A bill meant to streamline permitting and speed up the construction process of reservoirs was voted out of the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee on Thursday, but a little differently than its author intended. Other lawmakers amended it to include measures to limit interbasin water transfers.
The bill sponsored by Rep. Mike Coan, R-Lawrenceville, would put into action one of Republican leaders’ solutions to the state’s historic drought: Build more reservoirs — fast. Some environmentalists have opposed the long, lumbering bill, saying there’s a good reason it takes an average 15 years to build reservoirs, which is careful study of how it will affect the surrounding land and water systems.
Rep. Debbie Buckner, DJunction City, said she added the amendment to require tougher permitting requirements for interbasin transfers to make the reservoir bill more palatable to downstream water users afraid metro Atlanta will just dam up all the state’s water for itself.
Rep. John Meadows, R-Calhoun, who has co-signed Rep. Buckner’s separate legislation to restrict interbasin transfers, said he liked the amendment because it would take the language recommended by the statewide water plan and make the tougher requirements into law.
“This is the plan for everybody,” he said, adding the existing regional water district for metro Atlanta counties would be beholden to the tougher interbasin transfer law. “Hopefully we can all play from the same set of rules.”
Rep. Meadows said even though he supports the amendment, he’s not sure if he will vote for the reservoir bill when it makes it to the House floor because he believes the debt forgiveness measures are too lenient.
STUDENT PHYSICAL
FITNESS DEBATED
Senators, mostly from North Georgia, had their share of fun Friday during a surprisingly heated debate over a bill to require schools to track the height and weight of students. It would attach funding and recognition to meeting certain physical fitness goals — all in an effort to curb childhood obesity.
Reportedly, Sen. Preston Smith, R-Rome, bet Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, $10 he would not eat the donut placed on the chamber’s podium as a joke during the debate. Sen. Mullis took him up on it. And, it didn’t stop there.
Sen. Don Thomas, RDalton, the Legislature’s only physician and chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee, was dead serious about the bill and tried to bring some gravity to the situation when he spoke in favor it.
“We’ve enjoyed some lighter moments with this bill,” he said. “But our present generation of children will be the first generation of children ... to have a life span shorter than their parents.”
He added he suffered a heart attack at age 36 because of an unhealthy lifestyle, but now well into his 70s, said he has superb health and runs three miles a day at home in Dalton.
But Sen. Smith followed, making it clear he was deadset against the bill because the government would be overstepping its bounds into a realm best handled by parents and schools at the local level.
“Come on, fat kid, pick it up!” he boomed from the well. “There are financial incentives, and you are holding us back!”
After his speech, Sen. Smith refused to take questions, which lawmakers usually oblige during debate.
“Chicken!” cried Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, who spoke in support of the bill.
After all the senators settled down and returned to their seats, the bill passed 37-13, with Dr. Thomas voting “yes” and both donut wagerers voting “no.”
CANCER HOSPITAL
DISCUSSION HEATED
Although strongly opposed by Georgia hospitals and businesses, the debate on a bill that would allow a for-profit cancer treatment center to come to Atlanta was glowing and elicited tearful testimony from senators.
The Senate passed 31-23 on Wednesday legislation that would create an exception in the state’s certificate of need program to allow the 50-bed regional cancer treatment hospital proposed by Chicago-based Cancer Treatment Centers of America to operate under special regulations. Opponents said those exceptions should be reserved for nonprofit hospitals that must provide a certain amount of care to in-state residents.
The bill’s sponsor, Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams gave a passionate speech about watching his father slowly dying of cancer. He asserted the state should encourage such cancer centers so that Georgians battling the disease have access to the best care possible as close to home as possible.
Sen. Don Thomas, R-Dalton, took the well to speak of his family’s recent struggles with cancer. His pregnant granddaughter and her unborn baby died of cancer in January, and his wife — who he said never smoked a day in her life — was diagnosed with lung cancer last month.
He said he saw “absolutely no reason” to oppose the bill.
“I know hospitals oppose it,” said Sen. Thomas. “We need a good look at CON (certificate of need) in general. I think the time has come we need to do away with CON and see costs come down. When someone has cancer, they should have the right to choose.”
The bill now is in a House committee.
DEMOCRATS OPPOSE
TAX REFORM PLAN
Reveling in role reversal, both House and Senate Democrats hosted a demonstration on the Capitol steps Thursday to oppose Speaker Glenn Richardson’s tax reform plan. The speaker’s bill would eliminate property tax on vehicles and the school portion of home property taxes, and would expand the state sales tax to services, groceries and lottery ticket sales.
“No new taxes!” the Democrats chanted. They held up a sign stating the plan would add 175 new taxes to the books.
House members will soon decide in a single day what tax measures they think Georgians should have a chance to vote on this November.
House Majority Leader Jerry Keen said Tuesday the Republican caucus decided the day of tax bill reckoning would be the best way to vote on a wide array of constitutional amendments proposed, from Speaker Richardson’s plan to a 1 percent statewide sales tax increase to fund transportation.
No new word yet exactly when “Tax Day” is, but it will have to be before Day 30 of the session, or “Cross-Over Day,” when all legislation must have already passed in one chamber for it to have time to be considered by the other and approved.
Tuesday will mark the 27th day of the session.
Legislators will not be in session Monday.
