOS is the state version of the State of the Nation that the President of the USA (POTUS) presents to congress once a year. Gov. Deal’s  focused in public safety,education, healthcare, economic development and ethics. These are the points that caught my attention the most.

• Public Safety: Gov. Deal celebrated the reform of the juvenile judicial system started last year, and called for harsher measures for boating under the influence.
• Education: The focus was to support on education K-12, and an evaluation of the higher education system so to refocus their programs of study to give priority to those educational paths that have a proven record of employability. As example, Gov. Deal mentioned support for Nursing, Middle School Education and Commercial Driving. Another point was his mention of the HOPE scholarship. Gov. Deal mentioned the current new system saved the HOPE scholarship. The new current system is based on a GPA cap, and strongly favors students with more resources rather than students from poor backgrounds, which were the original intent of Zell Miller when created HOPE back in 1993. Gov. Deal said that 97% of the students in UGA and GATech get HOPE. I would ask how many students in colleges outside the Atlanta metro area are receiving HOPE as well.
• Healthcare: On here, Gov. Deal indicated that the increase on coverage in Medicaid, which is part of what would be Obamacare, would increase its cost dramatically for the state. There is research that proves otherwise, mentioning that this expansionwould cost only 3% of the current spend in Medicaid. BTW, Georgia is one of the 10 states that refuses to implement Obamacare. Make your own conclusions.
• Economic Development: Gov. Deal mentioned that he would keep looking to grow the economy of the state through tax reductions and running the economy with a business-like model.
• Ethics: Gov. Deal called for an expansion of the code of ethical conduct for members of the General Assembly, and that it should apply equally to all elected officials at the state and local levels.

Did I say the posts were going to get longer? Also, the response of the Democrat minority form the Senate, and a video from the Democratic party of Georgia. Leave you with pics of the SOS and the Sportsman Day at the Capitol. The next Legislative Day is Monday January 28^th, but I might post depending what is going on until then. Happy MLK weekend and Inauguration Day you all.