Legislative Update Number 2007.05 -- February 16, 2007
Concealed handgun proposal jeopardizes safety
This week, a majority in the House of Representatives voted to approve legislation that would allow motorists to conceal loaded firearms in their cars without a permit. State law now requires motorists who do not have concealed handgun permits to keep their loaded firearms “fully exposed to view” or in the glove box, console or similar compartment.
House Bill 89 would allow people to hide guns under seats or wedge them between seat cushions and center consoles. I voted against this measure, which would circumvent the state’s concealed handgun background check requirements and endanger police making traffic stops. Hopefully, this dangerous legislation will be unsuccessful in the Senate.
I introduced two legislative measures this week related to mental health care in Georgia. HB 343, the Psychiatric Advance Directive Act, would provide a means for a competent adult to control either directly through instruction or indirectly through appointing an agent to make mental health care decisions on his or her behalf. HB 423 would require mental health coverage in any health benefits for members, employees and retirees of the Board of Regents through the Department of Community Health.
I also co-sponsored HB 397, which would authorize psychologists to prescribe medicine in certain circumstances, and introduced HB 454, which would require retail pharmacists to include the approximate retail price (before insurance) of an outpatient prescription drug on the receipt for purchase of that product.
To help attract and retain the best and brightest legal minds in the state to serve as judges in our courts, House members overwhelmingly approved legislation that would implement the first state pay raise for judges since 1999. Under HB 119, state Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals judges would realize a 5 percent increase, and Superior Court judges would receive a 10 percent boost in their state pay. HB 120, also passed and sent to the Senate, would reimburse appellate judges who live outside metropolitan Atlanta for their weekly travel expenses when court is in session.
House members unanimously passed HB 91, which would require each executive branch department and agency in state government to provide annual financial reports to the General Assembly. The bill would take effect September 30, 2007. Too often, some state agencies have become unresponsive to legislative inquiries into their use of taxpayer dollars. This legislation, which also goes to the Senate, would help ensure proper legislative oversight over departmental spending habits.
The House also adopted HR 235, which I introduced, commending the American Red Cross and designating March as American Red Cross Month in Georgia.
Thursday, February 15, was the 21st legislative day of the 2007 session of the Georgia General Assembly, meaning we are now past the halfway point. Frankly, very little has been completed so far on the major issues, but I would expect the pace to pick up when we return to the Capitol on Tuesday, February 20.
Still up in the air is the fate of the funding issue for PeachCare for Kids, which will have a significant impact on finalizing both the midyear adjustment to the fiscal year 2007 state budget and the annual budget for fiscal year 2008.
- Rep. Pat Gardner (D-Atlanta) represents the 57th District (Atlanta and DeKalb County) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact her at 604 Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-0265 or by e-mail at pat@patgardner.org.
