Georgia Politics, Campaigns and Elections for February 10, 2014

On February 10, 1787, the Georgia House of Assembly named William Few, Abraham Baldwin, William Pierce, George Walton, William Houstoun, and Nathaniel Pendleton to the Constitutional Convention called to revise the Articles of Confederation at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

On February 9, 1825, the United States House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams as President of the United States, despite his having received fewer popular votes than Andrew Jackson. Congress voted for the President after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes in the 1824 election.

The 12th Amendment states that if no electoral majority is won, only the three candidates who receive the most popular votes will be considered in the House.

Representative Henry Clay, who was disqualified from the House vote as a fourth-place candidate, agreed to use his influence to have John Quincy Adams elected. Clay and Adams were both members of a loose coalition in Congress that by 1828 became known as the National Republicans, while Jackson’s supporters were later organized into the Democratic Party.

On February 10, 1861, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi received word that he was chosen as President of the Confederate States of America.

On February 9, 1926, the Atlanta Board of Education voted to prohibit teaching evolution in the Atlanta Public Schools.

On February 10, 1972, David Bowie made his first appearance as Ziggy Stardust.

Gold Dome Today

Senate Committee Meeting Schedule

Senate Rules Calendar

SB 290: Dog Ownership; allow local governments to confer dog control authority upon multiple individuals (JUDY – 11th)

SB 305: Fire Protection and Safety; written notification prior to the denial of a permit; buildings/structures required to meet the state minimum fire safety standards (PUB SAF – 37th)

SB 322: Game and Fish; provide protection for certain wildlife habitats (NR&E – 7th)

SB 329: “Work Based Learning Act” (ED&Y – 50th)

House Committee Meeting Schedule

HOUSE RULES CALENDAR

Open Rule

HB 645 – Insurance; electronic transmissions of notices and documents from an insurers to a party to an insurance transaction; provisions (Substitute)(Ins-Dollar-45th)

Senate Week Four Summary

Political Potpourri

Today is one of those days in the Georgia General Assembly where most of the action will be in committees. The most attention is likely to be drawn to the State House Health and Human Services Committee meeting at 3 PM today, where HB 885 by State Rep. Allen Peake will be heard. That bill would legalize the use of some medications derived from cannabis (marijuana) under strictly-controlled circumstances.

The key to swaying the hearts of conservative lawmakers has been the stories of children suffering up to 100 seizures a day whose parents say they could benefit from access to cannabidiol, which would be administered orally in a liquid form. And proponents argue the cannabis oil is low in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana that makes users feel high.

“I’m an unlikely champion for this cause,” said Georgia Rep. Allen Peake, a businessman from Macon who attended the evangelical Dallas Theological Seminary. “Once people realize it’s not a 6-year-old smoking a joint, most folks realize this is the compassionate thing to do.”

Peake’s bill has already earned the backing of more than 80 state lawmakers, including several members of the House Republican leadership, who signed on as co-sponsors and the state’s largest professional association of doctors.

Broad changes to the way Georgia handles children in the state’s custody are moving swiftly through the legislative process, and that makes some folks uneasy.

Gov. Nathan Deal last week announced plans to turn over aspects of the state’s child-protection system to private organizations after revelations of widespread failings by the agency. A bill could be introduced this session that would call for changes as early as 2015, said sources familiar with the legislation.

The sleeper issue wasn’t expected to gain traction during this speedy legislative session, but a looming federal deadline related to foster care funding has ignited a sense of urgency. Rick Jackson, a Georgia executive and philanthropist pushing the change, said the state will need to get a spending waiver from the federal government this year to make privatization a possibility.

“It’s kind of a now-or-never proposition,” he said. “It’s forced us to evaluate whether this is right for Georgia.”

But some advocates aren’t sure it is right for Georgia. Melissa Carter, director of the Barton Child Law and Policy Center at Emory University’s School of Law, said the waiver will give the state more flexibility on how it spends foster care dollars, but privatization isn’t the only way to make changes.

“There is not consensus from anyone who would be impacted in Georgia’s child welfare system that this is the right strategy to pursue,” she said. “The pace makes everyone anxious.”

I become uneasy any time the Georgia General Assembly starts speeding up, as the past years have shown a propensity for spending part of every session fixing things that got broken the previous session. Adverse weather conditions this week could further shorten and rush an already hasty drive to the finish line in mid-March.

Last week, legislators and other Capitol denizens had an opportunity to try Google glass, as the company seeks to familiarize legislators with the wearable-computer technology.

Lawmakers, interns and clerks got to try out pairs of the Google Glass wearable computer Thursday as representatives of the search-engine company sought to head off possible efforts to outlaw use of the technology while driving.

The gadget is worn like glasses with only one small lens that serves as the screen for viewing the internet, from video to newspaper websites and anything else that’s online. Commands are given either by voice or taps along the frame of the glasses, and manipulation takes considerable concentration for first-time wearers.

It is still in testing and isn’t available for purchase yet, so it wasn’t discussed four years ago when lawmakers passed Georgia’s law against texting while driving. The company says that means Google Glass isn’t prohibited.

“It’s hands-free. You use your voice. It’s heads-up,” said Wilson White, the corporate public-policy manager.

He argues that anti-texting laws haven’t succeeded in reducing accidents because now drivers take their eyes off of the road longer because they hold their cellphones lower to keep from being caught.

For now, it’s not asking for specific legislation or fighting to stop any already introduced.

“What we don’t want is premature legislation that will stifle innovation,” White said.

Back in the early 1990s, I worked in transportation policy and planning in Virginia, and one project my boss had us undertake was a comprehensive look at all laws and regulations our agencies administered with an eye to cleaning out some of the detritus that had accumulated in over a century of legislating and agency rulemaking. We found laws from the 1920s that clearly had no place in modern society, but had never been repealed.

At some level, the coming legislative issues over Uber and Tesla reflect a similar dynamic. Laws that were originally intended to foster competition or protect consumers have either failed to grow with the times, or been amended over the years into a means to stifle competition and protect incumbent businesses. I would suggest a legislative study committee designed to (a) identify and repeal outdated legislation and regulations that simply have no effect anymore; and (b) examine the state’s regulatory regimes for professions and businesses and decide whether current laws do more to hinder or promote competition.

Cobb County Superintendent Michael Hinojosa abruptly resigned in order to move back to Texas, and the Cobb School Board is unsure of its next step.

Senator William Ligon says he’s working with Governor Deal to move the state away from Common Core standards, but they may  not be on the same page with respect to timing.

By September, state Sen. William Ligon (R-Brunswick) said the Cobb Board of Education will have the ability to opt out of the Common Core standards.
Ligon, who tried to pass a bill last year repealing the controversial national standards from state schools, said he is now working with Gov. Nathan Deal to write a new law, which would give local school boards the power to choose curriculum.
Deal thanked the students, staff and bus drivers at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta Friday morning for their tireless work keeping students safe during last Tuesday’s “unexpected sleepover” at the school.
On his way out of the school, Deal paused to say he wasn’t in any hurry to repeal the Common Core standards, which were implemented in state schools for math and English classrooms in fall 2012. Deal said he doesn’t think he will be repealing the controversial Common Core standards any time soon, and it was still too early to tell what kind of an impact the standards would have on Georgia students.
“I think it would be ill-advised to just simply abolish the standards without having anything to to take their place. That would leave students and teachers in a very vulnerable situation,” Deal said.