Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for March 24, 2015

Governor E.D. Rivers signed a resolution on March 24, 1939, calling for the return of “General” locomotive made famous in the Great Train Chase from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Georgia. It currently resides in The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia. The other locomotive involved in the chase, The Texas, is displayed at the Atlanta Cyclorama in Grant Park  until late last year, when it was removed for restoration and will be displayed in the Atlanta History Center beginning later this year.

Elvis Presley was inducted into the United States Army on March 24, 1958.

On March 24, 1970, Gov. Lester Maddox signed legislation naming the Largemouth Bass the Official State Fish.

On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska.

Georgia Politics,  Campaigns, and Elections

Today, on the 40th and final day of the 2016 Georgia General Assembly, we will likely see the legislative equivalent of a turducken – a delicacy consisting of a boneless chicken stuffed inside a boneless duck, inside a turkey.

Today, rather than working from a Rules Calendar, the Senate will operate primarily from the list of legislation tabled on Day 39.

Much of the real action will take place in conference committees, in which three legislators from each chamber meet to hammer out differences between versions of a bill. These meetings may produce a compromise bill that would then be recommended to each chamber for final passage.

Lobbyists and legislators alike may also be on the lookout for a bill that is moving, or at least still breathing, that can be repurposed for their otherwise-comatose legislation.

While many high-profile bills have already passed this session, there are still dozens of “vehicles,” or bills ready to be amended and passed on Thursday. Common targets are tax-cut bills, but almost any piece of legislation will do.

The Senate put more than 80 bills on its calendar to consider for the final two days of the session, and they got through about 30 of them Tuesday. The second-to-last bill on the schedule is House Bill 838, a controversial measure to give health insurance agents a minimum commission. The bill is being pushed by powerful House Rules Chairman John Meadows, an insurance agent. Hypothetically, putting it at the end of the calendar means it may, or may not, be brought up before the session ends. The Senate could hold it hostage for something it wants from the House or move it up and vote on it at any time.

State Representative Joe Wilkinson, author of the Adoptable Dog Bill, announced yesterday that he has withdrawn from his reelection campaign, making today his last day in the legislature.

What is left out of the political obituaries about Joe Wilkinson are several points I’d like you to know about my friend.

1. He served our nation for longer than he served in the legislature, retiring as a Captain in the United States Navy and a veteran of Desert Storm.

2. He was literally one of the first Republicans in the state, working on campaigns for Bo Callaway and Barry Goldwater.

3. He served in the White House Press Office under Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.

4. As a junior member of the State House, he made a habit of personally sending birthday cards to every one of his colleagues, and nothing pleases him more than giving other people gifts.

5. The image I remember of the TV spot he ran in his first campaign for State House is of Joe and his sons raising the American flag on the flagpole in front of their house. His patriotism and love of country are part of everyday life, not just trotted out on national holidays.

I should hope his final bill to pass the Georgia General Assembly will be the Official State Dog bill, and I look forward to the signing ceremony.

Also sitting through perhaps his last session of the General Assembly will be Walter Jones of the Morris newspapers, who stayed until the end of Tuesday’s legislative session.

Plenty of bills are still under consideration or must head to a House-Senate conference committee to negotiate differences. Those have until midnight today to win agreement, and then Gov. Nathan Deal will have another 40 days to decide whether to sign them into law.

Here’s what Deal can begin pondering:

EDUCATION: A bill that requires local school boards to post annual budgets online and hold two public hearings before approval. Another bill that rewards high school students for taking tougher science, math and computer courses in calculations for HOPE Scholarship eligibility.

HEALTH CARE: Requires a professional license for advising mothers how to nurse babies known as lactation consultants. House bill 920 would protect passive investors in nursing homes from lawsuit. Also, House bill 1058 allows women to refuse HIV testing during pregnancy screening and ends the government’s requirement to develop brochures about HIV testing.

Also among the measures getting final passage from the General Assembly is a constitutional amendment, House Resolution 1113, that the governor doesn’t sign. The constitutional changes go before voters this fall.

Voters will decide on replacing the Judicial Qualifications Commission that enforces proper behavior by judges. A new commission would have different members and would act in secret.

Among the things we’ll watch for today:

Senate action on a new version of Rep. Allen Peake’s legislation to expand the list of conditions for which medical cannabis can legally be prescribed.

Limits on hours during which fireworks can be set off during non-holiday times.

A pending agreement between the House and the Senate is still expected to be approved before the chambers gavel out for the year at midnight. House Bill 727 would, among other changes, set new limits on how late in the evening Georgians could ignite fireworks during the holidays, set new restrictions where fireworks could be set off and give local authorities more control over regulating fireworks in their communities.

The born-again MARTA funding bill, which would allow North and South Fulton to tax themselves for transportation infrastructure.

The three-part House bill, if it gets through the Senate, would let the city of Atlanta ask voters this fall to raise the MARTA sales tax by up to a half-penny to pay to expand MARTA service. Transit projects funded through the referendum would have to be built inside the city limits.

The second part of the legislation would let Fulton County ask voters in areas of the county outside Atlanta to approve a sales tax of up to three-quarters of a penny. The revenue from the Fulton tax would go toward transportation improvements, including roads and bridges, drawn from a project list put together by Fulton’s mayors and the county commission.

A third component of the bill would let the city of Atlanta schedule a second referendum for voters inside the city limits. In this case, they would be asked to authorize an additional half-penny on top of the MARTA tax to finance transportation improvements inside Atlanta.

Unlike the original Senate bill, the House version does not include DeKalb County and, thus, would preclude for now MARTA’s plans to extend rail service north to Alpharetta and east to Stonecrest Mall, as well as a proposed light rail line serving the Clifton Corridor, which lies in both the city of Atlanta and DeKalb County.

“We probably will ask the Atlanta City Council to approve Clifton Corridor as a project assuming DeKalb approves it in the future,” MARTA board Chairman Robbie Ashe said.

Midstate Starbucks enthusiasts may have an additional reason to celebrate as a Macon outlet could become the second local Starbucks Evenings, which would serve beer and wine.

The United States House of Representatives in Washington passed legislation to upgrade Ocmulgee National Monument to a national historic park and expand its borders.