Georgia Political News for March 28, 2012

These four puppies are 8 to 12 weeks old and weigh about ten pounds each. They are not yet spayed/neutered, but are current on their shots. They are available from Walton Animal Control Services at the low price of $40 each. Take two, they’re small.

Legislative News

Tuesday was Legislative Day 39, and tomorrow will mark Sine Die, the last legislative day of the session. For the second day in a row, the legislature met until nearly midnight.

The “Fetal Pain Bill” that would have further restricted the availability of abortions in Georgia appears to be dead in the water after Senate amendments weakened the restrictions.

The House declined to agree to the Senate’s changes, sending the bill back to the Senate, which adhered to its position in support of the changes. Normally this would set the stage for a conference committee comprising members of both houses to iron out differences. However, Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) declined to appoint House conferees in the belief that the Senate insistence on their amendments signaled their intractability.

“Now that we’re at the point where we can really pass a significant bill that can save the lives of many unborn children, then they’ve decided to tuck and run,” Ralston said.

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle (R-Gainesville) indicated his willingness to appoint Senate conferees to seek a compromise that would preserve the bill:

“I think anyone who knows my record knows I stand for life. The Senate is ready to take up this issue, and I’m ready to appoint conferees.”

Senator Renee Unterman (R-Buford) carried the bill  in the Senate, voting against amendments but in favor of the bill’s passage described the bill’s situation as a “game of chess.”

“Nothing is dead until the last gavel. There are many bills I’ve had to compromise on. If you can’t have your cake, you eat part of the cake.”

It is unclear whether the dispute will affect other bills as the language between the chambers became heated.

The Senate voted unanimously for House Bill 397, which substantially revises state Open Records and Open Meetings statutes.

Assisting in a suicide will be a felony under legislation by State Rep. Ed Setzler (R-Cobb County) if differences between the House and Senate bills are reconciled and Gov. Deal signs the legislation.

The Senate unanimously voted in favor of criminal sentencing reform that would divert some nonviolent offenders into special drug or mental health courts that are widely believed to be more effective than prison in reducing the rate of repeat offenses. Senate amendments mean the House will vote to agree or disagree to the changes. Some law enforcement officers believe that lowering sentences from felonies to misdemeanors may result in greater costs to counties, which house offenders convicted of misdemeanors.

Senator Josh McKoon (R-Columbus) signed a pledge by the Georgia Alliance on Ethics Reform to introduce legislation limiting lobbyist expenditures on legislators.

Meanwhile, the Senate Rules Committee amended McKoon’s legislation creating a legislative study committee on ethics, removing members of the Ethics Reform group and appointing seven members, none of whom are named “Josh McKoon.”

A senior GOP senator told the AJC that “we put a number of Democrats” on the study committee. That’s technically true, and the number of Democrats appointed to the study committee is one.

The Senate added its bill to pay back federal loans of more than $700 million that helped fund state unemployment benefits to an existing House bill. The move was made partly to allay concerns that the bill might be found unconstitutional because it started in the Senate, while revenue bills are required to originate in the House.

Juvenile justice reform is not likely to pass this session as local law enforcement officers raised questions about the costs of complying.

The House and Senate are at loggerheads after the House voted against Sen. Tommie Williams’s bill to allow the harvest of logs that sunk to the bottom of Georgia’s rivers during transport in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The House and Senate will appoint conferees to determine final passage of Senate Bill 10, which would lift restrictions on some landfills that are located above aquifers.

“In God We Trust” stickers are now optional on car tags instead of the county sticker and will be provided free of charge to car owners after the Senate passed SB 293.

Executive Branch News

Gov. Nathan Deal signed SB 370, called Chase’s Law in honor of Chase Corbitt Burnett, who was found dead in a hot tub at his parent’s Fayette County home after smoking “synthetic marijuana.”

“These synthetic substances pose an enormous risk to our public safety,” said Deal. “As the usage has dramatically increased, instances of violence, bodily harm and even death have risen with it. I applaud the GBI and the General Assembly for their fast work on this legislation, which addresses a pressing need.”

Gov. Deal appointed Michael T. Garrett to the State Court in Clayton County following the retirement of Judge Harold G. Benefield.

Deal also appointed Jeffrey H. Kight to Superior Court for the Waycross Circuit to replace Judge Michael Boggs, who was appointed to the Court of Appeals.

Attorney General Sam Olens was in Georgia Tuesday, working for passage of the open government reforms, before returning to Washington, DC for the ObamaCare hearings in the US Supreme Court. Olens lauded the passage of the bill:

“The legislation passed by the Senate today makes great strides towards increasing government transparency in Georgia. It strikes the right balance between ensuring that government is accessible to all Georgians and protecting the confidentiality of sensitive information.

I thank Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle, President Pro Tempore Tommie Williams, Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, Senate Rules Committee Chairman Don Balfour and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Bill Hamrick for allowing the Senate to consider HB 397. I also appreciate the leadership and hard work of Senator Charlie Bethel in shepherding the bill through the Senate. I look forward to working with Representative Jay Powell on final clearance in the House.”

Campaigns and Elections

Retired FBI agent and South Hall Republican Club Vice President Kenneth Russell will run for State House District 103, joining Timothy Barr of Gwinnett County in the race for a new open seat.

Columbia County Republican Party Chair Brian Slowinski will run for the District 1 school board seat held by Wayne Bridges.

Suwanee City Council member Jace Brooks will hold a fundraiser tomorrow night for his campaign for Gwinnett County Commission District 1, currently held by Shirley Fanning Lasseter, who will not seek reelection.

William “Bo” Moss will run as a Republican for Henry County Commission from District 1.

On Tuesday, April 3d from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, Cobb County Young Republicans will host a debate for the announced candidates for Senate District 6 at Johnnie Maccracken’s, 15 Atlanta Street, Marietta, GA 30060

Enotah Circuit Loses another Judge

Judge Lynn Akeley-Alderman of the Enotah Circuit Superior Court resigned after the state Judicial Qualifications Commission opened an investigation into her conduct. At issue in the investigation is whether the judge attempted to influence the sentencing of a man in another judicial circuit.

Earlier this month Judge David Barrett resigned his seat in the same circuit after allegedly brandishing a pistol in his courtroom.