Wednesday, April 3, 2013
The Georgia General Assembly was not able to pass a sweeping firearms bill that would have allowed gun owners to carry in churches, bars and on school campuses. Tell us if you think they should try again next year.
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Wednesday, April 3
A proposal that would have allowed firearms to be carried in churches, college campuses and in bars died on the vine as the 2013 legislative session ended on Thursday. House Bill 512, which garnered much support across the state, sailed through the Georgia House of Representatives. However, its upper chamber counterpart, Senate Bill 101, could not muster enough support to pass before the close of the session. The issue over whether or not to allow firearms on the state's nearly 50 colleges and university campuses brought down the bill. However, supporters of the bill and the campus carry provision are confident the bill will return in 2014. A Kennesaw legislator was among those who pushed legislation that if enacted would have lifted bans …
Friday, March 29, 2013
The Georgia General Assembly’s 2013 session ended Thursday. Barring special circumstances, state lawmakers won’t reconvene until January. Tell us if you believe legislators should work more days in a year.
Georgia’s lawmakers are officially done for the year. Thursday was the General Assembly’s 40th day—the last day of the 2013 session. So unless a special session is called, legislators won’t reconvene until January. For their three months of work, lawmakers will each take home an annual salary of about $24,262—that includes a base salary of $17,342 plus a $173 per diem for each day of the session (Sources: National Conference of State Legislatures; Website of State Rep. Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta). Though this year’s session is now over, most voters are bound to see their state lawmakers before next year’s session begins, as legislators typically spend part of the year’s remaining nine months in their districts and may hold town hall …
Monday, March 11, 2013
Patch has highlighted several pieces of proposed legislation since the Georgia General Assembly convened in January. See which bills state lawmakers will be considering during the session’s final days, and which ones didn’t get House or Senate approval.
Thursday was “Crossover Day,” the 30th day of the Georgia General Assembly’s 40-day session. Crossover Day is the deadline for bills to be passed in at least one of the General Assembly’s two chambers in order to be considered during the current legislative session. In the last few weeks, we’ve taken a look at several pieces of legislation introduced by state lawmakers, and we’ve asked you to give us your takes on them. Below is a roundup of where some of that legislation went during the first 30 days of the session. Charles Gregory, R-Kennesaw, was the primary sponsor of two bills aimed at lifting bans on carrying weapons in specific places within the state. House Bill 28, dubbed the “Restoring Private Property Rights for Places of …
Friday, March 1, 2013
A proposed change to state law would allow the Georgia Lottery Corp. to reap a share of the profits from video poker machines to help fund the HOPE Scholarship program. Tell us what you think of the proposal.
Playing video poker in Georgia could soon benefit the HOPE Scholarship. That would be the effect of a state law change proposed by legislators just this week. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, House Bill 487 if approved would put the control and enforcement of video poker machines to the Georgia Lottery Corporation. A share of the profits from those machines would then go into the HOPE Scholarship program. The bill amends state law by striking language that prohibits video poker machines from rewarding players with tickets or products from the Georgia Lottery Corp. Currently, the machines, if operating under state guidelines, can only award gift certificates or similar type vouchers redeemable for merchandise at the business …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
A proposed state law would prohibit drivers from driving in the left-hand lane of the highway except when passing. Tell us what you think of the proposal.
Drivers later this year may be using the left-hand lanes of Georgia’s highways a little bit less if lawmakers greenlight a bill currently in front of state representatives. House Bill 459 would amend state code by making it a violation to drive in a controlled-access highway’s left-hand lane except when overtaking and passing another vehicle. Driving in the left-hand lane would be OK when no other vehicles are directly behind a vehicle in question. Other cases where left-lane driving would be acceptable would be when traffic and congestion make it impractical to drive in the right lane, when the right lane is obstructed or blocked, or when weather conditions make left-lane driving necessary. The law also would not apply when drivers are …
Monday, February 25, 2013
Critics say a bill aimed at making Photoshop bullying a crime tramples on citizens’ right to free speech. Tell us what you think of the bill.
Georgia lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it a crime to impose someone’s face onto an obscene depiction. To put that simply: “Photoshopping” or digitally altering an obscene image by putting another person’s face on it would become illegal. Someone did just that after the filing of House Bill 39 in the Georgia General Assembly. Andre Walker of the Georgia Politics Unfiltered blog explained in a Feb. 11 post why he took the photo of the body of a male porn star and pasted onto it the face of State Rep. Earnest Smith, D-Augusta, one of the bill’s sponsors: I would simply remind Representative Smith that he's a public figure, and just like someone had the protected right to depict former President George W. Bush as a monkey, I …
Sunday, February 3, 2013
In his latest column, State Sen. Bill Heath, R-Bremen, highlights some of the ins and outs of income tax season and how many taxpayers can file returns at no cost.
- GOVERNMENT
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Sunday, February 3
The General Assembly has now completed its third week since convening on Jan. 14. The Georgia Constitution allows the General Assembly to meet for up to 40 days each year. It also allows the General Assembly to adjourn at a later date if it so desires, so long as it doesn’t exceed the 40-day limit. So far, we have completed 9 of our 40 days. Ninety-one Senate bills have been introduced and three votes have taken place. It normally takes several legislative days before bills have made their way through the committees and to the floor for a vote. Since very little is happening legislatively, I will use this week’s newsletter to address an issue that has been requested. Hopefully I can lead you to some help dealing with something we all dread…
Sunday, January 27, 2013
State Rep. Paulette Braddock gives her first update on the happenings of the 2013 Georgia General Assembly.
In his latest column, State Sen. Bill Heath, R-Bremen, discusses state officials' look at state budget issues and his view on gun legislation.
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Sunday, January 27
Budget Week: This week, the Georgia General Assembly recessed in order to allow the Senate and House Appropriations committees to review our current and anticipated expenses in an effort to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. A few weeks ago, I mentioned in my column that this is a complicated process because we have to make sure all necessary state operations are properly funded without overspending. In addition to setting the framework for the FY 2014 budget, the FY 2013 amended budget must be revised to account for unexpected expenses and changes in anticipated revenue. At the start of each year, Governor Nathan Deal offers his budget recommendations during his “State of the State” address. These recommendations serve as a guide for …
Monday, January 21, 2013
A proposed Senate resolution aims to “[express] remorse for the state’s past practice of condoning involuntary servitude.” Tell us what you think of State Sen. Barry Loudermilk’s proposed legislation.
A practice that ended in the 19th century is the focus of legislation being put forth in the 21st century. Last week, State Sen. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, held a press conference to announce his filing of Senate Resolution 28, a resolution that aims to “[express] remorse for the state's past practice of condoning involuntary servitude,” or slavery. A copy of the resolution is attached to this article in PDF form. According to Loudermilk, passage of the resolution would mark the first official acknowledgement of the injustices of slavery and serve as “an official expression of regret and remorse for the condoning of the institution of slavery in Georgia. “The injustices brought on by the institution of slavery in our state's past …
Jon Gargis
8:25 am on Thursday, April 11, 2013
We left the comment stream open a bit longer than promised, but it's now closed. Thanks to everyone who participated in the discussion! more ›