Monday, April 7, 2008
News General Assembly 2008 — Much ado about nothing
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Mon, Apr 7, 2008 at 5:19 PM
Pfft. In the final hours of sine die, the Georgia General Assembly let loose like a balloon. Inflated egos and petty bickering between chambers over tax reform held hostage the most important of issues, such as transportation and trauma care. Once Speaker Glenn Richardson declared the issue dead an hour before he gaveled the session to a close, it left a lot of people wondering if progress even occurred. No worries, though — some of the Senate interns had a good enough time and the insurance lobbyists have plenty to bring home to their employers.
Here's some of what happened:
TADs: Despite objections, the resolution calling for a constitutional amendment that would allow voters to decide in November if school funds could be used for development projects such as the Beltline, passed. High point: Rep. Brian Thomas, D-Lilburn, asked Rep. Steve Davis, R-McDonough, if he objected to the idea of TADs solely on ideological grounds or for practical reasons. Thomas was one of the most intelligent speakers in the House on sine die, addressing such issues as the drought and what it means for Georgia in the long-term with clarity and depth.
TRANSPORTATION: No go. SR 845, a constitutional amendment that would've allowed voters in a region to levy a local option sales tax for transportation projects, passed the House but ultimately failed by three votes in the Senate. Fingers are pointing all over the place, but most are aimed at Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle.
WATER: Let's dig us some holes, indeed. Legislation that would make more money available to cities and counties wanting to build reservoirs passed. Opponents of the bill derided it because it lacked concrete language about interbasin transfers — taking water from one basin and putting it into another, a practice legislators outside the metro region fear will rob them of the resource. Tax credits for water-saving fixtures failed. A resolution that calls for the governors of Georgia and Tennessee to sit down and gab about moving the border a wee bit north passed. The statewide water plan, three-year effort that culminated poetically with this year's drought, was passed earlier in the session. Gov. Sonny Perdue signed it into law last month.
FIREARMS: The Capitol was a little like the Wild Wild West on Friday night. Lots of pretty drunk girls and big-bellied legislators running on stiff drinks and braggadocio. They gave firearms enthusiasts across the state something to smile about, too. It was HB 89 and it passed. You can now carry your gun in restaurants, state parks, MARTA trains and the parking lot at work — if your boss lets you. Boss, is it cool if we do that?
HEALTH CARE: No statewide trauma-funding network. All thanks to disagreements about a car tax.
BOOZE: You can now bring home bottles of wine you purchase in a restaurant, provided it's sealed and locked up in the trunk or glove compartment. Also, you can order wine off the Internet. Minor-league baseball fans in Gwinnett can sip on Sundays at the county's planned stadium. In other words, all measures passed. A constitutional amendment that would let Georgians decide if the state should repel its nonsensical blue laws was pulled so as not to hinder politicians running for re-election this year if they voted for it. Really, that's what happened. Ample reason to vote against them if you ask me, but you didn't, so next topic.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: The bills aimed at harassing illegal immigrants out of Georgia failed.
To read CL's minute-by-minute live blog of the final night's dysfunction, click here. It's nine hours of lovetaps, really. That Other Paper also has a summary of what passed and failed this legislative session.
Comments (17)
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ugh. what kind of genius thinks it's a good idea to have a bunch of armed people running around a TRAIN. i for one am going to be very nervous during braves season that some braves fan from the outer-burbs might freak out and turn the north-south line into the ok corral.
James, Good pt but I have to admit, it might be more exciting than the Braves game itself....kind of like paintball but a bit more intense and lifelike...if you will.... Nothing like a captive audience being hurled at 50mph with guns a blazing to get that crowd going....as they might say in New Orleans...."whoeeeee dat sure is good fun now hear?" What better way to introduce the suburbs to Atlanta's natural "wildlife" as they head south to the stadium....some might even say it's a warm up for things to come.... Laser Tag without the lasers....Ah heck, Grady is only a block away or so...how much blood can one lose in a block? And besides, we know how well Grady has been running.... Look at it like the "school clinic", always open and always ready to patch any "owie" that might happen upon you.... Not to worry James, I've been to ranges.....trust me, the danger is all the strays flying out of the cars tagging innocents in the head along the way....there's a reason most ranges have big hills and 3 walls around them.....know what I mean?
So this is why John Sugg left the office, he is always three steps ahead of everybody else. Georgia Anthem for the Millenium: i was cuttin the rug down in a place called the jug with a girl named Linda Lou when in walks a man with a gun in his hand and he was lookin for you know who -Lynyrd Skynyrd
Since we’re reading every week about crime happening on either a train, a bus, or in the parking lot, why shouldn’t those that have a passed all applicable tests and requirements be allowed to defend themselves from crime, up to and including the use of deadly force? Since it has been illegal to have a firearm ever since the inception of MARTA, and since criminals have been bringing guns to do their crimes to MARTA locations, it would appear that the current law has the effect of only disarming those that already obey the law. Maybe we should make armed robbery, kidnapping, and murder illegal and the problem would be solved?
Do you really believe that there werent people carrying on Marta to begin with?Criminals dont care about the law,there gonna carry a gun wherever they wish.Why is it that some people think that a law abiding citizen is gonna just start shooting up the place?Its all about being able to protect yourself and your family because there isnt ever a cop there when you need one.I dont have a problem with LEO's but there just isnt enough of them and it shouldnt be up to them to protect you.
Wait, so you're saying it used to be illegal to carry a gun on MARTA, in state parks or at work? Why did they go and change that? Everyone knows when you make something illegal it goes away for good! Like drugs, right?
You do realize that the Braves game will still be off-limits? Sporting events are explicitly defined as a public gathering by statute. Primarily, the purpose of the mass transit portion of the law is to grant relieve to those who possess lawful firearms and Georgia Firearms Licenses (or a recognized license from another State). Under current law, it is a Felony to introduce a firearm into the vicinity of a transportation terminal. This means that one could commit a Felony by simply passing by a bus stop or parking in a parking lot! Additionally, there is the issue of lawfully transporting a firearm by air. The TSA has a procedure for the lawful transport of firearms in checked luggage. Current Georgia law interferes because it criminalizes all physical ways to transport the firearm to the point where TSA procedures govern.
HB 89 does nothing more than give me the right to protect myself in more places, as well as the life of my family members. The police, as much as they would like to, can't be everywhere at once. Even with a response time of just minutes, that may be to late. However, someone with a Georgia Firearms License can deal with the threat faster, or at least occupy the bad guy long enough for some people to escape...people who otherwise would be at the mercy of a maniac. Further, the vast majority of states in the US allow carry on mass transit, and there hasn't been this rash of violence in any of these states. The guy sitting next to you always may have had a gun. Now, however, he may be a GFL holder who has passed extensive background checks and is the least of your worries on MARTA...the worst was the guy who has always been carrying on MARTA.
i would love for all of you to point me to these stories about all this crime happening on marta. i have actually researched this pretty substantially and the marta crime rate is VERY low, with the vast, overwhelming majority of crimes being property crimes. and no i do not think anything good is going to come of introducing MORE firearm onto trains.
Thomas -- Did supporters of the bill insinuate that MARTA is especially dangerous?
I wasn't there during the debate of the bill and I haven't seen transcripts of committee hearings, so I can't speak to that. I've requested MARTA's crime statistics and will post when I receive them.
James - you are assuming that the people on Marta now are not armed. I would love to see a shakedown and count the weapons already there. You also assume that an urban shooting is more likely because someone from the outer burbs shows up with their gun. That is some odd logic, considering the rampant gun viloence in Dunwoody and Kennesaw. Forget arguments over the politics of guns. Point me to the verifiable information showing that properly licensed and legally owned guns add to violence.
I doubt very much that allowing permit holders to pack in more places is going to lead to an increase in gun violence. That said -- my colleague Scott Henry told me yesterday he doesn't think the state collects data about crimes involving or committed by permit holders. Like I said in another post -- I hope Perdue doesn't sign it. I'm a permit holder and welcome the opportunity to pack in two more places. However, it's complete B.S. that lawmakers feel free impose their "more guns = less violence" theory on the rest of us without applying it to themselves.
oh c'mon dale, you know i was exaggerating. i don't expect cowboys from cumming to start opening up on the marta train. and of course i am not naive enough to think there is no one carrying on marta. i ride the system, buses and trains, almost every day. i know better. my point is i will not feel safer with MORE guns on marta, legal or otherwise, i will, in fact feel less safe. as someone with extensive experience with firearms in a previous life, i know a handgun isn't easy to control and a crowded train is a very difficult environment to assess, even for a trained law enforcement office, much less someone who has done only what is necessary to get permitted. the potential, in my mind, for collateral damage if someone DOES open up, far outweighs any 'rights' or safety argument, IMHO. i have to ride those trains every day. they are just fine the way they are.
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