To our readers:   State Representative Buddy Carter (R- Pooler) will be reporting each week during the Legislative Session.  The session began January 9, 2006 and is expected to last until the latter days of March.

Day 30 (March 13, 2006): 

What takes nearly 17 hours to complete, covers 81 pieces of legislation and ends at 1:45AM in the morning?  The answer- crossover day 2006, the final day when a bill must be passed in one chamber to be considered by the other. 

The day begins at 7AM for a policy meeting to review the bills that are on the calendar for the day. We’re in session at 9AM and get off to an inauspicious start with a bill to raise the cap on estates exempt from Medicaid reimbursement that takes more than an hour to debate and then is put on hold to work out a compromise.  Thankfully, things pick up and we hit a stride with most bills passing without much controversy. 

Among the bills passed today is a bill that would make it legal to use modern scopes on primitive muzzle loading firearms.  A large number of hunters who pursue their pastime with primitive weapons like muzzle loaders also find themselves with declining visual acuity.  This would make it legal to use modern scopes on these primitive weapons to hopefully decrease the number of poorly aimed shots that only result in wounding the animal. 

Among the bills that do not pass today are Governor Perdue’s so called HOPE Chest amendment, which requires revenue from the Georgia Lottery be used only for pre-kindergarten and the HOPE scholarship and a bill to give the state the legal power to fund faith-based organizations. 

Today is a special day for me as my first state wide piece of legislation is passed by a 159-3 vote.  This bill will allow Hospices to provide palliative care to patients who have a terminal illness and are within 2 years of end of life.  Palliative care is a team approach (Physician, Nurse, Volunteer, Clergy, etc.) to providing physical, psychological and spiritual care to a patient and their family.  Currently Hospices can only provide services to those who are within 6 months of end of life.  The bill now goes over to the Senate for their consideration.

Day 31 (March 14, 2006): 

Because of the marathon session yesterday, we don’t go into session until 1PM today.  Everyone is still bleary eyed from the previous day, but we manage to pass two bills and get out in just over an hour.  Of the two bills we pass today, one deals with honoring public safety officers killed in the line of duty by providing them with a state flag.  Most of the afternoon is spent working on local legislation and lobbying members of the local assistance grant committee on projects in my district.

Day 32 (March 15, 2006): 

I’m at the Capitol at 7AM this morning for our weekly Legislative Prayer Caucus.  At 8AM we have our conservative policy meeting to review the bills being debated today.  Although we are normally in session only a few hours a day, the pace is hectic throughout the day with committee meetings, lobbying, research, etc., that is an important part of the work up here.  Once we’re in session at 10AM today, we pass three bills, including a proposal that would ban state regulators such as the Public Service Commission from regulating wireless phones, broadband services and Internet phone services.  Most members felt that these emerging communication technologies would be best spread throughout the state by encouraging a free market system and not through regulation.

Day 33 (March 16, 2006):

Today is Atlanta Motor Speedway Day at the Capitol, in advance of the Nextel Cup race at the track this weekend.  We welcome drivers Jeff Burton, Reed Sourness and John Andrea to the Capitol.  The event was called “NASCAR Day” last year but that was before Charlotte was chosen over Atlanta for the groups new Hall of Fame. 

There are only two bills on the calendar today as we go into session at 9AM.  Both bills are “housekeeping” bills dealing with the Public Service Commission and the State Personnel Board and both pass easily.  Although the session is over by 11AM, I stay to attend a Health and Human Services Committee meeting at 2PM.  The meeting is over in just over an hour and I head straight home to South Effingham High School to attend the annual FFA awards banquet.              

Representative Buddy Carter can be reached at Coverdell Legislative Office Building (C.L.O.B.) Room 508, Atlanta, GA, 30334.  His Capitol office number is 404-656-0213. His e-mail address is BCarter331@aol.com.