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AJC.com > Legislature > Blog > Archives > 2007 > April
April 2007
Senate won’t seek veto override
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Senate leaders are signaling they won’t seek to override Gov. Sonny Perdue’s budget veto during the upcoming special session, setting up another possible confrontation with House Republicans who have vowed to oppose the governor.
In a statement released this morning, Republican Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said continuing the debate on overriding the governor’s veto of the midyear budget “will only perpetuate confrontation and conflict, which doesn’t help the citizens we were elected to serve.”
“Over the next several days, my focus will be on working cooperatively with the governor and the speaker to develop a formula of reserve savings and tax relief that we can all agree on,” Cagle said in a prepared statement.
“We owe the people of Georgia real solutions, not political posturing. I am committed to achieving that goal through a short, cooperative, and effective special session.”
House Republican leaders say, meanwhile, they will either seek to override Perdue’s budget veto to preserve a proposed $142 million property tax cut or draft a new budget that would include the tax cut — a move that could force a Senate vote on cutting taxes.
Cagle made his position public one day after Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) declared he would not seek a veto override. Johnson called the House’s proposed tax cut “a logistical nightmare.”
“While the General Assembly hoped to use the surplus to provide a one-time property tax cut of about $100 per homeowner, it turned out to be a logistical nightmare that would result in about half that amount getting to the taxpayer,” Johnson said in a statement Wednesday. “I believe that the next best thing to do is place any funds beyond the short-term critical emergency needs into the state’s reserve or savings account.
“It always has been the Republican philosophy that surplus funds in the budget should be used to fully fund our reserves and then used to reduce debt or returned to the taxpayers,” Johnson continued. “They should not be used to grow government.”
During a speech to GOP activists in west Cobb County on Saturday, House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) vowed to not back off the tax cut, declaring the governor “is wrong, wrong, wrong.”
“If he can figure out a way to successfully call us into session,” Richardson said of Perdue, “we are going to override the veto again and again and again.”
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Jekyll’s south end saved from development
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The South end of Jekyll Island will be saved for future generations of school kids, bird watchers, soccer players, turtle lovers and tourists after House and Senate legislators compromised over the island’s development.
After a long, odd day of discussions private and public, both chambers unanimously approved compromise legislation (HB 214) to extend the lease of the island’s governing body and, possibly, its residents for an additional 40 years.
It almost didn’t happen. Legislative brinkmanship, pitting developers and their legislative supporters against preservationists and theirs, almost killed the bill. It took three conference committee meetings — two run by lobbyists seated around an oblong-shaped table — to postpone a decision over who may live on Jekyll.
Sen. Jeff Chapman (R-Brunswick) held tough until 8:17 p.m., insisting throughout the day that he wouldn’t compromise on a cap for the number of residences. He’d already prevailed on keeping condos and ritzy homes from replacing the South end’s 4-H Center, soccer complex and other undeveloped property.
In the end, though, Chapman compromised. Under intense pressure from Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and, indirectly, from Gov. Sonny Perdue, Chapman pronounced himself satisfied and said, “We have a deal.”
Later, he added: “We are victorious because we prevented the arbitrary sale of any land, created an important oversight committee and protected the South end so that untold generations can enjoy that natural resource.”
Developers, represented by lobbyists Joe Tanner and Arthur “Skin” Edge IV, also voiced satisfaction, particularly because they wore Chapman down over the cap on residences. And, with property leases likely to run until 2089, builders can now more readily borrow from banks for an as much as $3 billion in condos, hotels, million-dollar homes and shops. Back and forth, all afternoon long, legislators traipsed from chamber to chamber seeking compromise on one of the session’s more contested bills. Knots of lobbyists and legislators filled third-floor corners in the Capitol.
Rep. Terry Barnard (R-Glennville), who carried the bill in the House, about wore out his loafers trying, unsuccessfully, to close a deal before conferees gathered in a small, courtroom-like chamber on the first floor.
Chapman was an army of one against the five other conferees appointed by House and Senate leaders who prefer more, not less, development on Jekyll. “I’m willing to give in on the South end, but if you insist on (limiting) the number of residents, we don’t have a deal,” Barnard inveighed during the 6 p.m conference committee gathering. “We have compromised to the limit.” Seventy-five minutes later, they were back in air-less Room 122. Frank Mirasola, a Jekyll resident, was shocked to see Tanner and Edge seated across from Chapman and Sen. Ross Tolleson (R-Perry) attempting to hash out a compromise.
“I didn’t believe what I was seeing,” Mirasola said. “Joe Tanner was running the meeting and the legislators were just sitting there. That was surreal.”
Tanner said he was asked by Tolleson to help mediate a compromise. Later, after an aide to Tolleson nudged him, Tanner denied Tolleson asked for his help. “As far as sitting down with citizens, lobbyists, senators, environmental groups — I did that on more than one occasion as director of DNR,” said Tanner, who served 18 years as head of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. “I suspect other people have done the same thing.”
And they have, of course, but rarely so publicly. Sausage-making, like they say, ain’t pretty.
Back in Room 122, Chapman was getting nervous.
“I just hope they’re not voting on my bill while I’m sitting here,” he said before hurrying to the elevator. They weren’t. But the paranoia was palpable.
Perdue, outside catching a breath of fresh air, was asked about Chapman’s threat to kill the Jekyll bill if he didn’t get his way. “Bless his heart,” the governor sarcastically said, “he’s quite a team player.”
It was back to Room 122. But this time, at 7:43 p.m., the lobbyists for the Reynolds Group, keen to put a fancy hotel and other upscale housing on Jekyll, were joined at the table by lobbyists for the Georgia Wildlife Federation and the Georgia Conservation Voters.
A half hour later, compromise was reached. The Jekyll Island Authority, through its master planning process, will take a year to determine a suitable cap on residences. Chapman and other legislators will then weigh in. At first Chapman considered it odd that lobbyists were doing his colleagues bidding. But he changed his mind. “Sometimes it’s very helpful,” Chapman said. The House voted at 9:19 to approve HB 214. The Senate followed suit more than two hours later. “The legislative process,” said Mirasola, “is a magical thing.”
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Dunwoody done in by clock
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lawmakers again dashed the hopes for Dunwoody cityhood, leaving the bill stalled as the 2007 Legislature shut down.
The last-day defeat for Senate Bill 82 mirrored the bill’s dramatic failure a year earlier when Dunwoody incorporation fell to a last-second Senate filibuster.
The proposal made it through the Senate earlier in the session but fell 20 votes short of passage in the House on Thursday.
Lawmakers restored the bill to the House calendar late Friday but it died when the 2008 budget, private cities and other legislation consumed the day’s final hours.
The sponsor, Sen. Dan Weber (R-Dunwoody), made repeated trips Friday to the House to muster votes, but he couldn’t get the bill voted on before time expired.
Rep. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody), who carried the bill in the House, said the bill died simply from the sheer number of laws flying back and forth on the final day.
“I think it had a good shot,” Millar said. “I’m disappointed it didn’t happen.”
Still, the bill remains alive for 2008, though that delays the start of the proposed new city of 40,000 in north DeKalb until at least a 2009.
The idea of incorporation has been hotly debated in DeKalb where most of the political structure has been against it.
DeKalb’s Board of Commissioners has complained the new city would sap the county of about $15 million a year.
Lawmakers and activists from inside Dunwoody, however, have pushed their cause regardless of the opposition.
They say the county losses would be offset by the services the county will no longer have to provide when the city takes over.
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New primary date headed toward final passage
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s presidential primary would be held on February 5th next year under a measure headed toward final passage Friday evening.
The state Senate voted 47-2 for House Bill 487, a measure intended to move up the Georgia’s nominating contests so the state can have a bigger impact on the race to the White House. The primary would be held on the first Tuesday in February every four years.
The measure goes back to the House for approval of revised language, including two amendments. Those changes must gain final approval by midnight tonight.
Nine other states have already scheduled their primaries and caucuses for the same day, including Alabama. California is one of the most recent states to move its primaries to Feb. 5. Several other states are considering doing the same.
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House votes to bar personal information from reporters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s House has approved legislation barring news reporters from gaining access to Social Security numbers, birth dates and other personal information of state, county and city government employees.
Senate Bill 212, sponsored by Sen. Don Balfour (R-Snellville), expands the group of people whose personal information is shielded. from teachers and other public school employees to all non-elected government employees.
Proponents say the legislation would protect private information.
“We have had in the past an exemption … as to teachers and employees of public schools,” said Rep. Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs), who carried SB 212 on the House floor. “Surprisingly, we did not have this covering what we call ‘public employees’ of not only the state but local governments.”
Critics argue the bill could prevent news reporters from holding public officials accountable.
Reporters “compare crime databases with public employee databases by using Social Security numbers,” said Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (D-Atlanta). “And if they come up with a hit, then that can show whether governments are employing convicted criminals. I personally think that is information we should know about. That is good public policy.”
Since the House made changes to the bill it must return to the Senate for consideration.
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Stem cell research bill passes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A bill that would promote nondestructive stem cell research in Georgia received final passage by the General Assembly Friday evening.
Senate Bill 148 would require all state hospitals by June 30, 2009, to inform pregnant women that they can donate placenta, umbilical cords and amniotic fluid to either public or private banks for medical research. Georgians who contribute to stem cell research would be eligible for a state tax break.
The bill also would establish a 15-member state commission that would oversee a system of umbilical cord blood banks and seek grants for nondestructive stem cell research.
“The bill prevents taxpayer funds from being used in research that destroys human embryos,” said Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth), the bill’s sponsor. “It also prevents taxpayer funds from being used to create or clone human embryos for research. Instead, the bill advances nondestructive stem cell research involving umbilical cord blood and other non-controversial sources.”
The measure led to considerable debate earlier this year. Several patient advocate groups, scientists and biomedical research organizations opposed language in the initial Senate version of the bill. They said some passages could be interpreted as hostile to embryonic stem cell research in Georgia.
But Shafer worked with House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) and the House Science and Technology Committee to remove that language. They also added language that mirrors a federal bill being pushed by U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga).
Isakson’s measure, dubbed the Hope Act, would provide federal funding only for research on stem cells taken from so-called “naturally dead” embryos —- those too deficient to produce a child if implanted.
The House passed the new version of the bill by a vote of 148-0. Then, the Senate approved the House version of SB 148 in a vote of 48-0, sending the bill to Gov. Sonny Perdue for his consideration.
“It has the opportunity to create cures in many areas,” said Rep. Tom Rice (R-Norcross). “It is an incredibly good bill.”
Permalink | | Categories: Health Care
Ultrasound bill passes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A woman seeking an abortion who undergoes an ultrasound must be offered the chance to see the fetal image and hear the fetal heartbeat under a bill that gained final approval by the Georgia General Assembly late Friday.
Earlier, House Bill 147 seemed to be in trouble after the Senate failed to approve a revised version of the measure that caught some lawmakers off-guard. But a committee of House and Senate lawmakers ironed out the wrinkles, and the bill now goes to Gov. Sonny Perdue for consideration.
The final version of HB 147 is clear in its intent to discourage women from having abortions.
The bill states that in all cases in which a pregnant woman is seeking an abortion, a medical provider must offer her a chance to view the fetal image and hear the fetal heart before the pregnancy is terminated.
“The bill now assumes that everyone seeking an abortion will be given an ultrasound,” said state Sen. Nancy Schaefer (R-Turnerville), who has argued for the measure in the Senate. “Most doctors, hospitals, even abortion clinics give the ultrasound. They want to know the gestational period of the baby for their own protection.”
Several different proposals related to ultrasounds for women seeking abortions have floated through both the House and Senate this year. One early version of the bill would have required medical providers to perform an ultrasound on a woman seeking an abortion.
Then, lawmakers changed the bill to require medical providers to simply offer a woman an ultrasound.
The final version of HB 147 states that the ultrasound should “contain the dimensions of the unborn child, and accurately portray the presence of external members and internal organs, including but not limited to the heartbeat, if present or viewable, of the unborn child.”
The bill also stipulates that prior to an abortion, the woman must certify in writing whether she decided to view the sonogram and listen to the fetal heartbeat, if present.
The ultrasound measure also states that its purpose is to:
• “Ensure that every woman considering an abortion receive complete information on the reality and status of her pregnancy”
• “Protect unborn children from a woman’s uninformed decision to have an abortion;”
• “Reduce the risk that a woman may elect an abortion, only to discover later, with devastating psychological consequences, that her decision was not fully informed.”
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Senate approves 911 fees
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The state Senate on Friday afternoon voted 41-7 in favor of a bill that would increase requirements for the collection of 9-1-1 fees on phone services. For some customers, this will create a new monthly charge.
Senators approved an amended version of House Bill 394, which was then sent back to the House for final passage.
The bill would, among other things, increase the number of phone service providers who are required to collect surcharges for 9-1-1. Such fees are used to pay for 9-1-1 systems.
The bill is meant to make sure all providers levy and collect surcharges.
The requirement already exists for landline calls and many wireless calls. The bill would broaden the definition of telephone service to include calls made via prepaid wireless plans and for Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, calls.
Cable giant Comcast provides phone service using VoIP technology. However, spokesman Reg Griffin said the company already collects 9-1-1 fees from its customers and sends the money to the state.
Nancy Horne, president of the Cable Television Association of Georgia, said House Bill 394 would assure all providers collect and remit monthly 9-1-1 fees. “We have no problems with the bill,” she said.
AT&T’s wireless unit, which is based in Atlanta, also approves of the bill. The company currently collects 9-1-1 fees for most of its cellphone customers, but not for those who use prepaid plans.
Steve Skinner, director of external affairs for AT&T’s wireless operations, said prepaid plans account for a small portion of AT&T’s wireless users. The bulk of AT&T users have postpaid accounts, which means they pay their bills monthly after making calls.
The bill caps monthly 9-1-1 fees at $1.50. Actual charges are sometimes less that, depending on what the local county or city authorizes.
Sonji Jacobs contributed to this report
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House backs rules on notification
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s House approved legislation today requiring government agencies to notify people when their Social Security numbers and other private information has been accessed by unauthorized individuals.
Senate Bill 236 adds state and local government agencies to the list of organizations that would have to notify people “in the most expedient time possible” when their “personal information” has been breached.
The bill says personal information includes Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, credit card numbers and other data.
Rep. John Lunsford (R-McDonough), who carried the bill on the House floor this afternoon, referred to how a computer disk containing data on 2.9 million Georgians recently had been lost in shipping.
State officials, who blame Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services for the lost CD, publicly disclosed this month the disk contained names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and addresses of people on Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids, but no medical information.
ACS officials said Tuesday there is no indication that any of the information has fallen into the hands of unauthorized people.
Since the House made changes to the bill, it must go back to the Senate for consideration.
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Dunwoody fate unclear
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The prospects for the proposed city of Dunwoody remained hazy as the final day wore into the afternoon.
Senate Bill 82, tabled on Thursday, needed to come back through the House Rules Committee to make it back to the House floor for any vote.
Rules Chairman, Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs), said the bill had no better than a 50 percent chance of a vote today. He said Georgia already has enough cities and wasn’t inclinded to let it back through — especially if it would bring another two-hour debate for the second day in a row.
Rumors that Dunwoody had been traded killed as payment to Democrats who supported the dramatic override vote early Friday are not true, Ehrhart said.
But, he also said the House leadership wasn’t helping Dunwoody either.
“It’s going to have to stand or fall on its own,” Ehrhart said.
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Abortion bill changed
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia lawmakers have strengthened the language in the only abortion-related bill likely to pass the 2007 Legislative session, which wraps up today.
The latest version of House Bill 147, crafted by a six-member House and Senate conference committee, states that in all cases in which a pregnant woman is seeking an abortion, a medical provider must offer her a chance to view the fetal image and hear the fetal heart before the pregnancy is terminated.
The bill now assumes that everyone seeking an abortion will be given an ultrasound,”said state Sen. Nancy Schaefer (R-Turnerville), who has argued for the measure in the Senate. “Most doctors, hospitals, even abortion clinics give the ultrasound. They want to know the gestational period of the baby for their own protection.”
The new version of HB 147 also states that its purpose is to:
-Ensure that every woman considering an abortion receive complete information on the reality and status of her pregnancy;
-Protect unborn children from a woman’s uninformed decision to have an abortion;
-Reduce the risk that a woman may elect an abortion, only to discover later, with devastating psychological consequences, that her decision was not fully informed.;
Several proposals related to ultrasounds for women seeking abortions have floated through both the House and Senate this year. One early version of the bill would have required medical providers to perform an ultrasound on a woman seeking an abortion.
Then, lawmakers changed the bill to require medical providers to simply offer a woman an ultrasound.
The current version of HB 147 states that the ultrasound should “contain the dimensions of the unborn child, and accurately portray the presence of external members and internal organs, including but not limited to the heartbeat, if present or viewable, of the unborn child.”
The bill also stipulates that prior to an abortion, the woman must certify in writing whether she decided to view the sonogram and listen to the fetal heartbeat, if present.
Both the House and Senate must approve conference committee version of HB 147 today.
Permalink | | Categories: Health Care
House Republicans introduce flat tax plan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Setting the stage for next year, House Republican leaders introduced a sweeping proposal Thursday to overhaul Georgia’s tax code by eliminating most taxes in favor of a flat income tax and sales tax.
The proposal from House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) would eliminate all state, county and city property taxes, and all taxes on fuel, insurance premiums and estates in favor of a so-called “fair tax.”
The fair tax would include a 5.75 percent income tax and a 5.75 percent “business value added tax,” or sales tax. Georgians essentially pay a 6 percent income tax and 4 percent sales tax now, along with local property taxes.
Richardson was leading the floor session this afternoon and was not immediately available for comment about his 38-page bill.
But during previous interviews, Richardson has declared the state’s taxing system is broken.
“I’m convinced that the tax structure that has an income tax, sales tax and property tax is hurting our economy,” Richardson said in an interview in December. “I’m going to try to do everything in my power to keep Georgia’s economy moving forward positively, reducing the tax burden on citizens and encouraging economic developing so that our people have jobs.”
A spokeswoman for Richardson said the speaker introduced the bill today along with several other House Republican leaders with the expectation that it would not come up for a vote until next year. Legislators plan to discuss the idea over the summer.
The idea comes from a former economic policy adviser to President Reagan whom Richardson recently hired to study overhauling Georgia’s tax system. Richardson is working with Arthur B. Laffer, an economist considered by many as the “father of supply-side economics.” Along with Laffer, the speaker has hired Donna Arduin, a former fiscal advisor to several governors, including Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Jeb Bush of Florida.
Richardson’s political action committee, MMV Alliance Fund, is paying Laffer and Arduin’s firm the initial $50,000 cost of its study through private donations.
Cosponsoring the bill with Richardson are House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons Island), House Speaker Pro Tem Mark Burkhalter (R-Alpharetta), House Majority Whip Barry Fleming (R-Harlem) and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Larry O’Neal (R-Warner Robins).
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Trauma trust goes to governor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State lawmakers have approved legislation setting up a trust fund for Georgia’s financially troubled trauma care hospitals.
One problem: Senate Bill 60 does not put any money in the trust. Other bills that would generate funds for the hospitals are still awaiting decisions in the General Assembly.
The legislation would also create a nine-member Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission to raise state and federal funds, grants and donations, and distribute the money to the state’s trauma care hospitals. Businesses seeking start-up money to become trauma care centers would also be eligible for the funds.
State Rep. Larry O’Neal (R-Warner Robins), who carried the bill on the House floor, said the state’s network of trauma care hospitals needs $85 million at a minimum.
“We have a trauma system now that, if anything, is lessening in size and effectiveness, instead of growing in size and effectiveness,” O’Neal told the House moments before it approved the bill on a 158-1 vote. “It might be one of the most important pieces of legislation — at least in my opinion — that I have ever been involved with in my entire life.”
The bill has already passed the Senate and now is on its way to Gov. Sonny Perdue’s desk for his signature.
Georgia lawmakers, meanwhile, are considering several bills to raise money for the hospitals, including one that would require Georgians and tourists who rent a car for less than 30 days to pay a 3.5 percent surcharge. The money would go toward improving the state’s trauma care network. The Senate approved that measure Tuesday.
Georgia is in a “trauma care crisis” with two-thirds of Georgia’s 152 hospitals operating in the red, the Joint Comprehensive State Trauma Services Study Committee reported in January. The hospitals are suffering financial losses from uninsured or underinsured patients and decreasing Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates. Georgia absorbs an estimated $170 million in uncompensated trauma care annually, according to the committee.
Outside metro Atlanta, most Georgians live far from trauma centers, and the long distances put victims of car and other accidents and shootings at risk of dying before they can receive medical care.
With only 15 trauma care centers spread across the state, it can sometimes take hours for a trauma victim to reach one, the committee’s report said. The report says Georgia’s trauma death rate is 20 percent higher than the national average and 700 lives likely could be saved yearly if the state could reach the national average.
DeKalb Medical Center, losing millions of dollars overall in recent years, announced last month that it is leaving Georgia’s trauma network. Hospital officials said DeKalb’s emergency room is already on trauma diversion status an average of 22 days a month, meaning that the hospital does not have staff available to provide adequate trauma care. That sends ambulance patients to other nearby hospitals.
“I just commend to you Senate Bill 60, which is a start,” O’Neal said. “It is vital that we get this commission set up.”
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Stem cell bill passes in last-minute vote
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A bill that would promote nondestructive stem cell research in Georgia received a last-minute committee vote Tuesday, greatly improving the proposal’s chances of passing the General Assembly this year.
The House Science and Technology Committee, chaired by Rep. Amos Amerson (R-Dahlonega), approved Senate Bill 148 with no opposition. Last week, the committee declined to vote on the measure, raising doubts about whether the bill would pass before the final day of the Legislative session. The 2007 session is expected to wrap up on Friday.
“My objective from the beginning has been to promote every type of stem cell research over which there is no ethical controversy,” said Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth), the bill’s sponsor. “The committee substitute approved by the House committee today achieves that goal by citing federal guidelines.”
Shafer said he worked with House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) on reworking the bill. The measure now mirrors some of the language in a federal bill being pushed by U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga).
Isakson’s measure, dubbed the Hope Act, would provide federal funding only for research on stem cells taken from so-called “naturally dead” embryos —- those too deficient to produce a child if implanted. His bill is intended to address critics’ main objection: that taking stem cells from viable embryos destroys the embryos, an act they equate with taking a human life.
The U.S. Senate last week passed the bill.
In Georgia, Shafer’s bill needs to pass the full House and then must return to the Senate for approval of the changes made by the House.
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Effort to help Wilson falls short
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A last-ditch attempt to have a judge review the 10-year sentence of a Douglas County teen on consensual sex charges failed in the state Senate on Tuesday.
Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) attempted to amend House Bill 197 to include a provision that would allow judges to lessen the sentences of teenagers within a certain age of each other convicted of consensual sex acts.
Jones has been trying to help Genarlow Wilson, a 17-year-old high school student convicted of felony aggravated child molestation for receiving oral sex from a 15-year-old at a New Year’s Eve party in 2003.
Jones argued that the Legislature changed the laws in 2006 to make such consensual acts among teenagers a misdemeanor. But other legislators argued that the broadly-written proposal could have opened the door to a review of some cases far more serious than Wilson’s. Some also questioned the fairness of passing a bill to potentially help Wilson, given that he turned down a plea bargain that was accepted by his co-defendants.
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Va. Tech shooting prompts prayer in state House
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State lawmakers held hands and prayed on the floor of the House of Representatives this morning for the victims of Monday’s shooting massacre at Virginia Tech, which included two men from Georgia.
Rep. Vance Smith (R-Pine Mountain) told the House about a longtime friend who was killed in the shooting, Christopher J. Bishop.
Bishop, 35, grew up in Pine Mountain, where his parents still reside, Smith said. He attended the University of Georgia on a Fullbright fellowship and studied in Europe, Smith said. He was a German professor at Virginia Tech, Smith said.
“I watched him grow all his life,” Smith said. “We don’t know why he was in the classroom when this gunman came in. And I guess he was the first … ” Smith said in a voice choked with emotion before pausing to compose himself. “Remember his family … Pray for him.”
Rep. Quincy Murphy (D-Augusta) talked about Ryan Clark, 22, of Martinez in Columbia County. Clark had a 4.0 grade point average at Virginia Tech and was studying three majors, including psychology, biology and English, Murphy said. Clark was scheduled to graduate in May, Murphy added.
“Ryan was remembered as a very active, humorous, kind and gentle friend,” Murphy told the House. “We solicit your prayers for all of the families of all of the students.”
Rep. Hardie Davis (D-Gracewood) then led the House in prayer.
“May the families that have suffered great loss, Lord God, be able to stand together,” Davis said. “And may you resurrect them and revive them during this time. This we pray in our father’s name, amen.”
Permalink | | Categories: politics
Shooting spree hangs heavy over pending gun debate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The shooting spree at Virginia Tech is hanging heavy over the pending debate today in the Senate on a bill that would give Georgians greater access to firearms in motor vehicles.
The Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police has strongly opposed both House Bill 89 and Senate Bill 43, which were morphed into one bill — HB 89 — on Monday. The bills would allow motorists without a criminal record or history of mental illness to conceal weapons inside their cars and in many cases store them inside their cars while parked in their employers’ lots.
But the massacre at Virginia Tech has hit close to home for the head of the police chiefs’ group.
Frank V. Rotondo, executive director of the Georgia Assocatiion of Chiefs of Police, wrote a letter to senators today, urging them to vote against HB 89. Rotondo, a former police chief in Helen, Ga. and homicide detective in New York, wore a Virginia Tech tie at the Capitol today. It was given to him by his son, who graduated from Virginia Tech last year.
“Yesterday was indeed a day that we as Americans should never forget,” the letter opens. “The shooting deaths of 33 innocent individuals at one of our nation’s premier institutions of higher learning, Virginia Tech, has shown us that the bizarre conduct of one person, presumably a ‘law abiding citizen’ with firearms, could wreak havoc on the tranquility of society.”
Rotondo argues that Georgians who want to conceal weapons in their cars can apply for a firearms permit. Changing the law may encourage more people to pack guns in cars, which could lead to “road rage” and other impulse shootings, police have argued.
“The law as it stands now is fine,” Rotondo wrote. “Any attempt at refining the statute will clearly mean more deaths.”
Rotondo goes on to note that the bill is also opposed by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia PTA, the Georgia chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, Georgians for Gun Safety and other groups.
A vote on the bill is scheduled for later today.
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Children could face misdemeanor for seeking cigarettes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Children could face a misdemeanor for attempting to buy cigarettes under a law that narrowly won approval in the Georgia House today.
Critics complained a misdemeanor charge is too severe for the crime, however. And they signaled they would ask the House to reconsider its vote as soon as tomorrow.
Rep. Jim Cole (R-Forsyth), who carried Senate Bill 95 on the House floor, said children can already be prosecuted for attempting to buy cigarettes under current law.
SB95 clarifies the law, Cole said, allowing vendors to advertise that it is illegal for children to attempt to purchase cigarettes from them. The law says children convicted of the crime could face up to 20 hours of community service.
“Under current law, the attempt to purchase can be prosecuted,” Cole told the House before it voted 95 to 50 in favor of the bill. “What we are trying to do here is allow the vendors to publish ‘attempt to purchase’ can be a misdemeanor.”
Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (D-Atlanta) said she opposes underage tobacco use but is concerned about the bill.
“I just don’t want them having an arrest record that carries with them for life,” Benfield said after the House vote.
Benfield said she also worries the law could apply in cases where parents ask their children to buy cigarettes for them. And she questioned whether there is any corresponding punishment for vendors who sell cigarettes to minors.
Moments after the vote, Rep. Jeanette Jamieson (D-Toccoa) said she plans to ask the House to reconsider its decision on Tuesday.
SB 95, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Carter (R-Tifton), also bans businessmen from selling tobacco-related products in the same vending machines with non-tobacco items such as gum. Cole said those machines exist in other states but not in Georgia.
“It is a very preemptive strike,” Cole said, “that is geared toward protecting our young people.”
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Senate committee approves spending plan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Senate Appropriations Committee this afternoon approved a spending plan for next year that includes $45 million for land preservation and all $19 million Gov. Sonny Perdue wanted for fishing tourism.
The full Senate is expected to vote on the $20.2 billion spending plan Tuesday, and Senate and House negotiators will then work to hammer out a compromise on the budget before the session is scheduled to end Friday.
As expected, the Senate stripped or slashed many of the pet projects inserted into the budget by the House and added its own. The winners in that process were Southeast Georgia lawmakers who help run the Senate and funneled more money to their areas. The loser was the Augusta area, home to House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans).
For instance, the Senate cut money Harbin wanted to prop up the Golf Hall of Fame in Augusta, stripped money designated for the Charlie Norwood dental school in Augusta and supported money to begin creating a medical school in Athens. Harbin had wanted the medical school money to expand the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.
The Senate gave Perdue more of what he wanted than the House. For instance, Perdue got all the money he requested for “Go Fish Georgia,” which would build fishing facilities and a fish hatchery. The governor got nearly all of the $50 million he requested for land preservation. The House had approved no money for the program.
The Senate also put more money into adult literacy programs. The agency that runs adult literacy programs feared it would have to furlough teachers next month because of a funding shortfall.
And the Senate rejected a plan by House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) to force thousands of Atlanta-area residents in Medicaid’s elderly, blind and disabled programs into managed care. Richardson had estimated the shift to cheaper managed care programs would save state and federal taxpayers $80 million a year. The agency that runs Medicaid opposed the change.
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House puts off decision on private development districts
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s House has put off a decision for a day on a proposal that would allow private development districts to tax homeowners because proponents are still trying to round up several more votes for the measure.
Senate Resolution 309 is a proposed Constitutional amendment, meaning supporters need to secure votes from two-thirds of the House membership, or 120 votes.
Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) said this morning that he and other proponents are seeking between two and five more votes for the measure.
A House vote was scheduled today for the bill and companion legislation — Senate Bill 200. But House Republican leaders decided this morning to table it for a day to give supporters more time to secure votes.
Stephens said some opponents might be under the mistaken impression that the legislation would give the development districts the power to seize property through eminent domain. SB200 specifically blocks the districts from having that power.
Similar legislation died in the General Assembly last year partly because of concerns that the districts would have the power to condemn private property.
“We want to make sure people understand what the bill does,” said Stephens, chairman of the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee, which endorsed the proposal last week. “There is a lot of misinformation.
“This is a way for developers and homeowners to tax themselves for expensive infrastructure without taxing the rest of the county. That is the whole essence of the bill.”
The legislation — which would also have to be approved by voters — would grant the districts the power to issue tax-exempt bonds to raise money for roads, sewers and other infrastructure needed to support their planned communities. The districts could then tax the homeowners in their communities to help pay off those bonds.
Supporters say the measure could boost economic development in Georgia and help cash-strapped counties and cities that are struggling to keep up with the state’s growth.
Nicknaming the districts “private cities,” critics say the legislation would create taxation without representation and could lead to suburban sprawl.
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Black Caucus leader says slavery apology might have to wait
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A resolution apologizing for Georgia’s role in slavery might have to wait until next year because it has failed to gain consensus in the Legislature, the head of Georgia’ Legislative Black Caucus announced this afternoon.
“Until we are able to bring about more consensus, I have made the decision not to [introduce] the resolution at this time in the state House,” Rep. Al Williams (D-Midway), said at a news conference in the state Capitol rotunda today.
With about 15 other black caucus members by his side, Williams said his decision is “not to abandon it but just to massage it more and work more for a greater amount of cooperation and agreement.”
Williams said he hopes to introduce the resolution this year but said it is possible it will have to wait until next year. His announcement follows more bad signs for the effort: a standoff between Senate Republican and Democratic leaders.
Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) blasted Senate Minority Leader Robert Brown (D-Macon) Thursday for not taking an active role in supporting the resolution. Brown responded that Johnson never invited him to get involved.
The slavery debate arose several weeks ago when the state NAACP called on the Georgia General Assembly and Gov. Sonny Perdue to apologize for the state’s role in slavery.
The NAACP’s call for a slavery apology initially received a cool reception from GOP leaders in both the House and Senate. Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams (R-Lyons) reflected the sentiments of many lawmakers by saying he did not think people could apologize for something they did not do.
The issue appeared to be dead — until Johnson stepped into the picture and said he would work with Rep. Williams on crafting language for a resolution addressing slavery that would engender bipartisan support. Rep. Williams originally said he was planning to introduce a resolution this year.
The wording of the resolution has become a sticking point, however. Several weeks ago, Rep. Williams circulated a four-page draft that would acknowledge the history of slavery in America “with contrition” and call for “reconciliations” among all Georgians.
A more recent draft of the proposed resolution obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution did not offer an apology for slavery but expressed “profound regret for Georgia’s role in the enslavement of Africans.”
Lawmakers in Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland have approved an apology for their states’ roles in slavery this year.
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Property tax cut included in budget deal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Taxpayers would receive about a $100 property tax cut under a budget deal given final approval by the General Assembly this morning.
The measure passed the House 166-0 and the Senate 48-0. The deal still must be signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue.
House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram), said he hopes the tax break will come in the form of a check counties send to property owners in coming months. Or homeowners could get a tax credit on the annual property tax bill they receive.
“We’re still working on the details,” Richardson said.
The measure will save taxpayers — and cost state coffers — $142 million.
“You are giving tax relief to the citizens of Georgia. It’s something you can all be proud of,” House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans), told his colleagues this morning.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Hill (R-Reidsville) said, “Sending money back to taxpayers is the right thing to do.”
House leaders proposed the tax cut after they reached an impasse with Senate leaders on the mid-year budget for fiscal 2007, which ends June 30.
Members of the House felt the Senate had portrayed them as big spenders because they’d tried to include projects such museum funding and Gov. Sonny Perdue’s “Go Fish Georgia” fishing tourism program in the mid-year budget.
The Senate gutted the mid-year budget of those projects, and the two sides did not appear near a deal when they began negotiations Tuesday.
Under the deal being approved today, the mid-year budget will provide $81 million to prop up the PeachCare health insurance program for children of the working poor, more than $9 million to keep the public defender’s system afloat and about $40 million to aid the startup of a new Kia car plant in West Georgia.
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Property tax cut approved by Legislature
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Taxpayers would get about a $100 property tax cut under a budget deal given final approval by the General Assembly this morning.
The measure passed the House 166-0 and the Senate 48-0. The deal still must be signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue.
House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram), said he hopes the tax break will come in the form of a check counties send to property owners in coming months. Or homeowners could get a tax credit on the annual property tax bill they receive. “We’re still working on the details,” Richardson said.
The measure will save taxpayers - and cost state coffers - $142 million. “You are giving tax relief to the citizens of Georgia. It’s something you can all be proud of,” House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans), told his colleagues this morning.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Hill (R-Reidsville) said, “Sending money back to taxpayers is the right thing to do.”
House leaders proposed the tax cut after they reached an impasse with Senate leaders on the mid-year budget for fiscal 2007, which ends June 30.
Members of the House felt the Senate had portrayed them as big spenders because they’d tried to include projects such museum funding and Perdue’s “Go Fish Georgia” fishing tourism program in the mid-year budget.
The Senate gutted the mid-year budget of those projects, and the two sides did not appear near a deal when they began negotiations Tuesday.
Under the deal being approved today, the mid-year budget will provide $81 million to prop up the PeachCare health insurance program for children of the working poor, more than $9 million to keep the public defender’s system afloat and about $40 million to aid the startup of a new Kia car plant in West Georgia.
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House panel approves budget
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A key committee approved a state budget for next year on Thursday that includes extra money for school instruction and fishing tourism and $1 billion in new construction.
The $20.2 billion spending plan for fiscal 2008, which begins July 1, also includes dozens of pet projects for lawmakers and $6 million for unspecified grants that won’t be made public until just before the end of the 2007 session.
The House Appropriations Committee backed the budget this morning, and the full House will consider it Friday. Lawmakers hope to end the 2007 session next Friday.
The spending plan gives Gov. Sonny Perdue much, although not all, of what he requested. It includes $18 million of the $19 million he wanted for “Go Fish Georgia,” the state’s effort to promote fishing tourism. However, it doesn’t include any money for land preservation, another of Perdue’s priorities.
House leaders had cut out much of the “Go Fish” funding earlier in the session. However, Perdue pressured lawmakers to back his program, which was one of few initiatives the governor promoted this year.
House leaders reduced the size of the austerity spending cut Perdue had included for schools, dropping it from $140 million to $100 million. They also added $5 million to promote the development of charter schools, which are allowed to operate without many public school regulations, and $8 million to build a charter school in Cobb County.
The House spending plan also would give more money to the State Ethics Commission, which Perdue had recommended be cut by 40 percent. The commission investigates accusations of campaign finance laws and handles campaign finance and lobby spending reports. The House budget also included $3.5 million to buy 100 new state trooper cars.
House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans), is from the Augusta area, and that East Georgia city had a good haul in the House budget. The Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, located in Augusta, would get $550,000 for operations and a feasibility study on its future. Another $2.8 million would go to expand the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.
Gainesville, home of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Carl Rogers (R-Gainesville), would get $2 million for a parking deck.
Paulding County, home of House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram), would get $1.5 million for a new library.
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Stem cell bill unlikely to pass this year
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A controversial bill that would promote non-embryonic stem cell research in Georgia is unlikely to pass the Georgia General Assembly this year.
The House Science and Technology Committee, chaired by Rep. Amos Amerson (R-Dahlonega), did not take action on the bill Thursday morning despite hearing 2 1/2 hours of testimony on the measure earlier this week.
Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth), the bill’s sponsor, said he believes the measure has enough support among lawmakers to pass eventually.
“I continue to be encouraged by the strong bipartisan support for the bill,” Shafer wrote in an e-mail Thursday. “The bill would have passed this morning with votes from both parties. I am confident that when the chairman allows the committee to vote, the bill will move forward.”
Senate Bill 148 would require all state hospitals by June 30, 2009, to inform pregnant women that they can donate placenta, umbilical cords and amniotic fluid to either public or private banks for medical research. Georgians who contribute to nondestructive stem cell research would be eligible for a state tax break.
The measure also would establish a 15-member state commission that would oversee a system of umbilical cord blood banks and seek grants for non-destructive stem cell research.
Nothing in Shafer’s bill prohibits embryonic stem cell research, but some critics say the measure contains language that is unnecessary and implies that research involving human embryos is unethical. Several scientists, lawmakers and patient advocates have asked Shafer to remove language in the bill referring to embryonic stem cell research.
But Shafer has refused so far. He and organizations such as Georgia Right to Life and the Georgia Christian Alliance oppose research that destroys human embryos, saying such procedures cross a moral and ethical line.
Last year, one version of Shafer’s bill would have prohibited therapeutic cloning — a process that many scientists argue may someday hold the cure for diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer and spinal cord injuries.
Senate lawmakers eventually removed that controversial language, and the measure passed both chambers with overwhelming support. But the bill died on the final day of the session because it failed to get a procedural approval before the clock ran out. Within a few weeks, Gov. Sonny Perdue issued an executive order that resurrected some parts of the bill, including the establishment of a Newborn Umbilical Cord Blood Bank Commission. That order will sunset at the end of the year.
The debate in Georgia has echoed discussion about human embryonic stem cell research and adult stem cell research that have played out on the federal level.
The U.S Senate approved a bill Wednesday that would provide federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. The House of Representatives has already approved a similar measure, but President George W. Bush has said he likely will veto that bill.
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Climate for diversity on campuses debated
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On the face of it, intellectual diversity seems like a goal everyone in education can agree on.
But when it’s the catch phrase for a proposed law that would require Georgia’s public universities to make yearly reports to lawmakers, intellectual diversity becomes controversial.
That was apparent Wednesday when the House Higher Education Committee heard testimony on House Bill 154, the intellectual diversity bill.
Supporters said it’s needed to protect college students from being chastised, intimidated and even threatened for their dissenting points of view.
Opponents consider the proposal needless political meddling.
College students recounted incidents they said occurred because of their conservative political beliefs.
David Kirby, publisher of the Georgia GuardDawg, a right-leaning student newspaper at the University of Georgia, said his newspaper’s boxes were vandalized.
“The response from the university, I thought, was interesting,” Kirby said. “There was no response.”
Ruth Malhotra, a graduate student at Georgia Tech, said that because of her activism at Georgia Tech “simply to go to class I need police patrols.”
Tech senior Orit Sklar said in a physics class in 2004 the professor asked students their picks for president and condemned those who chose President Bush.
“There’s a pattern of censorship, an environment of conformity at Georgia Tech,” Sklar said. She and Malhotra have sued Tech in U.S. District Court over its speech rules, student activity fee and a program that includes religious discussion while promoting tolerance for homosexuality.
But Tech sophomore Sarang Shah, a member of the school’s Young Democrats chapter, said “this free exchange of ideas already is going on. Georgia Tech is about a diversity of opinions.”
University System official Jim Flowers said the intellectual diversity bill was a solution looking for a problem. “There are 62.4 million opportunities to make somebody angry” if you count all the students attending class over four years, Flowers said. But in that time, he said, only 38 incidents have been reported. “It causes me to wonder where the fire is burning.”
“I started my day at Bible study at Georgia Tech, of all places,” Flowers told the lawmakers, challenging the notion that the state’s universities are liberal bastions unfriendly to different points of view.
His comments sparked a rebuke from Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta), who called Flowers’ statements “one of the most condescending presentations I’ve ever heard, and I don’t appreciate it.”
Cooper said that at Kennesaw State University a professor called all white people racists, and a student was harrassed to the point of considering suicide.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Tom Rice (R-Norcross), said all the legislation requires is that universities file yearly reports on what’s being done to ensure intellectual pluralism.
“We’re not attempting to micromanage,” Rice said. “It’s just good oversight.”
The bill won’t advance this year, but university officials and lawmakers will discuss the issue before the next legislative session begins.
“You and I will have a direct conversation with the chancellor on this issue,” Rep. Bill Hembree (R-Winston), the committee chairman, told Rice.
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Senate approves ultrasound rule
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A woman seeking an abortion in Georgia must be offered the chance to view an ultrasound image of her fetus before the procedure under a bill passed Wednesday by the state Senate.
The chamber approved House Bill 147 by a vote of 36 to 17. Earlier Wednesday, the Republican-majority Senate voted to “engross” the bill — a legislative procedure that restricts lawmakers from amending the measure on the floor.
Several Democrats spoke against engrossing the bill, but their efforts failed to convince a majority of their colleagues.
State Rep. James Mills (R-Gainesville), the sponsor of the HB 147, was in the Senate when the measure passed.
“I feel like this is going to save lives,” Mills said after the vote. “This is going to give women the ability to make informed decisions.”
Sen. Nancy Schaefer (R-Turnerville), who sponsored a similar measure this year, carried HB 147 in the Senate.
Lawmakers have changed the bill’s language significantly since Mills first introduced the measure. Initially, the bill would have required doctors to perform an ultrasound and then offer a woman the chance to see the images. The ultrasound is no longer mandatory under the bill.
Sen. Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta) spoke against the bill, arguing that lawmakers should focus on other ways to reduce teen pregnancies and abortion in Georgia.
HB 147 now goes back to the House for a procedural approval because the Senate made some non-substantive changes to the measure. She also said the bill intrudes on the doctor-patient relationship.
“We should be gathering around the goal to reduce teen pregnancies by improving the health of our mothers, improving the health of our newborns,” Orrock said.
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Richardson: House will adjourn by end of next week
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) declared today that the House will adjourn by Friday of next week with or without a budget agreement with the Senate for this year and next, raising the specter of a costly special session.
“Time is starting to run very, very, very short,” Richardson warned the House this morning about its budget standoff with the Senate. “I believe next Friday is it. I see no reason to continue to perpetuate this session.
“It is time to get our work done and adopt the budgets and go back to your families and businesses. I intend for us to adjourn next Friday and I will continue that assertion.”
Richardson said he made the same assertions in a letter to Republican Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle yesterday.
Richardson’s announcement comes as the two chambers are locked in a bitter standoff on the mid-year budget. The chambers got into the power struggle after Cagle announced the Senate would strip House-backed projects from the plan.
Still, House Republican leaders are hopeful the Senate will pass the 2007 budget later today so they can work out their differences in a conference committee and pass it and the 2008 budget before Friday of next week.
The Legislature has only six more days left in the 40-day session to pass the spending plans and a huge pile of other key legislation that touches on everything from gun control to school choice.
“We are on a very close schedule to adopting the two budgets in these next few days,” Richardson warned.
In anticipation of a Senate vote on the 2007 budget today, Richardson appointed three representatives to a conference committee that would hash out the differences between the two chambers: House Speaker Pro Tem Mark Burkhalter (R-Alpharetta), House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons Island) and House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans).
Harbin said he was “nervous” about the chances of the General Assembly adopting the spending plans before Friday of next week, given the Senate’s tactics. He also addressed the possibility that the General Assembly would have to meet in a special session to work on the budgets, a move that could cost taxpayers more.
In addition to their $17,341 annual salaries, state lawmakers are entitled to $173 per diem payments for food and lodging each day they attend a legislative session and for any additional days they do official business, no matter how far they live from the state capitol.
“They want to talk about being fiscal conservatives, let’s avoid a special session,” Harbin said of the Senate. “Let’s put everything on the table. Let’s talk about it. Let’s debate. And that is what we have tried to do.”
Meanwhile, the House continued its snail’s pace today, passing only one piece of legislation — urging the Turkish government to protect religious and human rights for the Greek Orthodox Church. The House is planning to take up only one other bill tomorrow, an arcane piece of Senate legislation that would update the state’s banking laws based on changes in federal law.
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