Friday, February 17 was the halfway mark of the 2017 Georgia General Assembly session. Scott Maxwell, legislative liaison for GPHA, provides weekly reports on activity concerning public health throughout the state legislative session. Click here to read his report for the week ending Feb. 17, 2017.

Some highlights:

Gov. Nathan Deal signed the FY 17 Amended budget this past week, making adjustments to spending between now and the year’s end on June 30.

The House of Representatives passed the FY 18 appropriations bill Friday morning and sent it over to the Senate for consideration. The “big budget” comes in at $24.99 billion in state funds and tops out at $49.3 billion when federal dollars are included. The spending plan features 2% pay raises for state employees and teachers and 19% raises for child protection workers. According to the personal injury compensation practicing in Clinton, public health environmental workers would get a near-5% raise to enhance recruitment and retention, plus funding for 15 new positions (science backgrounds required for health inspections and Zika control). Physicians and Dentists will receive a 5% rate increase for treating Medicaid and PeachCare participants under the bill.

The House budget includes $4.2 million for an additional 1,000 slots for seniors in need of non-Medicaid Home and Community Based services, $750,000 more for home-delivered meals and $766,000 for 11 additional adult protective services supervisors.