Day 5- January 16, 2009

Tonight on Lawmakers, details of a statewide plan from House Transportation Chair Vance Smith, a proposed tax to help fill Medicaid coffers and Coca-Cola Enterprises is recognized for environmental leadership. Plus, we’ll take a look back at the first week under the gold dome in 2009.

House Transportation Committee Chair Vance Smith spoke with Lawmakers’ Nwandi Lawson today about his plans to introduce a statewide transportation plan. Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson alluded to this forthcoming plan in his remarks at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s Eggs and Issues breakfast on Tuesday. Representative Smith says the resolution will call for a referendum on a statewide transportation sales tax in November 2010.

Lawmakers’ David Zelski sat down with GPB Radio’s John Sepulvado this afternoon to discuss a proposal that would levy a tax on health insurers and hospitals of 1.6% in an effort to fill a hole in the Medicaid budget that is over $2 million. Sepulvado discusses the legislature’s options and what role the federal government may play in future.

Representative Ron Stephens took the well in the House this morning to urge adoption of his proposal to add an additional $1 tax on tobacco in Georgia. He says the move would eliminate the need for property tax increases and the proposed tax on hospitals and insurance companies. The legislation, House Bill 39 is part of the Georgia Tobacco Alliance’s “Pass the Buck” campaign.

Representative Roger Bruce has again filed legislation that would allow parents 24 hours of unpaid, job-protected leave to attend to the needs of their children or elderly parents. Bruce says the Parent Protection Act, House Bill 37, is designed to allow parents to participate in school events or treat an illness without fear of losing their jobs.

Coca-Cola Enterprises was honored with an environmental leadership award by the Southeastern Diesel Collaborative this morning. Governor Sonny Perdue spoke at the event. Lawmakers’ Minoo Hosseini reports.

Minority auto dealers in Georgia, including Senator Emanuel Jones, say if they don’t receive financial help, the already dwindling number of minority-owned dealerships in the country will continue to decline. The National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers is asking President-Elect Barack Obama to issue an executive order to create loans through the Small Business Administration. Lawmakers’ Emily Banks has that story.

Most legislators were sworn in Monday when the 2009 session began. One notable exception was Gainesville Representative Doug Collins who was wrapping up an air force tour of duty in Iraq. Back in country just 48 hours today, he was sworn in and spoke to his colleagues in the House.

Plus, we take a look back at the first week under the gold dome for the 2009 session. We’ll have highlights from Tuesday’s Eggs and Issues breakfast as well as Wednesday’s State of the State Address.

All that and more tonight on Lawmakers at 7 PM.

Lawmakers repeats on GPB Radio at 8 PM tonight and on GPB television at 5:30 AM Monday morning. You can also catch a repeat of Lawmakers on GPB Knowledge at 7 AM tomorrow. GPB Knowledge is available to those with digital television receivers at .3 of your local GPB transmitter, for example 20.3 in Augusta, or 8.3 in Atlanta.

Day 4- January 15, 2009

Tonight on Lawmakers, concern over the budget is expressed by Senate Appropriations Chair Jack Hill, State School Superintendent Kathy Cox speaks to a joint House-Senate Education Committee about education proposals and a special tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the State Capitol.

Speaking this morning in the Senate, Appropriations Chair Jack Hill said he believed that Governor Sonny Perdue’s revenue estimates are too optimistic. He used graphs and charts to illustrate that the legislature may have a lot of work ahead if the downward economic trend continues.

Despite the current budget deficit, State School Superintendent Kathy Cox assured legislators at a joint House-Senate Education Committee that education in the State would not suffer. Lawmakers Minoo Hosseini has more.

Healing the State's Trauma Care Network could take up to five years and tens of millions of dollars. That's the conclusion of experts hired by the State's Trauma Network Commission. But behind the bad news, there may be a bit of good news. Lawmakers Valarie Edwards reports.

Senator Steve Thompson took the well this morning on a point of personal privilege to express concern about the Rules approved Monday that maintain “Crossover Day” as legislative day 30. Crossover Day, the deadline by which legislation must be approved by the chamber in which it originates, was changed to Day 30 from Day 33 four years ago. Senator Don Balfour, Chair of the Senate Rules Committee responded that he understands the concern, but that those extra three days are useful for the Senate to consider House Bills before Sine Die.

The 24^th annual Georgia State Capitol tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. took place this morning. Governor Sonny Perdue presented a proclamation on behalf of the State to Christine King Ferris, the late Dr. King’s sister. We’ll have highlights from speeches by the Honorable Michael Steele, former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, Senator Emanuel Jones and Representative Melvin Everson.

The rules and penalties for using cell phones while driving could get tighter for Georgia drivers if any of three proposed bills pass this session. Lawmakers’ Emily Banks has the details.

Legislators were briefed about the television digital transition this week. It's only 33 days away. Are you prepared? Lawmakers’ Brittany Evans shares what legislators have learned.

And Lawmakers’ Evan Seitz explores the presence of wildlife under the gold dome today. We’ll have all that and more on Lawmakers at 7 PM.

Lawmakers repeats on GPB Radio at 8 PM tonight and on GPB television at 5 AM the tomorrow morning. You can also catch a repeat of Lawmakers on GPB Knowledge at 7 AM tomorrow. GPB Knowledge is available to those with digital television receivers at .3 of your local GPB transmitter, for example 20.3 in Augusta, or 8.3 in Atlanta.

Day 3- January 14, 2009: State of the State

Tonight on Lawmakers, Governor Sonny Perdue delivers his seventh State of the State Address, House Democratic Leader DuBose Porter delivers the House Democratic Response and legislators and special interest groups react to the Governor’s agenda.

Governor Sonny Perdue revealed his legislative agenda and outlined his spending priorities in his seventh State of the State Address this morning before a special joint session of the Georgia General Assembly. Top priorities are education and healthcare, including a significant restructuring of the Department of Human Resources.

House Democratic Leader DuBose Porter delivered the official House Democratic Response to the State of the State this afternoon. Porter spoke out about not having a special session last summer which he says would have allowed legislators ample time to address the State’s budget woes. The Democrats went on to say that they believe the Governor is balancing the budget on the backs of Georgia’s middle class.

We’ll have reactions to Governor Perdue’s speech and priorities from legislators, educators and special interest groups. Some of those Lawmakers spoke with are intrigued and encouraged by the initiatives outlined by the Governor, but many wonder where the money will come from. Lawmakers’ Valarie Edwards and Minoo Hosseini have more on reaction to the speech.

Lawmakers’ Nwandi Lawson speaks with Voices for Georgia’s Children and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) about the Governor’s plans to restructure the Department of Human Resources. Governor Perdue’s plan is considered the largest shakeup of the State’s health and human services agencies since Governor Jimmy Carter’s 1972 Governmental Reorganization Act. The new organization will consist of three departments: Department of Behavioral Health, Department of Health and Department of Human Services.

And we’ll bring you some highlights of our post-address analysis with Chuck Clay, former State Senator, current partner at Brock Clay and President of Insider Advantage. Mr. Clay joined the Lawmakers special live broadcast of the State of the State this morning.

All that and more, tonight on Lawmakers at 7 PM.

Lawmakers repeats on GPB Radio at 8 PM tonight and on GPB television at 5 AM the tomorrow morning. You can also catch a repeat of Lawmakers on GPB Knowledge at 7 AM tomorrow. GPB Knowledge is available to those with digital television receivers at .3 of your local GPB transmitter, for example 20.3 in Augusta, or 8.3 in Atlanta.

Governor Sonny Perdue's State of the State Address

On Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 10 AM, Governor Sonny Perdue delivers his seventh State of the State Address to a special joint session of the Georgia General Assembly. Governor Perdue is expected to outline his legislative agenda and the spending priorities for the State of Georgia for fiscal year 2010.

In a time of economic uncertainty and projected budget shortfalls, the thoughts of Georgia’s Chief Executive should be important to every Georgian. Join Lawmakers’ co-hosts David Zelski and Nwandi Lawson for a special live broadcast of the State of the State Address. They will be joined by special guest, Chuck Clay, former State Senator, partner at Brock Clay and President of Insider Advantage.

You can watch the live State of the State Address program Wednesday morning at 10 AM, live on GPB Knowledge, listen to the address on GPB Radio or watch the address online by clicking here.

GPB Knowledge is available to those with digital television receivers at .3 of your local GPB transmitter. For example, that would be 20.3 in Augusta, or 8.3 in Atlanta.

Tomorrow evening's Lawmakers program is a one-hour special that will include the entirety of the Governor's address. That's at 7 PM on GPB Television.

Day 2- January 13, 2009

Tonight on Lawmakers, State leaders outline legislative agendas at the annual Eggs and Issues Breakfast, Georgia Power asks for the ability to charge ratepayers for power plants under construction and a look at the impact of legislation that expanded the rights of permitted gun owners.

Governor Sonny Perdue, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson spoke at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce's annual "Eggs & Issues" Breakfast this morning at the Georgia World Congress Center. Before a crowd of over 1,000 business, government and legislative leaders agendas were unveiled. We’ll have the highlights.

Governor Perdue spoke to the assembled crowd at the Eggs and Issues breakfast about education, economic environment, transportation and tort reform. He talked about 3 new education initiatives all designed to improve Georgia student achievement. Governor Perdue also spoke about two new initiatives to limit liability and further reform Georgia's tort law.

Lawmakers David Zelski spoke with Bill Clark of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association about the Governor’s tort reform proposals. The first would protect companies with a significant presence in Georgia from product liability claims within this State if the FDA (federal Food and Drug Administration) approved the medical device, drug or labeling along with it. The second proposal is designed to deter what the Governor termed "frivolous" lawsuits. That tort reform bill is designed to provide relief to individuals or companies wrongly sued. If a claim is dismissed at the earliest possible stage, the litigant bringing the claim will be responsible for the prevailing party's attorneys' fees. If the attorney fails to advise his or her client of this provision, the attorney could pay the award. The bill will also ensure that the discovery process will not begin until the legal merits of a complaint have been tested.

Also at the Eggs and Issues breakfast, Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson spoke about four specific areas of legislative interest. Education: the Speaker indicated that he would support Representative Fran Millar's legislation to put Technical and Adult education classes in every high school in Georgia in order to better prepare those students who will not attend college for the workforce. Trauma: Speaker Richardson said that it is time to fund Georgia's Statewide Trauma Care Network. He stated that he would consider a 25-cent per phone line, $10 charge on auto tags or a $10 charge on auto policies to fund that network. Property Taxes: Speaker Richardson that he is supporting Representative Edward Lindsey's legislation that would freeze property tax values and cap assessments at either 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. Transportation: Speaker Richardson spoke about several initatives to help relieve traffic congestion- moving truck routes out of metro Atlanta, expanding light rail and expanding major traffic arteries like Georgia 400- but says that he will back Representative Vance Smith's statewide transportation funding plan rather than regional plans.

Lawmakers’ Nwandi Lawson spoke with Representative Vance Smith about that transportation plan and with Representative Edward Lindsey about the property tax proposal.

Lt. Governor Cagle did not outline any specific legislative initiatives for 2009 at the Eggs and Issues breakfast but did state that his priority for the session is to bring State spending under control and balance the budget. Cagle went on to predict that 2009 will hold as many challenges as 2008 and urged his collegues in the General Assembly to stay focused, saying that they have only 40 days to set the tone for Georgia for an entire year.

One lobbyist group is saying most State agencies are ignoring immigration laws and rewarding illegal immigrants in the State of Georgia. Reporter Brittany Evans has the story.

One high school band from Georgia is on the march towards Washington, D.C. for the 2009 Presidential Inauguration. Their first stop, the State Capitol... Lawmakers Evan Seitz has the story.

All that and more, tonight on Lawmakers at 7 PM.

Lawmakers repeats on GPB Radio at 8 PM tonight and on GPB television at 5:30 AM the tomorrow morning. You can also catch a repeat of Lawmakers on GPB Knowledge at 7 AM tomorrow. GPB Knowledge is available to those with digital television receivers at .3 of your local GPB transmitter, for example 20.3 in Augusta, or 8.3 in Atlanta.

Eggs & Issues Highlights

Governor Sonny Perdue, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson spoke at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce's annual "Eggs & Issues" Breakfast this morning at the Georgia World Congress Center. Before a crowd of over 1,000 business, government and legislative leaders agendas were unveiled as were some battle lines over Transportation funding formulas.

GOVERNOR SONNY PERDUE
Governor Perdue spoke to the assembled crowd first and touched on education, economic environment, transportation and tort reform. He began by saying that policy should drive the budget, not the budget drive policy. Facing back-to-back years of declining revenue for only the second time in 50 years, Perdue said that the core mission of government continues to be "providing services for people which they can't provide for themselves and doing those things in a way that is transparent, fair and efficient". In the education arena, Perdue is proposing 3 new initiatives that he'll urge the General Assembly to adopt:
1) High School Principal incentive pay program to provide $10,000 bonuses to a principal that consistently improves student achievement.
2) Create a merit pay program to identify and reward teachers who increase student achievement.
3) Pay first year fully certified math and science teachers as fifth year teachers and bring all of our current math and science teachers up to that pay level.
In the arena of business-friendly legislative proposals, Governor Perdue will propose two new initiatives to limit liability and further reform Georgia's tort law:
1) Companies with a significant presence in Georgia will not be subject to product liability claims within this State if the FDA (federal Food and Drug Administration) approved the medical device, drug or labeling along with it.
2) To deter "frivolous" lawsuits, a tort reform bill designed to provide relief to individuals or companies wrongly sued. If a claim is dismissed at the earliest possible stage, the litigant bringing the claim will be responsible for the prevailing party's attorneys' fees. If the attorney fails to advise his or her client of this provision, the attorney could pay the award. The bill will also ensure that the discovery process will not begin until the legal merits of a complaint have been tested.
The Governor also spoke about needing to deliver more value for dollars invested in transportation and closed with remarks about Georgia's ongoing drought situation. He said that last year's passage of a Statewide Water Plan is a step in the right direction and he says he will announce appointments to Regional Water Councils soon.

LT. GOVERNOR CASEY CAGLE
Lt. Governor Cagle did not outline any specific legislative initiatives for 2009 but chose instead to, as he stated, "paint a picture of Georgia's reality while casting a vision of the possible". He did go on to state that his priority for the session is to bring State spending under control, "Let there be no mistake, my number one priority for this session is to balance this budget - not by seeking the aid of creative revenue enhancements - but by making the tough decisions to fund essential government services and cutting those that are not. " Cagle went on to predict that 2009 will hold as many challenges as 2008 and urged his colleagues in the General Assembly to stay focused, saying that they have only 40 days to set the tone for Georgia for an entire year.

HOUSE SPEAKER GLENN RICHARDSON
Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson began his remarks with a bit of an homage to the late Thomas B. Murphy who served as the Speaker of the House for 40 years. He said that as a member of the House he always came to the breakfast and wondered why the Speaker always spoke last (after the Governor and Lt. Governor) and for such a comparatively short period of time. He said that he has learned what Murphy obviously knew: just because you think it, you don't have to say it. Richardson went on to speak about four specific areas of legislative interest:
1) Education: the Speaker indicated that he would support Representative Fran Millar's legislation to put Technical and Adult education classes in every high school in Georgia in order to better prepare those students who will not attend college for the workforce.
2) Trauma: Speaker Richardson said that it is time to fund Georgia's Statewide Trauma Care Network. He stated that he would consider a 25-cent per phone line, $10 charge on auto tags or a $10 charge on auto policies to fund that network.
3) Property Taxes: Speaker Richardson that he is supporting Representative Edward Lindsey's legislation that would freeze property tax values and cap assessments at either 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less.
4) Transportation: Speaker Richardson spoke about several initiatives to help relieve traffic congestion- moving truck routes out of metro Atlanta, expanding light rail and expanding major traffic arteries like Georgia 400- but says that he will back Representative Vance Smith's statewide transportation funding plan rather than regional plans. That is a fairly clear indication that the Speaker will not back the Transportation Special Local Option Sales Tax, or T-SPLOST, that has been backed by members of the Senate and Lt. Governor Cagle.

Tune in to Lawmakers on GPB at 7 PM for highlights from these Eggs & Issues speeches and all the latest from under the gold dome.

Day 1- January 12, 2009

Lawmakers returns for the 39th season of bringing viewers all the latest from under the gold dome at 7 PM tonight. Tune in for highlights of the first legislative day of 2009 and background information about the Four T's- Taxes, Transportation, Trauma and Teachers- that we expect to dominate the session and the State's spending priorities. Also, an in-depth interview with Lt. Governor Casey Cagle about his expectations for the 2009 session.

Lawmakers is broadcast live at 7 PM and repeats on GPB Radio at 8 PM. Television repeats will air on GPB at 5:30 AM and on GPB Knowledge at 7 AM the morning following the original broadcast.