House OKs Child Welfare Privatization, With Senate Still Poised For Vote
Plans to privatize the state’s child welfare services passed the Georgia House today, potentially setting up a clash with members of the Senate over how lawmakers see best to overhaul the state’s current system.As heard on the radio
The House version of Senate Bill 350, which would privatize services like adoption, foster care and case management, initially failed to gain the necessary votes for passage when it first came up for vote Tuesday, falling 88-83.
The measure survived after House members voted overwhelmingly to reconsider the vote, then passed it 104-70 when they took up the bill later in the day.
Rep. Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs), who chairs the House Committee that brought the bill forward, said the chamber’s abrupt change of heart came because House members now see their version as the only way to keep the Senate’s version from becoming law.
“We know the Senate had a great deal of interest in the program, and this was the only bill we could continue using for the purpose of negotiating to see if we could come up with an acceptable plan for both houses,” Willard said after the vote.
Under the House version, the state would roll out a pilot program for privatizing child welfare in a handful of areas around Georgia, monitoring it for two years before any expansion is considered.
In the Senate, where the bill originated, the state would begin privatizing services statewide starting as early as next year, with full rollout slated for summer 2017.
Willard said there’s been a lot of politics, as both chambers fight to keep their versions alive.
Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) echoed that sentiment.
“It’s been used as a vehicle to stop a lot of bills. Two of the bills I cared about got stopped based on the conflict surrounding Senate Bill 350, so there’s a lot of anxiety,” Oliver said.
With the House’s passage, eyes now turn to the Senate and its bill, which passed the chamber with ease last month. It’s currently attached to three different bills scheduled to come up for a vote this week, including a controversial bill that would give the legislature, rather than the governor, the power to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has also strongly endorsed the Senate’s plan for privatization.
Oliver said the House is right to keep pushing for its version of privatization.
“We cannot accept the Senate’s version of 350 to privatize hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money for child welfare services when we don’t have any confidence and don’t have any real vision of what’s going to be accomplished,” Oliver said.
As for the House version, it now heads back to the Senate for an up or down vote on the House’s changes.
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