The House was busy today. It was also Georgia Psychologists Day at the Capitol. A couple of moments of personal privilege were taken: 1) Rep. Kathy Cox asked that the House members keep in their prayers her friend, Daniel Perl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who has been abducted in Pakistan; and 2) Rep. Georganna Sinkfield made members aware of the Child Care Policy document which had been distributed to Members concerning the status of childcare in Georgia (this was done by the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies). Rep. Ken Birdsong honored Georgia’s National Guard today as well. It was also Albany-Dougherty County Day at the Capitol.

Some of the bills the House addressed were:

HR 903 – This was a joint resolution for the House and Senate concerning Governor Barnes' delivery of the State-of-the-State address which was previously scheduled for this week. This Resolution, which passed by a vote of 155 to zero, moves the date of this event to February 6, 2002.

HB 975 – Rep. Cummings’ bill concerns the court clerks’ retirement fund by Committee Substitute. This passed by a vote of 150 to zero.

HR 126 – Rep. Everett brought before the House this initiative which would require persons who are seeking public office to clear their tax defaults. The Resolution, which creates this Constitutional amendment, provides that a final determination would be made to determine whether taxes are actually owed (that is, all appeals must be resolved) and the individual is given 12 months to pay. This Resolution passed by a vote of 142 to 7.

HB 829 – Rep. Alan Powell introduced this Bill in order to increase the amount of sheriff’s fees for service of process in civil actions from $25 to $35 (Rep. Powell noted before the full House that Cobb County estimates its cost is more like $40). Rep. Bordeaux asked if these increased monies would actually be helpful to taxpayers. In a rare move, Speaker Murphy took the Well and told House Members that the operation costs of the courts and the fines which the courts collect are paid to the counties' general funds. Speaker Murphy indicated that $236 million is raised which is on average approximately 17% of the total amounts of funds generated. In Haralson County alone, $500,000 is generated by these fines. Speaker Murphy raised his concerns about the poor people who needed to file civil actions and were basically prohibited from doing so due to costs associated with such – this Bill would only increase the costs for person to file a suit. Further, he indicated that between 30% and 40% of all Georgians cannot afford such fees.

HR 391 – Rep. Larry Walker pressed forward this Resolution, originally introduced by Rep. Steve Stancil prior to his departure from the General Assembly, in an effort to address "smart growth." This redevelopment tax incentive would require a Constitutional Amendment. The Resolution would allow persons who own "blighted property" to get a tax credit if they fix their properties. The blighted property would be defined by ascertainable standards by the cities or county commissions. There was one amendment to the Resolution to define "blighted property" to include "at a minimum property that constitutes endangerment to public health or safety." Rep. Walker indicated that this was a way around the condemnation process which is a difficult and cumbersome procedure. After a number of questions, Rep. Walker agreed that this Resolution would actually give local jurisdictions flexibility to adjust the millage rates. There are, as some argued, unintended consequences (such as the poor widow who might lose her home because of such lack of care due to the inability to pay for upkeep). Rep. Jeff Brown noted a project undertaken in LaGrange which is addressing substandard housing known as DASH (it has a 10-year goal of eliminating substandard housing in that community). In voting, the House rejected this Constitutional Amendment by a vote of 114 to 49 (needing apparently 140 votes to pass). Rep. Walker made a motion for reconsideration at the proper time.

HB 945 – Rep. Lynmore James’ bill concerning specialty license plates for motor vehicles which would raise monies for sterilization of dogs and cats (to be placed in a special fund within the Dept. of Agriculture), so that veterinarians could be reimbursed for basic sterilization procedures, came to the Floor by Committee Substitute. No questions were raised and the bill sailed out of the House by a vote of 155 to 1.

HB 1087 - Rep. Robert Ray introduced this measure to redefine an "agriculture area". This bill passed by a vote of 159 to zero.

The Senate Natural Resources Committee met today and passed out three bills. HB 129, Rep. Coleman’s bill which adds two persons to the forestry Board (currently made up of five members and this raises it to seven), passed as amended with the new effective date of July 1, 2002. Also, Sen. Tommie Williams brought his bill concerning limitations on catching whiting (currently this is 35) by trawlers. There are two types of trawlers and this will only apply to those trawlers for shrimp for human consumption. This too passed out of Committee. Sen. Gillis presented the Dept. of Natural Resources’ bill concerning the drinking water law amendment. This bill strikes current law which allows apartments to meter water for tenants and allows them to be separate water boards. The federal government took issue with the language and this also jeopardized Georgia’s ability to get $12-$16 million in federal dollars. This bill also passed.

The General Health Subcommittee of the House Health & Ecology Committee passed out two bills, both authored by Rep. Buddy Childers. These include HB 1049, which provides that State employees can get 30 days paid leave for being an organ donor (the bill expands current law which only allows State employees to get this type of leave if they donate kidneys). HR 646, another specialty license plate bill, provides that the sales of tags to veterans may go to the nursing home fund for veterans. There were a number of issues raised about this particular bill and whether it should be broadened to include sales of tags to spouses of veterans (the bill was amended to include them). The Subcommittee also discussed the ease of veterans to pursue such purchases (it is difficult for them to get designations on their licenses). Prior to the end of the meeting, the Subcommittee discussed the "grits" legislation which has been assigned to the House Health & Ecology Committee.