BRADENTON, Fla. - Public-private partnerships, high-speed rail funding, the federal health care act, and millions in bonds are among the measures the Georgia General Assembly will consider during this year's annual session.
Legislators, however, have only one required legal task: adopting a budget. They can meet for up to 40 days to conduct the state's business.
The session, which started Jan. 13, is expected to go quickly because all 256 lawmakers' seats are up for election this year, incumbents cannot accept campaign donations while convened, and a bill setting the primary for May 20 is expected to be approved, according to political experts.
Gov. Nathan Deal, who is also seeking re-election this year, sent lawmakers his fiscal 2015 budget recommendation to fund the state's needs with $42.34 billion, which is a 3% increase over the current year.
Included in the spending plan is $20.8 billion for the general fund, a 4.3% increase, and $717 million in the revenue shortfall reserve, or rainy day fund.
Deal is also recommending that lawmakers authorize $763.1 million of general obligation bonds to fund a variety of projects statewide, a 10.2% decrease from his fiscal 2014 request.
He is also asking the legislature to remove the authorization for $12.93 million of bonds that were unsold from prior years.
"Given the state's steady revenue growth and track record of conservative fiscal management, we expect this to be a manageable debt load for the state of Georgia," Morningstar analyst Candice Lee said last week.
Of the bonds that would be authorized in Deal's budget, 41.4% would fund projects at K-12 public schools, universities, and technical colleges.
Some $45.5 million would fund reservoirs that primarily serve as sources of drinking water, $42.8 million would go toward juvenile justice facility replacement and renovation projects, and $35 million would go toward the state's share of the Savannah harbor deepening project.
If lawmakers approve the Port of Savannah bonds, Deal said the state will have dedicated $266 million to the project, the total amount of funding required by Georgia.
The project has received necessary federal approvals, and Deal said he expects dredging to being this year to increase the harbor depth by about five feet to accommodate larger cargo ships passing through the Panama Canal, which is being expanded.
The port project is estimated to cost $652 million, and the recently signed federal budget contains some funding for the remaining half of the cost.
If all of the governor's bond requests are approved, gilt-edged Georgia will have $1.2 billion of bonding authority, including unissued amounts from previous years, state finance officials said.
In his Jan. 15 state of the state address, Deal said that his priorities this year include spending nearly $8 billion on K-12, the largest single year increase in primary education funding in seven years. He is also recommending increases in higher education budgets.
Continued support of workforce training programs, economic development, and transportation projects are also of importance.
"When I took office, Georgia had a triple-A bond rating from all three major agencies [and] we are one of only 10 states that still maintain that advantage, a rating that even the federal government doesn't have," Deal told a joint session of the General Assembly.
This is the second year of Georgia's two-year legislative cycle, which means that bills proposed in 2013 still have a chance to be considered in this year's session.
Measures relating to municipal bonds include House Bill 802, which would comprehensively revise the 1% sales and use tax to include the creation of special districts to spend funds on educational programs and materials after approval by a referendum.
Local school boards can include charter schools as recipients of sales tax revenues for capital outlay needs. The tax can only be levied for five years, and can be leveraged with general obligation bonds and other obligations.
HB 400 would amend the Georgia code and repeal population requirements for the issuance of certain debt that must be approved by referendum.
A bill proposed in 2013, which could be revived this year, would create the Metropolitan Atlanta Aerotropolis Development Authority.
HB 545 would allow public and private collaboration for a cooperative planning effort for the "aerotropolis" in proximity to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to provide for necessary infrastructure and encourage economic development. The bill authorizes the use of revenue bonds as a means of financing.
HB 694 would change the name of the Georgia Rail Passenger Authority Law to the Georgia Rail Passenger and High Speed Rail Facilities Authority Law.
Revised duties of the rail authority would include constructing, financing, operating, and developing passenger rail service, high speed rail systems and facilities, and other public transportation projects in and out of the state. Bonds, notes, or other obligations could be used to finance capital needs.
The Georgia Department of Transportation is working on federal environmental studies for the Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C., Passenger Rail Corridor Investment Plan, which would provide a regional link between the two cities.
Senate Bill 255 would enact the Partnership for Public Facilities and Infrastructure Act, and set minimum standards for using public-private partnerships at the state and local levels to provide for public infrastructure and government facilities.
SB 255 would also create a Partnership for Public Facilities and Infrastructure Act Guidelines Committee. The committee would prepare model guidelines for public entities to use.
Other bills and resolutions being considered by the Georgia General Assembly this year include HB 707, which would prohibit anyone, including municipalities, from engaging in an activity that enforces provisions of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. The state attorney general would be empowered to bring suit against violators.
SB 46 would establish the Georgia Health Insurance Marketplace Authority and a board of directors to implement the state's American Health Benefit Exchange to facilitate the sale of qualified health plans in accordance with the Affordable Care Act. It would also implement a Small Business Health Options Program Exchange to help small employers enroll their employees in qualified health plans in the small group market.
Senate Resolution 734 calls for a statewide referendum that, if passed, would amend the constitution extending the terms of state senators to four years from the current two years. Senators would also be limited to serving a total of 14 years in office if voters approved the measure. No change would be made to the two-year terms that representatives now serve.
Senate Resolution 736 complains, among other things, that "the federal government has created a crushing national debt through improper and imprudent spending" and imposed unfunded federal mandates on states.
If passed, Congress would be asked to convene a convention of states to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution imposing unspecified "fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress."
