Braddock Highlights General Assembly's Third Week

Dear Editor,

We returned to the House chamber on Monday, Jan. 23, to begin our third legislative week of the 2012 session. In our first week, we heard Gov. [Nathan] Deal deliver his State of the State Address, and last week we began working on the state budget by hearing from the leaders of our state agencies. This week, the Speaker of the House challenged the House Special Committee on Small Business Development and Job Creation to undertake serious regulation reform in order to help spur our state economy and create jobs for Georgians.

The initiative, called “Red Tape Watch,” charges the House Special Committee on Small Business Development and Job Creation to spend this legislative session reviewing and evaluating Georgia’s current regulatory environment. To do this, the special committee will meet periodically throughout the 2012 legislative session to hear directly from small business owners about burdensome or onerous state regulations that unnecessarily hinder economic development, business growth, and job creation in Georgia. These meetings will allow us to identify opportunities to further shrink the size of our state government and thereby help create an economic environment that fosters job creation and is conducive to the growth of strong small businesses throughout the state.

You should know that the idea for Red Tape Watch came directly from individual Georgians, like you, voicing their concerns about bureaucratic regulations and time-consuming red tape that directly interferes with their everyday operations. We heard their frustrations, and now we want to hear yours. That is why I am personally asking business owners in Paulding County who have businesses that have been burdened by oppressive and outdated state regulations to please visit www.house.ga.gov/redtapewatch and give us your feedback. You will be contacted by Jenne Burke to schedule a meeting with the committee to speak. With your help, we can make it easier for small businesses in our community to thrive and hire new employees.

In addition to our efforts to cut red tape, we also gained insight into our state’s court systems when State Supreme Court Chief Justice Carol Hunstein delivered her State of the Judiciary Address, which primarily focused on the recommendations of the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform.

The special council was a joint effort by Chief Justice Hunstein, Gov. Deal, Speaker [David] Ralston, Lt. Gov. [Casey]Cagle, Representative Jay Neal, and others to develop a more cost effective corrections system in Georgia. After concluding an in-depth review of our state’s current justice system and those of other states, the council published a report of its findings. According to the report, non-violent drug and property offenders represent almost 60 percent of prison admissions. With each prisoner costing taxpayers $49 a day, it is no surprise that Georgia spends $1 billion a year on our corrections system. Instead of sending these low-risk, non-violent, first offenders to an expensive prison, where they often learn to become hardened criminals, the council’s report recommends cost-effective alternatives, like community treatment at a Day Reporting Center for $16 a day or probation supervision for $1.50 a day.

The strategies recommended by Chief Justice Hunstein and the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform have been proven to save taxpayers’ dollars and decrease crime in other states. For example, Texas avoided the need for $2 billion in new prison construction and is actually closing a prison down, after making an investment in diversion and treatment centers. More importantly, after introducing these prison-alternatives, Texas saw its lowest crime rate in 37 years.

Chief Justice Hunstein also recommended expanding our state’s accountability courts. This includes creating new drug, mental health, and veterans’ courts throughout the state. Also, she suggested a new class of violations for less serious traffic offenses that do not require full court hearings. These changes would free up our courts, allowing judges to focus on other important criminal and civil cases.

This week, we also passed an adjournment resolution that sets a preliminary legislative schedule for most of this year’s 40-day session. For this schedule, please visit our website at www.house.ga.gov and click on the Adjournment Resolution link. If everything goes according to plan, we will complete three-fourths of the legislative session by March 8. As we continue to work through this calendar over the next several weeks, I hope to hear from you and learn about your views on regulation reform, criminal justice reform and ideas for cutting red tape in business. You can call my capitol office at 404-656-0177 or email me directly at Paulette.Braddock@house.ga.gov.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative.