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GeorgiaCarry.org to Present Annual Legislative Awards at Spring Luncheon
Rep. Tim Bearden and Sen. John Douglas selected as Representative and Senator of the Year
Atlanta, May 7, 2008: GeorgiaCarry.org (GCO) is proud to announce its selection of Representative Tim Bearden (R-68) and Senator John Douglas (R-17) as it’s Representative of the Year and Senator of the Year respectively. Rep. Bearden and Sen. Douglas were selected by the GCO Board of Directors for their efforts before, during, and after the 2008 Georgia General Assembly Session.
Rep. Bearden represents Georgia’s 68th District in the Georgia House of Representatives, and has served the citizens of the 68th District since being sworn in to office in January of 2005. He currently serves as the Secretary for both the Judiciary – Non-Civil and Motor Vehicle committees in addition to being a member of the Regulated Industries and State Planning & Community Affairs committees. Rep. Bearden originally authored HB 89 during the 2007 legislative session, and worked tirelessly for the passage of the amended version of HB 89 during the 2008 session.
Sen. Douglas represents Georgia’s 17th District in the Georgia Senate, and was first elected to office as a Representative for Georgia’s 73rd District in 2002. He was elected to represent Senate District 17 in 2004 and now serves as the Chairman of the Veterans, Military, and Homeland Security Committee, the Secretary of the Science and Technology Committee, as well as being a member of the Education and Youth, Transportation, and Public Safety (Ex-Oficio) Committees. Sen. Douglas worked closely with GCO leadership through the legislative life of HB 89 to ensure its passage and has also contacted the Governor’s office urging the signing of the bill into law.
These members of the Georgia General Assembly will be presented their awards at GCO’s Spring Event being held on Saturday, May 10th at Red Top Mountain State Park in Cartersville, Georgia. On behalf of the membership of GCO, the Board of Directors feels it is important to recognize the individual efforts of these individuals in fighting for the preservation of the right to bear arms for all Georgians.
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GeorgiaCarry.org (GCO) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and improvement of Georgia’s right to keep and bear arms. GCO’s mission is carried out through selected litigation, grassroots legislative efforts, and active participation with elected officials at all levels throughout Georgia.
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House Bills Dominate Senate |
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The Senate complete Day 31 this week, passing more than 30 bills over to the House for consideration. No more bills originating in either chamber can cross to the other for the remainder of this session. Some of the highlights of the week include the passage of a bill providing military scholarships for children of soldiers killed or disabled as a result of combat and legislation requiring that if a school system loses its accreditation, a special election may be held to elect a new school board.
In other business, Governor Sonny Perdue announced this week that he will be reducing the revenue estimates for both Amended Fiscal Year 2008 (AFY08) and Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) budgets due to the slowing rate of growth of the state’s revenue collections. Gov. Perdue met with the leadership of both the House and Senate to discuss the revenue figures and his revised budget recommendations. For FY08, the revenue will be reduced an estimated $65 million from it’s original proposal. The original AFY08 recommendation was $332.6 million. In order to achieve a balanced budget, Gov. Perdue identified an equivalent amount of spending to eliminate from his AFY08 recommendation. The reductions recommended include $40 million originally allocated for one-time equipment and technology infrastructure upgrades and $25 million in funding for school buses. For FY09, the revenue will be reduced by an estimated $245 million. The original FY09 recommendation was $21.425 billion. The equivalent reduction in spending recommended by Gov. Perdue will be derived from programs in state agencies. By law, we are required to balance our budgets each year and cannot operate with a deficit.
The Senate recently passed Senate Bill (SB) 451, the Protecting Georgia’s Investment Act. It will prohibit state retirement plans from investing in foreign publicly traded companies that invest in Iran. This legislation is intended to protect state pension funds and help save the lives of Georgians who serve in the military and are subject to advanced munitions being supplied by Iran to our enemies in the Middle East. Other states including Florida, California and New Jersey have successfully enacted divestment legislation for their public retirement funds and have not seen negative financial consequences. SB 451 has moved to the House for consideration.
Looking ahead, the Senate Public Safety Committee will continue to hear dialogue concerning House Bill (HB) 978. This legislation states that any motor vehicle registered in the state that violates traffic laws or is involved in an accident while being operated by a person who is illegally in this country will be subject to forfeiture and seizure. The owner will only be allowed to recover the vehicle if they are willing to provide a sworn statement to law enforcement stating they were unaware of the illegal immigration status of the vehicle operator. If any motor vehicle is forfeited and sold under this legislation, the court may order funds received from the sale to be distributed to the victim to offset costs incurred as a result of the accident. I support this bill and hope it helps get illegal immigrants off our roads and highways.
As always, please remember to contact me in my office on the issues that are affecting you and your area. I am here to represent you and it is an honor for me to work on your behalf.
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Looking Into Bridge Inspections in Rockdale |
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ATLANTA–The Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) has forced the resignations of two employees after uncovering a series of falsified bridge inspection reports in Rockdale and three other counties. The two employees responsible for inspecting the Rockdale County bridges falsified their records after realizing they would be unable to reach their deadlines to submit inspection data this spring. At a meeting of the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday, February 12, Senator John Douglas (R-Social Circle) had an opportunity to question DOT Commissioner Gena Abrahams on the false bridge inspections. Sen. Douglas asked for an explanation and was told that suspicions were raised when the DOT inspection team turned in a day of inspections that included 18 bridges. A normal work load would be three bridges in one day, so a six-fold increase was cause for concern. Sen. Douglas pointed out that had something happened to a bridge that had a false inspection, lives could have been lost and the state taxpayers could have been burdened with a large liability settlement. The two individuals who were responsible for the false reports have been fired by Commissioner Abrahams. Sen. Douglas turned the discussion to remedial action. Commissioner Abrahams pledged that all bridges in Rockdale County (list included) would be inspected before the end of March by bringing in teams of inspectors from around Georgia. “This is of great concern because this affects the safety of not only residents of Rockdale County, but all Georgians,” said Sen. Douglas. “It is disheartening when the lives of many people are put in danger as a result of the faulty judgment of a few. The people of Rockdale County will have safe bridges to drive on and state resources will be focused on ensuring that goal is met.” |
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The 2008 session of the Georgia General Assembly opened for business January 14 facing a number of serious issues. Gun rights, water and illegal immigration and transportation are again at the top of our lists and we have begun acting on these issues already. Guns On Thursday, the Senate voted 41 to 15 to approve legislation that would give law-abiding citizens the right to keep guns in cars parked in publicly accessible lots. The law is restricted to individuals who already have a state permit to carry a concealed weapon.
A provision of House Bill 89 that was opposed by the Georgia business community, requiring employers to allow their workers to have guns in cars parked on company property, was removed by the Senate Rules Committee, avoiding an argument of 2nd Amendment rights vs. private property rights. The bill as amended now goes back to the House of Representatives for consideration.
Water As Georgia remains in the grips of a severe drought, the legislature is developing a statewide water management plan to ensure that our natural resources are well managed for future generations. The General Assembly passed Senate Resolution 701 this week, also known as the Statewide Water Management Plan that was unanimously approved by the Statewide Water Council. The plan is the culmination of three years of work by various external groups, local officials, business leaders and fellow lawmakers. In his State of the State Address earlier this week, Gov. Perdue proposed appropriating $120 million in funding for water infrastructure and reservoirs that will provide for the secure conservation of our resources. Illegal Immigration Several bills aimed at curbing illegal immigration in Georgia are beginning to move in the Senate. The bills include efforts to curb the use of the Mexican Consulate ID card in Georgia, increase the penalties for fraudulently obtaining an automobile tag, prohibiting local and state government requiring Spanish language instruction for every employee, and outlawing "sanctuary cities" in Georgia. We have taken the lead among the states in fighting illegal immigration and it is my desire that we continue to maintain that position in the future until the problem is resolved. At midweek, we heard from Governor Sonny Perdue in his annual State of the State Address in which he gives all Georgians a progress report on our state and rolls out his new budget initiatives for Fiscal Year 2009 (FY 09) and his legislative agenda for 2008. Gov. Perdue’s address was especially inspired this year, as he discussed the many ways in which our state is moving forward. Our State Reserves, more commonly referred to as the Rainy Day fund, are healthy and stable, and we are one of the fastest growing states in the nation. Both Governor Sonny Perdue and Lt. Governor Casey Cagle have outlined their legislative priorities for this year’s session, focusing on four main issues: water, transportation, education and healthcare. Both men are doing a great job representing Georgia. As always, please remember to contact me in my office on the issues that are affecting you and your area. I am here to represent you and it is an honor for me to work on your behalf.
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Email Updates |
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Senator Douglas sends out weekly legislative updates while the Senate is in session. To receive your copy, click here to send us an email. Your email address will be used for updates only and will not be loaned or sold to anyone else. |
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Live Broadcast |
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Follow this link to watch live broadcasts of the Senate while in session. Brought to you by Georgia.gov. 
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