LEGISLATIVE BRIEFS

Push continues for network

Photos of a demolished car flashed on big screens in the Senate chamber on Tuesday, a reminder of the need for a state trauma network.

Sen. Cecil Staton (R-Macon) tried to get the Senate’s attention with pictures of his crushed Chevy Suburban, the one he was cut out of with the Jaws of Life six years ago on Jan. 9, 2003.

“Today, I ask you to think about my anniversary,” Staton told his colleagues. Staton suffered a crushed ankle and tibia in the wreck, leaving one ankle noticeably bigger than the other. “I can walk, thank God.”

Staton wants $60 million for the state to continue building a network this year. “If we could reach the national average we could save 600 lives per year in Georgia,” he said.

Deaths decrease if a patient is taken to a trauma center within “a precious, golden hour” of the accident, Staton said.

He posted a map showing areas with no quick access to trauma care —- mostly in South Georgia and northeast Georgia. Students in Athens at the University of Georgia are also more than an hour away from a trauma center, Staton said.

—- Mary Lou Pickel

Assignments still being worked on

House members have yet to learn their committee assignments for the 2009 session and House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) said Tuesday he hopes that’s done by this morning.

The House Committee on Assignments met nonstop for seven hours on Monday, Richardson said, and has not yet completed its work.

Still undetermined is whether Rep. David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) will lose his chairmanship of the Judiciary Non-Civil Committee as punishment for his failed bid to unseat Richardson as speaker.

—- Aaron Gould Sheinin

Perdue offers 2 court proposals

Almost four years after signing sweeping —- and controversial —- tort reform legislation into law, Gov. Sonny Perdue said Tuesday he has two more proposals aimed at helping state business in the courts.

One proposal would make plaintiffs think twice before filing “nuisance lawsuits,” Perdue said at the annual Chamber of Commerce “Eggs and Issues” breakfast. If a lawsuit is dismissed at the earliest possible stage, the plaintiff bringing the claim should pay the prevailing party’s attorneys fees, the governor said. The other proposal would shield biotechnology companies in Georgia from liability if their medical devices or drugs get Food and Drug Administration approval.

—- Bill Rankin