Sen. Ben Watson

Columnist

The Georgia General Assembly has just eight legislative days left in the 2024 legislative session.

The biggest and most important piece of legislation that we must pass is the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 budget for the State of Georgia. Last week, the House of Representatives passed their version of the budget. By state constitution, the House must introduce all state budget bills. Their budget, House Bill 916, is set at $36.1 billion, as the governor estimated that the state revenue increased by $3.6 billion from last year. The governor also signed the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Amended Budget last week. It is now time for the Senate to have its input on the budget process. As the chairman of the Appropriations Committee’s sub-committee on Health and Human Development, I will be heavily involved in the Senate’s version of any health portions of this budget. We worked over the weekend in an effort to finalize our recommendations next week. This week I carried House Bill 1078 on the floor of the Senate for Savannah Rep. Jesse Petrea.

This bill established the PACE program in statute.

PACE is an acronym for Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly. This is an innovative program for patients who are eligible for a skilled nursing facility or nursing home. In other words, this purely voluntary program is an alternative to being in a nursing home. The program, which has already been established in 32 states, allows patients to be in their home with wrap-around services that saves state taxpayers 12%.

Initially this program will be established in three areas – Atlanta, Macon, and Savannah. The bill passed 49-1 and is on its way to the governor for his review. We also passed Senate Bill 332, establishing the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualification Commission. The senate’s version will ensure accountability for all district attorneys. We know that the vast majority of district attorneys do great work to keep our citizens safe, but we have all heard instances where a limited number of D.A.s have not upheld their oath of office. The Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission will get to work on day-one to hold these district attorneys accountable, investigate claims the facts, and uphold the integrity of the district attorneys’ offices.

A measure that would bring back a consumers’ utility council, which was eliminated in 2008 during the Great Recession, passed unanimously through the Senate during the cross-over days. The bill, S.B. 457 would create the Office of Consumers’ Utility Council with an independent director under the Georgia Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities in the state.

I will keep you updated on legislation affecting our community as we progress through the session. Thank you for your continued interest in the work of our General Assembly. As your public servant, feel free to visit me at the Capitol or to reach out to me by phone or email. I am in 325A, Coverdell Legislative Office Building. My office phone number is (404) 656-7880, and my email is ben.watson@senate. ga.gov. I look forward to continuing to serve you.