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Press Releases 2001
January 25, 2001: That Was the Week That Was March 8, 2001: Disregard for the Rules and Law
Rep. Jeff Brown(R) LaGrange will speak to the LaGrange Kiwanis Club on Thursday, January 4, 2001 at 12:30 p.m. at the Highland Country Club. He will be speaking about the upcoming legislative session. Also, he will have some brief remarks about the huge price increases for natural gas and propane gas.
Call Rep. Brown at 706-884-3232 for more information.
The 250th Anniversary of representative government in Georgia convened on January 8th. On the first day the House organizes itself and it went according to script. Representative Tom Murphy was elected to a two year term as the Speaker of the House. This will be his 14th such two year term. His opponent was Representative Lynn Westmoreland who in November was elected as the Minority Leader in the House. Since Republicans only have 75 of the 180 seats, he was not elected.
The 36 black House members will attempt to play a more important role this session. Their role is on the flag issue is obvious. A group within the Black Caucus is dissatisfied with the Speaker, Lt. Governor and Governor. In the House they only have 6 of the 33 committee chairs. Some even discussed joining with the Republicans to elect a Republican Speaker in exchange for more committee chairs. Unfortunately, Republicans have seen all such previous coalitions fail in the end. Interestingly, the conservative principles referenced above serve working blacks better than liberal principles which are often the opposite there. Nonetheless in the November elections, 98% of blacks voted for Democrat candidates. A building question is how much longer will the disregard by the white democrat leadership and counter productive principles exist?
The change in the House Republican leadership is a move to more conservative principles. We will use to determine legislation are: Will it decrease the size of state government and the tax burden on our people? Will it give more personal freedom and responsibility? Finally, will it encourage and empower the family?
When you consistently operate on sound principles the details take care of themselves. This is how President Ronald Reagan lead when he was President and I’m hopeful that our results will be equally effective.
You’ve read a lot about the flag issue. As of the writing of this weekly article there has been nothing more than a bill put in which is HB 16 in regard to the flag issue. The Republican leadership is hopeful that early into the session, we will have a vote on the House floor on this issue. Personally, I don’t think the Democrat leadership will allow that to happen. If so, it will be further evidence of them disregarding blacks.
One of the most pressing problems that people are having now is the cost of energy, particularly propane gas and natural gas. We had a two hour hearing on this issue in the Industry Committee on Wednesday. Basically, the committee was trying to determine whether the deregulation of natural gas is working. At the end I asked the Chairman to have our committee investigate why energy prices are so high. I believe that whether natural gas was regulated or deregulated there would have been little difference. Basically, we have a failure to bring on stream over the last 15 or 20 years electrical generation plants other than generators that consume huge quantities of natural gas (three such being built in Heard County). The specter of deregulation of the electrical industry and environmental lists. Also, the Clinton Administration never developed an energy policy. Further, a lot of exploration of natural gas has stopped. Truly I am concerned that every time we have a cold wave or a heat wave, we’re going to see spiking prices until this state and this country develop a sound energy policy.
I am pleased to tell you that Elizabeth Montgomery, a 1999 graduate of LaGrange High School will be my Legislative Aide on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Michele Horton, a 1998 graduate of Troup High School will be my Legislative on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Our local schools have produced some outstanding graduates and I have been the beneficiary of several of them as Legislative Aides. We can be reached while we’re in session at 404-656-0177. Me e-mail is jbrown@legis.state.ga.us. We look forward to hearing from you or better yet having you visit us here at the Capitol.
The Governor presented his proposed budget for ???, 2001 in a joint House/Senate session Thursday and last week his amended budget for this year. Fortunately, the state is in good shapely economically. Unfortunately, he wants to spend all of it except a small increase in the homestead exemption, which we approved 2 years ago, plus ??? nonetheless of _________. This will increase the size of state government by $____ or ____% which obviously violates our conservative principles referenced above. As compassionate conservatives we believe in helping those who can’t help themselves. We believe in further reforming public education; however, we believe that as these things increase government we need to correspondingly decrease government by being mor efficient and productive, eliminating or reducing government programs more accountability, etc. The Governor’s budget did little or any of this and so Georgia State government unnecessarily grows.
After finishing the first week of the 2001 Legislative Session, we were off the week of January 15th. Monday was a holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. The balance of the week, the Appropriations Committee reviewed the 2002 budget starting July 1, 2001 that the Governor is proposing. We will reconvene Tuesday, January 23rd to allow those of us attending the Inauguration a travel day. On Tuesday, we travel to Milledgeville to hold a session in the newly restored state capitol building on the campus of Georgia college. This building actually served as the capitol of Georgia from 1807 to 1867.
Do not feel cheated that your Legislators are not in session for several reasons. First, the State Constitution restricts us to a maximum of 40 days unless there is an emergency, or as we will do this year, meet for redistricting which will last approximately 5 weeks this summer. Secondly, in Georgia, as in many states, we are citizen legislators. Basically, this means that most of us have a regular job to supplement the compensation we receive as legislators. In regard to compensation, we are paid $16,200 per year, plus retirement and healthcare benefits. Those of us who live more than fifty miles from the capitol and stay in Atlanta receive $128 per day to reimburse for living expenses away from home. Finally, we can get up to $7,000 per year for reimbursement for personal services. I use this to pay a Legislative Aide and to pay for the expenses such as phone calls, materials, mailings, support and mileage, I incur a while back in the District during the other 9 months of the year.
I generally go to Atlanta on Sunday nights and return to my office in LaGrange early Friday afternoon. A typical day during the Legislation Session is to be at the Capitol by 7:30 a.m. At 8:00 the Conservative Policy Caucus meets to review the bills on the agenda for that day. The House convenes at 10:00 a.m. and spends as little as an hour early in the Session but towards the end we are in session as long as twelve plus hours. In the afternoon there are committee meetings, meetings with constituents, mail, phone calls, etc. In a typical day there are several breakfast, lunch, and dinner options from various groups interested in meeting with us to discuss their desires. I try to go to those where I have a particular interest and/or constituents have indicated that they will be there. At night, I am generally reviewing bills for the next day. In between, I am handling issues relative to my company. The net of this is that I am probably averaging about 55 hours per week serving as a legislator. When we are not in Session, I average about 19 hours per week performing duties previously described. When I add up these hours and divide it into our compensation, it works out to a little over $11 per hour.
Some contend, such as James Wooten, the columnist for the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, that the Legislature in reality does not have a lot of power. I believe that this is accurate, given that we have a very aggressive Governor. During the past two legislative sessions, he has proposed 39 bills and had 39 pass. Further, he is the most powerful person in regard to the budget. I have previously written that from my vantage point the Appropriations Committees in the House and Senate quibble over a few million dollars of pork but do very little else to a budget that exceeds $15 billion dollars. One of the cures for this is a healthier two party system in state government.
Last week I wrote a longer article than normal so some of those who covered had to exclude a portion of it about the growth of the budget. I explained that a compassionate conservatives we believe in helping those who can’t help themselves and, further, in reforming public education. Correspondingly, as conservatives we want to decrease government by being more efficient and productive, eliminating or reducing questionable government programs, and having more accountability. The governor’s budget did none of this so Georgia’s cost of government grows.
To contact me call 404-656-0177 at the Legislative Office Building or call my LaGrange office at 706-882-9942 (those calling from Coweta can call 770-252-1763) and leave a message on voice mail box 203.
The Georgia House of Representatives voted Wednesday by 94 to 82 to change the state flag. It next goes to the Senate for a vote. I voted against this bill. Background and my reason for voting no follows.
In a surprise move Wednesday morning, the Black Caucus and the Democrat Leadership including the Governor introduced a total redesign of the Georgia flag to the Rules Committee. It is unlike any other flag design we have seen to date, any flag from our history and unlike any other state’s flag.
Calvin Smyre, Chairman of the Rules Committee and a prominent member of the Black Caucus allowed very limited debate and called for a voice vote. The majority of this committee voted to allow this bill to go to the House floor for a vote. This does not mean all of the members voting yea support this bill. This was followed by the Governor speaking to the House advocating passage of this bill, which none of us had seen.
Objectively, the Governor made some excellent points in his speech. One is the fact that 2/3 of our present flag is the confederate flag. Also, he said that it’s time to end this debate before we divide into warring camps. Further, he also drew a parallel to 40 years ago when then Governor Vandiver said that it was too big of a price to pay by not making a decision on the issue of integration. States such as Mississippi and Alabama who did fight it have not prospered as has Georgia. Also, he said that this flag is a compromise since it still has the confederate flag in it. Finally he said that the new flag includes the U.S. flag since first and foremost we are Americans. Therefore, this flag preserves the past and preserves the future.
In my 7 years of being a legislator this is the most decisive issue we’ve faced. It is indeed time for reason to prevail. There is no question that this present flag alienates many blacks and there is no question that a change from the present flag will alienate many whites. I believe that some of the white sentiment is pure bigotry while others are a respect for history/heritage. Further, I believe that some of the blacks are overacting. I also think that it is time for people to be truthful and recognize that the flag was changed in 1956 as an act of defiance to integration. I have had some calls saying Georgia has more important things to consider. I disagree! This issue will not go away. Further, the truth of the matter is that this debate will not take away one minute from the debate on any other bill.
All of this said the fact that most of us had no idea about this bill and that this bill was railroaded with no opportunity for public input causes great concern. Because of this and having to base my vote on input up until now, which has been approximately ten to one against change. I voted “no”.
January 25, 2001
Wow! What a week. It started with Shirley, my wife, and myself going to Washington for the Inauguration and accompanying festivities. This was followed on Tuesday with the legislature traveling by bus caravan to Milledgeville for a tour of the old Governor’s mansion and the restored building that served as Georgia’s Capitol from 1807 to 1868. There we held a legislative session with Governor Barnes addressing us on the occasion of the 250th Anniversary of representative government in Georgia. Then the very next day, in a surprise move which I covered in an earlier press release, a vote on changing the Georgia flag passed the Georgia House of Representatives.
Despite a slight drizzle and cold temperatures, massive crowds, tight security, etc. being at the Inauguration was truly a momentous event for us. As believers in conservative principles, this occasion marked a dramatic change from where the prior administration had been going for the past eight years. As an American, regardless of political affiliations, it was awesome to recognize the history of this country and the switch of power in a peaceful manner as we begin a new millennium with a new President. By the way, the media reports of the demonstrations were wildly exaggerated.
Today as I reread Governor Barnes’ speech in Milledgeville I wondered how much of it was trying to prepare us for his surprise bill on the flag the next day. Consider: “ if we get caught up in the emotional maelstroms of the day, and lose sight of the long-term interests of our state, we will probably be forgotten as soon as the storms subside. . . . That “spirit of moving forward” is what has made Georgia great today, and it is what will keep us great today. . . . Those of us who are privileged to serve the people must always remember that our purpose is to build a better future for all Georgians. . . . When we disagree, we should not attack each other personally or question each other’s motives. . . .Better to acknowledge our differences, and then seek common ground.” However, he may not have thought of how he handled this bill when he quoted Thomas Jefferson: “A legitimate government is one that derives its powers from the consent of the governed.”
In regard to the flag I reported yesterday that this was the most divisive issue that I’ve had to face in my seven years of being a legislator. For my comments on this and why I voted not to change the flag you can request the Press Release that I sent Wednesday by e-mailing me at jbrown@legis.state.ga.us or calling 706-882-9942 and leaving your name, fax number, or address on voice mailbox 203.
The computer played a very interesting role in the flag debate. Despite the swiftness of the action, we were able to communicate as a caucus and do polling almost instantaneously. Also, constituents were able to e-mail me as we were debating the issue. Unfortunately, due to no prior notification of this vote, not many people knew that it was happening which resulted in my receiving very few e-mails. Nonetheless, I believe the computer will play an ever increasing role in legislation.
Yet another thing that happened within the past several days is Senator Zell Miller’s support of John Ashcroft for Attorney General and his co-authoring of President Bush’s tax bill along with Republican Senator Phil Graham. I applaud Senator Miller for keeping a campaign promise, at least in these two instances, of casting his vote in the best interest of Georgia versus on a partisan basis.
February 8, 2001
This week got off to a very sad start as I learned Saturday of Representative Harold Mann’s unexpected death. Such occasions call into question, one’s priorities. Unfortunately, the questioning is often too brief.
The amended 2001 budget passed overwhelmingly. Each year at this time we adjust the budget that started July 1of the prior year because of new requests, needs, and having actual versus projected revenues. I generally vote against the budgets because the process is exceedingly poor. Basically we are spending too much money, collecting too much in taxes and not evaluating the need nor the effectiveness of expenditures. With a budget surplus of almost a billion dollars, we nonetheless committed to $600,000,000 of new bonded indebtedness bringing it to a total of $6,000,000,000. The interest and principal that we must pay each year is $600,000,000. Meanwhile, there are eight states that have no bonded indebtedness.
The budget contained a $7,000,000 bond to purchase a railroad line from Columbus to Bainbridge. It was explained that this was in anticipation of barge traffic being stopped so this would become an alternative way to ship. Interesting!!!
The Governor finally presented his much publicized water bill which is SB130. Basically, it follows the recommendations of the Clean Water Initiative which met this summer. Dr. Art Holbrook represented our area and voted against those recommendations. Art and I are in conversation as to how we might try to ammend SB130 to make it more beneficial to our area. This is in the spirit of being propositional vs. oppositional.
Thursday in the State of the State, the Governor reviewed the Hope Program and some of the his previously passed bills such as Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, Greenspace, Education Reform and increasing the Homestead Exemption. He covered the lack of results on most of these by saying we cannot correct these overnight. The balance of his speech primarily covered his proposed legislation such as speeding up highway construction and teenage driver changes, which the media has already covered. His major emphasis was on stopping social promotion in schools. When I went to school we did not have social promotion. I say stop it now! However, the Governor again, wants a delay.
Today I spoke with Harold Reheis, Director of the Environmental Protection Division. I asked him how the Tri-State Compact is going. He indicated that the ACT (Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa) has basically been agreed to. In regard to the ACF, (The Apalachicola Chattahoochee Flint Compact), Georgia and Alabama are in agreement but Florida has different concerns. Nonetheless, he expects an agreement within the two week deadline (There is a 60 day review period that needs to start by March 1 to meet with the deadline of May 1). While the deadline has been extended many times, he does not believe that the three Governors will extend it again. As I reported a couple of years ago, Harold felt that the Compact would enhance water quantities in West Point. He continues to believe that the way the Compact would manage the lakes would be much more beneficial to West Point Lake than present Corps of Engineers management practices. POTENTIALLY GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!
Voting complexity . . .
On Tuesday we voted to spend $ 468,000,000 to construct classrooms necessitated by the Governor’s Education Reform Bill calling for lower pupil/teacher ratios. HB139 is less than one page and the key sentence was: “The amount of $468,000,000 is appropriate to the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission for public school outlay.”
Each morning at 7:30 the Conservative Policy Caucus meets. Each of us reviews a bill we were assigned and HB139 was mine. Despite being off Monday, I had 13 meetings with staff members of my company and quite frankly I didn’t do a good job of home work. I told the CPC that it appeared that the Governor was going to have great discretionary powers, that the monies were being funneled in a new way and that the bidding procedure was not sufficiently competitive. Also, there had been a diversion of $100,000,000 of this to rural Democrats to get their big on but that’s another story for another day.
I spent the next three hours talking to the Governor’s Chief of Staff; Legislative Budget Office; Dr. Roy Nichols, Superintendent of Troup County Schools; Linda Schrenko, State School Superintendent; three knowledgeable members of our caucus and several Democrats about my questions and suspicions. I was also writing an outline of the speech that I planned to deliver during the debate on the bill encouraging its defeat but realizing that it would win overwhelmingly.
During this time, I had a one hour Caucus meeting where I introduced Dr. Art Holbrook to discuss water issues, had seventy third graders here from Whitesville Elementary School and we voted on seven bills.
By 11:00 a.m. when the Appropriations Chairman presented the bill, I was becoming increasingly convinced that my concerns and suspicions were unfounded. I did ask several questions of the Chairman while he was presenting the bill so that he would go on record assuring us that there was proper bidding process and that the numbers that we now had in front of us as to the amount each district would receive, would indeed come with no discretion on the part of the Governor.
There was yet another line of thought that was prompting me to fight passage of this bill which is my long-standing opposition to the Governor’s Education Reform Plan. This bill basically funded one of his key pieces of it which is smaller class size. Every elementary school teacher that I’ve talked asked whether they had the choice of having a larger class size with a Para Professional/Teacher Aide versus the smaller class size without an aide choose all the former. Further, there is very little evidence that proves smaller class increases performance. Factors such as parental involvement, quality of the teacher, curriculum and accountability are much more consequential. Also, the $468,000,000 is just the initial costs. My calculations indicate that it will cost almost that much to staff and maintain these additional classrooms every year.
Do all legislators go through this? I’m sure on some bills some do. Others know more about the system while others have more faith in the Democrat leadership or confidence in the Governor and/or are afraid to vote against the leadership. Also, some were very pleased with how much their district was getting Troup gets ($4,397,487 while Coweta gets $4,742,696) and didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that. Nonetheless, that’s them and I am me.
At approximately 11:45 the bill passed unanimously.
You can contact me at 404-656-0177 or email me at jbrown@legis.state.ga.us.
Friday marks the 30th day of our 40 day session. Despite being so close to the finish, very little has still happened including the fact that we haven’t even had the first go around on the 2002 budget starting July 1. Since my last news letter of Thursday, Feb. 22nd, we were off on Friday. Monday and Tuesday we passed fourteen bills, not much of consequence except for further toughening of the DUI. We did finally pass the amended budget where we took the billion dollar surplus and spent all of it. Further, while the House had approximately 600,000,000 dollars of new bonded indebtedness by the time the Senate added theirs in the Conference Committee got together to resolve differences, the figure raised to 700,000,000!
We were off on Wednesday to allow the Appropriations Committee to finish work on the FY2002 budget which looks as though we will finally see it on Monday. I had one sub-committee meeting where we passed three bills and three committee meetings where we voted on fifteen bills. Quite frankly, we did more work on these than we’ve done on many of the days of the session.
One of the things that is very troubling and I think blatantly unfair to tax payers in general in the state is that as you look at where some of the bonded indebtedness and expenditures goes, a very disproportionate share goes to the district of powerful, well established Representatives and Senators whom are Democrats. This certainly make a case for turm??? However; that’s not gonna happen but what is much more likely to happen will be a huge turn of events when the Republicans take over which could be as soon as 2003. What is so unfair is the fact that all of us have paid taxes but because certain districts are represented by people just described they get a disproportionate amount of the money regardless of need there and/or elsewhere versus the balance of the state. It reminds me of what Senator Robert Byrd of the U.S. Senate had done for West Virginia.
We did end early on Thursday to allow some of us to go hear President Bush speak on his tax reduction plan.
Several days ago we got an exchange on the House floor which was instructive in regard to who gets legislation passed. As a hint, it’s much like the budget situation referenced above. If you think for a moment that you are very impassioned about you would go to a legislator that had a chance of getting it passed. Since our legislative process is dominated by Democrats that means you would generally go to a Democrat since the vast majority of bills that are passed come from Democrats. During the exchange one the legislators reminded us that Newt Gingrich, during sixteen years of being a Congressman that always in the minority during that time, did not have one bill passed. Again, when Republicans take over there will be a total reversal of this process except I’m hopeful that we’ll be more dedicated to passing good public policy regardless of who sponsors it.
Disregard for the Rules and Law March 8, 2001
Days thirty through thirty-four were rife with classic examples of how the process is not serving the best interests of most Georgians. You have heard these things from me repeatedly. The fifteen billion dollar 2002 budget passed the House with no amendments [none have passed since the early 1970s], spending up 8% [over 2x inflation], no reserves [counting on a conservative income projection to provide such at mid-year], 90% of the budget not analyzed, record pork [15 million but will grow to approximately 25 million by the time the Senate and the Conference Committee finish], etc.
Apparently, I hit a raw nerve when I asked during the discussion of the budget why anticipated federal dollars to be spent in conjunction with state dollars were over estimated. More on this later. After passing few bills through 28 days we voted on 102 bills in the past five days; most on day thirty-three which is the last day a House bill can be voted on in the House. We started the day with thirty-six bills and had eighteen bills and thirteen resolutions added at 3:30 p.m. All but three were voted on by 6:15 p.m. which is an average of one every five minutes. Obviously, such speed invites poor legislation including some legislation that benefits a few to the detriment of the rest of us.
In the final six days [Thursday was day thirty-four and we passed two Senate bills] the 280 or so bills that have passed the House and the approximately 100 bills that passed in the Senate will go through the legislative process by the opposite legislative body with the result of about 60% of them passing. However, they often pass in a version very different from the way they came from the Senate or the House. Only then can we assess how well the session went.
Leadership in the House and Senate and for that matter the Governor have not only taken advantage of their own rules but they are violating these rules. The most blatant example was a bill the Leadership brought to the House floor Wednesday with no fiscal note [a requirement for any bill that could cost significant monies]. The Chairman who presented the bill said he asked several departments and was told there was no cost. Due to space limitations, I will not detail why but to any objective observer, there were millions of dollars of cost! Also, this bill bypassed the required committee review and wasn’t even introduced until last Thursday.
In the Senate, the Lt. Governor who serves as President of the Senate arranged for a sudden adjournment on their day thirty-three with three bills still to be heard. Therefore, these bills are dead for the session. While a motion for adjournment is a debatable motion, he refused and left the Senate Chamber.
There is even disregard for the law. As an example, each year a picture directory of legislators is published with information such as our spouse’s name. For the spouse’s name of a legislator who is a lesbian her female partner’s name is listed. State law does not recognize such a union. Why this disregard in an official publication paid for by the tax payers of Georgia?
This week I did vote on the Governor’s latest Education Reform Bill which quite frankly contained a number of things that Republicans felt should have been in it originally such as stopping social promotions. Additionally, I offered an amendment that Dr. Pat Barton, Director of Elementary Curriculum for Troup County Schools, suggested but unfortunately this failed. All of that said, this bill is yet another violation of law since state law clearly states that any bill having a significant fiscal impact must be introduced by the 20th day. This bill was introduced on day twenty-three. Also, the 2002 budget continued the Governor’s deliberate effort to take away the authority of State School Superintendent Linda Schrenko who is elected statewide and as a matter of fact, received more votes than did the Governor.
I increasingly believe that one hundred and thirty years of Democrat control is rampant with abuse and it is yet one more reason we need a change!
With two days left in the session, we are in the midst of a very dangerous period of legislating. The bills are still coming fast and furious. [There are 19 on the calendar, although more will likely be added, for day 39 which will be Monday]. Also, the Senate is sending back bills we passed but with their changes. Within a few minutes we have to understand the changes and often have to very quickly evaluate an amendment that a House member introduces and it sometimes is actually a bill they could not get passed otherwise.
When the House and Senate cannot agree, the Speaker appoints three conferees as does the President of the Senate. These six meet somewhere sometime and discuss in low voices much of what they’ve already agreed to in private. At times what comes out is a conference report that only vaguely resembles the versions, passed in the House and Senate. We then have an up or down [yea/nay] vote with no opportunity to amend.
This process invites bad legislation. A helpful rule change would be to not vote on bills after day thirty-eight or certainly not later than day thirty-nine. It is not unusual for a Senate bill to pass the House with changes, go back to the Senate, they amend it, we reject it, it goes to conference and then we have a final vote all in the last chaotic twelve hours! Another helpful rule change would be to disallow a failed bill to suddenly be tacked onto another bill. These and other common sense changes would much better serve the citizens of Georgia. But alas, it’s not going to happen until we have a change as to who is the majority party.
We have passed a few bills in both chambers of the General Assembly (House & Senate) which will become law unless the Governor vetoes them. There have been nineteen such bills, but as I’ve said all along about the session, most will have little if any impact on most of us.
A few exceptions include the change in our state flag. Also, the Governor’s education reform bill of 2000 got some needed reform and funding. Further we will become the forty-ninth state to enact a college savings plan utilizing benefits of section 529 of IRS but we’re the only state to have annual limits of contributions. As previously reported, there will be more restrictions on teen-age drivers and drunks.
I have spent a fair amount of time since last week’s column working with Dr. Art Holbrook, environmentalists and others; attending committee meetings; testifying and trying to amend the Governor’s water bill so as to remove additional water supplies as a present priority of the water district.
The eighteen counties that will make up the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District [Coweta is included, Troup is not] have massive problems with pollution. I’m convinced that this bill will first and foremost become a vehicle by which the uncontrolled growth of these counties is fed more water to the detriment to the rest of us. Given that we have yet to conclude the Tri-State Compact negotiations, nor received a decision in the state law suit against the Corp of Engineers for the management of Lake Lanier, and given that we’ll have a study committee over the interim to look at the issue of supply on a statewide basis makes the issue of supply premature. Further, common sense tells you that it is best when you are taking a new direction to focus its activities on one issue at a time such as pollution. But alas, the Governor and most legislators living within these eighteen counties seem driven to undertake two huge projects (Pollution control and increasing water supply).
Despite the hectic conclusion of the session, it’s vital that I hear from you if you have any opinions on bills in the final two days.
I can be called at 404-656-0177 or e-mail to jbrown@legis.state.ga.us
The 2001 session of the Georgia General Assembly ended at midnight, Wednesday, March 21, 2001, in a circus-like atmosphere. A Democrat Representative deliberately filibustered so that no vote could be taken on the video poker bill. (Reportedly, he has significant investments in video poker machines.) Welcome to the Georgia General Assembly. It will long be remembered as the session that changed the flag. Also there were modest accomplishments of the session not previously repeated such as creation of the State Road and Toll Way Authority to significantly accelerate the developmental highway system which includes US 27 primarily in the less populous areas of the state. The Governor received his first legislative set back when his idea of raising the driving age in metro Atlanta failed.
Unfortunately, I failed to get enough votes for my amendment to allow Troup County to enter the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (MNGWPD) by a majority vote of the proposed members vs. the decision of the Director who is also the Director of the EPD for the state. Some of us feel that neither he nor the Governor want Troup County in this because of the activist role that we have played so effectively in the Tri-State Compact and the federal law suit. I also lost my amendment in re-prioritizing supply so that it would not be considered until later. We are convinced that the governor and most of the eighteen counties first and foremost want to continue to supply increasing amounts of water to metro Atlanta. In my opinion this should not be done until they correct water pollution, air pollution and the movement of traffic caused by uncontrolled growth.
Last Friday I was listening to National Public Radio and heard an interview with Lt. Governor Mark Taylor. He was talking about the $800,000,000 we will spend to construct more classrooms primarily to achieve smaller class size. He indicated that once this is completed the “results will jump off the charts”. This is either the biggest selling job for a massive expenditure or one of the more naive comments I’ve heard in regard to public education. Hopefully most of us would agree that until we get responsible parents in much greater numbers, better curriculum, increase the competence of mediocre teachers, students who exercise personal responsibility by being drug and alcohol free, and sexually pure students who strive for excellence, we can spend all of the money we want on smaller class sizes and the results will not improve much. The 2001 session did little to help in these areas.
The 2001 legislative session may be remembered for what we did not do. We read of 200,000 customers facing the threat of their natural gas service being cut off because they couldn’t afford the high bills. The legislature did little despite a bill to remove the sales tax on natural gas and propane that died in committee. Speaking of tax relief, with a billion dollar surplus we gave very little of it back to the taxpayers. One exception was a continuing parade of sales tax exemptions. While I’m all for less taxes, the problem is that these exemptions only put a greater burden on the rest of us because government spending continues to go up.
People are poor for many reasons. One of these is that they get involved with ‘Pay-check advance’ loans, title pawns and loans from predatory lenders, etc. Also, video poker victimizes them, but ironically, the legislator who killed the bill has a disproportionate number of poor constituents. While these unfair acts cry out for legislative relief, nothing of significance came out of this session.
An innocent bill to add Latinos to the definition of minorities may be harbinger of a pendulum shift in public policy by the legislature. Already quotas, set aside and certain affirmative action plans have been ruled unconstitutional. Now there appears to be a movement to move to more of a performance basis for all regardless of race. Cynthia Tucker , the black editor of the Atlanta Constitution, said: “If African-Americans are to continue progressing forward in the nation’s economic mainstream, we need to start looking forward too....The hey-day of black civil rights is over. It’s time to let it go.” I concur. Let’s prosecute discrimination rather than legalize it. Let’s motivate people to share in the American dream. If this shift in public policy happens, minorities will truly benefit.
We will next meet in early August to redraw district lines for the Georgia House, Senate and for the United States House of Representatives where we will be adding to such seats. Until then, I can primarily be reached at 706-882-9942 or via e-mail, jbrown@legis.state.ga.us.
So far, we have wasted 90 thousand dollars of Georgia tax payers’ monies. Starting Wednesday, we’ve been in a Special Session to decide the issue of redistricting. This is necessitated every 10 years when the new census numbers come out. Basically on Wednesday and Thursday we did nothing in this regard. We are now recessed until Monday.
Once again the Governor appears to have assumed legislative responsibilities. This is consistent with his history as Governor and his personality. Therefore, the balance of power is violated.
Make no mistake the stakes are very high. Basically, the control of the Georgia House and Georgia Senate could hang in the balance. Also, it’s possible that the balance of power in the U.S. Congress can be greatly affected by what we achieve through redistricting since Georgia is one of several states adding two congressional seats.
Since there are 56 state senate seats and 180 house seats and a growing population each district must become larger. Further, each must be plus or minus a maximum of 5% of the ideal number (2000 Census divided by 180 or 56).
The Republican Caucuses in the Georgia House and Georgia Senate have been working tirelessly on the redistricting effort. As one example, to date we have introduced 23 maps whereas the Democrats have introduced none. You can view all of these maps on www.georgia2000.org. Typical of our frustration is that we have created maps that would increase majority minority districts from 40 to 47 only to have the Minority members of the House turn a deaf ear. This increase, by the way, reflects the growth of minorities in Georgia during the past 10 years.
Obviously, each party wants to use this once every 10-year opportunity to either maximize their growth opportunities or to minimize the growth of the opposition party. None the less, I believe that one person-one vote, fairness, keeping counties whole whenever possible and compactness (no silly meandering) should be the guidelines to accomplish this. I’m willing to give odds however, that when we see the Governor’s map, which may happen as early as next Tuesday, these considerations will be absent. I expect that it will be a map to protect white Democrats. What many of my fellow legislators fail to understand is that all of us including the Executive Branch could be gone tomorrow and the state of Georgia would continue. As a matter of fact, a new cast of elected officials may do a much better job on issues of public education, urban sprawl, pollution, crime, water, etc.
The secrecy surrounding this process reminds me of how the flag vote was handled by the Governor. I suspect that we’ll have about as much time and advance notice once the final maps are out as we had prior to the vote on the flag. As you might recall, that was about 3 hours.
Unless I am mistaken about the above, the courts could be the final drawers of the maps. This would mean that we as a legislative group either didn’t do our job or we did it so poorly that the courts will be asked to intervene. At least if the courts get involved the above criteria will be much more closely adhered to than it appears will happen through the legislative process driven by the Executive Branch of Georgia state government.
There could be another outcome. In 1991, when this was last done, the Democrats were even more in control. But the outcome 10 years later is that the Republicans in the Georgia House have grown from 35 to 74 and the Republicans in the Georgia Congressional Delegation have grown from one to eight.
Stay tuned.
Day 6, Georgia voters held captive. After doing nothing for two days last week, this week we did nothing for four days. Therefore, the taxpayers of Georgia have incurred $270 thousand worth of expenses as we attempt to redistrict. We were in session an average of 30 minutes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. On Thursday we met for about that same amount of time and then recessed until 2:30. We came back at 2:30, at least the Democratic leadership was honest enough to admit that they don’t have enough votes for their map. Therefore, we are adjourned until 1:30 Monday, August 13.
The Senate did have some momentary progress when they railroaded a map through the Reapportionment committee. However after about 24 hours had lapsed, the Lt. Governor who presides as President of the Senate sent the bill back to the committee for some “adjustments”, realizing he did not have the requisite 29 votes.
The Senate map was the most appalling example of power, partisan politics with no regard to the voters that I have seen in my 10 years of elected office. While both the Senate and House Republican Caucuses are united rejecting such a map being the majority party, this is insufficient to block it. Fortunately, there are a fair number of Democrats who are showing great courage in refusing to buckle under to their leader ships for such an abomination.
I know that many of you reading this or hearing it probably shake your head and say well so what’s the big deal about the way lines are drawn. In last week’s Press Release I addressed some of these such as the potential balance of power in Congress, whether the Democrats or the Republicans will control the Georgia House and/or Senate. I can add to that the lines can affect how the areas get grant monies and proportionate funding, etc. All of that aside, I think that by far the most consequential part of this whole process is whether your elected officials truly believe in representative government. From a point of personal privilege, I spoke to the House members on Thursday and held up the Senate map. I called it a mockery of representative government. You truly need to see the map to appreciate that comment. But let me give you some statistics that will help. The present alignment of Senate districts separates 27 of our 159 counties. The proposed map separates 88 counties. Proposed map divides 175 precincts. The concept of compactness and community of interest is conveniently absent from Democrat efforts so far. They’ve even offended their totally loyal black legislators by weakening minority voting strength in some majority black districts.
If someone from the public not intimately aware of the political process of the redistricting effort was here at the Capitol, they would be totally perplexed. There is no discussion that goes on in the brief sessions we’ve had in the House and the Senate. ??? Appropriation Committee both bodies that are supposed to be hammering out these maps don’t even meet. Why? The basic and almost soul reason is these negotiations are going on in un-announced places with the Governor, Lt. Governor, Speaker and a few others in the power structure going one-on-one with legislators to get the required majority votes in both houses. They’re making deals just as we’ve seen before in getting votes for the Education bill by drawing district that are favorable to those who will vote for them and I’m sure promising a number of other things in the upcoming budget or friendly appointments, etc.
If this offends you, I suggest you do something other than read it and shaking your head. Perhaps call the people that I just mentioned above and tell them just how offended you are. You demand that they do the job that they were elected to do and follow the oath of office. Georgia code of Ethics for government service says that “Put loyalty to the highest moral principles in the country above loyalty to persons, party or government department.” If you are not listened, I suggest that you support people who run against them in November, 2002 when all of the above mentioned run again.
A total switch of subjects I was informed at the first meeting of the Metropolitan Water District they requested additional discharge permits so as to overcome sewer moratoriums in Metro Atlanta. This is the beginning of the proof statement that I contended when I lead a very unsuccessful fight against this bill that it was nothing more than a bill to continue the growth of Metro Atlanta despite the fact that we couldn’t handle what we already had. By the way, 2 years later the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority has been next to nothing to increase the traffic mobility and reduce air pollution in Atlanta. Again, when I lead the fight against that bill, I listed 25 things that could be done that day to relieve both.
Week two, Georgia voters again held captive. After doing nothing for two days last week, this week we did nothing for four days. So far, the taxpayers of Georgia have incurred $270,000 worth of expenses as we attempt to redistrict. We were in session an average of 30 minutes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. This Thursday we met from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. then recessed until 2:30. At least the Democratic leadership, at 2:30 p.m., was honest enough to admit that they did not have enough votes for their map. Therefore, we adjourned until 1:30 Monday, August 13.
The Senate did have some momentary progress when they railroaded a map through the Reapportionment committee. After nearly 24 hours had lapsed the Lt. Governor, who presides as President of the Senate; sent the bill back to the committee for some “adjustments”, realizing he did not have the required 29 votes to pass the map.
The Senate map was the most appalling example of power and partisan politics with no regard for the voters that I have seen in my 11 years of elected office. The Senate and House Republican Caucuses are united to reject any such map. However, being the minority party, we have insufficient votes to block it. Fortunately there are a fair number of Democrats who are showing great courage by refusing to buckle under to their leadership. Together we may prevail.
I suspect that many of you reading this or hearing it are probably shaking your heads and saying “well so what’s the big deal about the way district lines are drawn?” In last week’s Press Release I gave some reasons such as the potential balance of power in Congress or whether the Democrats or the Republicans will control the Georgia House and/or Senate. I can add to that the lines can affect whether you will have a voice and could effect State budget expenditures in your area. All of that aside, I think that by far the most consequential part of this whole process is whether your elected officials truly believe in representative government.
On Thursday, I spoke to the House members about the Senate map and called it “a mockery of representative government.” You need to see the map to appreciate that comment, but let me give you some statistics that will help. The present alignment of Senate districts separates 23 of our 159 counties. The proposed map separates 88 counties including Troup, Heard and Coweta and divides 175 precincts. The concept of compactness and community of interest is conveniently absent from Democrat efforts so far. They’ve even offended some of their loyal black legislators by weakening minority voting strength in some majority black districts.
If someone unaware of the political process of the redistricting effort was here at the Capitol, they would be totally perplexed. There is little discussion about redistricting in the brief sessions we’ve had in the House and the Senate. Both Reapportionment Committees that are supposed to be hammering out these maps don’t even meet. Why? The basic and almost sole reason is that these negotiations are going on in un-announced places with the Governor, Lt. Governor and Speaker Murphy calling in legislators one by one to get the required majority votes in both chambers. They’re making deals, just as we’ve seen before in getting votes for key bills, by drawing district lines that are favorable to those who will vote for them, probably promising considerations in the upcoming budget, agreeing to appoint a friend of a legislator to a board or judgeship, etc.
If this offends you, I suggest you do something other than read it and shake your head. You could call, fax and/or e-mail the Governor, Lt. Governor and/or Speaker and tell them just how offended you are. Demand that they do the job that they were elected to do and follow the Georgia code of Ethics for Government Service. Point one of this says: “Put loyalty to the highest moral principles and to country above loyalty to persons, party or government department.” If this is to no avail, I suggest that you support people who run against them in November, 2002. This is democracy in action.
The Senate map was bad but the House map was atrocious! With a total disregard for the voters of Georgia by the leadership, including the Governor, 24 multi-member districts were created. Very simply you combine two, three or in some cases four House districts in a configuration that has a history of voting for democrats. In the past the white Democrat leadership used these types of districts to deny black voters the opportunity to elect black representatives. Now it is an attempt to deny Republican voters the opportunity to elect Republican representatives.
There are many, many problems with multi-member districts - one reason that no state that did away with them ever went back to them except for Georgia. The problems include the voters and local units of government having much more difficulty communicating with their representatives. Also it will cost two, three or even four times the amount of money to run vs the cost to run in a single member district. This will discourage lower income people from running, give even more protection to incumbents and increase the influence of campaign contributions.
Speaking of blacks, I believe there will be fewer House seats held by blacks after next year’s election than now due to the House districts being drawn primarily to protect white Democrats and the problems of multi-member districts. Despite this the blacks, almost without exception, voted for this map. One reason is that their leadership believes they will stay in power with the new map and this is more important. One proof statement is that two black legislators already announced they will not seek re-election; one specifically cited opposition to multi-member districts as her primary reason.
These new House and Senate districts must now go to the Department of Justice to be approved. They may not approve them if my contention of diluting black districts is correct. Regardless, there will probably be court challenges. Net/net it will be months before we know what the district lines will be for the next election cycle.
Secretary of State, Kathy Cox wants the taxpayers of Georgia to spend $ 200,000,000 for new voting machines because there were less that 100,000 votes thrown out that were cast in the November election. Quite frankly most of these were because of stupid mistakes. Nonetheless we do not hear a whimper from Ms. Cox and others of her party about the fact that these new districts will disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Georgia voters.
My new district (87) is amongst the best in the state for a Republican to win. It doesn’t meander all over West Georgia. They did not pack it with Republicans to hurt Republican candidates in contiguous districts. Finally, it is not a multi-member district. Given that I have been one of the most aggressive House members in fighting the Governor’s agenda one would have expected me to be punished. Why wasn’t I? The honest answer is I do not know. A possible answer is that try as they might to the north and south there were democrat incumbents (Epps and West) they wanted to protect. To the west is Alabama and to the east is only more Republican precincts.
Next we will be called into session, probably starting next Wednesday, to redraw the U.S. Congress district lines. It is rumored that we will also consider video poker (a cancer) and returning to straight party voting. It is so sad that it is almost comical how the leadership keeps changing the voting rules to protect Democrats. We’ve gone from majority to plurality, how candidates are listed on the ballot, dates changes for primary elections, voting on Public Service Commission by region versus statewide, etc. My second prediction is that in the November 2002 elections a majority of the voters of Georgia will finally say enough is enough. It about time!!
Very interesting! (An oft used line from an old TV show called “Laugh In”). What is very interesting is that as we convened the second Special Session on Wednesday, the Governor announced that in addition to the main purpose to Reapportion Georgia’s Congressional districts, we are to re-look at both the State House and State Senate districts; the same ones for which we were in session three weeks and sent for his signature to become law last Friday. I believe he is doing this because he has received so much criticism about the maps that he helped to draw that he is having second thoughts. Also he added seven other legislative issues to the call.
Ladies and gentlemen if you speak out strongly enough and often enough, you can get the attention of most elected officials. Therefore, I encourage you to communicate with the Governor’s office and with your House and Senate representatives if you believe, as I do, that the maps are a mockery of representative government. No need to call, e-mail or fax any of your Republican Senators or Representatives nor Senator Lee since they all voted against these maps.
We were only in session Wednesday and Thursday of this week and we will reconvene next Monday. Therefore, we only wasted $90,000 this week.
Given that we did basically nothing in these two days, let me bring you up to date on a couple of other legislative issues. The Governor has found a total of $180,000,000 from the Teacher Retirement System and the Employee Retirement System to help fund his ever growing budget. Until recently he was able to use ever increasing revenues to do that. Now that we’re in an economic slow down he’s had to be more creative.
This issue has set off a real furor within the legislature. Democrats are defending the action and the Republicans are attacking it. There is one irrefutable fact and that is that this $180,000,000 could have been used to reduce the amount of money that the teachers and state employees pay into the system; instead the state cut back its share so as to have more money for the Governor’s programs. Objectively, both systems are fiscally sound.
One of the frustrations of serving in government is how inefficient it can be. As one example, we spent three weeks on House and Senate maps and did nothing else. Meanwhile, the Governor sees fit to have nine items on this second Special Session. Why didn’t he put some of these items in the first session?
I have written to Mayor Jeff Lukken regarding Hamilton Road and suggested that he contact our local black elected City Councilmen, County Commissioner and Representative Epps to have them petition the Federal Highway Safety Administration. They could request that FHSA move forward on the issue of environmental justice. This has become the latest stumbling block to getting Hamilton Road widened. This law says that when a road project, such as Hamilton Road, goes through a minority neighborhood there is a different set of conditions. The irony is that while the law is well intended it has in essence created environmental injustice for the people living around this 1.3 mile section of Hamilton Road.
A key part of my responsibilities as a legislator is to handle problems my constituents have. I want to share one because some of you might be able to assist. This particular person has served a full prison term for armed robbery and now wants to be a productive member of our community. However, because of the stereo-type of convicted felons, he’s finding it impossible to get a good job. I think this is unfair. As a matter of fact, back in the 60's when I was living in Los Angeles, I volunteered time to the National Alliance of Businesses to try and convince businesses to hire people who had served their time. If you have an opportunity for this person, please call me at 706-884-3232 and leave a message on voice mailbox 203.
As we conclude our 5th week of the special sessions to redraw State House and Senate maps plus Congressional maps, two themes continued and a new one emerged.
One is the rhetoric from both the Democrats and the Republicans about this being a partisan issue. House Majority Leader, Larry Walker, said very simply Democrats want to keep a majority in the House and elect the Speaker. There is no question that this is the most political thing that legislative bodies do. Nonetheless, I believe that the Senate map that was silently accepted by the Governor last week; the second House map that had 78 changes from the one we originally approved, which we passed on Wednesday; and the proposed Congressional map are so far beyond anything ever done in this state or for that matter in any other state that they are truly mockeries of representative government. Don’t take my word for it. Look at them yourself. Read what the media, who on balance are generally more oriented toward the Democrats than Republicans, have to say about them.
The second theme of Democrats questioning the sincerity of Republicans who want to create more minority districts due to the growth of minorities since the last census. got started before the sessions. We heard from various members of the Black Caucus that they had been “bleached” in the 1991 Reapportionment process. Basically this means that while they gained overall Democrats lost seats. Let’s talk about black gains. Prior to the last Reapportionment session there were 24 blacks in the House and 4 in the Senate. Today there are 36 in the House, a 50% gain. Meanwhile in the Senate seats held by blacks have more that doubled. I find it very strange that they are unhappy with that but almost without exception, voted for a map that will give them little if any gain during the next 10 years and has a good chance, as I predicted in an earlier column, of actually resulting in fewer blacks in the House.
Henrietta Canty, a former black Representative, Assistant Secretary of the State Agriculture Department and who ran for Insurance Commissioner in an open letter to the General Assembly blasted the Democrat Party. Some of her many complaints included charges that she and other black candidates received little or no support from the Democrat Party, were deliberately excluded from campaign activities and that black legislators are selling out their black constituencies by the voting for these maps primarily because of multi-member districts (this has been my main complaint about the House map).
The following is a portion of my response to her. . . I doubt, in the end, your letter will do anything because the Democrat leadership has done nothing in the past. I believe that until blacks stop calling people such as Allen Keyes, noted black columnists, Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas, etc., Uncle Toms; start to vote for the person versus lock step for Democrats and more become Republicans black frustrations, abuses and disregard by white Democrats will continue. Also, I said that we, like the Democrats, have a spectrum of beliefs within our party. However, we tend to center around pro-family values, personal responsibility and compassionate conservatism, and asked her to contrast that with what Democrats believe; some of which she articulated well in her letter.
The third theme in regard to female legislators being hurt by these maps went public Wednesday when we heard convincing statistics showing how a disproportionate percentage of female House members (both Republican and Democrat) have been put into multi-member districts and how that will hurt their re-election chances. Further a disproportionate number of female House and Senate members will have to run against another incumbent.
As I’ve said all along this process is primarily about white male Democrats drawing maps to protect themselves. The blacks have been pawns in it. However, it appears that the females, who are proportionately much less represented than blacks, are not going to acquiesce. Thursday they held a press conference with about 20 members of the press in attendance. Will the Department of Justice listen to female charges as they have historically done for blacks? We already know they won’t listen to Republican versus Democrats, nor disenfranchised white voters.
I’ve long shared with you that I try to base my votes on five conservative principles. Some have challenged that I abandoned those principles when I joined with an overwhelming majority in supporting Republican Senator’s Mike Beatty’s bill to outlaw video poker machines. Let me comment on each of the principles and how they related to this bill.
Will it decrease the size of state government? Interestingly, it does because there will be less law enforcement activity in regard to an outright ban vs. trying to regulate them as we do presently. It is an irrefutable fact that there’s been a lot of criminal activity associated with video poker. Also, there are many stories of people spending all of their monies on this and the families having to go on welfare ergo more government.
Will it decrease the tax burden? If you buy into the above arguments, there will be a corresponding reduction in taxes. The lottery is another factor. Over $6 billion of lottery proceeds have gone to Hope scholars, Pre-K and technology in the schools as required by law when the lottery was approved by a majority of the Georgia voters several years ago. We know factually that video poker has eroded, some of the monies spent on the lottery. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that had video poker not been outlawed, taxes would have been increased to replace lost lottery dollars.
Will it encourage and empower the family? In my opinion this was the easiest one to answer yes.
The final two principles were more difficult to justify. They are: Will it give us more individual responsibility and will it lead to more personal freedom? I received calls from some people saying that video poker is their main form of entertainment and therefore we remove one of their freedoms. They are correct but this is not a country of unlimited freedoms, i.e. laws regarding drugs, driving drunk, child abuse, etc. At times we need to do the greatest good for the greatest number.
In regard to responsibility I believe that it is like respect; you have to earn it. People hooked on video poker have proven they cannot handle responsibility.
Seldom are all five principles a yes before I vote for a bill. Regardless, there are some bills where there is so much negative or so much positive that I must vote for or against the bill regardless of the principles. Such was the case on my vote to outlaw video poker.
I never did buy into the loss of jobs. Businesses are crying for dependable employees at the income level of these people. Another argument was that businesses would lose their investment in these machines. All they have to do is sell them into a state that has not outlawed them. Thousands of these machines previously from South Carolina were sold into Georgia when South Carolina had the wisdom to outlaw them.
I did have one person tell me that they had voted for me in the past but would not do so again because of my vote on video poker. That’s their right. However, when you consider the thousands of votes that I have cast, I’m not sure it’s smart to decide to vote for or against anyone because of one vote.
The other interesting vote this week was in regard to the Congressional map. You probably read where the Speaker received a setback on that one because a number of blacks teamed up with the Republicans to defeat his map. All twenty seven white chairpersons of House committees supported the Speaker. Any surprise? Further, four of six black chairpersons voted with the Speaker. As I’ve said regularly, for some blacks their position is much more important than their black constituency. This was a momentary victory because we expect that in the end the map that passes will be much more in tune with the white leadership than with these “renegade” black legislators. I’m sure they’ll get the word one way or the other before the final vote and some will abandon principle.
As we began the 7th week of the Redistricting, the end is mercifully in sight. Unfortunately, I may not be there at the end. Months ago I arranged an out of town trip, Wednesday through Sunday, to see my parents who are in their 80s, attend a reunion and conduct some business. The truth be known, my absence will make no difference. Since those of us who oppose the Governor’s maps are in the minority not voting is just effective as a no vote because it still forces the majority to get 91 votes. On Monday I attended a meeting of the House Reapportionment Committee. Again, I was struck with the feeling that for Republicans on the committee it had to be a very frustrating experience because nothing they proposed passed. Despite this they attended hearings all over the state before these sessions began and spent countless hours pouring over maps. I’m proud of them because they did all that they could. Interestingly in the end, they may prevail because their efforts may help to convince a court to rule against the maps and draw them themselves.
As I watch the Democrats, who theoretically control the situation, I felt that their feelings were probably even more frustrating than the Republicans. The truth of the matter is they had no say but had to give the pretense because of being the majority party. The real maps were drawn without them. Nonetheless, they had to vote for them.
Probably the question I’ve been asked the most during this session is “what about the comments of Representative Dorothy Pelote about communicating with the dead; Chandra Levy in particular?” Yes it’s possible the she’s delusionary but one thing that I’ve learned is to never underestimate the power of God.
One apparent victory during these two sessions is the fact that straight party voting was removed from an elections bill. Former Governor Lester Maddox said it well, he said “self preservation instead open, honest government”.
As predicted in last week’s column said that the defeat of the Speaker’s map was temporary. As Calvin Smyre, the top ranking black Democrat in the House said he has talked with the ‘renegade blacks’ in the House and they now see the light. Indeed when we voted today on the Speaker’s Congressional map finally ______ blacks voted against it.
Georgia Trend reports that $14 million of your taxes may be spent in the small town of Fitzgerald for a telecommunications center. This is just another example, of all be it larger than average, of pork being spent in pa???? legislators districts. This gives me a huge problem because all of us pay the taxes but only certain areas receive the full benefit of same.
Speaking of telecommunications, keep your eye on the $1 billion contract that the Georgia Technology Authority will award. This is a convenient convergence of campaigning in governing given the contributions to the Governor’s war chest by some of bitters ???. Again, its welfare to rule Georgia because the whole state will have to spend more money on long distance as we wire South Georgia with broad band capability. While such is a worthy goal, I contend that they should do it just like LaGrange did it without state support.
I was informed at the first meeting of the Metropolitan Water District that additional discharge permits were requested so as to overcome sewer moratoriums in Metro Atlanta. This is proof that as I contend when I lead a very unsuccessful fight against this bill, that it was nothing more than a bill to continue the growth of Metro Atlanta despite the fact that we further handle what we already have. By the way, 2 years later the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority has done next to nothing to increase the traffic mobility and reduce air pollution in metro Atlanta. Again, when I lead the fight against that bill, I listed 25 things that could be started that day to relieve both.
Given the attack on America, I find that reporting about the proceedings of the special session for redistricting to be relatively inconsequential. I do however, want to take advantage of the platform that the media allows me as a state representative through these weekly articles and after personal observations and make some revolutions in my various roles and beliefs.
Christian: I pray for God’s hand?? and comfort the families who lost loved ones and friends, ask for blessings for those in the military, police, fire fighters, rescue people and I also pray for wisdom for President Bush and others in leadership positions who must decide how to best ensure our safety, stabilize the economy and seek justice.
Father who lost a son at age 21: I wondered then and do so now as to why did God allow both to happen. Then as now, I have no answer, but a firm belief that God is sovereign and available to us. Please do not interpret this to mean that God willed this to happen. There is evil in this world.
American: Be all the more appreciative and tell others of our unmatched history of freedoms and generosity to the rest of the world.
Republican: Endeavor not to make the response to this attack a partisan issue, nor have the motivation be partisan as we try to find why it happened.
Advocate for less government: Recognize that we need more government at this time in regard to the intelligence community, patrolling our boarders, strengthening our military and increasing our safety.
State legislator: Evaluate what the federal government has been doing that they should have never been doing as provided for in the tenth amendment and whenever possible turn it to free enterprise, or personal responsibility. If this fails or is not possible, get it to local government. This will allow the federal government to concentrate its money and people resources on the above issues which were their responsibilities.
Business owner: Encourage and assist my employees to formulate their own response to this tragedy, be positive in regard to staffing, expenditures, expectations and aggressively go after new business and to fill it to specifications.
Investor: While exercising prudence, not panic when the stock market opens. Remember that in other crisis the market has gone down in the first few weeks as much as 34% but within 2 months its always been higher than the day before the crisis.
The threads of partisanship are necessary to weave the strong fabric of our great land aptly named the United States of America. I am Republican. Republicans and Democrats differ and should differ on issues of more or less federal government; conservative versus liberal solutions, less spending rather than more. Against this threat of terrorism, every American and every citizen of every democracy across the lakes must put individual differences aside and unit as one nation against the faceless cowards of terrorism. GOD BLESS!!!!! |
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