News and Notes from the General Assembly

Published 3:07 pm Thursday, February 10, 2011

By Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Doss loses seat on DOT board
David Doss, easily the most outspoken and controversial member of the state Transportation Board, lost his seat Wednesday to former state Rep. Jeff Lewis of Cartersville.
Lewis is part-owner of a family billboard business, Delew Ventures. Although the DOT regulates billboards, Lewis said he would recuse himself from any DOT decisions related to billboards and would not speak to DOT staff about billboard issues.
Legislators also elected two other new members to the board: Don Grantham, owner of the wholesale lumber company Forest Sales Corp., to serve the 10th Congressional District; and Emily G. Dunn of Blue Ridge in the 9th District. She owns a game-vending company called Tom’s Amusement and a First Choice Fast Lube, she said.
One of metro Atlanta’s DOT board members, Decatur architect Robert Brown, won re-election with no opposition.
 
Legislation targets  sex trafficking
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has proposed a law to tackle human trafficking and underage prostitution in Georgia.
House Bill 200 would help law enforcement go after people who traffic in people, especially minors, for sexual servitude, said its sponsor, House Majority Whip Edward Lindsey, R-Atlanta.
The proposal increases penalties for the crime to those similar to drug trafficking, with offenders facing up to 20 years in prison for human trafficking and 50 years in prison for trafficking in minors.
The bill also treats those in sexual servitude as victims, not criminals, by offering them recovery under the state crime victims fund and an affirmative defense when coming forward.
 
New try under way to fund trauma care
Sen. Greg Goggans, R-Douglas, and others are making another run at helping fund trauma care across the state.
Georgians, voted down a constitutional amendment last year that would have added $10 to annual vehicle registrations to improve trauma care across the state.
Goggans said Senate Resolution 140 seeks to dedicate funds from the existing registration fees that are already being paid to the state. It would not increase the fee.
 
Medicare fraud bill moves to committee
A bill that would bring high-tech Medicare cards to Georgia to fight fraud moved to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 63 would require the state to issue Medicare cards that have electronic information, including a photo of the card holder, embedded in them. It would require providers to also have electronic fingerprint readers, which would cost an estimated $200 each, to help verify patients’ identities.
The program’s estimated cost would be $26 million.

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