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ISSUE:
P.O.S.T. COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP
Georgia law 35-8-3 mandates that the Georgia
Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)
Council be composed of 19 voting members.
Ten of those voting positions are held by
individuals (or their designees) based on
their position with a state government
agency or a professional association, such
as, the presidents of the Georgia
Association of Chiefs of Police, Georgia
Sheriffs Association, Georgia Municipal
Association, Association of County
Commissioners of Georgia, Peace Officers
Association of Georgia, and Georgia Prison
Wardens Association. Virtually every major
public safety professional association in
Georgia has a seat on POST Council except
our group. We support legislation to allow
the president of the Police Benevolent
Association of Georgia or his or her
designee to serve as a voting member of POST
Council.
ISSUE: ADMINISTRATIVE DUE PROCESS
Many Georgia law enforcement officers are
still without due process in administrative
matters involving violations of departmental
policies and procedures. Law enforcement
officers deserve, at a minimum, the right to
a hearing before a fair and impartial board
or hearing officer; to be informed of the
charges against them; to be represented by a
person of their choice (at their expense);
and to present testimony and evidence on
their behalf, prior to any disciplinary
action resulting in loss of pay, reduction
in rank, or dismissal. Law enforcement
officers risk their lives in service to
their communities and deserve fair
treatment. We support legislation to create
a minimum state mandated due process
procedure for all city, county, and state
officers employed in Georgia and certified
by POST.
ISSUE: STATE INDEMNIFICATION FUND
Georgia law 45-9-85 provides a $75,000.00
indemnification for the beneficiaries or the
estate of any law enforcement officer killed
in the line of duty. The normal pay out is
$15,000.00 annually for five years. When
this law was enacted this may have been a
fair subsistence for a small Georgia family.
However, this is now below the poverty level
and far below the starting pay for most
departments. We support legislation to
double this fund to $150,000.00 without
penalty for a lump sum payment.
ISSUE:
WHISTLE BLOWER PROTECTION
The Georgia Whistle Blower Law only offers
protection to state employees who bring
illegal or unethical wrongdoings to the
public’s attention. We support legislation
to expand this protection to city and county
employees so that the interest of all
citizens are protected.
ISSUE: DEPENDENT HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFIT
FOR LINE OF DUTY DEATHS
Under Georgia law 45-18-9, if a state law
enforcement officer is killed in the line of
duty, his or her family must give up their
state health insurance coverage within a
very short period of time or pay the full
cost of that insurance. This has created a
hardship for some families that have had no
where else to turn for reasonable health
insurance coverage. The dependent spouse and
children of a state law enforcement officer
killed in the line of duty should be allowed
to remain on the state health insurance plan
at the same rate as other state employee
spouses and dependents. The Georgia Senate
and House overwhelmingly passed a law to
correct this wrong in 2006, but it was
vetoed by Governor Perdue. We support
legislative or administrative action that
will correct this wrong.
ISSUE: FIREMEN’S RULE
Courts in Georgia have upheld the concept of
the Fireman’s Rule that prohibits civil
remedy in all but the most negligent cases
when a public servant is injured or killed
in the line of duty. We support legislation
to allow civil action in simple and gross
negligent cases resulting in harm to
officers while performing their official
duties.
ISSUE: RETIREMENT
Not so long ago, law enforcement officers
employed by the State had an excellent
retirement plan. Over the years this has
been whittled down to just 50% with at least
25 years of service at age 55 (47-2-223).
Officers soon realize that they can not
survive in retirement with such a meager
plan. As a result, many leave after a few
years. Some actuarial experts contend that
the average life expectancy for law
enforcement officers with more than 29 years
of service is only 59½ years of age.
Something needs to be done to ensure
officers can afford to retire at a
reasonable age. We support legislation
creating a 75% retirement at 25 years of
service with no age requirement.
ISSUE: HEALTH CARE COST
Background:
State employees have been subjected to ever
increasing health care expenses. During the
last three years, substantial changes have
taken place with little opportunity for
employee input. The administrative solution
seems to be one of simply transferring the
expenses to the employees without any
attempt to find cost saving alternatives. We
believe a study committee that includes rank
and file officers should review and
recommend any changes to their health
insurance plan(s) or employee contributions.
ISSUE: PAY SCALE AND COLA
Background:
For the last three years there has been no
pay scale and until January of this year, no
COLA for state employees. It is fiscally
responsible to retain expensively trained
criminal justice employees. One important
key is a pay scale that clearly identifies
pay step increases over a period of time.
Morale and employee productivity suffers
when employees see their net pay slowly
dwindle over time due to the lack of a pay
scale and multiple years without a cost of
living adjustment. We support the creation
of a pay scale and COLA for the rank and
file officers of the State of Georgia’s
various public safety organizations.
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