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CAPITOL PUNISHMENT
A regular series covering the Georgia General Assembly
BARNES BILL BREAKS THE LAW, CODDLES POLLUTERS
What's law got to do with it? Lawmakers fig
ured legality was secondhand sentiment as they
batted around two big bills last week — the
omnipotent transportation authority and a ban
on city lawsuits against gun makers. The debate
drowned out concerns that both measures vio
late the law.
The Senate jumped aboard Governor Roy
Barnes' commuter train plan and easily passed
it Friday. But a U.S. Highway Administration
official warned the proposed Georgia Regional
Transportation Authority is illegal because it
could override decisions by other agencies.
Federal regulations dictate that the Atlanta
Regional Commission, the politically anemic
metro planning body, must coordinate highway
dollars from Washington. But as written, GRTA
could run roughshod over ARC — and the state
Departments of Transportation and Natural
Resources.
Environmentalists have joined Atlanta
Fortune 500 companies in a metro-wide pax
trafficus in favor of
GRTA, but a provision in
the bill could result in
an expensive public
bailout of dirty indus
tries. GRTA, ostensibly a
traffic-related authority,
could become the de
facto boss of the state
Environmental
Protection Division, and
provide low interest
loans or grants to major
polluters to reduce air
pollution. A nice idea,
but the practice would
provide an economic dis
incentive for polluters to
clean up their act.
Factories and power
plants making huge
profits would stick tax
payers with the check to
clean up emissions.
While everyone inside
the perimeter wants
clean breathing room, no one has questioned the
paradoxical premise of GRTA: reduce highway
traffic to ensure the state receives almost Si bil
lion in interstate construction funds, to lead to
additional roads, which will increase highway
traffic.
GRTA will dictate transportation policies of
counties outside the 13-county metro region as
soon as they fall out of compliance with new
federal au quality standards, which ths Augusta
area already exceeds, according to Environmental
Protection Division director Harold Reheis.
The Augusta/Richmond County Commission
end Mayor Bob Young, blaming their air woes on
industry not cars, have urged Augusta lawmakers
to remove the city from GRTA's jurisdiction.
Considering the tradition that the Augusta dele
gation and commission reject out of hand any
request from the other, chances are slim Young
and company will succeed.
Some M/.RTA-phobic North Atlanta lawmakers
fear GRTA will darken their counties with
subway stations. Sen. Don Balfour (R-Lilburn)
worried that GRTA's ability to impose economic
sanctions against non-cooperating counties, a
“1,000-pound sledgehammer," could force
Cobb to join MARTA. Sen. Steve Thompson (D-
Powder Springs), the governor's floor reader,
retorted that since the governor hails from Cobb,
he wouldn't let that happen. "I won't respond
any further," he said.
The Senate tweaked the hill some, forbidding
GRTA from vetoing sprawl-spawning utega-
malls, and requiring the Senate to confirm
gubernatorial appointments to it* board. The
more ornery House could contort the bill more.
Rep. Jimmy Benefield (D-Jonesboro) vowed to
"go over it with a fine-toothed comb to make
suie nobody is being gouged."
Taking aim at the city of Atlanta: A bill to
ban Atlanta from suing gun makers unexpect
edly jammed when black metro Democrats
enlisted the aid of white Republicans to table
the measure Friday. The NRA-backed bill sailed
through the House and a Senate committee
before sputtering on the Senate floor, the day
after Mayor Bill Campbell announced the city
would join a handful of urban shooting galleries
across the country in suing gun manufacturers
to recoup the costs of the carnage.
Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor threw his weight behind
the bill to no avail. "The Republican Party
prefers not to partner with the gun enthusiasts
anymore," the portly politico whined. Chimed in
the nostalgic Sen. Van Streat (D-Nicholls) before
the vote: "Think about all those days that you
and your dad loaded your gun and went off
and had the very spe
cial, important time
together."
Sen. David Scott (D-
Atlanta) argued that
defending the Second
Amendment should not
provide cover to trample
the First. Seventh and
Ninth, and that the
supremacy clause in the
Constitution gives fed
eral laws priority over
state laws. The GOP
voted unanimously to
table the bill, not
because it had too many
restrictions but too few.
Sen. Minority Leader Eric
Johnson (R-Savannah)
offered the Friday sur
prise alliance to buy
time for his measure to
ban cities from filing any
product liability suits.
Smyrna-based Glock
handguns held a private party for lawmakers
two days before the Senate vote, but the Fox
Theater's Egyptian Ballroom didn't do the trick.
Next time know your target audience; try the
Varsity down the street.
On the subject of weapons and liberty restric
tions, Gov. Baines announced his proposed
state wide student discipline law from his
South Cobb high alma mater. He wants to man
date character education and strengthen
teachers' ability to kick students out of class.
Bames also seeks to double funding to- alterna
tive schools, but promised the reassigned kids
wouldn't "simply be sent to Siberia."
Barnes' high school English teacher attended
the press conference, but didn't say if the future
gov would have been sent to an alternative
school for his legendary act of youthful indiscre
tion — removing the screws from every door
knob in school.
A statewide panel put together by state
Superintendent Linda Schrenko had a different
take on school violence; last week they urged
lawmakers to spend tens of millions on bull
horns, surveillance cameras and other big-
brother devices.
Impoverished rural school systems would lose
big to urban districts packed with dollar-
devouring unruly students in the Barnes educa
tion bill. Seeking any money for students,
unruly or not, they hope to raise local taxes
through a bill from Rep. DuBose Porter (D-
Dublin), which passed the House and goes to the
Senate.
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