Bobby Franklin’s Georgia Journal: Good News! Not Much Done This Past Week…
Last week was relatively light under the Gold Dome.
REP. BOBBY FRANKLINJust when you thought that the Democrats had created every government program that could ever exist, the Republicans in the Georgia General Assembly found yet another program that we can’t live without. SB 359 creates a “Made in Georgia” program. And you thought marketing was for the private sector. Shame on you. SB 359 passed the House with a vote of 161-1 and is on its way to the Governor for his signature.
SB 430 keeps everyone’s DNA in a data base. The state has a great track record of keeping data secure. (I will need to confess that violation of the 9th commandment.) SB 430 passed the House with a vote of 130-40.
Another program absolutely vital to Georgia remaining a state is the Georgia Seed Development Commission. In a effort to keep Georgia from losing its statehood the Republicans rushed to the rescue with SB 515 to add an additional member to the Seed Development Commission. SB 515 passed the House with a vote of 131-1 and is on its way to the Governor.
No doubt the most important bill voted on last week was HB 990, the FY 2009 budget, the largest budget in Georgia’s history. The budget included over $11.5 billion from the federal government for such programs as: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant, Social Services Block Grant, Child Care & Development Block Grant, Foster Care Title IV-E, Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant, Medical Assistance Program, Preventative Health and Health Services Block Grant, Community Mental Health Services Block Grant, Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Block Grant, Federal Highway Administration Highway Planning and Construction, State Children’s Insurance Program, Community Service Block Grant, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance.
Do you see anything that these all have in common? Hint - nowhere in the Constitution of the United States is there any authority for the federal government to appropriate any money for any of these things!
HAVE NO FEAR. Your DNA is in good hands guarded by the State of Georgia - NOT!This is the message that I had placed in the House Journal: “HB 990 not only appropriates money derived from state taxpayers, but also appropriates money received from the federal government. A significant number of these re-appropriated federal funds are for expenditures that the states have not authorized the federal government to make. Voting to allow the state’s re-appropriation of these unconstitutionally appropriated federal funds would be a violation of my oath of office to support the Constitution of the United States. Therefore, I had no other choice but to vote against the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget.” HB 990 passed the House with a vote of 166-1.
The duty is ours…
the outcome is God’s