Lawmakers note slow start to 2007 session

Published 10:38 pm Saturday, January 27, 2007

The 2007 session of the General Assembly has gotten off to a slow but steady start, say local lawmakers.

Less than 10 working days into the session, the Legislature has yet to pass any major bills, but lawmakers say they are laying the groundwork for several bills.

“It’s a little slower start than last year. But things will pick up because committees are starting to get a number of bills ready,” said Rep. Tom Dickson, R-Cohutta.

Dickson, a former schools superintendent, says Senate Bill 10, which just passed the Senate Education Committee, is getting a great deal of attention. That bill would allow special education students funding to attend private schools or give their parents more choice on which government school they attend.

“It will go to a subcommittee that I’ll be chairing, so I’ll be involved with it when it comes to the House,” Dickson said.

Dickson said Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has proposed a plan to expand the number of charter schools in Georgia, and that bill will also start in the Senate. That bill would permit the state school board to approve multiple charters for a school system with one vote. Current law requires a separate petition for each charter.

Charter schools are part of the government school system, but funded separately, and they may be exempt from some requirements and rules.

“Those will probably be the key issues that will come up in education,” Dickson said.

Dickson was recently named by Gov. Sonny Perdue to the Investing in Educational Excellence task force, which is studying state funding for government schools.

“They’ve got it divided into committees, and I anticipate I’ll be on the cost or funding model committee,” he said.

The committee is looking at what a model for Georgia’s public schools should be and what it would cost to meet that standard.

“That is what the basis of the funding will be,” he said.

On the Senate side, Sen. Don Thomas, R-Dalton, says things seem less partisan in the past, with both parties working well together so far.

Thomas says he already has the majority of senators signed up to support a seat belt bill he has introduced. That bill would require passengers in pickup trucks to wear seat belts.

“I expect it to pass the Senate, and if we get a vote in the House I believe it will pass there, as well,” he said.

Some states and cities have begun to ban smoking in private automobiles when children are passengers. But Thomas, who authored legislation that banned smoking in most buildings open to the public, says he does not plan to introduce such a bill.

“The driver of a car should realize how dangerous second-hand smoke is to children and should voluntarily not do anything to put their child’s health in danger,” said Thomas, a practicing physician.

“I look at it more as an educational matter, and I don’t want to invade their rights in their private car,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rep. John Meadows, R-Calhoun, says he is looking at ways to provide health insurance to those who want it but can’t buy it because of a medical condition or other problem.

“There’s got to be a way we can help that situation without costing everyone an arm and a leg. But I don’t know what that is yet,” he said.

Meadows says one solution may be House Bill 28, which was introduced by Rep. Tom Knox, R-Cumming. That bill would create a state high-risk pool that would make health insurance more affordable for those in the pool.