Blog Claire Suggs Time Runs Short to Boost Transparency, Parental Roles in Statewide School Plan March 25, 2015 / January 17, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 1 Comment on Time Runs Short to Boost Transparency, Parental Roles in Statewide School Plan Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposal to create a statewide Opportunity School District (OSD) to take over persistently low-performing schools could pass out of the Georgia house and sent for the governor’s signature as soon as this week. This train needs to slow down to give lawmakers time to add better provisions for transparency, accountability and parental […] Read more » Education K-12
Author Blog Budget and Taxes Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice State Transportation Repair Plan Veers Off Course March 24, 2015 / January 17, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe | 2 Comments on State Transportation Repair Plan Veers Off Course As published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on March 24, 2015 The bill lawmakers are pushing to answer Gov. Nathan Deal’s call for more money to fix Georgia’s roads and bridges made a sharp turn in the wrong direction last week. State senators put their stamp on a version their House colleagues passed by including a […] Read more » State Taxes Wesley Tharpe
Blog Cash and Safety Net Increasing Access to Child Care Helps Georgia’s Women, State Economy March 23, 2015 / January 17, 2020 by GBPI Admin Guest blogger Kelly Dolan is executive director of the Atlanta Women’s Foundation At the Atlanta Women’s Foundation, we know that advocacy is one of the most effective ways to combat the sort of interrelated root causes of social problems and systemic factors that are detailed in our Breaking the Cycle of Generational Poverty in Metro […] Read more » Economic Security Melissa Johnson Safety Net
Alan Essig Blog Senate Transportation Bill Escalates Pain for Education, Other Needs March 19, 2015 / January 17, 2020 by Alan Essig | 1 Comment on Senate Transportation Bill Escalates Pain for Education, Other Needs Georgia’s state senators could inflict more than twice the pain contemplated by their House counterparts if they move forward with plans to fix roads and bridges with a raid on the general fund to the tune of $442 million. The version House members sent to them proposes a “mere” $168 million whack from the general fund, […] Read more » Alan Essig Budget Budget & Taxes Budget Cuts Education State Budget State of Working Georgia State Taxes
Blog Claire Suggs Key Questions for House Members about Opportunity School District Plan March 13, 2015 / January 17, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 2 Comments on Key Questions for House Members about Opportunity School District Plan This week members of Georgia’s House are set to debate the merits of Gov. Nathan Deal’s plan to create a statewide “Opportunity School District” that aims to boost student achievement at persistently low-performing schools. Let’s hope the debate delivers answers to questions that still linger after state senators approved Senate Bill 133 last week 38-17. […] Read more » Education K-12
Blog Wesley Tharpe Transportation Plan Takes Positive Turn, Has a Few Miles to Go March 13, 2015 / January 17, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe | 2 Comments on Transportation Plan Takes Positive Turn, Has a Few Miles to Go The Georgia House of Representatives passed House Bill 170 last week, legislation that could generate nearly $1 billion a year in extra state funding for transportation. Its passage comes after more than a month of spirited debate that delivered several important changes, many for the better. The improving bill now lies in the hands of […] Read more » State Budget State Taxes Transportation Wesley Tharpe
Author Blog Budget and Taxes Wesley Tharpe Proposed Insurance Industry Tax Credit a $139 Million Budget Drain March 10, 2015 / January 17, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe A proposed new tax credit program that benefits insurance companies would cost Georgia an estimated $139 million in lost revenue by 2023. The credit is part of a complicated finance program designed to create investment in low-income communities. But the experiences of other states offer cautionary tales that should give Georgia lawmakers pause before they […] Read more » State Taxes
Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Threats to Child Care Affordability Undermine Georgia’s Workforce March 5, 2015 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson An income tax shift proposal released last week proposes to eliminate Georgia’s credit for child and dependent care, the state’s second largest income tax credit. Many low-income parents trying to raise young children in Georgia struggle to afford the high cost of quality child care even under today’s tax rules. A new Georgia Budget and Policy […] Read more » child care Economic Security Safety Net
Author Blog Health Justice Timothy Sweeney Georgia Falls to Second Worst Uninsured Rate in U.S. March 3, 2015 / January 15, 2020 by Timothy Sweeney Georgia fell further behind nearly all other states in ensuring access to health coverage for its residents in 2014, according to a new Gallup Health-Ways Well-Being Index report. Georgia ranked sixth in the 2013 Gallup survey. More than 19 percent of adults in Georgia went without health insurance in 2014, which is more than 5 […] Read more »
Blog Hopes for New Approach to Revenues Dampened by New Income Tax Plan February 27, 2015 / January 15, 2020 by Taifa Smith Butler Are state lawmakers ready to have “the talk” about new revenue? After hearing state lawmakers dismiss anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist’s comments and efforts to influence Georgia’s legislative process earlier this week, I thought so. For more on the Norquist flap, check out the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Political Insider blog. This public breaking with Norquist stems from […] Read more »
