Libertarian Party of Georgia Legislative Update

2011 Libertarian Party of Georgia Legislative Update #4

Last week, the General Assembly was largely dominated with Committees getting underway and more bills being introduced. Because few working Committee meetings have been held so far, few bills have made it out of Committee, meaning Floor sessions were largely dominated by Morning Orders and Points of Personal Privilege, where Representatives and Senators speak on any issue they so desire.

This week, much will stay the same, though more Committees will begin their actual work. You can see the list House list here and the Senate list here. One meeting I particularly want to call your attention to is the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee meeting this Friday, Feb 4, at 9:30am in Room 132 of the State Capitol building. It is at this meeting that Rep Matt Ramsey's (R- Peachtree City) HB 87, the Illegal Immigration Reform Enforcement Act of 2011, will receive its first hearing. This is the single most troubling bill to the Libertarian Party of Georgia yet introduced, due to its infringements on Constitutional rights of due process, freedom of speech, freedom of asssembly, and freedom of religion. I would like as many of you as possible to be at this meeting and to voice your concerns over these infringements, if you are able.

As of tonight, there are currently 294 bills and resolutions already introduced in the General Assembly this Session and working their way through the process. You'll be hearing more about HB 87 tomorrow in a press release to be posted on LPGeorgia.com and hopefully reported by your local media this week, but there were several other bills I'd like to mention. 

The Good

Starting off with some good news, the only Independent legislator in all of the Georgia General Assembly, State Representative Rusty Kidd (I-Milledgeville), has introduced a bill to give ethics laws some teeth in Georgia. In addition to civil penalties for all elected officials, his HB 88 would allow for the censure or removal of Legislators who violate its provisions three or more times. Also worth commending is Rep Roger Williams' (R-Dalton) bill allowing for local control of Sunday Sales, HB 69, as well as Rep Doug McKillip's (R-Athens) HB 71, allowing local communities to allow for bicycles to be operated on sidewalks. On the Senate side, Senator David Shafer (R-Duluth) has had a great week, getting the Senate to override former Governor Sonny Perdue's veto of his Zero Based Budgeting bill from last year as well as introducing SB 26, which would prohibit additional prohibitions on carrying firearms during states of emergency, which is a current power of the Governor.

The Bad

Now for the bad news, and this really is a case of "where to start". The aforementioned HB 87 is at the top of the list, and again, I urge each of you to show up at the Committee meeting this Friday. Rep Allen Peake (R-Macon) has introduced a bill, HB 89, banning abortions after 20 weeks - which will surely have Georgia wind up in court, again. He has also proposed to grow government by creating special Tax Courts, HB 100. Rep Rahn Mayo (D-Decatur) has introduced HB 67, mandating hands-free device use for cell phones in cars. Rep Tim Bearden (R-Villa Ricca), Chairman of the House Public Safety Committee, has introduced HB 91, a bill mandating a special drivers' license for convicted felons.