Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Day two of the 147th General Assembly's second half was rather short as newly proposed measures were assigned to committee for consideration. Additionally, measures introduced last session that did not receive the approval of both bodies were reassigned to the committee from which they came.

The 180 member Georgia House is broken down into thirty-two standing committees which review, by subject area, the numerous bills and resolutions proposed each year aimed to amend Georgia statute. Already, the total number of bills that have been submitted during this cycle has surpassed 1000. Without the committee system, lawmakers would become bogged down in the massive task of evaluating each bill presented for consideration. It therefore becomes the duty of the committee to sift through the mountain of proposals to find those most worthy of consideration by the full body of the House of Representatives.

With bills still working their way through the committee system, the House took time to greet Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, who spoke briefly before members. Mayor Franklin welcomed lawmakers to the state's capitol city, and expressed her eagerness to work with the General Assembly for the best interests of Georgia and her citizens. Legislation allowing Atlanta to impose a 1 cent sales tax to help fund upgrades on the city's dilapidated sewer networks is currently working its way through the Senate.

Finally, Lawmakers took a somber moment to commemorate the passing of a respected fellow lawmaker. Representative Ralph Twiggs, who represented the people in his North Georgia mountain district in the General Assembly for more than 30 years, passed away in September. Rep. Twiggs was Chairman of the House Transportation Committee when he passed. Members unanimously adopted HR 969, which expressed regret at the passing of Rep. Twiggs, and honored his many years of loyal and dedicated service in the Georgia General Assembly.
Governor Sonny Perdue will appear before a joint session of the General Assembly tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. to deliver a combined State of the State and Budget Address.

Georgia House of Representatives
Public Information Office

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