Recently, a piece of legislation that I’ve been working on since 2006 was approved by the Senate and now moves over to the House of Representative for consideration.  Senate Bill 421 increases the existing penalties for those who knowingly manufacture, sell or distribute false identification documents.  The new penalties would be based upon the age of the individual found to be in possession of a false ID, incorporating a certain amount of leniency for underage citizens.  Last year, Governor Perdue vetoed this bill out of concern that young people would suffer harsh penalties, and I feel the new legislation addresses all of his concerns.  We need to curb the illegal manufacture and sale of fake IDs to those who use them to stay in the U.S. illegally, and SB 421 does this.

In other news this week, we are moving forward in our joint Conference Committee on House Bill 989 – the amended FY 08 budget.  A Conference Committee is a committee made up of Senate and House leaders who will work to negotiate the differences on a bill, such as finalizing the annual budgets.  The only bill that our state Constitution requires the Georgia General Assembly to pass during the legislative session is a state budget.  As an ex-officio member of the Conference Committee on the FY 08 amended budget, I can tell you that we put in some late nights working on a final agreement on the budget.  The current proposal for the remainder of fiscal year 2008, which ends June 30, adds $300 million overall to the existing $20.2 billion budgeted for fiscal year 2008.  I am proud to be a part of the state budgeting process, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to offer a state budget that will be of benefit to all Georgia citizens.

Also this week, I am happy to report that an important bill protecting the rights of Georgia landowners, SB 449, has passed out of the Senate Economic Development Committee.  Known as the Landowners Protection Act of 2008, the bill would provide property owners immunity from liability when they allow a person to hunt on their land, or when the property owner allows a person to enter their property for “agritourism” purposes, provided the property owner’s conduct is not grossly negligent.  I think it is a good piece of legislation that will protect Georgia landowners from frivolous lawsuits in the future.

Some of the other key bills that passed recently in the Senate include:

• SB 433 modifies certificate of need requirements to allow certain destination cancer hospitals in Georgia.  Passed by a vote of 31 to 23.
• SB 383 allows the Commissioner of Insurance to adopt policies to promote, approve and encourage health savings account eligible high deductible plans in Georgia.  Passed by a vote of 36 to 12.
• SB 366 prohibits prisoners from receiving or possessing cell phones.  Passed by a vote of 49 to 0.
• SB 474 would require sex offenders to submit their e-mail addresses to authorities and require Internet service providers to offer parents the ability to block certain Web sites that are unsuitable for kids.  Passed by a vote of 52 to 0.
• SB 300 is known as the Transparency in Government Act.  The bill requires all state spending to be available to the public on a searchable Web site.  Passed by a vote of 49 to 0.
• SB 395 establishes the Safety Net Clinic grant program for the care and protection of indigent and elderly patients.  Passed by a vote of 49 to 0.

As always, please contact me in my office on the issues that are affecting you and your area.

Please feel free to contact Sen. Chip Pearson at his office in Atlanta at 404.656.9221 or by email at chip.pearson@senate.ga.gov.