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A City in Crisis

By Sens. Emanuel Jones, Rick Jeffares and Gail Davenport

ATLANTA (April 14, 2011) – Throughout its storied history, the City of Stockbridge has built a reputation as a thriving suburban town; a place where people want to live, work and raise a family. However, political infighting among city officials has thrown this prominent community into turmoil.

After Mayor Lee Stuart sued the city council in an attempted power grab last year, the city has been embroiled in a costly lawsuit with no end in sight. However, a bill sits before the legislature that represents an agreement reached by both parties that could put this city and its leadership back on track. We authored Senate Bill 189, which revises the city’s charter to delineate the power between the mayor and city administrator, who would be the chief administrative officer and act as a liaison between the mayor and the city employees.

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Statement from Sen. Buddy Carter on General Assembly Passing Patient Safety Act

ATLANTA (April 14, 2011) – State Sen. Buddy Carter (R-Pooler) released the following statement Thursday after the Georgia General Assembly approved the Patient Safety Act of 2011 (Senate Bill 36).  Carter authored SB 36, a bill that aims to help Georgia doctors and pharmacists curtail prescription drug abuse in the state.  The Act would create an electronic database of all controlled substances dispensed in Georgia pharmacies over a one-year period. 

“Today we can finally say that Georgia will no longer be a safe haven for illegal “pill mills” and controlled prescription abuse.  Almost every other state in the nation already has some sort of monitoring system in place to track potential controlled substance prescription abuse.  Every state surrounding Georgia has electronic databases that can identify and stop illegal activity concerning controlled substances, making our state a prime location for this epidemic to rise.  In 2008 alone, out of the 640 drug overdose deaths in Georgia, 540 involved legal prescriptions.”

With the passage of the Patient Safety Act, doctors and pharmacists around the state now will have the right tools to effectively crack down on prescription drug abuse in our state, prevent illegal activity, and most importantly help save lives.  I want to thank the General Assembly for their support of this important and long-overdue legislation and I now look forward to working with Governor Deal to get the Patient Safety Act signed into law.”

– Sen. Buddy Carter.

Final changes include measures that restrict other states’ access to Georgia’s database, moving the database to one year of prescription records, increasing identification requirements for persons retrieving prescriptions for other patients, and making sure all Schedule II drug prescriptions are placed on security prescription paper.

SB 36 now heads to Governor Deal for his signature.

 

 

For more information on the Patient Safety Act, please follow the YouTube link below for Carter’s video presentation on SB36.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gBRnjUem1s

 

Sen. Buddy Carter serves as Chairman of the Senate State Institutions & Property Committee.  He represents the 1st Senate District. He represents Bryan County and portions of Chatham and Liberty counties.  He may be reached at 404.656.5109 or via e-mail at buddy.carter@senate.ga.gov.

 

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
April 14, 2011
For Information Contact:
Matt Colvin, Broadcast Director
matthew.colvin@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028

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South Georgia at the State Capitol

 By State Sen. Greg Goggans

 I hope everyone is enjoying the start of spring here in South Georgia.  The General Assembly is about to begin its last three legislative days of the 2011 session Monday.  We are scheduled to adjourn Thursday, April 14 before coming back later this year for a special session to take up redistricting for state legislative seats and U.S. Congressional districts based of the 2010 Census data.

 MARCH REVENUES HOLD UP 

 As we began April, signs of a gradual economic recovery remained steady.  I wanted to update you all on where we stand with the state revenue numbers currently and as compared to the entire 2011 Fiscal Year which began last July 1.

  • State revenues grew at a 10.7 percent rate in March continuing a very encouraging trend.  Total revenues for the month totaled $1.1 billion with an increase of $107 million.

 

  • Individual income tax collections grew by an impressive 12.5 percent or $43 million on collections of $388 million. Refunds of $499 million actually declined by $26 million from March of a year ago.

 

  • Sales tax collections for the state increased 16.4 percent or an increase of $58.3 million on sales tax collections of $413.1 million for March.

 

  • Motor fuel tax collections in total were up 6.5 percent or $4.5 million, but higher prices began to push down consumption as the excise tax, based on per gallon, fell a little over 1 percent.

 

  • The third month of the quarter showed an increase in corporate income taxes of $43 million or almost 33 percent.  Tobacco and alcohol taxes were both down for the month at -6.9 percent and -5 percent respectively.

 THREE QUARTERS OF THE YEAR IN THE BOOKS

 After nine months competed in FY2011 there are encouraging signs with total revenue up 9.4 percent or $959.9 million on total revenue of $11.2 billion.

  • Individual income taxes are up year-to-date 10.6 percent or $532.6 million.

 

  • Sales taxes are up 7 percent or $246 million and motor fuel taxes are up 14.2 percent or $85.5 million.

 

  • Corporate taxes are up 12.3 percent or $53.1 million, which is hopefully an indication of businesses’ profitability recovering. 

 

If you would like additional information regarding a specific piece of legislation, you may access the Georgia General Assembly website at http://www.legis.ga.gov/

Please remember to contact me in my office on the issues that are affecting you and your area.  I am here to represent you and it is an honor for me to work on your behalf.  As always, I’d like to thank members of the Senate staff, who contribute regularly to my column.

Sen. Greg Goggans represents the 7th Senate District, which includes Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Clinch, Coffee, Echols, Lanier, Pierce and Ware counties and a portion of Cook County.

 

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
April 11, 2011
For Information Contact:
Matt Colvin, Broadcast Director
matthew.colvin@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028

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Water Is Your Business Recognizes State Senator Ross Tolleson for Tireless Efforts to Promote Water Conservation in Georgia

New legislation sees benefits of public-private partnership in local water delivery

WASHINGTON (April 7, 2011) – State Senator Ross Tolleson (R-Perry) today was recognized by the “Water is Your Business” campaign for his efforts in bringing local water districts together to coordinate conservation efforts, as well as making improvements to water infrastructure.

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