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AJC.com > Legislature > Georgia Beat > Archives > 2005 > February > 03
Thursday, February 3, 2005
Richardson: School boards should determine start date
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
House Speaker Glenn Richardson voiced reservations Thursday about proposed legislation that would prevent public schools from starting the school year before Aug. 29.
Richardson told reporters he personally does not like the early starting dates now in place, but also believes legislators shouldn’t be telling local school boards what to do.
“Local school boards need to be making those decisions … that’s why we elect local school boards,” he said.
State Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Garden City) has introduced legislation to force local school boards to pick a starting date between Aug. 29 and Sept. 7.
If approved, the measure would apply to school starts this year and would change the plans of many counties.
Two counties in metro Atlanta, Henry and Cherokee, had planned to start the 2005-2006 school year on Aug. 1. Cobb planned to start Aug. 10.
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House hearings being held on ethics, medical malpractice reform
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
House members were in and off the floor in less than 90 minutes today, but were headed into some potentially lengthy committee hearings.
Among them a second day of hearings on Gov. Sonny Perdue’s proposed ethics legislation.
Also, at 3 p.m., a special committee is slated to begin its review of the House version of major medical malpractice reforms.
The House passed two bills this morning, including one to continue a pilot program allowing insurance companies to pay a fee to access limited driver’s license information.
The House and Senate are off tomorrow, come back in Monday at 1 p.m. and work through Thursday of next week.
Today was the 12th legislative day. By law, the legislative session cannot last more than 40 days.
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Senate introduces flurry of bills before long weekend
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With no bills up for debate, the state Senate breezed through a short session this morning.
Sen. Michael Meyer von Bremen (D-Albany) asked his fellow senators to sign a resolution recognizing Feb. 22 as Rural Health Day at the Capitol.
Sen. Bill Heath (R-Bremen) introduced a bill that would designate as historical any license plate issued in 1970 or before.
A four-part series by the Atlanta Journal Constitution on the state’s lending laws received praise from Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta).
Fort criticized a 2003 law that weakened existing legislation against predatory lending. Fort asked his fellow legislators to view the series as, “a charge to stand up for people who can’t stand up for themselves.�
Sen. Valencia Seay (D-College Park) thanked members of the Senate for wearing red Thursday in recognition of “Go Red for Women,� a campaign by the American Heart Association to raise awareness of the effects of heart disease among women. Heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases claim the lives of more than 500,000 women each year.
That number is greater than the next seven causes of death combined, and nearly twice as many as all forms of cancer, including breast cancer, according to the heart association. Friday is National Wear Red Day for Women.
The Senate is in recess until 1 p.m. Monday.
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