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Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Perdue raises possibility of special session — but is it a threat or a last-minute cattle prod?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Associated Press says Gov. Sonny Perdue is signaling that he might veto the 2007 midyear budget, raising the possibility that a long and tortuous session of the Legislature might have an encore.
“Every day the papers are filled with story after story about the shortcomings of this budget,” the AP quotes Perdue spokesman Dan McLagan as saying.
“This governor is unlikely to sign a budget that fails to meet the needs of Georgians,” McLagan said. “This certainly appears to be such a budget.”
The article noted that the timing of the comments seemed designed to give lawmakers an opportunity to fix the problems before they leave. Friday is scheduled to be the final day of the 40-day session.
Edwards names his Georgia teams — House and Senate leaders at the top
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The John Edwards presidential campaign this afternoon released its list of early Georgia supporters — including Senate Minority Leader Robert Brown of Macon and House Minority Leader DuBose Porter of Dublin.
And you’re still wondering why Edwards was picked to speak at the Democrat’s Jefferson-Jackson Day fund-raiser on May 17.
Other Democrats jumping on the Edwards wagon:
— Former congressman Ed Jenkins
State Sen. Vincent D. Fort (D-Atlanta)
State Rep. Rob Teilhet (D-Smyrna)
State Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (D-Atlanta)
State Rep. Michelle Henson (D-Stone Mountain)
State Rep. Gerald Greene (D-Cuthbert)
State Rep. Jeannette Jamieson (D-Toccoa)
State Rep. Charles Jenkins (D-Blairsville)
State Rep. Hugh Floyd (D-Norcross)
Chuck Byrd, Middle Georgia attorney
The NRA loses the same fight in Florida; and Cagle tells critics to put on their ‘big-boy’ pants
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The National Rifle Association’s week didn’t get any better on Wednesday.
One day after our state Senate refused to take up its guns-in-parking-lots bill, a House committee in Florida killed that state’s version of the same measure.
Seven Republicans were key to the 10 to 4 vote. “NRA will not forget these anti-gun, anti-freedom, anti-constitution representatives,” says the alert put out by the gun group.
Meanwhile, back in Georgia, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle declared the NRA bill dead for the session. But Cagle denied that he had placed his Republican caucus in a difficult position by pushing too hard to bring the issue to a vote.
“No I don’t think that’s a fair characterization at all. Listen, this is a big-boy process down here. No one likes to take difficult votes. I did not allow a vote to take place the first time it was on the floor, because there was dissension,” the lieutenant governor told our colleague Carlos Campos.
“Was I pushing both sides to the table? Yes. That’s part of the process, to find common ground,” Cagle said. “And at the end of the day, I have no desire to bring a bill to the floor that is going to be this divisive if there’s not sufficient votes. And clearly both sides could not come to an agreement, and the votes were not there to pass the bill.
“It’s my job to make sure we don’t harm the members of the body, and that we do what’s in the best interest of all Georgia citizens. In the end, I was not comfortable that [the legislation] met that test,” Cagle said.
The blurring line between lobbyists and media consultants
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Fulton County Daily Report has a must-read article today on the blurring line between lobbyists and media consultants in Georgia — raising the question of whether some people who should be registering as lobbyists aren’t.
Reporter Andy Peters drops several important names, including Derrick Dickey, former press aide to Gov. Sonny Perdue; Matt Towery, who provides polling, consulting and news services to clients; former congressman Bob Barr, who has started Liberty Strategies LLC; former Southeastern Legal Foundation director Phil Kent, and “Georgia Gang” member Jeff Dickerson.
Many of the above are quoted as saying they don’t have direct contact with lawmakers, and so don’t need to register. But Rick Thompson, executive secretary of the State Ethics Commission, is quoted as saying they should.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re communicating directly with anyone or not,” Thompson said, citing O.C.G.A. ยง 21-5-70. “If you undertake to promote or oppose legislation, or you spend at least $250, you have to register.”
However, no one has filed a complaint about media consultants illegally engaging in lobbying, Thompson said.
“No one has ever asked the question,” Thompson added.
In Cagle’s defense: Gun bill sponsor said the lieutenant governor did the right thing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State Sen. Chip Rogers, the sponsor of the guns-in-parking-lot bill, sent us a note this morning.
It referred to last night’s intra-caucus dust-up that had some Republican senators in near revolt.
Said Rogers:
“Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle worked tirelessly over the last three weeks to find a compromise on this issue. The suggestion that he did anything to hurt the Republican caucus is preposterous.
“I was part of the entire negotiation process on SB 43 and HB 89. Casey Cagle’s effort to find middle ground, while protecting every member of the Senate, both Republican and Democrat, should be applauded.”
Signs that the Legislature has over-lingered — the abridged version
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Three House Democrats — Michele Henson of Stone Mountain, Stephanie Stuckey Benfield of Atlanta and Karla Drenner of Avondale — have been passing around their top 20 signs that the Legislature has gone on far too long.
We’ve taken the liberty of a few edits, and have whittled the list down to the standard Top Ten:
— You hope its not an ethics violation to play solitaire on your state-issued computer.
— You wear your legislative badge so much that you forget to take it off at the grocery store and wonder why the guy at the meat counter knows your name.
— You ask your spouse if he/she yields before speaking.
— Job? What job? You introduce a bill to double the legislative salary since it’s your only form of income.
— Spouse? What spouse? You introduce a measure providing for legislative immunity from Georgia’s divorce laws.
— You’ve introduced so many resolutions that you’re now down to honoring the guy who sat two rows behind you in first grade.
— You get caught up in the incorporation frenzy and try to create a city named after yourself because you might want to be mayor.
— Your best friends in the Legislature are the ones with couches in their offices so you can catch up on your sleep.
— You forget what it’s like to pay for your own food.
— You’re so bleary-eyed from all the guests on the House floor that the Speaker starts to look like Miss Gum Spirits of Turpentine.
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