Rep. Simone Bell: Legislative Update March 1st, 2010

 I hope this finds you all well.Before the Legislature took a short break to work on budget issues, I was honored to hear from children in our Foster System about proposed legislation that will improve our current system including placing siblings together to maintain familial bonds.

I have also been honored to introduce, along with my colleagues, a Resolution Honoring the Life of Allen Thornell. Allen was a mentor and friend to many in our community, and he is sorely missed. To read a copy of the Resolution online, click here.

Legislative Update: Feb 15th 2010

This was a week for tough decisions. The Supplemental Budget (2009-2010) presented to the House of Representatives contained massive reductions to City of Atlanta and DeKalb County Schools including a shortened calendar year and increased furlough/non-paid days for teachers.

Revenue Enhancement Options previously introduced by my colleagues were not considered by the Appropriations Committee, only cuts. In addition , the projections for this budget had some very faulty accounting with assumed increased revenues for January through June of 2010 which is not likely given the current state of our economy.