Kelley works on adoption bill, budget
Winter weather slowed down the schedule for what would have been a busy week discussing the state’s FY 2019 budget, but that didn’t stop work from getting done according to State Rep. Trey Kelley.
The 16th District Republican from Polk County said that business was curtailed on Wednesday following the opening of budget meetings following the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
“Thursday we did get back to work, albeit on a delayed start,” he said. “We got in a good day’s worth of work on the floor and in committee meetings for the last two days of the week at least.”
That work included a look at the State Senate’s version of legislation updating Georgia’s adoption laws, but they have still included language that both Governor Nathan Deal and Kelley don’t like.
He said he couldn’t understand why the Senate won’t send the house a “clean adoption bill,” and said it will likely holdup the process that started in 2017, and one he feels should already have been fixed long ago.
“It is our job now to try to work with governor’s office to try and come up with our next step forward to help these 15,000 children in foster care find stable and loving homes,” Kelley said. “It shouldn’t take three times as long in Georgia for an adoption to go through as it does in the rest of the country.”
The problematic language in what would otherwise be classified as a clean bill has to do with the ability for parents to transfer custody temporarily for up to a year via a power of attorney to a family member if they are being deployed as a member of the military, or if they are seeking drug rehabilitation, for instance. Deal previously vetoed a standalone bill with the language included.
Reconciliation between a house and senate version could fix the problem, but will require more negotiation between the version Kelley and his colleagues passed last year and one that was approved last week. So far, he sees the work already done as a step forward, and two steps back for fixing the adoption process.
“The governor is taking a very clear position that he didn’t feel it was the right approach to take. And putting this measure onto a clean adoption bill is troublesome the senate would do that,” Kelley said.
Adoption isn’t the only subject Kelley is busy with as the opening weeks of the session continue. He’s also still looking for a chance to take on state taxes.
He along with local officials are also celebrating this week the announcement of state funds being set aside for runway improvements at Cornelius Moore Field.
“Excited about the opportunities that this presents for Polk County, not only in bringing more people from all across the world, but in also providing us with opportunities for economic development we wouldn’t have without this state funding,” he said.
He was also happy that Atlanta is among 20 finalists in the United States and Canada being considered for Amazon’s second global headquarters. Kelley said it would be a boon for the state if metro Atlanta wins the approval of the online retailer to bring their business here.
“Georgia is already home to a large number of financial institutions and large companies like Home Depot and Coca-Cola that call the state home, and have a growing and vibrant technology community here as well,” he said. “Amazon expanding here would only help increase more business in the state and promote growth that will make Georgia even stronger.”
He did comment on the weekend shutdown of the Federal government after the U.S. Senate failed to pass a House bill that would have continued funding for agencies and services across the country.
Kelley joined with Republican lawmakers in condemnation of Democratic leaders, including U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. He said the blame falls solely on the opposition party, and that as a result it hurts Georgians across the state from those serving in the military to staff members at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention who are already taxed with an increase of work due to ever-expanding flu cases across the country.
No deal to re-open the Federal government had been reached by press time over the weekend.