MadisonJournalTODAY

I recently joined fellow members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees for the first half of a two-week round of hearings on the annual state budget for fiscal year 2011. [Full Story »] 

During week two of the 2010 Legislative session, we were in recess as the House Appropriations Committee met to hear Gov. Sonny Perdue submit his state budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2010, which ends June 30, and the budget for fiscal year 2011, which begins July 1. [Full Story »] 

By Rep. Alan Powell

The Georgia House of Representatives opened the 2010 legislative session of the General Assembly on Jan. 11 by electing Rep. David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) as Speaker of the House, replacing Glenn Richardson, who resigned last month under pressure amid a near uprising within his Republican caucus. [Full Story »] 

By Rep. Alan Powell

After a prolonged period of severe drought, residents of the Lake Hartwell area and all of Northeast Georgia finally are able to enjoy the beauty and recreational benefits of a lake at full pool level. For the half-century or so since construction of the Hartwell Dam, we have lived through the ups and downs of lake levels caused sometimes by the whims of the Army Corps of Engineers but most often by natural fluctuations in rainfall amounts. [Full Story »] 

Despite the flow of billions of federal stimulus dollars to strengthen health care in Georgia, the governor has proposed a 10 percent cut in Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals and six percent to physicians. This action could have a devastating effect on Georgia’s already financially strapped hospitals, especially those in rural areas. [Full Story »] 

After a long debate, a majority of the House of Representatives voted Feb. 26 to authorize Georgia Power to begin charging its customers higher rates in 2011 for advance financing of the construction of two new nuclear reactors, which will not be in operation at Plant Vogtle before 2017 or beyond. [Full Story »] 

Bad news! Last week, members of the General Assembly and Georgia citizens received more bad news on the already dismal subject of the annual state budget. [Full Story »] 

Relief for Georgia’s property tax payers moved to the top of the legislative agenda in the House of Representatives last week. [Full Story »]