By: Sen. Ross Tolleson
Atlanta (February 13, 2009) – This week the State Senate has been adjusting to a few changes in the schedule. According to Georgia’s Constitution the General Assembly can only convene for a maximum of 40 days a year. This forces the General Assembly to do the people’s work in a timely matter. As I told you last week these are extremely tough budget times for our state, and as a result we are making a few changes to our schedule. In keeping with the laws set forth in the state Constitution, we will still only meet for 40 days. What we are doing though, is only having session on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and leaving Monday and Friday for budget hearings. This allows the Senators the ability to go through the budget and make the tough calls that need to be made. On day 35 the General Assembly will adjourn until June 22. This will allow us five days to make any changes, good or bad, to the budget at the end of June. The economy is so uncertain right now, no one is able to predict what is going to happen between now and June. The main reason for this is if the General Assembly were called into a Special Session it would be a lot more expensive and just plain irresponsible during these tough budget times. Just like your family, Georgia can not spend more money then it takes in.
Now, just because the budget is tight does not mean we are not busier then ever. This week I was proud to vote for Senate Bill 31. This is a financing bill that will help hold energy costs down for the consumer, as well as help Georgia Power finance the construction of a new nuclear power plant. I strongly support nuclear energy because it is a clean, environment friendly source of energy. If the French are not scared, and actually embrace nuclear energy, so should Georgia.
This week the Natural Resources and the Environment Committee sent two bills to the floor of the Senate which will be voted on next week. The first bill was S.B. 110 which will allow the trapping of beavers on state, city, and county right of ways. The key component is that the person trapping has to hold a valid trapping license and is authorized to do the job. The second bill is S.B. 111, which removes the restrictions on light voltage and provides that lights used to hunt raccoons, opossums, foxes, bobcats, and feral hogs must be carried on the hunter affixed to a helmet or a belt system. The main reason for this is so those hunters could use the new LED lights.
I have also had the privilege to meet with many people at the Capitol this week. Tuesday was a very exciting day because the State Senate was honored to have special guest former Atlanta Braves player Ryan Klesko. Klesko was a member of the 1995 Atlanta Braves World Series Championship team. He was honored not only for his outstanding baseball career but also for his land conservation efforts in Georgia since his retirement. Klesko successfully developed the first forestry carbon offset project to be accepted by the Georgia Carbon Registry.
The only thing better than celebrity visits are when my constituents come to the Capitol. The Governor and I were pleased to welcome and have our picture taken with the Warner Robins Youth Leadership group. I was also pleased to meet with the Heart of Georgia Technical School Nurses, the Young Farmers, and the Georgia Career and Technical Student Organization. Each time a group from the district comes to the Capitol I am happy to hear their comments on the current legislative session. I work here for you. I was also honored this week to meet with the Pest Control Association, attend a dinner honoring the National Guard, and a luncheon honoring the Farm Bureau which was headlined by Governor Purdue.
This is just a small sample of what I have been doing this week, working for you to create A Better Georgia.
Sen. Ross Tolleson represents the 20th Senate District and serves as chairman of the Natural Resources and the Environment Committee. He may be reached at 404.656.0081 or ross.tolleson@senate.ga.gov. Sen. Tolleson represents Bleckley, Dodge, Houston, Johnson, Laurens, Pulaski, Telfair and Wilcox counties.
Column
For Immediate Release:
February 13, 2009
For Information Contact:
Martin Sullivan
martin.sullivan@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0081