The Kidd Stays in the Picture

Baldwin County's Caucus of One, State Rep. Rusty Kidd, is pulling down some headlines for legislation he's writing up at the Capitol.
Most of it is legislation to benefit local institutions, longstanding local initiatives and non-profit organizations across the state. He's even using his experience as a Gold Dome Lobbyist to weigh in on the ethics debate that has colored the last several sessions in Atlanta.
It can be hard for a minority party legislator to see anything they write make it into law, it's even harder if you don't have any team members there to push things along. And sometimes things like this can happen. But despite all that, I commend Kidd for taking his community's concerns to Atlanta and fighting the un-ending battle.
Hats off to you sir.

Its like Deja Vu all over again...and again...and again...and again...and again...and again...and again

The Rome News-Tribune is reporting that Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital will stop admitting mental health consumers April 1 and close its doors sometime around June 30.

Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital will not close until all necessary services are in place to absorb the patients into the community.

That's the promise made to the legislature's joint appropriations committee this morning by Dr. Frank Shelp, commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.

He was noncommittal when asked if that means the proposed June 30 closing date of the hospital might be pushed back, reiterating that it's important to set deadlines.

"We have dates as targets," he said. "But we're not under any compulsion to close the Rome hospital prior to having those other services up and running," he said.

Just like in Milledgeville, the announcement came early in the legislative session and the community's legislative delegation can do little more than pepper the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities with questions during budget hearings at the Capitol.

The announcement of the closing of NGRH is the latest news about the fundamental changes taking place in Georgia's mental health system as a result of the settlement agreement between the State of Georgia and the US Department of Justice concerning the care of people with mental illness and developmental disabilities in the state's network of regional mental health facilities and the state's failure to meet the standards for serving consumers in the most integrated community setting possible, per the Olmstead v. L.C. decision, which originated in Georgia.

This Justice Department press release is a pretty succinct summary of what's going to happen in the next several years.

Under today’s agreement, over the next five years, Georgia will increase its assertive community treatment, intensive case management, case management, supported housing and supported employment programs to serve 9,000 individuals with mental illness in community settings. The agreement will also increase community crisis services to respond to and serve individuals in a mental health crisis without admission to a state hospital, including crisis services centers, crisis stabilization programs, mobile crisis and crisis apartments; create at least 1,000 Medicaid waivers to transition all individuals with developmental disabilities from the state hospitals to community settings; and increase crisis, respite, family and housing support services to serve individuals with developmental disabilities in community settings.

Central State Hospital was the first, and Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital won't be the last. But in a strange note that spooked me when I first read it, the News-Tribune writes:

[Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Spokesman Tom] Wilson said 54 of the current patients have been admitted to the mental health ward, and 73 patients admitted by a court. They will have to be moved to state hospitals in Milledgeville or Atlanta.

Then I remember that the Payton Cook Building just opened a few years ago.

But Rome will not have a new forensics unit to save any state jobs as Georgia moves non-criminals living with mental illness and developmental disabilities into non-profit and for-profit private mental healthcare providers. Again, from the News-Tribune:

The state-run mental health hospital has about 180 patients and 764 employees, according to Tom Wilson, spokesman for the state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Though it should be noted that DBHDD will be creating a lot of these community care settings, and that will create job opportunities for some of the employees who will be affected by the closings.

I share all this because it should be a warning the entire State of Georgia, especially those in the mental health system, those with family in the system and employees of the system: Don't think this is just something happening at some other hospital, in some other part of the state. The Federal Government and the State of Georgia are revolutionizing the delivery of mental health services--for better or for worse. We simply don't know yet.

And residents of Augusta, Columbus, Decatur, Savannah and Thomasville should heed these words state Rep. Rusty Kidd uttered roughly nine months ago:

Kidd said it is clear from legislators’ reactions that people from different parts of the state outside of the Middle Georgia region are not hearing about the closing of Central State and the fate of employees there.

“I hope [legislators and DBHDD officials] hear this and take it to heart, so that they will be more sensitive to employees — all employees not just new or long-time employees — now and in the future,” he said. “Everyone needs to be aware that these are people who have had jobs there for a long time, and to lose a job is very serious. [The legislature and state government] need to help them transition into new jobs.”

Georgia House Committee Assignments Posted

The Post Title is a link to the committee assignments by legislator.
State Rep. Rusty Kidd is assigned to Governmental Affairs, Health and Human Services, Science and Technology and State Institutions and Property.

Elections of the Future

Will probably continue to look like this.

Continuing with the news I have neglected to link to in this interim period, I want to draw attention to the Elections Advisory Council convened by Secretary of State Brian Kemp.
Baldwin County is lucky to have two representatives, state Representative Rusty Kidd (I-Milledgeville) and Baldwin County Probate Court Judge Todd Blackwell, on this council that is charged with creating cost efficiencies in the state's elections system and improving the system overall.
Georgia's elections system is a mixed bag of efforts to open the ballot box to as many people as possible and throwbacks to the partisan warfare of Georgia's one-party past and present. The Athens Banner Herald editorial board has this to say about some of the opportunities for improvement that they hope the council will consider.

In terms of guaranteeing ballot access, Georgians should watch how much time and effort Kemp and the panel spend in considering current state law for third-party candidates to get on the ballot.
Georgia is widely acknowledged to have one of the most strict ballot access laws in the country. Independent candidates - that is, candidates not running under a major party banner - must obtain the signatures of 5 percent of registered voters in their respective electoral district to get on the ballot when running for local offices, including seats in the state legislature and Congress. Independent candidates seeking statewide offices must obtain the signatures of 1 percent of the state's registered voters.
In some of the state's metropolitan areas, and, obviously, in any statewide race, the signature requirements mean that prospective independent candidates must get thousands of people to sign their petitions to seek office. In those cases, it's fair to see the ballot access laws as a de facto means of keeping third-party candidates off of ballots.

I'm sure Rep. Kidd, who has used that ballot petition in the last two years to send a message to opponents about the number of voters who will be showing up to support him, will have plenty of ideas to share about how we can open the statehouse to Georgians who don't necessarily fit the Republican/Democratic dynamic.
Judge Blackwell's inclusion is a welcome surprise as I've spent much time in his office talking about the ins and outs of election law. He is a great logical thinker, who can objectively explore the many facets of an issue. And most importantly, he knows what he doesn't know and retains the curiosity to explore it.
The image above comes from a photo story I submitted after shadowing Blackwell on Election Day 2008.
To put myself out on a limb, I'd recommend that the council look into the amount of time allocated to early voting. The 45 days of early voting put a significant cost on county governments to employ poll workers for dubious results in bringing people to the polls. I'm not saying that the state should walk away from early voting altogether, but I doubt that the overall turnout numbers would be affected much if early voting was confined to the two weeks before the election.
Despite the obvious opportunities for fraud in the absentee ballot system, it remains as a release valve for engaged voters to cast their ballot despite their scheduling conflicts.
So I look forward to reading the findings of this group and, as others before me, commend Secretary of State Kemp for convening an inclusive commission to consider the future of Democracy's most solemn responsibilities.

You don't see these to often in the blogosphere

I've been a little late on everything recently, but I thought this was worth highlighting.
I especially like how they changed the identifying information from the first entry.

Qualifying Day 2 Recap

There is nothing new to report in Baldwin County elections from Tuesday, but read Thursday's Union-Recorder to find out which Baldwin County pol is jumping into one of the two local races for the General Assembly.
U.S. Senate candidate R.J. Hadley stopped by 165 Garrett Way yesterday to tell us about his campaign. We'll have a recap of that conversation later this week.
And in somewhat election related news: State Sen. Johnny Grant, R-Milledgeville, and state Rep. Rusty Kidd, I-Milledgeville, announced that they've negotiated a $3.2 million allocation to reopen the Powell Building at Central State Hospital.
The allocation was couched in the terms of saving the state's only designated emergency receiving facility. The money has already passed the state Senate and has to make it into the conference committee budget to go to the governor's desk.
Despite all its implications, One Capital Removed welcomes the return of the strong man Baldwin County legislator.

Getting back into the Swing of Things

Update: Gold Dome Live will be holding down the "pair of conference rooms on the second floor" of the present Capitol for the Atlanta paper.
In news of local interest: Republican Ray McKinney and Democrat Regina Thomas have been the first to throw their hats in the ring again to unseat incumbent Dem John Barrow in the 12th District race for Congress.
State Senator Johnny Grant, R-Milledgeville, is the first local incumbent to sign in for the General Assembly--though it is reported that state Representative Rusty Kidd, I-Milledgeville, will run again as an independent, requiring him to file a petition with 5 percent of the 141st District's registered voters, so he will probably not get posted on this link immediately.

One Capital Removed has taken a lot of time off recently to revive and start several new and old part-time projects. Milledgeville's only state politics blog also has been experimenting with emerging Internet technology through its new twitter feed.
Check 1 Capital Removed out on Twitter for more up-to-date information about state matters that might affect the State's Antebellum Capital. I'm going to continue blogging here when issues require more analysis.
But to the point of this post, statewide election season starts today! Candidates for statewide offices from U.S. Senate to Governor to state House of Representatives will qualify at the state Capitol in Atlanta throughout this week.
Check here to learn who is qualifying at the Capitol.
One Capital Removed is still out of the office today (Monday), so any qualifying news will post here before it ends up on your lawn in The Union-Recorder.

Kidd Takes the Floor

Here is a picture that goes along with tomorrow's stories about state Rep. Rusty Kidd, I-Milledgeville, taking the well to pass legislation and raise hell.

Kidd Passes his first bill

State Representative Rusty Kidd passed his first piece of legislation through the house Wednesday.
Kidd authored House Bill 1310, which--with the utmost efficiency (see the link)--amends the Official Code of Georgia Annotated to allow the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Commission to solicit federal funds.
Mr. Modesty, Kidd didn't mention that anything special had happened when I interviewed him Thursday about Crossover Day and his perception of his first session, so far.
I read it on Tom Baxter's Twitter feed this morning:

Rep. Rusty Kidd passes his first bill. Says dad Culver is looking on with pride "from somewhere."

Raising A Little Hell--What Can It Hurt?

Update 2: Silly of me not to notice this, but legislators changed the General Assembly's calendar and will not be meeting today. Although I haven't talked with since the calendar change was enacted, I assume Kidd will address the state House Thursday morning.

Update: Representative Kidd just texted to inform me that he will be scheduled to speak about the situation at Central State Hospital from the well Wednesday morning.

State Representative Rusty Kidd, I-Milledgegville, called me Sunday evening to say he is going to take a point of privilege Monday morning and go to the well on the House floor and speak against the closing of Adult Mental Health Services the Powell Building.
Kidd said he has been talking with employees on the phone and at his downtown offices all weekend.
"I've been meeting with employees and the things they are saying make me want to take the well and raise hell," he said. "It's not right to any employee to fire them when they only need four more months to retire with 34 years."
Kidd said he also has questions about the specific reasoning behind closing Adult Mental Health Services at Central State--was it a federally mandated or recommended closure, or was it a budgetary decision?
Kidd said, and several Central State employees have told me, that physical plant, staffing and training changes were being made to meet federal requirements right up until the January announcement that Adult Mental Health Services was closing.
You can keep him honest live here.

Rep. Kidd's Mid-Session legislative update

The following is a legislative update from state Representative Rusty Kidd, I-Milledgeville.

Mid Year Update


The Georgia Legislature of 40 working days is ALMOST half over but Senator Grant and I have been at the capital some 30 plus days so far this session with weekend appropriation meetings to begin this month.

As you read daily the main topic is the budget and the lack of State funds to continue State programs. We here in Baldwin County are very knowledgeable about budget shortfalls for we have seen over 2200 State jobs lost and another 1700 regular jobs lost just over the past 2 years with possibly a few more before the bleeding stops.

At Central State the real culprit is the buildings are old and cost too much to retrofit or to build a new facility. Hence the Federal Justice Department and the State Department of Behavioral Health have closed and are closing some of the older buildings moving the clients to other facilities within the region.

Senator Grant and or I have met with the Governor 4 times, the director of Behavioral Health 5 times and the Federal Judge once trying to find ways to better utilize what we have left and how Baldwin County can continue to have a “significant” mental health presence, maintaining current jobs and hopefully creating more jobs.

One good announcement hopefully will breed more positive results.

Yes Baldwin County was selected as the site for a new 1000-2500 bed privatized prison. Construction should start around July 1, 2010.

With our growing prison population there is a new interest on the part of Oconee Regional Hospital to take over management and re-open the Kidd Medical Surgical Hospital at CSH. If all works out it would be available for inpatient and outpatient treatment of prisoners in and around Baldwin County. It would also treat those who are housed at the War Veterans Home, Craig Nursing Home and CSH patients. It would also be available, via its emergency room, to treat the general public for those in need on the Southside.

We are looking now for a privatized provider to begin talks about a nursing home on the Southside to house only the elderly prison population. This the state needs and will contract with or build in the near future.

Already we have people looking at the Ireland YDC property to reopen as a traditional YDC or as a State compound to begin transferring some of the 22,000 county jail inmates who have been diagnosed with some form of mental illness. Relieving the responsibility of these prisoners with mental illness from our county jails and county budgets.

July 1, 2010 the State will issue an RFP for another 200 bed forensic facility. Hope we will get that also.

As you see we are constantly working trying to find ways to replace the unemployed with good jobs in Baldwin County. Bring us your ideas, for we want and need them.

Some of the main issues being discussed now are obviously the budget. Roughly 88% of the state budget goes toward Education, Medicaid and Prisons. That leaves only 10 – 12% for all other state programs and services.

Half of Georgia’s budget goes to Pre-K through 12th grade schools and education. Some of the approved budget is 29 million going to school nurses. Teachers a bonus of 7.2 million. The University system budget is cut by 236 million which will probably result in higher tuition.

Funds were restored to fund Liberal Arts at Georgia College.

23 new State Troopers are funded and 1.7 million for a center of Health Science at our Tech School.

$1.38 million is appropriated to design and construct diverting the Baldwin Building at CSH to a Mental Health Building. $2,245 million to replace natural gas lines at CSH. $505,000 for improvements to Georgia War Veteran Home. $315,000 for improvements to the Vinson Building at CSH.

Some of the issues I have received calls or emails about are:
MID YEAR BUDGET & FY 2001 BUDGET

HR 1177 Pari-mutuel Horse Racing
HR 1090 One term for Governor for 6 years
HB 669 Boating under the influence
HB 307 1.6% hospital bed tax
HB 919 2% sales tax increase to be repealed when revenue equals 2006 level
HB 1141 Voters Petition
SB 99 Lake Sinclair
HB 919 Ethics
HB 1030 Merging Department Pardons and Parole with Department of Corrections
HB 788 Animal euthanasia
HB 180 Tattooing
HB 1073 Absentee ballots for those in Military
HR 1401 Coroner education
HB 819 Handgun License
HB 39 Increase tobacco tax by $1 per pack
SB 425 Community Health Boards – members shall have no conflicts of interest
SB 5 Seatbelts – Mandatory to all drivers wear seatbelts, to levy a Gov. Proposal 1% sales tax for transportation
HR 912, HB 912 & HB 920 Ethics legislation and lobbyist disclosures
Georgia Trauma Centers – Several bills
Beer Alcohol Tax increase


To contact Representative Rusty Kidd: rustykidd@gmail.com
Atlanta (404) 655-0334
M’vill (478) 452-1354
Cell (478) 451-7029

To contact Senator Johnny Grant: sengrant@windstream.net
Atlanta (404) 656-0082

# # # #

I think Rusty's update is interesting as it includes the list of things constituents are calling him about.