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AJC.com > Legislature > Georgia Beat > Archives > 2005 > March > 22
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
House reverses vote on sparklers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Georgia House reversed itself Tuesday and passed legislation to legalize sparklers.
Less than a week ago, the House soundly defeated the bill — preserving Georgia’s status as only one of seven states that ban all fireworks.
But on Tuesday and under pressure from the bill’s sponsor, Senate Rules Committee Chairman Don Balfour (R-Snellville), House members held a second vote and passed the measure 119 to 53.
Balfour watched the debate and vote on a television outside the House chambers.
State Rep. Tom McCall (R-Elberton) was booed by his House colleagues when, before the vote, he cautioned them to “remember whose bill it is and who is chairman of Rules in the Senate.”
Another House member joked that Waffle Houses will start giving out sparklers to their customers. Balfour is an executive with Waffle House and, as Rules chair, can keep bills from reaching the Senate floor.
Last week, many female lawmakers, with backing from fire chiefs and firefighters, lobbied against the bill because of the potential hazard to children.
The bill now goes back to the state Senate for consideration of some changes.
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Senate study to look at splitting Fulton County
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Senate voted 48-1 today in favor of establishing a study committee to look at the pros and cons of splitting Fulton County in two.
State Sen. Sam Zamarripa (D-Atlanta) has proposed creating two consolidated governments, called Milton and Atlanta counties. Cities from Palmetto to Atlanta to Mountain Park would all be swept into one of the two governments.
The new Milton County would begin at the northern boundary of Atlanta.
The new Atlanta County would take in everything from Atlanta to Fulton’s southern border. The idea already has gained some support in the Republican-controlled Legislature.
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Legislature votes to take pseudoephedrine off shelves
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In an effort to fight spiraling methamphetamine abuse rates, popular cold and sinus remedies such as Sudafed and Claritin soon will be sold only from behind the counter at drug stores and other retail shops statewide.
The state Senate voted 53-0 on Tuesday in favor of House Bill 216, a proposal that would take drugs whose main ingredient is pseudoephedrine off the shelf.
“We have a problem,� said Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga). “And the problem in rural Georgia is methamphetamine. It’s a plague in our community. And if you don’t have it in your community, it’s coming soon.�
The bill also would require pseudoephedrine products to be sold in blister packaging. Retailers will be prohibited from selling more than three packages of drugs such as Sudafed in a single sale.
“I’m excited about the passage of this bill because of the impact it will have in protecting the families and communities of this state,� said state Rep. Jay Neal (R-LaFayette), the sponsor of the House bill.
The bill now goes before Gov. Sonny Perdue to be signed into law. The law would go into effect on July 1, except in counties where pseudoephedrine sales already are regulated. In Douglas County, for example, a local ordinance that is more restrictive than HB 216 is in effect. Those counties have until Jan. 1, 2006 to meet the statewide standard.
Some legislators had proposed more restrictive bills, such as a measure that would require only licensed pharmacists or pharmacy technicians to sell the products. Mullis said HB 216 strikes the right balance between meeting the needs of Georgians who legitimately need a cold remedy and “drug dealers who are manufacturing this terrible product.”
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Senate bill aims to improve courthouse safety
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Georgia Senate voted 46-0 today in favor of a proposal aimed at improving safety measures in Georgia’s state and county buildings.
Senate Resolution 431 would create a study committee to hold hearings across the state and provide a report detailing minimum security requirements by Dec. 31.
Sen. Joseph Carter (R-Tifton), the bill’s sponsor, said last week that security measures statewide in courtrooms and public buildings range from extreme to none.
The recent killings at the Fulton County Courthouse spurred Carter to introduce the legislation. The hearings likely will begin in April after the Legislative session. The committee will hear testimony from experts such as judges, attorneys and county commissioners.
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House vote approves deadhead logging in Flint, Altamaha
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Georgia House narrowly approved legislation today that would allow divers to extract 100-year-old logs from the Altamaha and Flint rivers in South Georgia.
The logs have been resting on the river bottoms since loggers stopped using the state’s rivers to move their products to market. Environmentalists oppose the practice —- called deadhead logging —- which has been illegal here since 1998. They say removing the 20- to 25-foot longleaf pine and cypress logs will stir up massive amounts of silt, ruining fish habitats and polluting the water.
House Speaker Pro Tem Mark Burkhalter (R-Alpharetta) cast the tie-breaking vote needed for the bill to pass with the slimmest 91-vote majority.
The vote would have sent the bill to the desk of the governor to be signed into law, but state Rep. Tom Bordeaux has asked that the House be given a chance to reconsider its action at a later date.
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