Author Blog Health Justice Timothy Sweeney Legacy of 2014 Legislature was to Make Georgia’s Faulty Health Care Policy Worse April 4, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Timothy Sweeney | 1 Comment on Legacy of 2014 Legislature was to Make Georgia’s Faulty Health Care Policy Worse Georgia is home to more residents without health insurance coverage than all but four states. Still, state lawmakers used the 2014 to focus on ways to make it more difficult for Georgians to access benefits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Georgia is left with its most pressing health care priorities unaddressed. Those priorities include […] Read more »
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education Legislature’s Education Spending Plan Better, but Still Earns a “Needs Improvement” April 3, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 2 Comments on Legislature’s Education Spending Plan Better, but Still Earns a “Needs Improvement” The governor and state legislators made education funding a major talking point during the 2014 legislative session. Lawmakers made a less severe cut to public school funding than in recent years. The recurring $1 billion annual shortfall Georgia’s public schools suffered through since the recession is trimmed to about $750 million next year. Still, districts […] Read more » K-12
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Georgia Legislature Moves to Keep Poor People Poor March 26, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 2 Comments on Georgia Legislature Moves to Keep Poor People Poor Almost 2 million low-income Georgians will find it harder to get ahead in the future, thanks to counterproductive policies adopted by state lawmakers in the just-concluded legislative session. Lawmakers took potshots at the poor from a variety of directions, ranging from erecting new barriers to food to limiting access to health care coverage. I’ll focus […] Read more »
Alan Essig Author Blog Scorched Earth Politics of 2014 Will Hurt Georgia Families for Years March 21, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Alan Essig | 7 Comments on Scorched Earth Politics of 2014 Will Hurt Georgia Families for Years The 2014 Georgia General Assembly is mercifully over now, but its legacy of lost opportunity will haunt Georgia families for a long time to come. Politics repeatedly trumped sound policy decisions this legislative session, as the governor and other state leaders blew an opportunity to put Georgia on a better path. Let me start my […] Read more »
Blog Budget and Taxes Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice Tax Resolution is Troubling and Unnecessary March 10, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe The tax committee in Georgia’s House of Representatives is set to consider a recommendation to change the state’s constitution to permanently cap Georgia’s top income tax rate. This is a bad idea. Whatever you think about income taxes, putting a tax cap in the state constitution could deliver several unintended consequences and would help push […] Read more » State Taxes
Author Blog Health Justice Timothy Sweeney Medicaid Expansion Delivers Soaring Premium Tax Revenue From Increased Federal Funding March 7, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Timothy Sweeney | 1 Comment on Medicaid Expansion Delivers Soaring Premium Tax Revenue From Increased Federal Funding Amidst the debate in the Georgia House over House Bill 990 this week, a representative questioned if new Medicaid expansion-related revenue from Georgia’s insurance premium tax can accurately be projected to offset the cost of enrolling more low-income people. I would like to tackle that question in this blog. This requires explaining some of the […] Read more »
Alan Essig Author Blog Budget and Taxes Georgia Senate Proposes New Venture Capital, Other Small Changes to 2015 Budget March 7, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Alan Essig Georgia’s state senators continue to usher a proposed budget for the 2015 fiscal year through the legislative process at a record pace. Senators approved their version of HB 744, better known as the state budget, on March 6, 2014 the thirty-third day of this year’s legislative session. The budget bill will is now in the […] Read more » State Budget
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Georgia’s Rush to Privatize Child Foster Care Could Lock in Reduced Funding March 5, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 3 Comments on Georgia’s Rush to Privatize Child Foster Care Could Lock in Reduced Funding Georgia lawmakers are in an unnecessary rush to reform the state’s child welfare system to meet a deadline that is likely to be extended. The push to adopt SB 350, a bill that would privatize all child welfare services except investigations, risks unintended consequences in order to squeeze major changes into the expedited 2014 legislative […] Read more »
Alan Essig Author Blog Budget and Taxes Health Justice False Choices Cloud Medicaid Expansion Debate March 3, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Alan Essig | 1 Comment on False Choices Cloud Medicaid Expansion Debate Who says Georgia can’t have first-rate schools, a quality health care system and a public safety net that offers support to some of the most vulnerable Georgians? Some state leaders who oppose Medicaid expansion in Georgia, that’s who. Bills to make Medicaid expansion more difficult are rushing through the Legislature, rationalized by claims that the […] Read more » State Budget
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Drug Testing Food Stamp and Welfare Recipients is a Waste of Time and Money February 28, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 1 Comment on Drug Testing Food Stamp and Welfare Recipients is a Waste of Time and Money Representatives in the Georgia House are considering a proposal to start “suspicion-based” drug testing for people who receive public assistance. If House Bill 772 becomes law, applicants for benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance could be required to take […] Read more »
