August 2010

Stories:
2010 Legislature: Highlights & Accomplishments
Senator Kim on the Hot Seat
Changes for 2010 Election
Commentary
2010 Award Recipients
Sen. Hydrogen Investigation Final Report
Response to DBEDT Investigation
Photos: Active and Involved

 

Highlights and Accomplishments of the 2010 Legislative Session

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….this quote from Charles Dickens sums up the 60 legislative days of 2010. Both the Senate and House fiscal committees were challenged once again with the task of tackling the huge budget shortfall, this time $1.2 billion.

The Legislature considered both tax increases and budget cuts to craft a constitutionally balanced state budget. The final budget distributed the impact as widely as possible and kept vital services intact. It did not take any hotel tax money from the counties. Nor did it increase the general excise tax. It re-prioritizes state spending to maintain the most essential services in state government.

The following measures are highlights of the 2010 Session.

HB 2200 State Budget

Education

SB 2124 Hurricane Relief Fund

SB 2486 Minimum classroom instruction

Accountability

The decision to furlough school employees raised issues of accountability of the Board of Education.

HB 2376 Appointed school board

Human Services

This session, many organizations feared loss of funding to services that would especially hit the most vulnerable and at-risk members of our community. A major accomplishment in these hard-pressed times was the preservation of senior safety net programs. The largest addition to the budget was the restoration of 450 state jobs in human services. Among the restored jobs were 128 in child and protective services, 121 in case management and 113 in MedQuest, which helps applicants get health care.

SB 2469 Social services

SB 2650 Eligibility offices

Consumer Protection

HB 2169 Unemployment insurance