Morris News Service
Athens Banner-Herald
March 15, 2010
ATLANTA - Legislators will take a day off today and return to session over the final four days of the week as they rush to beat an internal deadline to keep their bills alive.
"Crossover day," the deadline for bills to pass in the chamber where they were introduced and cross over to the other chamber, likely will fall on March 25.
"What I think you'll see (this) week is a whole lot of committee activity," House Majority Leader Jerry Keen said.
The House Appropriations Committee will be working in overdrive this week as it prepares a balanced budget for the full House to vote on.
Part of that process will be to figure out how rank-and-file Republicans want to address the revenue shortfall Gov. Sonny Perdue officially announced Friday - tax hikes, fee increases, spending cuts or a combination.
"Now the tough part is just making those decisions," said Keen, R-St. Simons.
The House is scheduled Tuesday to consider a bill proposed by Speaker David Ralston and sponsored by state Rep. Jill Chambers, R-Atlanta, that would prohibit government agencies from releasing investigators' crime-scene photos of an injured or slain victim without family permission. An expected revision in the bill would allow credentialed journalists to inspect the photos under supervision of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation..
The bill is in response to a request by a freelance writer on assignment for Hustler magazine who asked for all the files - including the photos - of the murder of Meredith Emerson, a University of
Georgia graduate who was kidnapped while hiking in the North Georgia mountains, beaten and beheaded in 2008.
Also this week, the Senate is expected to vote on a controversial bill to expand where people with permits may legally carry concealed weapons.
The sponsor, state Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, R-Sharpsburg, said he intends to remove confusion about where guns can be taken.
The bill would allow guns in parks, churches and the portion of airports not under federal control.
Also in the Senate, a task force appointed by Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle is scheduled to present its recommendations for ways the state government can cut costs.
"I think there will be some very constructive ideas. They won't solve all the problems," said Kelly McCutcheon, president of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. "There are some significant savings over the next four or five years."
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Monday, March 15, 2010
http://onlineathens.com/stories/031510/new_590068505.shtml
© 2010 OnlineAthens • Athens Banner-Herald
All About Developmental Disabilities (AADD) is Atlanta's preeminent resource on developmental disabilities, providing support services to families for more than 55 years. We are often the one place where people with developmental disabilities can go to achieve personal empowerment, family stability and community participation. AADD provides family support; public policy and advocacy; and community engagement.
No comments:
Post a Comment