Bill: Use drugs, buy your own food
Two years ago the Georgia Legislature wanted to ban drug users from getting welfare. Now, a state lawmaker wants to prevent anyone who fails a drug test from getting food stamps.
Rep. Greg Morris, R-Vidalia, chairman of the House Banks and Banking Committee, has prepared House Bill 772, which would require all food stamp applicants to pass a drug test to receive assistance.
In 2012, lawmakers approved, and Gov. Nathan Deal signed into law, House Bill 861, which had similar requirements for anyone requesting temporary assistance for needy families. But that law was never implemented after a federal court struck down a similar measure in Florida.
— Aaron Gould Sheinin
Committees could be given subpoena powers
Legislative committees would gain the power to subpoena witnesses and compel testimony under a bill filed Friday in the state House.
House Bill 760, sponsored by state Rep. Andrew Welch, R-McDonough, would require committees to vote to issue subpoenas and authorize chairmen of those committees to administer an oath to witnesses. Subpoenas would have to be signed by the presiding judge of the Fulton County Superior Court.
House and Senate ethics committees already have subpoena power. HB 760 does not change how those committees compel records or testimony.
— Aaron Gould Sheinin
Jekyll changes also subject to Senate bill
Senators filed their own bill Friday on a proposal to open up more of Jekyll Island to possible development.
Mirroring a bill already introduced in the House, Senate Bill 296 appears to reflect changes approved in October by the Jekyll Island Authority. Instead of requiring that no more than 35 percent of the island be available for commercial development, the authority wanted to settle on a hard number. The compromise was 1,675 acres.
All but 78 of those acres are already developed, and the bill sets out specific rules for how that remaining land may be improved. Twelve acres are set aside for expansion of the existing campground; 20 acres are available for “unrestricted uses”; and the remaining 46 acres must be used for “public health, public safety or public recreation.”
The same standards are in House Bill 715, sponsored by state Rep. Mark Hamilton, R-Cumming. SB 296 is sponsored by Senate Natural Resources and the Environment Chairman Ross Tolleson, R-Perry.
— Kristina Torres
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