Published: February 05, 2010 04:37 pm      

Georgia Capitol notes through Day 13

(AP) — HEADLINES:

Gov. Sonny Perdue proposed legislation to encourage even more water conservation in Georgia as a federal deadline looms for the state to solve its water crisis. Perdue announced the Georgia Water Stewardship Act of 2010, which he said will also reduce wasteful loss and include incentives for increasing water supply and decreasing demand. If approved, the measures would take effect in July 2012 — coinciding with the date a federal judge has set for Georgia, Alabama and Florida to reach a compromise on the states’ long-standing stalemate over water use. He left stricter measures to local leaders, saying a one-solution approach to conservation was not realistic.

ODDS & ENDS:

—State senators moved to protect Georgians from being implanted with a microchip without their permission. The Senate voted 47-2 to approve a bill banning the practice without consent. Doing so would be a misdemeanor considered assault and battery.

—Gov. Sonny Perdue wants to appoint — rather than elect — four statewide constitutional officers. Critics from both parties said the governor’s proposal constitutional amendment was unlikely to win the needed two-thirds vote in the Legislature and would consolidate too much power with the state’s chief executive.

—Georgia Democratic legislators put forward their own transportation funding plan that would funnel the fourth penny currently collected as part of the tax on motor fuel to road and other infrastructure improvements. It would also allow counties to band together and ask voters to hike the state sales tax by one cent hike to pay for transportation.

—State Sen. Cecil Staton urged stiffer penalties to crack down on illegal massage parlors, especially in middle Georgia, where the issue seems to be more of a problem. Under Staton’s proposal, the offense would become a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000 upon a person’s third offense.

—The House approved legislation that would help big businesses and developers renew large loans with Georgia-chartered banks. The bill would permit banks to renew performing loans — in which all payments have been made on time — even if the economy has dragged down the value of the property.

—Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers’ proposed legislation would make more than 40 changes to the tax system. Rogers is pushing a year-round property assessment appeals process as well as a provision that all comparable sales, including bank sales and foreclosures, must be applied when officials set an assessed value.

—J. Cash of Dallas, Ronny Sibley of Hiram, and Daniel Stout of Dallas have qualified to run for the west Georgia House seat held by former House Speaker Glenn Richardson, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. A special election will be held on Feb. 23 in the portion of Paulding County he had represented.

—Georgia’s ethics commission has launched a probe of former House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s leftover campaign cash. The commission said that it found probable cause to look into Richardson’s transfer of $219,000 in excess cash from his campaign fund to MMV Alliance Fund political action committee he controls.

—The Senate voted 45-5 to expand the definition of a textbook to include digital devices like e-readers for elementary and high schools. Sen. Cecil Staton, the bill’s sponsor and chairman of the science and technology committee, says the proposal allows school districts more flexibility to buy new technology and helps students compete in an age of evolving technology.

—The Georgia Bureau of Investigation could soon get the power to investigate allegations of mortgage fraud under a new proposal pitched by Gov. Sonny Perdue. State Sen. Bill Cowsert, one of the governor’s floor leaders in the Senate, introduced legislation that would create a special unit from the GBI, the Department of Banking and Finance and local law enforcement to investigate mortgage fraud crimes.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“This proposal will result in better government for Georgians. It will ensure that agency heads are focused on good policy, and not bogged down with the politics of running for re-election.” — Gov. Sonny Perdue, referring to his proposal to have the governor appoint four statewide constitutional officers that are now elected.

DAYS IN SESSION:

Twenty-seven remain in the 40-day session.

LOOK AHEAD:

The House is expected to take up the $17.4 billion amended fiscal year 2010 budget, which includes three additional furlough days for teachers and other state employees.