Georgia Rehabilitation Association Legislative Updates

House Bill 831, Georgia’s Employment First Act, was introduced in the Georgia House this week. The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that Georgians with disabilities are given employment as the first option in the provision of publicly funded services provided to them by the state. This legislation also creates a Council of state, provider, and community organizations to begin strategically moving Georgia toward that goal.  

Some individuals in our community have expressed concern regarding the first line of the Bill which states, “A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 9 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to transfer of Division of Rehabilitation Services to the Department of Labor, so as to establish the Employment First Georgia Council”. We wanted to take a moment to clarify that this does not have ANYTHING to do with GVRA being transferred back under the Department of Labor. This line is actually a standard part of any bill placed before that legislature that states both the chapter, section, and title of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (the collection of all Georgia Laws) that the proposed bill would change. In this collection of Georgia law, Chapter 9, Title 49, contains all of the legal code that established GVRA and its board back in 2012. However, for various legal reasons even when a title for a code section is no longer relevant the title is not regularly changed to reflect what is contained in the code section. There are many reasons this is so but to put it simply, it would make it difficult for all legal entities to function if you constantly changed the references for chapters Georgia law.  

Thus, the first time vocational rehabilitation actually appeared in Georgia law was when it was first transferred to the Department of Labor. As a result, all following legislation involving what we now know as GVRA is included in this code section titled “TRANSFER OF DIVISION OF REHABILITATION SERVICES TO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR” which is where the above language comes from. Thus, this bill is merely referencing GVRA’s code section as the area it’s language would be added in the body of Georgia law, not moving GVRA back under the Department of Labor.
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The House of Representatives and the Senate have both adjourned for the 2017 legislative session. Below are some of the bills that were passed through and could potentially affect rehab professionals.
 
  • Senate Bill 16 has been passed by both the House and the Senate and has been sent to the Governor for signage as of April 3, 2017. This bill delineates the “conditions” for which an individual can use low THC oil for treatment and specifies that any individual using low THC oil for treatment of one of these conditions register to be placed on the Low THC Oil Patient Registry with the Department of Public Health and be issued a registration card. Tourette’s Syndrome and Autism spectrum disorder were both added to the list of conditions for which an individual can use low THC oil for treatment. Low THC oil possessed by an authorized individual must be 20 ounces or less and must be in a pharmaceutical container with a label revealing the percentage of tetrahydrocannabinol contained.
 
  • The Senate Conference Committee version of House Bill 280 was adopted and the bill has been sent to the Governor as of April 5, 2017. The adopted version of this bill permits weapons carry license holders to now carry and possess handguns on post-secondary education campuses such as technical schools, colleges and universities. Exemptions include child care facilities, student housing, at sporting events, in classrooms that contain high school students who are dually enrolled, in offices of faculty or staff or where disciplinary proceedings are taking place. Anyone carrying a handgun in violation of the specifications set forth in this bill will be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished with a fine.
 
  • House Bill 338 was signed by the Governor on April 27, 2017 and will take effect beginning July 1, 2017. As written, this bill aimed to address how to improve failing schools in Georgia. Beginning July 1, the State Board of Education will be responsible for appointing a Chief Turnaround Officer to put in place a system of supports to provide assistance to those schools that have been identified as low performing. Turnaround coaches will also be appointed with the recommendation of the Turnaround Officer. Schools who are “turnaround eligible” will be those schools that have consistently performed within the lowest 5%of schools within the state.
 
  • Senate Bill 5 was recommitted in the House on March 30, 2017. This bill proposed to increase the amount of funds allocated by the Georgia Lottery to the Lottery for Education Account.
 
  • House Bill 343 was passed by both House and Senate and was sent to the Governor on April 7, 2017. If signed into law by the Governor, this bill will amend the Official Code of Georgia Annotated to replace the terms “Mental Retardation” and “Mentally Retarded” with “Intellectual Disability.” All case law decided prior to this amendment will not be affected.
 
 
*All of the above information was obtained from the Georgia General Assembly website: http://www.legis.ga.gov