Committee advances bill to create Georgia Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired to rules

Senator Davenport presented Senate Bill 108, saying the bill would establish a separate Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired and transfer direction and supervision of current blind-focused programs from the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA). "We want to transfer the direction and the supervision ... to the commission," Senator Davenport told the State Planning & Community Affairs committee, adding the commission’s membership would include appointees by the governor, lieutenant governor and the speaker of the House.

The bill text as described to the committee says funds allocated for blind services would "follow the commission," and includes a provision for the Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled to provide a paid librarian liaison to the commission to ensure Braille and electronic accommodations are used. Committee members questioned whether GVRA would remain responsible for other vocational programs and asked for more precise fiscal information about how much funding would move with the commission.

Chris Wells, executive director of GVRA, testified that GVRA operates multiple programs that serve people with disabilities and warned that separating blind services could eliminate synergies developed in recent years. Advocates and several committee members urged creation of a commission to provide dedicated, cradle-to-grave services for blind and deaf-blind Georgians. After debate about the absence of a fiscal note and departmental logistics, a hand vote and verbal confirmations of online votes produced a narrowly divided result; the chair announced the motion had carried and the bill will move to the Rules Committee.