Deal considers executive orders to do what Legislature did not | www.myajc.com

Republican infighting doomed legislation that would have allowed limited use of medical marijuana and started to privatize the state’s beleaguered child welfare system. Now Gov. Nathan Deal is exploring administrative changes to carry out what lawmakers failed to do.

Deal has consulted with state agency heads about steps that would allow Georgia families to use cannabis oil to treat medical disorders until lawmakers return to Atlanta next year. And he said he’s considering signing an executive order to jump-start the foster care privatization push that failed last week.

The governor is sticking to a pattern of finding workarounds to back politically sensitive legislation that doesn’t reach his desk. But he also risks charges of overstepping his office’s authority — not to mention drawing comparisons to President Barack Obama, who is often attacked by conservatives when he issues executive orders for plans that don’t get legislative approval.

Deal and his aides, though, signal that the political payoff might be worth the risk. Even fellow Republicans warned that the failure to pass these proposals during the past legislative session could haunt the GOP in November and embolden Democrats, who call Deal’s medical marijuana embrace an election-year change of heart.

Both legislative proposals fell victim to surprisingly public disputes between rival Republicans.

The push to privatize the state’s child welfare system gained momentum this year after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution uncovered widespread failings by the state’s Division of Family and Children Services. Deal initially endorsed the effort to privatize the bulk of Georgia’s child welfare system but withdrew his support near the session’s end. Senate sponsors who pushed ahead were blocked by House allies of the governor.

Deal said this week that he was worried that lawmakers had a “knee-jerk reaction” and expressed concern that private firms may not be ready to assume broader state responsibilities. But he said he is considering signing an order to create a scaled-back pilot program to test privatization, much like a version of the legislation that failed to pass.

“I think a pilot project can give us a chance to expand and address problems,” he said.

via Deal considers executive orders to do what Legislature did not | www.myajc.com.