MMO Fifth Email Newsletter for 2008 General Assembly Session March 17, 2008   This is Mary Margaret Oliver’s fifth email newsletter sent following the 31st legislative day of the 40 day 2008 General Assembly Session. In the past newsletters from the 2008 Session, I have asked how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. Thank you for your interest and opinions, and the weekly question voting results are as follows: First Question related to times for pouring alcoholic beverages – The first weekly question asked: Should Georgia have a consistent state-wide time for bars to stop serving alcoholic drinks, or should each city and county set its own times? I received nearly 150 responses. 74% of you thought Georgia should have a consistent state-wide time for bars to stop serving alcoholic drinks; 27% of you thought closing-time should remain under local control. Second question asked related to trauma care: Do you agree that an expanded trauma system is needed, and if so, how would you fund this service? 1. Extra fines on “super speeders” who are convicted of speeding more than 10 miles over the speed limit; or 2. Add additional one dollar fee on monthly cell phone bills; or 3. An additional $10.00 charge on automobile tags. I received nearly 110 responses. 99% of you agreed that an expanded trauma system is needed. 63% of you liked the idea of funding expanded trauma through extra fines on “super speeders;” 29% of you liked the idea of imposing an additional $10.00 charge on auto tags; 21% of you liked the idea of an additional one dollar fee on cell phone bills; and 15% of you didn’t like any of the options (but recommended alternative funding sources). *Note that the sum of the percentages exceeds 100 because most of you liked more than one funding source. The third weekly question asked about the City of Dunwoody: Do you support allowing the citizens of Dunwoody to vote to form a new city in DeKalb County? I received close to 70 responses. 68% of you did not support allowing the citizens of Dunwoody to vote on becoming a new city; 32% of you supported allowing such a vote. The fourth weekly question asked about weighing children at school: Do you support SB 506 which requires schools to weigh each child twice yearly to determine the child's body mass index, a number that measures obesity? I received around 110 responses. 89% of you opposed schools weighing each child twice yearly to determine the child’s body mass index; 11% of you were in support of such a plan. In answering all of these questions, many of you offered very thoughtful analysis, and I appreciate your participation in the debate. Thank you! Weekly question: Do you support the use of tax money for vouchers to pay for students at low performing schools to attend private schools? Vouchers would be made payable to parents for a portion of private school tuition, about $4500.00, and endorsed over to the private school. According to case law, the payment must be made to the parent and not the private school to prevent tax money to be made directly to a faith based school. A parent may choose a Catholic or Jewish private school, by example, but the state may not pay tuition directly to a faith based school because the constitutional separation of church and state. SB 458 has passed the Senate and is now before the House Science and Technology committee where I serve. Hearings have been conducted this past week on HB 458, and a vote in committee will be called soon. Proponents of vouchers state that vouchers will create greater competition among the private and public schools and allow parents greater public and private school choice. Opponents state that private schools accept the maximum number of students they want at this time, there is very limited private school availability, and tax payer’s money should be used to support public schools and not faith based private schools. What do you think? To answer, click “reply” or email me directly at mmo@mmolaw.com. Report on State Budget negotiations: Governor Perdue has lowered the revenue estimate for fiscal year 2009, which will begin July 1, 2008, and extend through June 30, 2009. This is his right to do based on his estimate of tax revenues for the coming year, and this lowered estimate requires the cutting of approximately325 million dollars from the budget currently being negotiated. I serve on the Human Resources subcommittee of Appropriations Committee and these new budget cuts will lower the pay increase for state employees from 2 and ½ % to 2%, increase the cost of employee health insurance, and reduce funding for most social services programs. The House and Senate leadership has changed the legislative schedule based on this budget tension, and now the Session will last into the first week in April at the least. The competing tax cut proposals from the Governor, the House and the Senate are also now more intensely evaluated and negotiated, and are not easy to predict. If any of you wish to visit the capital, take of tour, visit with Mary Margaret on any issue, or nominate a child over age 12 to page on the House floor, please contact mmo@mmolaw.com. Thank you for your interest and all the ways you participate in discussion of the issues!   House twice rejects bill on billboards March 12, 2008   By Sonji Jacobs, Ariel Hart The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 03/12/08 A bill that could enable billboard owners to discourage local governments from banning or restricting billboards failed in the state House on Tuesday —- twice. The first time it was brought up on Tuesday's "crossover day," House Bill 1318 lost 89-77. The bill failed a second time after its sponsor, state Rep. Matt Dollar (R-Marietta), asked for and received permission for reconsideration. That second time around, about 2 p.m., it lost 91-74. The bill would have ensured that billboard owners are compensated when they have to move or remove their signs from land affected by local zoning rules. If such rules aimed to phase out billboards and prevent rebuilding a sign of the same size, the bill would put the burden of compensation on that local government. Opponents of the bill said billboard owners already are compensated under current law. "The [billboard group] is asking to give them advantages in court that no other property owners ... have," said Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), who urged House colleagues to defeat the measure. Dollar and other supporters argued that it would protect owners of billboards. "We're disappointed," said Conner Poe, executive director of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Georgia. "This was basically a landowner's rights bill that would allow them to develop their own land as they see fit." Poe said he thinks some lawmakers mistakenly thought the measure would allow trees to be cut down. He said he plans to clear up that misconception next year. Matt Hicks, a lobbyist with the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, applauded the Legislature's rejection of the bill. The measure would have given billboard companies preferential treatment that no other property owners enjoy, he said. "Their decision respects community choice," Hicks said. "It respects the ability of communities to choose what they look like."   MMO Fourth Email Newsletter for 2008 General Assembly Session March 2, 2008   This is Mary Margaret Oliver’s fourth email newsletter sent following the 26th legislative day of the 40 day 2008 General Assembly Session. I send periodic newsletters on the General Assembly’s work, and if you do not want to receive this email newsletter please visit my website at www.marymargaretoliver.org to unsubscribe. In each newsletter, I ask how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses and I personally read all your answers. Thank you for your interest and opinions! Weekly question: Do you support schools weighing each child twice yearly to determine the child's body mass index, a number that measures obesity? SB 506 passed the state Senate this week by a vote of 37 to 13 which would require that schools post the aggregate BMI information for all children in the school on the school web site, and follow state regulations on offering physical education classes. The bill now moves to the House for possible action. The bill's author, Senator Joe Carter from Tifton, states that one in three of Georgia's children is overweight and that the majority of schools are not complying with state physical education guidelines. Only grades one through five require physical education, and individual children's weights would not be posted, only the school's aggregate rating so that parents can compare their own child's weight and BMI to other children, and to other schools. The child's BMI score will be provided only to the parent who requests the information, and not automatically sent to the parent. Opponents to the bill state that child's obesity is not an issue for schools to address but is a private family matter. Further, opponents believe that many children will be unnecessarily humiliated by public weigh-ins, and that parents should be responsible for determining any medical issues of their children. Those in opposition also stated schools should focus on education and not the weight of each child. What do you think? I read all responses and appreciate your interest. Please click reply to answer, or email me directly with your views on this or any other question at mmo@mmolaw.com. Thank you!! And to review Senator Carter's proposed SB 506 in detail, or any other bill, you may use the General Assembly web site http://legis.state.ga.us. MMO Legislative Activities: MMO presented testimony and witnesses before the House Education sub-committee in support of HB 939, her bill to spend surplus lottery money on targeted three year olds to enhance school readiness. The committee decided to create a study committee to review lottery surplus and its use for improvement of the existing pre-k program for four year olds, and a new focus for three year olds. Stephanie Blank, on behalf of the Blank Family Foundation, and Comer Yates, Director of the Atlanta Speech School, supported the need for early education, and particularly the research that demonstrates the need for language development. The Atlanta Constitution editorial board endorsed HB 939 with an editorial this week that can be reviewed on the MMO website. MMO serves on the Judiciary Committee subcommittee that heard 8 hours of testimony on legislation to repeal Roe v. Wade, and prevent all abortions in Georgia. The committee voted 4 to 3 to table this legislation and MMO voted with the majority so this legislation will not move forward in 2008. The Judiciary committee is also hearing the TAD legislation to recreate the financing option to allow tax allocation districts that were declared unconstitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court last month. In the Government Affairs committee, where she also serves, debate is on-going for township legislation to perfect that new government option based on a vote of a community to tax themselves an additional one-half mil. In the Appropriation committee, MMO is working on the Department of Human Resource’s changing policies relating to financial assistance for adoption of children from the foster care system, and on the federal monies for refugee services. Although the federal appropriations for refugee services is stable, the service providers’ funds have been reduced 40%. Why? How is the money being diverted? These questions come directly from constituents working primarily as volunteers through churches with refugee families. In the remaining 14 days of the 2008 General Assembly session, most of the important work on the front-burner legislation that will most likely pass this year will be carried out through committee work. This past week, the members of the Frazier Center adult disability program visited the Capital and had their picture made with Mary Margaret, and the DeKalb Junior League also hosted a reception for legislators with the state advocacy committee. Leadership DeKalb came to the Capital for a lively program, and MMO spoke to the group frankly about the internal conflict of local legislation in the delegation, including the issues of Grady, county government organization, and the proposed city of Dunwoody. If any of you wish to visit the capital, take of tour, visit with Mary Margaret on any issue, or nominate a child over age 12 to page on the House floor, please contact mmo@mmolaw.com. Thank you for your interest and all the ways you participate in discussion of the issues! MARY MARGARET   Cracks in foundation: State must build up early education efforts, focus on 3-year-olds February 26, 2008   By Maureen Downey The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 02/26/08 "It makes no sense to spend most of your money on the roof when the foundation is shoddy," Stephanie Blank, an advocate of early childhood education, told legislators last week in urging investment of more lottery dollars in preparing young children for school. Blank, the wife of Home Depot founder Arthur Blank, is board chairman of the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation and the mother of young children. It was her experience as a mother that informed most of her testimony. "I'd always heard the expression that kids are like sponges" she said, "but I was constantly amazed at how much Joshua ... was always learning." Back in 1995, emerging research on brain development in toddlers and preschoolers led then-Gov. Zell Miller and Georgia to become pioneers in early child education, using lottery proceeds to pay for universal prekindergarten. (The state also funds its HOPE Scholarships through the lottery.) However, the state has failed to build on that momentum. As Blank and others testified, Georgia needs to expand access to early childhood education, especially for low-income 3-year-olds whose parents lack the resources to expose them to rich learning environments. State Reps. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), Kathy Ashe (D-Atlanta) and Stephanie Benfield (D-Atlanta) introduced legislation this session to create a statewide program for 3-year-olds, but the Legislature is wary and unlikely to comply. "That seems so young," said state Rep. Bobby Reese (R-Sugar Hill). At the very least, the General Assembly should embrace a proposal by state Rep. Jan Jones (R-Alpharetta) to launch a study committee to assess unmet needs in programs for 4-year-olds and to examine how best to use lottery reserves. "I'm optimistic that the committee will give a serious look at targeting some pre-k lottery dollars to some selective 3-year-olds," said Oliver. "I would focus a 3-year-old program on low performing schools, low-income communities and areas where there are no early learning types of schools or even child care centers. " According to research, poor children benefit most from programs that emphasize school readiness and language development. Such early intervention can close the gaps that prevent low-income children from being able to read at third grade. Some lawmakers maintain that the state has no business intervening in the lives of 3-year-olds. But if the state doesn't reach out to these children at age 3, it will lose them at age 16 or 17, when they are more likely to drop out of high school. As Blank testified, "For every dollar invested in early education, we will receive a return of anywhere from $4 to $7."   MMO Third Email Newsletter for 2008 General Assembly Session February 16, 2008   This is Mary Margaret Oliver’s third email newsletter sent following the 18th legislative day of the 40 day 2008 General Assembly Session. I send periodic newsletters on the General Assembly’s work, and if you do not want to receive this email newsletter please visit my website at www.marymargaretoliver.org to unsubscribe. In each newsletter, I ask how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses and I personally read all your answers. Thank you for your interest and opinions! Weekly question: Do you support allowing the citizens of Dunwoody to vote to form a new city in DeKalb County? Although the Governmental Affairs Committee, where I serve, voted 7 to 6 to oppose a new city in Dunwoody, the proponents are seeking a new vote and another chance. The proponents assert that the citizens of Dunwoody strongly support their right to incorporate and to tax themselves to provide their own fire, police, and parks and recreation services. They believe that Dunwoody does not receive its “fair share” of real property taxes collected by DeKalb County. Leaders from other cities in DeKalb, like Decatur, also support a new city of Dunwoody. Opponents of the new Dunwoody municipality believe that the inclusion of the Perimeter Center retail and office complex into the new city is unfair to the remaining citizens of DeKalb, and would raise property taxes in unincorporated DeKalb. Further, the transfer of the Brook Run park to City of Dunwoody that had been purchased by the county from the state unfairly awards fewer citizens. There are many arguments on both sides. The Carl Vinson Institute at the University of Georgia has prepared a financial analysis of the impact on the county of the new city of Dunwoody, and confirms there would be a property tax loss to DeKalb County, and therefore a tax shift to those citizens outside Dunwoody city limits. This tax loss to DeKalb County is estimated to be less than eight million dollars, but the exact figure is disputed by others, and the citizens of Dunwoody are prepared, they say, to pay higher taxes to have their own city. What do you think? I read all your responses and appreciate your participation. Thank you. MMO legislative activities: In the last two weeks, I have spent much time in Appropriations Committee hearings, particularly studying the budgets of the Department of Human Resources. The Governor has announced a new study effort to reorganize DHR, and I have volunteered to participate in this effort. The current budget proposals attempt to reduce protective and investigative services to abused elderly citizens, and to reduce the number of meals on wheels delivered by volunteers. The committee is objecting to these budget reductions, among others. On February 5, I spoke to temporary staffing business men and women visiting the capital, and on February 6, I met with the state deputy superintendent of schools and other senior staff to present a paper prepared by Emory law students on the rights of foster care children to receive education protection benefits. Foster care children and homeless children have rights to attend their “home” school, and other education benefits, that are set forth in the federal McKinney Vento Act. We made specific proposals for increased enforcement of this statute, and to examine how the statute is implemented in Georgia. On February 6, I met with constituents at Melton’s Pub with the DeKalb Meet-Up group, and on February 7, I was the keynote speaker for Presbyterian Day at the capital. On February 12, I joined CASA volunteers for lunch, and February 13 had lunch with Chief Justice Leah Sears and other judges following the Chief Justice’s State of the Judiciary speech to the General Assembly. Next week, on February 18 and 20, as a member a Judiciary Committee sub-committee, I will hear testimony on two anti-abortion measures, HB 1 and HR 536, intended to repeal Roe v. Wade, and prohibit all abortions in Georgia. These bills are obviously controversial, and many of my constituents have written about their opposition to the repeal of Roe v. Wade. Seat Belts, Trauma and Taxes: The Speaker and all members of the General Assembly have received a barrage of email messages calling for a favorable vote to require Georgians to wear seat belts in trucks. The Speaker is hopefully relenting on his previous pledge to refuse to allow the House to vote on Senator Don Thomas’s bill or my bill to require seat belts in trucks, and thereby release 21.7 million dollars in federal highway safety money to Georgia. Today, Georgia is the only state of 50 not requiring seat belts in trucks, and therefore our state statute does not meet federal standards. Legislation that I have co-sponsored to fund the trauma network for Georgia has passed out of the Governmental Affairs committee and will soon move to the House with an additional $10.00 fee on drivers’ car tags. Also, moving forward is the Speaker’s tax proposals to reduce property taxes and shift the lost tax revenues to increases in sales tax. The details of these proposals are changing daily, but may include also the elimination of ad valorem taxes on cars. The combination of reduced taxes on cars, and possible increase in the car tag cost for the trauma network, will likely reduce the cost of car tag totally. But where will the tax cut be recovered? These are the important questions that are moving towards a possible resolution. Thank you ! Please contact me about nay issue that interests you, or apply for your child to be a page for the House. MARY MARGARET   MMO Second Email Newsletter for 2008 General Assembly Session February 3, 2008   This is Mary Margaret Oliver’s second email newsletter sent following the 10th legislative day of the 40 day 2008 General Assembly Session. I send periodic newsletters on the General Assembly’s work, and if you do not want to receive this email newsletter please visit my website at www.marymargaretoliver.org to unsubscribe. In each newsletter, I ask how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses and I personally read all your answers. Thank you for your interest and opinions! Weekly question: A study committee of legislative leaders, emergency medical trauma experts, and Governor Sonny Perdue are all calling for an expanded trauma care system for Georgia, and proposing different ways to fund this new service that will be designed by the Trauma Commission created by the General Assembly last year. Do you agree that an expanded trauma system is needed, and if so, how would you fund this service? I am a co-sponsor of the trauma funding legislation and the ideas for funding are: 1. Extra fines on “super speeders” who are convicted of speeding more than 10 miles over the speed limit; or 2. And additional one dollar fee on monthly cell phone bills; or 3. An additional $10.00 charge on automobile tags. Which new fund source, if any, makes sense to you? Which would you choose? To reply to the weekly question, please click “reply” or email me at mmo@mmolaw.com. Thank you! The “super speeder” additional fine will not raise all the money necessary to fund an adequate trauma system, and will require some additional management oversight to recover the additional fines from cities and counties that collect the fines through local courts. The telephone companies are vigorously opposing an additional tax on monthly bills, and claim that telephone users do not “cause” trauma. The car tag fee imposes the cost on drivers, and not everyone. The trauma system will fund additional support for emergency rooms that serve a disproportionate uninsured population, like Grady, will expand the transportation system for moving patients to Level 1 trauma systems, and will provide additional training. The trauma study report details these plans, and states there are 700 Georgia deaths annually that directly result from a lack of adequate trauma medical care. I serve on the Government Affairs Committee where all the Trauma bills will be heard in the House, and I have also been newly appointed to the House Appropriations Committee, and the Human Resources Sub-committee where the Governor’s recommended trauma system general fund request is placed. Please call me if you have any questions about this issue. MMO Legislative Activities: In addition to my new appointment to the Appropriations Committee, I also serve on the Judiciary-Civil, Government Affairs, and Science and Technology Committees, and all committees have met multiple times in the first 10 days of the Session. The Government Affairs committee voted 7 to 6 against passage of the new City of Dunwoody legislation this week, but the issue will continue to surface. The Appropriations Committee conducted three days of testimony on the supplemental 2008 budget and fiscal year 2009 budget. Most of these House committees can be viewed live on-line during meetings, and they are all archived. The General Assembly web-site (http://legis.state.ga.us) will direct you to the live and video archives, and provide you with copies of any legislation introduced. On January 22, MMO spoke with women business leaders about health care legislation, hosted by constituent Sally Sears, and on January 23, she discussed the 2008 legislative issues with Stephanie Stuckey Benfield and Senator David Adelman before the Glenn Memorial Wednesday night dinner group. On January 24, MMO accepted by award for the Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic, where she teaches at Emory Law School, in celebration of MLK Day. On January 29, she addressed the annual meeting of the Sagamore Neighborhood Association at Sagamore Elementary School, and on January 30, she hosted Emory first year law students interested in public service at the Capital for a discussion of legislation, dinner and a tour. On February 7, she will meet with DeKalb Meet-up at Melton’s , and on February 8, she will address a group at the Capital celebrating Presbyterian Day. On January 22, an op-ed written by Mary Margaret was printed on the AJC on pre-K for three year olds, and you can read that article on the www.marymargaretoliver.org web site under the media link. If you would like MMO to visit your group, meet with her at the Capital for a tour or to discuss an issue, or for your child (over age 12) to serve as a page, please let her know. Water Plan and Charter Schools: Both the House and the Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation to create a state-wide water plan, and the House passed a HB 881 for applicants for Charter Schools to receive approval for a new charter school from the State Board of Education, and these bills may represent the most significant actions of the new Session. I agree with those of you called to say the water plan does not sufficiently address conservation and fails to take significant environmental protections, but the metropolitan Atlanta existing water plan is not disrupted by the new legislation, and the rest of the state will be required to move forward with the new water plans. The “no” votes to the water plan came primarily from down stream legislators who fear Atlanta’s water use. Similarly, Charter Schools serve less than 30,000 children out of 1.6 million in public school today, and although the State Board review process will interfere with local Board’s authority, it will have no adverse effects on DeKalb and Decatur school systems. Parents support for charter schools cannot be denied. If you have questions about any issue or vote I have taken in the 2008 Session, please contact me. Thank you for your interest! MARY MARGARET   Arthur Blank's foundation backing early education, various causes January 24, 2008   Atlanta Business Chronicle - by John Manasso Staff writer Out of all of the initiatives that the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation supports, none are more dear to Stephanie Blank than the foundation's grants to its "Better Beginnings" program. The program supports community efforts to help children from birth through 5 years of age get a healthy start in life, and in the fourth quarter of 2007 the foundation made $830,000 of its $2.7 million in grants to Better Beginnings initiatives. In fact, Blank, the wife of former The Home Depot Inc. CEO and co-founder Arthur Blank and one of the foundation's trustees, has said she might even make a personal appearance at the state Capitol during the current legislative session to lobby on behalf of a bill that would expand early childhood education. (Laws governing 501(c)3 organizations prevent people associated with them from lobbying in an official capacity.) "Better Beginnings is of particular interest for laying the foundation for a child that sets up everything for life," Stephanie Blank said. "It's much easier to do things in elementary, junior and high school and it's more cost-effective, as opposed to correcting problems that might arise later on." The initiative is just one among a handful of programs and dozens of community efforts the Blanks' foundation supports. A total of $600,000 over two years went to Quality Care for Children to support families in crisis situations needing emergency child care and case management services; $225,000 over three years went to VOICES for Georgia's Children, which is designed to implement a statewide policy agenda that will improve state policies regarding safety, health and school readiness; and $5,000 went to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute to fund the printing and distribution of a report on working-poor families. In all, the foundation's recently reported year-end numbers totaled $19 million in grants. (The Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, a subsidiary of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, gave out $2 million in donations, nearly more than the other 31 foundations of NFL teams combined.) In 2006, according to its annual report, the Blank Foundation disbursed $20.2 million in grants and in 2005, according to tax records, it disbursed $15.9 million. Blank Foundation President Penny McPhee said foundation officials meet annually with Arthur Blank's finance team on a multi-year budget. She said Blank does not want the annual donations to be erratic, lest they affect the foundation's partners in a negative way. McPhee said annual giving depends on "individual program areas based on goals and what it takes to move the needle." Stephanie Blank hopes to move the needle on Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver's bill that would take surplus funds from the state lottery and apply them to early childhood education for 3-year-olds. In 2007, the Blank Foundation funded a study that examined the benefits of the program for 4-year-olds, which is only available in about 50 percent of the state. Stephanie Blank, who chairs the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation board of trustees, said the issue might move her to lobby at the statehouse. "There's always a chance that you might" see her there, she said. "I've been down there wearing my Children's Healthcare hat. There's a good chance because I think this is really critical. The governor and the first lady have said they are very interested in early childhood education ... "Some of the biggest counties in the state don't have it. Cobb doesn't. Gwinnett doesn't." Blank also spoke about another charity in a pet area for 2008: the New York-based Posse Foundation. By supplying $860,000 over three years, the Blank foundation provided 60 percent of the $1.4 million seed money for the Posse Foundation to establish itself in Atlanta. The charity identifies, recruits and trains students from public high schools -- "posses" -- and then prepares them through an eight-month training program before they enroll at top universities. Twelve Atlanta students have enrolled at Boston University through Posse and 12 others at the College of Wooster in Ohio. Those students have received a total of $2.4 million in scholarship money. Blank said she would meet soon with the Posse Foundation's founder, Debbie Bial. "It's one that I'm very excited about," Blank said. While those areas might be closest to Blank's heart, the foundation's "Inspiring Spaces" initiative has received the most money, but that could be changing. Inspiring Spaces includes grants made to advance the progress of Atlanta's Beltline project. For example, in 2006, the foundation made more than 40 percent of its grants ($9.45 million) to Inspiring Spaces causes, including a $5 million commitment spread out over five years to the Piedmont Park conservancy. "Inspiring Spaces has land acquisition, which is expensive," McPhee said. "We're trying to move away from land acquisition and do more to create access for people. Things that will draw people to parks."   MMO's Op-Ed in the AJC: "Lottery profits should open up pre-k to 3-year-olds" January 22, 2008   By MARY MARGARET OLIVER, STEPHANIE BENFIELD and KATHY ASHE Georgia's lottery is among the most profitable in the United States for reasons that are not totally explainable. College students earning HOPE scholarships and 4-year-olds in high-quality pre-k schools are benefiting. Perhaps based on good management or perhaps because of great advertising — whatever the reasons for the 12 years of lottery growth and profits may be — there exists today almost $600 million in the unrestricted lottery reserves. By statute, the lottery must restrict a specific sum of lottery dollars to save for a rainy day when the gamblers are less enthusiastic, and the current unrestricted reserve is in addition to the three different statutory mandatory savings. It is time to expand the lottery profits to pre-k for 3-year-olds. We have introduced legislation, HB 939, to do this, based on criteria to be decided by the Department of Early Care and Learning Board. We ask the General Assembly to appropriate $25 million from the $600 million unrestricted reserve fund to create classes for at least 5,000 3-year-olds. This sum approximates the interest earned on the reserve fund. We can afford this new pre-k expansion and must do so at this time to improve educational success for Georgia's children. The Department of Early Care and Learning Board may choose to limit lottery classes to 3-year-old children of low- or middle-income parents, or to start classes in school districts with high child poverty. Or specific school districts with low graduation rates may be targeted. Or the board may decide to grant pre-k funds to school districts where no other child care facilities exist or fund schools that focus attention on disabled children. At Coralwood Elementary School in DeKalb County, 3-year-olds from the neighborhood join other preschoolers who are developmentally delayed and benefit from lower teacher-student ratios. Other private nonprofit child care centers also focus on combining normally developing children with special needs children, and all students can benefit from such programmatical mainstreaming. Like the existing pre-k program for 4-year-olds, early attendance for 3-year-olds will be voluntary for both parents and schools and for-profit and nonprofit child care centers. We believe that most parents who are financially able to choose not to work outside the home will want to keep their children home also. Many parents will also decide their children are not ready for five half-days of school. But parents who do not have a choice about working and must rely on child care deserve the benefits of high-quality early education, and our school systems will show greater progress with children who are ready to learn. Research is uncontroverted that early intervention for low-income children is the best tool to enhance educational success. Quality early-learning programs also lead ultimately to higher incomes, less welfare dependency and lower crime rates. There is no debate that we need greater education success. Georgia is one of two states that do not provide general funding for early education. According to the National Institute for Early Education Research, 10 states provide no pre-k for 4- or 3-year-olds. Twenty-six states serve both 3- and 4-year-olds. The specific example of North Carolina's early intervention and resulting success should inform our political leaders. North Carolina's leadership in early education has proven to be good for both families and economic development. It appears unlikely that the governor's task force to draft a new formula for education spending will produce a proposal this year, and it is also unlikely that the austerity cuts from 2001 to Georgia's 180 school districts will be restored by the appropriations committees. Student-teacher ratios will not be lowered based on our continued extraordinary growth, and recruiting for teachers with specialized degrees in math and sciences also seems unlikely. But because of the success of Georgia's lottery, we can afford to expand pre-k to 3-year-olds and base this new effort on proven quality programs. And, we can thank our gambling friends for this hope for new and improved educational opportunity for some of our youngest citizens.   MMO First Email Newsletter - 2008 General Assembly Session January 5, 2008   Happy New Year! This is Mary Margaret Oliver’s first email newsletter in for the 2008 General Assembly Session which convenes January 14, 2008. I will be sending periodic newsletters on the 2008 General Assembly’s 40 days of work, and if you do not want to receive this email newsletter please visit my website at www.marymargaretoliver.org <http://www.marymargaretoliver.org/> to unsubscribe. In each newsletter, I ask how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses and I personally read all your answers. Thank you for your interest and opinions! Weekly question: Should Georgia have a consistent state-wide time for bars to stop serving alcoholic drinks, or should each city and county set its own times? I have pre-filed HB 912 to set a state-wide time for all bars to stop pouring drinks, modeled on the City of Atlanta ordinance of 2:30 am to 9:00 am as prohibited times for pouring . You can review this or any other bill filed at the General Assembly web-site http://www.legis.state.ga.us. <http://www.legis.state.ga.us./> Proponents of a state-wide pouring time, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, argue that one time for end of pouring drinks promotes public safety, and prevents the current situation of DeKalb County attracting a late night bar activity that has been controversial between the DeKalb Commissioners and CEO Vernon Jones. Opponents state that pouring times should be a matter of local control. What do you think? To reply to the weekly question, please click “reply” or email me at mmo@mmolaw.com. Thank you! MMO Pre-Session Legislative Activities: In the fall of each year, many interest groups prepare and outline their legislative proposals for the coming General Assembly session, and I have visited with these groups to hear their concerns and views. Based on Speaker Richardson’s proposals for the elimination of property taxes and the shift of the lost tax revenues to sales taxes on all consumer goods and services, the DeKalb School Board and the Decatur School Board have held pre-legislative meetings to oppose this tax shift. The Count Commission and Municipalities are also gearing up to oppose the Speaker’s GREAT plan. As details of the Speaker’s tax plans become more clear, I will be asking your opinion on this tax proposal as well as others. MMO has been meeting with a work group regularly to draft legislation to create a method for substituted medical consent for patients who need medical treatment but are incompetent to make decisions, and there is no family member to assert authority and the patient has executed no medical directive. This work follows the introduction of HB 235, and has included leaders from Emory’s Center of Ethics, hospital attorneys, and advocates for the disabled and aged. Hearings on this difficult issue will be scheduled in January. MMO has participated in two national conferences hosted by the American University on Election Management and Reform as a panelist on election issues, particularly related to issues of public funding for judicial elections. Based on recommendations of the Carter-Baker Commission, MMO has pre-field HB 917, to create an independent Election Commissioner for Georgia, to replace some of the authority of the Secretary of State, a partisan elected official. The purpose of this legislation is to create more independent and professional election management and hopefully reduce the criticisms and cynicism relating to voter ID and paper trail technologies. On January 8th at Druid Hills Methodist Church on Ponce de Leon, MMO will address the Interfaith Children’s Movement of Metropolitan Atlanta (ICMMA) to talk about 2008 legislative issues including PeachCare and children’s dental services. On February 8th, MMO is the featured speaker for Presbyterian Day at the Capital, and if you would like MMO to visit your group to talk about legislative issues, please let her know. Preview of 2008 Legislative Issues: All bills filed during the 2007 Session remain available for action in 2008, and legislation MMO previously filed, and had hearings and committee action, will again be promoted. The 2007 bills include prohibitions on the use of cell phones for teenage drivers, mandatory seat belts for truck drivers, and restrictions of title pawn industry, among others. What bill from the last session would you like to see passed? The adoption of a state-wide water policy will be a major issue and concern. A proposed policy, drafted by the Georgia Environmental Protection Department, based on legislation passed in 2003, will be reviewed and voted on in 2008, coincidentally at the time of a major drought in the state. Developers and water policy professionals will be seeking funding for new reservoirs, and the litigation contests with Florida and Alabama will be highlighted. To review Georgia’s proposed water plan, and its publicly submitted comments, go to www.georgiawatercouncil.com. <http://www.georgiawatercouncil.com./> The issues I have been most contacted about by constituents this fall relate to water and animal cruelty. Thank you for all your interest and support. Please contact me about any issue that concerns you. MARY MARGARET   MMO Fifth Email Newsletter – 2007 General Assembly Session March 24, 2007   MMO Fifth Email Newsletter – 2007 General Assembly Session March 24, 2007 This is the fifth edition of the Mary Margaret Oliver House District 83 email newsletter for 2007 General Assembly Session, and is sent to you following the 29th day of the 40 day Session. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter please go to my web site www.marymargaretoliver.org to unsubscribe. On March 19th the Legislature returned after a two week mid-session adjournment. So far, 686 bills have been introduced in the House and 133 have passed, most of which relate to local legislation. In the Senate, 78 bills have passed, out of 296 introduced. Most of the more controversial bills have yet to come up for a vote, and the 30th day of the legislative session, Tuesday, March 27, is known as “Crossover Day” at the state Capitol. By House and Senate, rules a bill must pass at least one chamber of the General Assembly in order to have a passage in 2007 by “Crossover Day”. Bills may be held over to the 2008 Session for consideration if not passed by midnight Tuesday. In each newsletter, I ask how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses and I personally read all your answers. Thank you for your interest and opinions! Weekly question: Should Dunwoody citizens be allowed to incorporate as a city without the input of all DeKalb residents? Should the Georgia General Assembly allow Dunwoody citizens to vote to incorporate without appropriate fiscal and operational review and consideration by the other affected citizens of DeKalb County? Currently, the House Governmental Affairs Committee where I serve as a committee member is considering Senate Bill 82, which has passed the Senate, and would allow the Dunwoody residents to vote to determine whether they wish to be an independent city. DeKalb County officials oppose SB 82, stating that the county will lose $15 million in revenue if Dunwoody is incorporated, along with the commercial area of Perimeter Mall. Supporters of incorporation say that the cost to the county would be only about $5 million, once the county deducts the costs of services it would no longer have to supply to Dunwoody residents. And further, Dunwoody citizens should be allowed to determine what government and taxes they wish to pay. For the full text of these bills or any other bill, please visit the General Assembly website at: http://www.legis.state.ga.us. > To reply to the weekly question, please click “reply” or email me at mmo@mmolaw.com or mail to: mmo@mmolaw.com. Thank you! Results of past weekly question: In the last weekly question, you were asked whether you would vote to reinstate “payday loans”, a credit device which allows short term loans, secured by weekly paychecks, that result in an annual interest rate of 390% Eight-six constituents voted against reinstating pay day loans, and 10 voted to reinstate them, but only at a more limited interest than the interest that is currently proposed in HB 163. One responder supported HB 163. HB 163, the "payday lending" bill was defeated in the House on Day 29 last Tuesday night at about 11:00 pm with a tie vote of 84 to 84. A bill must receive a majority of 91 votes in order to pass, and the bill’s sponsor asked for reconsideration of the tie vote which will be conducted on March 27. I voted against HB 163, and will vote against reconsideration. Please keep responding! Budget and Schedule News: The reason stated for the mid-year session adjournment was to give legislators extra time to address the current PeachCare funding crisis. This year the program would have seen a $131 million shortfall, and, therefore have a major impact on the final annual state budget. PeachCare is a joint state-federal program, and legislators delayed the end of this year’s session in hopes that Congress would contribute to the program’s shortfall. As previously reported, the program provides health insurance to roughly 300,000 children of working poor families through out our state. On Monday, March 19th, the House passed a $19.4 billion midyear spending plan, the Supplemental Budget, which includes $81 million for PeachCare. Speaker Glenn Richardson, has proposed to limit eligibility to children only up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Congress has proposed establishing 200 percent of poverty as the national cap on eligibility forcing all the states to establish similar State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP) instead of allowing each state to determine what is best for the children in that state, but this proposal has not yet passed and is opposed by national Democrats. Georgia currently allows children to be eligible up to 235% of the federal poverty rate, and therefore Speaker Richardson’s proposal would reduce the number of eligible children. Throughout the 2007 Session, the complicated financial formulas and contest between the states and the federal government over children’s health insurance are at the center of debates. The midyear budget also includes nearly $9.6 million for the state's public defender system, which is also facing a shortfall that has already delayed several cases, including the Brian Nichol’s trial. Also, the mid-year budget includes $500,000 to study the Brain Train rail project between Atlanta and Athens that would link the University of Georgia, Emory University and Georgia Tech. All of these budget proposals must be considered and voted upon in the Senate, and agreements reached between the two chambers–a long and contentious process. MMO Legislative Activities: I introduced HB 662 on Thursday, March 1. The bill passed through the Judiciary Sub-Committee on Tuesday, March 6 and the full Judiciary Non-Civil Committee on Wednesday, March 7, and the next step is the Rules Committee, for calendaring on the House floor, hopefully on March 27. HB 662 would prevent children charged with non-violent offenses, such as violating curfew or skipping school, from being detained in secure juvenile detention facilities for extended periods of time. According to Department of Juvenile Justice figures, over 1000 of these young “status offenders” are locked up each year in Georgia against both federal and state law. In order to receive necessary federal funds, Georgia must comply with strict federal limits on detention of status offenders. If passed, this legislation would ensure federal compliance, stop our State from overusing secure juvenile detention facilities for non-violent youth, and save money. I also am a co-author of HB 434 which allows voters to approve a regional transportation plan with a once cent sales tax increase, to be voted on by referendum. This proposal is supported by the Atlanta Camber’s Transportation planners and represents a coordinated approach. During the adjournment, I visited the Appropriations Committee in support of funds for two local assistance grants in District 83. I re-submitted a request for funds for a “pocket park” at Scott Boulevard and Clairmont Road, the corner of two busy highways across from the planned Woodlands Garden. I also submitted a request for the Druid Hills Civic Association for a pocket park near Emory Village that will serve as a “gateway” to Emory Village and help revitalize that area. These budget requests have chance of being included in the ‘08 Appropriations proposal. On March 8, I hosted students from the Candler School of Theology of Emory University for the second time this session. These students are following specific bills with a particular interest in the intersection of religion, ethics, and public policy. On March 24, I participated on a panel at the World Law Institute’s Global Women’s Health Conference at Emory Law School on the topic of Female Genital Cutting, and my prior legislation to criminalize the practice in Georgia. And most importantly for me, I had the opportunity to have dinner with President Jimmy Carter with other panelists. On March 25, I will visit Central Congregational United Church of Christ for Sunday “Great Decisions Class on Children in Distress”. If your group would like to visit the Capital and meet with me, or your child age 12 and older would like to serve as a page, please contact me. And call or email me anytime you have a question about this Session or opinion on any bill. Thank you! Mary Margaret Oliver 150 East Ponce De Leon Suite 350 Decatur GA 30030 Telephone: 404.377.0485 Fax: 404.377.0486   Assembly leaders limit minority roles March 23, 2007   Assembly leaders limit minority roles By MARY MARGARET OLIVER Published on: 03/23/07 The 2007 Georgia General Assembly is drawing to a contentious close, and the focus, as usual will be on business interests competing with each other for profits, the state budget's distribution of tax money and personal ambitions that look to the next election cycle. What is also true in 2007 is that there are no women in positions of higher leadership or power, and very little bipartisan participation in the major issues of the day. On the last day that the House Rules Committee met to set the calendar for Day 30 — crossover day, the last day that a bill may be scheduled for a vote and have an opportunity to pass in 2007 — about 60 legislators appeared, putting in requests for the House to vote on their bills. After about the first 30 legislators made requests, the first woman and only the second Democrat were called on by the committee chairman to request that their bill be heard. Bills allowed for vote on the House floor are offered by Republican white men, and women and Democrats are not participating in a manner that represents Georgia. This past Tuesday, when a rule change was offered to deny reporters access to the House floor, the legislator serving as speaker refused to recognize the minority party leader for a question or debate. Many of my constituents complain that partisan politics hurts the democratic process, stifles debate, and operates against full participation of the people. They are less vocal, less sure about whether the participation of women is important to the ultimate result, but they do believe that women bring a different set of issues and styles. They believe that limiting participation from any group is wrong, but they are not sure exactly what the solution should be. Women themselves are not wedded to one political party or another, but neither political party in Georgia has ever appointed a woman to serve on the powerful conference committee for resolution of the state budget, or to chair the Appropriations, or Ways and Means, or Rules committees, the most powerful political positions in the House or Senate. No woman has ever served as party leader, led the House or the Senate, or been governor or lieutenant governor of this state. This is a reality that is not true in other southern states. Does it matter that the current majority party limits participation of the minority party? Does it matter that the elected Democrat House and Senate members and women of both parties have a limited role? If Georgia voters currently identify themselves as about 45 percent Democrat, does the current leadership honor these citizens? I believe that the former Democratic leadership kept its power longer than Democrats in other southern states because it included Republican voices in many of the important issues. Whether the current state Republican leadership keeps its power will be determined by the voters. Limiting participation of women from both parties, and telling 45 percent of Georgians to stand behind a closed door, is wrong. And Georgia voters instinctively know wrong when they see it. State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver is a DeKalb County Democrat.   MMO Fourth Email Newsletter – 2007 General Assembly Session February 25, 2007   February 23, 2007 This is the fourth edition of the Mary Margaret Oliver House District 83 email newsletter for the 2007 General Assembly Session, and is sent to you following the 25th day of the 40 day Session. If you do not want to receive this email newsletter please visit my web site www.marymargaretoliver.org to unsubscribe. In each newsletter, which is sent every week or so during the Session, I ask how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses and I personally read all your answers. Thank you for your interest and opinions! Weekly question: Would you vote to reinstate “payday loans”, a credit device which allows short term loans, secured by weekly paychecks, that result in annual interest rates of over 390%? In the 2004 General Assembly session, “payday loans” were effectively prohibited in Georgia, and since that time, Georgia borrowers have been “saved” 150 million dollars of fees and interest. In 2007, a significant effort has been initiated to reinstate the legality of “payday loans” which would provide for regulations and some consumer protections, including a provision that payday loans may not knowingly be made to members of the military, which is similar to a law passed in Congress. The proponents state too many Georgians have no way to borrow money other than high interest short term loans, and opponents argue that the interests rates are too high to be allowed, and greatly exceed Georgia’s criminal usury rate of 60%. The legislation to reintroduce payday loans is HB 163, and will likely come for a vote before the House in the next week. To reply to the weekly question, please click “reply” or email me at mmo@mmolaw.com. Thank you! Results of past weekly question votes: You have generously responded and “voted” in the past newsletter polls. In the last weekly question, you were asked whether you would vote to fill the 131 million dollar shortfall for PeachCare from the budget surplus for FY 2007, or reduce eligibility for PeachCare and reduce the number of children receiving subsidized healthcare insurance. 142 responders voted to fill the PeachCare shortfall from the surplus, and five voted to reduce eligibility. Please keep responding! MMO Legislative Activities: HB 174 prohibiting cell phone use by teenagers while driving a car passed out of the Motor Vehicles Committee and is now before the Rules committee for calendaring on the House floor. As HB 24, redrafting Georgia’s living will and medical directive powers of attorney, moves forward, I am a co-sponsor of new legislation to clarify medical directives for psychiatric medical care in HB 343. I am also the co-sponsor of new legislation which will mandate a minimum 50 foot buffer on the marshlands along the coast, and legislation to protect Jekyll Island from development over and above the mandated 65% of conserved land and the South beach fragile areas. HB 336 creates a felony offense for the third conviction for DUI, and I am a co-sponsor of this bill filed this past week. HR 122 recognizes the 100th anniversary of the Eugenics movement to forcibly sterilized mentally incompetent citizens of criminals of certain crimes–rape or “deviant behavior”. Georgia passed its forced sterilization bill in 1937 and repealed it in 1973. The resolution described this legislative history and expressed “profound regret” for this history, and the committee chair where the bill was assigned has not yet allowed a hearing, but a similar resolution has been introduced in the Senate. Also, HB 114 relating to requiring seatbelts in trucks has not received a House hearing, but a Senate truck seatbelt bill is progressing and will likely pass the Senate. I am involved in all these legislative maneuvers, and many others to help legislation I support move forward. This week, I hosted an award winning Junior Achievement high school student, Joe Ramos, who “job shadowed” me for the day. Joe came with me to visit the appropriation committee where I was seeking money for local assistance grant monies for local parks in District 83, and to the Women’s Caucus lunch to discuss legislative priorities for women’s health care. He watched the debates in both chambers and helped me with a resolution to invite foster care children to the House floor. To review any legislation I have introduced, or to watch the live General Assembly Session of committee meetings, go the Georgia General Assembly web site, which lists all bills I have sponsored or co-sponsored. Events of Interest: March 6 – I am hosting a leadership group of foster care children before the House. March 8 - I am hosting Candler students at the Capital who are following specific bills to discuss the legislative progress. If your group would like to visit the Capital and meet with me, or your child age 12 and older would like to serve as a page, please contact me. And call or email me anytime you have a question about this Session or opinion on any bill. And any suggestions you have about this newsletter format are welcome. Thank you! Mary Margaret   MMO Third Email Newsletter – 2007 General Assembly Session February 12, 2007   MMO Third Email Newsletter – 2007 General Assembly Session February 12, 2007 This is the third edition of the Mary Margaret Oliver House District 83 email newsletter for the 2007 General Assembly Session. If you do not want to receive this email newsletter please visit my web site www.marymargaretoliver.org to unsubscribe. In each newsletter, which is sent every week or so during the Session, I ask how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses and I personally read all your answers. Thank you for your interest and opinions! Weekly question: Georgia is “short” about 147 million in this budget cycle to pay for Peachcare, the state’s subsidized health insurance program for children of low income working parents. Would you fund the shortfall from the state’s 700 million dollar surplus and continue the children’s health insurance program? Or would you reduce the eligibility criteria and cover fewer children with health insurance? The current shortfall is caused by the federal formula to reimburse the state’s children’s health insurance program. Presently, the federal government pays 73% of the total cost of the Peachcare services for children, and Georgia has a comparatively high rate of child poverty. About 17 other states are in similar “shortfall” circumstances, and are lobbying Congress in Washington DC to pay additional funds to the states to stabilize the children’s health care program. The Speaker of the Georgia House has introduced legislation to reduce the number of children who will be eligible for services. Should I vote to reduce the number of children eligible for Peachcare, or ask the state budget writers to pay for the shortfall from the current surplus? To reply to the weekly question, please click “reply” or email me at mmo@mmolaw.com. Thank you! Results of past weekly question votes: You have generously responded and “voted” in the past newsletter polls. In response to whether you would vote to sell beer and wine on Sunday, you voted approximately 10 to one in favor of Sunday sales—110 yes and 10 no. In response to whether you would prohibit cell phone use by teenaged drivers, you were almost unanimous in favor of the prohibition – 97 yes and 4 no. Of the 97 yes votes, 33 said they would prohibit cell phone use by all drivers. Please keep responding! MMO Legislative Activities: HB 174 prohibiting cell phone use by teenagers passed out of sub-committee and is now before the full Motor Vehicles committee. HB 24 to redraft Georgia’s living will and medical directive powers of attorney, passed the House and is now before the state Senate. I am a co-sponsor of both these bills, and have been active in the committee process. At the request of a constituent, I introduced HR 122 to recognize the 100th anniversary of the Eugenics movement to forcibly sterilized mentally incompetent citizens or criminals of certain crimes–rape or “deviant behavior”. Georgia passed its forced sterilization bill in 1937 and repealed it in 1973, and sterilized approximately 3300 citizens against their will in the interim. The resolution described this legislative history and expressed “profound regret” for this policy. I have introduced new legislation to reduce the annual interest rates for titlepawn transactions from 300 percent to approximately 105 percent and to provide additional protections for the borrower. This consumer protection bill may receive attention along with the current legislative revival of the payday loans. To review the complete draft of any legislation I have introduced or to watch the live General Assembly Session or committee meetings, go the Georgia General Assembly web site. Events of Interest: February 15 - I am meeting with Leadership DeKalb at the Capital to discuss how proposed legislation will effect DeKalb County. February 17 – I am speaking to medical students and other allied health care students on current legislative issues. March 8 - I am hosting Candler students at the Capital who are following specific bills to discuss the legislative progress. If your group would like to visit the Capital and meet with me or have a special tour while we are in Session, or your child age 12 and older would like to serve as a page, please contact me. And call or email me anytime you have a question about this Session or opinion on any bill. Thank you! Mary Margaret   Apology asked for sterilizations state required 2/2/07   Atlanta Journal Constitution February 2, 2007 House resolution would express 'profound regret' for 1937-1970 eugenics program; passage of measure uncertain By Jeremy Redmon The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 02/02/07 Some Georgia lawmakers are calling on the Legislature to apologize for a state program that sterilized prisoners, state mental patients and others as part of the pseudoscientific eugenics movement in the 20th century. About 3,300 people were sterilized between 1937 and 1970, when Georgia and many other states were seeking to eliminate mental illnesses and physical deformities, according to Paul Lombardo, a Georgia State University law professor and researcher on eugenics. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the passage of Georgia's sterilization law. Some legislators have introduced a resolution calling on the House to declare "its profound regret for Georgia's participation in the eugenics movement and the injustices done under eugenics laws." Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) introduced the resolution, which was drafted by Lombardo. "The better job we do of recognizing our history, the better job we can possibly do in the future and understand where we need to go," Oliver said. But the resolution's chances of passing appear dim. The House has referred the resolution, HR 122, to its Health and Human Services Committee, where Chairman Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta) said it might die. Cooper called the eugenics movement "unconscionable" and said people should be aware of Georgia's history so the practice is not repeated. But she said her committee is unlikely to hold a hearing on the resolution. "I'm not sure I agree with one generation apologizing for another generation when all the parties that were involved are long dead," Cooper said. "In the whole world there is lots of history that, seen in today's eyes, we would certainly hope would never be repeated, but it's history. You can't change it." House Minority Leader DuBose Porter (D-Dublin) said he didn't know enough details about the resolution to comment on it, but he said it deserves a hearing. "Everything should have a fair hearing," Porter said, "whether it is voted out of committee or not." Several other state legislatures have apologized on behalf of their states' involvement in the eugenics movements, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Oregon and California, Lombardo said. Indiana's legislature is now considering a similar resolution, Lombardo said. Virginia forcibly sterilized about 8,000 people from 1927 to 1979. In 2002, Virginia's General Assembly apologized for the state's role in the eugenics movement and the "incalculable human damage done in the name of eugenics." That year, then-Gov. Mark Warner offered an apology as well, saying the eugenics movement was "a shameful effort." Lombardo said the number of forced sterilizations cited in Georgia's resolution comes from a book of essays, "Eugenic Sterilization," compiled by the late Emory University professor Jonas Robitscher. A chart in the book says Georgia sterilized 3,284 people between 1943 and 1963. Georgia's "eugenic sterilization" law, which created the State Board of Eugenics in 1937, said directors of Georgia prisons and state institutions for the "mentally or physically defective, deficient or diseased" could recommend sterilizations of men or women. Those recommendations, according to the law, should be based on whether the patients or inmates could have children who would have "a tendency to serious physical, mental, or nervous disease or deficiency." Eugenics also involved the practice of "selective breeding," Lombardo said. Georgia prohibited interracial marriages for 40 years until 1967, when the Supreme Court invalidated the law, Lombardo said. A public apology could raise awareness about Georgia's troubling history and comfort victims of the forced sterilizations, some of whom might still be alive, Lombardo said. He said he is undaunted by Cooper's assertion that the bill might die in her committee, saying it took Virginia's legislature about two years to decide on its apology. Lombardo said: "My feeling is there is no statute of limitations on the need to apologize."   MMO Second Email Newsletter - 2007 General Assembly Session 1/24/07   MMO Second Email Newsletter – 2007 General Assembly Session January 27, 2007 This is the second edition of the Mary Margaret Oliver House District 83 email newsletter for the 2007 General Assembly Session. If you do not want to receive this email newsletter please visit my web site www.marymargaretoliver.org to unsubscribe. In each newsletter, which is sent every week or so during the Session, I ask how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses and I personally read all your answers. Thank you for your interest and opinions! Weekly question: Would you vote to prohibit Class D drivers, 16 and 17 year old new drivers, from using a cell phone while driving a car? Other legislators and I have introduced HB 174 in a bipartisan effort to prohibit cell phone use by 16 and 17 year old drivers based on the research that demonstrates use of a cell phone is as dangerous as driving with a .08 alcohol blood content, the legal level for presumptive drunk driving. A new study this week from the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital documents the dangerous distractibility of young and inexperienced drivers. To review HB 174 or my pre-filed HB 4, also relating to teenage use of cell phones, you can read the full text of any bill on the General Assembly web site. To reply to the weekly question, please click “reply” or email me at mmo@mmolaw.com : . Thank you! The 2007 General Assembly re-convened on January 22, 2007, following the MLK holiday and break to conduct hearings on the Governor’s proposed amended 2007 budget and 2008 budget. To follow the progress of the Session, please note that House committee meetings will be available to watch live on the General Assembly website. The House floor proceedings are also available for live viewing, and you are invited to watch the daily debates and hearings. MMO Legislative Activities: I previously reported that I am a co-sponsor of HB 24 to redraft Georgia’s living will and medical directive powers of attorney following my participation in a work group over the summer. The first hearing on HB 24 will be Tuesday, at 9:00 am in Room 132 before the Judiciary committee. I introduced this week HB 114 to require the use of seatbelts in trucks, and the Speaker assigned this bill to the Agriculture committee, an unfriendly political environment for seatbelt legislation. Georgia presently loses 21 million dollars in federal highway safety money because Georgia’s seatbelt law does not require drivers of trucks to use seatbelts. Another companion bill, which also provide that failure to wear seatbelts shall be admissible in evidence to mitigate damages in personal injury litigation is also filed, and represents a bi-partisan effort to correct the expensive gap in our state’s seatbelt law. The package of legislation I am co-sponsoring to follow-up on my work with the State Bar on reform of judicial elections has been introduced, and is set forth in two bills and a resolution, HB 97 and HB 102, and HR 47. These bills provide public funding options for judicial elections and require non-partisan funding protections. In 2006, I was a leader to prevent DeKalb County from expanding its bonding authority for public safety facilities without a citizen referendum to increase homeowner property taxes for such purposes. I am a co-sponsor this year of newly filed legislation, HB 181, to protect the homeowners again from DeKalb’s expanded bonding authority. I am also working with Representative Barry Loudermilk, as co-sponsor on HB 153, to create the authority for juvenile judges to review changes in placement for children in foster care. Frequent placement changes are very damaging to children who are removed from their homes. I am meeting this week with Commissioner of DHR B.J. Walker on this newly filed legislation. Events of Interest: January 29 – I am hosting a group of Emory Law students at the Capital to meet with legislators to discuss public interest careers in the traditional political world, and the 2007 Session. January 31 – The Emory Lavista Parents Council will visit the Capital in the morning, take a tour, and then meet with DeKalb legislators and Sally Fitzgerald from the League of Women Voters to discuss education funding issues for 2007. February 2 -- I am a member of the Chief Justice of Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism, and the Commission meets at the State Bar for its quarterly meeting. February 7 – I will join former Secretary of State Cathy Cox and her students at UGA law school class on Law and Politics to discuss family and health law legislative issues. Please call or email me anytime you have a question about this Session or opinion on any bill. And any suggestions you have about this newsletter format are welcome. Thank you! Mary Margaret   MMO First Email Newsletter–2007 General Assembly Session 1/13/07   MMO First Email Newsletter–2007 General Assembly Session January 13, 2007 This is the first edition of the Mary Margaret Oliver House District 83 email newsletter for the 2007 General Assembly Session. If you do not want to receive this email newsletter please visit my web site www.marymargaretoliver.org to unsubscribe. In each newsletter, which is sent every week or so during the Session, I ask how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses and I personally read all your answers. Thank you for your interest and opinions! Weekly question: Would you vote to allow sale of beer and wine on Sunday in grocery and convenience stores? Based on Georgia’s “blue laws”, liquor may not be sold on Sundays except in restaurants, and only a small minority of states prohibit Sunday sale of beer and wine. To reply to this weekly question, please click “reply” or email me at mmo@mmolaw.com. Thank you! Special Invitation and Event – On January 17 at Viola’s Restaurant at 410B West Ponce de Leon in Decatur, I will be the Celebrity Chef to benefit the Decatur Education Foundation. Please come, have dinner between 6:30 pm and 9:00 pm, and tell me what you want from this year’s General Assembly! The 2007 General Assembly convened on January 8, 2007, and recessed on January 11 for the MLK holiday and for hearings on January 17 and 18 on the Governor’s amended 2007 and 2008 budget. To review the Governor’s proposed budget in detail please go to http://www.opb.state.ga.us/Budget/AFY07 or http://www.opb.state.ga.us/Budget/AFY08. In later newsletters I will analyze how these budgets will affect DeKalb County. Also, for your information the House committee meetings will be available to watch live on the General Assembly website. The House floor proceedings are also available for live viewing, and you are invited to watch the daily debates and hearings. MMO Legislative Activities: I introduced legislation on January 10, HB 4, to create a new traffic offense of misuse of cell phones while driving that results in an accident. I am also working with a bipartisan group of legislators to prohibit the use of cell phones while driving for Class D drivers, teenagers age 16 and 17, and that proposal will have a bill number after we reconvene January 22 I am co-sponsoring new legislation, HB 24, to revise Georgia’s medical directives and living wills in order to simplify and encourage more planning for medical decisions that individuals and families must make. I was involved over the summer with a work group on these new directives, including Kathy Kinlaw, from the Emory Center on Ethics and Mary Radford, from Georgia State Law School. I am participating with another group drafting legislation to reform the election process for judges, and to create the public funding option for judicial elections, similar to HB 46 and HB 102 from the 2006 General Assembly. Events of Interest: On January 16, MMO will meet with the Juvenile Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia review legislation anticipated in the Juvenile Code for 2007. On January 17, MMO will be the Chef du Jour at Viola–see invite above–to benefit the Decatur Education Foundation. Please come!!!! On January 24, MMO, Stephanie Benfield and David Adelman will address the Glenn Memorial Church Wednesday night dinner group about the 2007 Session. On January 31, MMO will host the Emory LaVista Parents’ Council at the Capital. If you or your group would like to schedule a special visit to the Capital, please let me know–you are invited. And if your child, over age 12, would like to serve as a page, I also invite you to contact me. Please call or email me anytime you have a question about this Session or opinion on any bill. And any suggestions you have about this newsletter format are welcome. Thank you! Mary Margaret   MMO Email Newsletter - FINAL REPORT 2006 Session April 5, 2006   This is the sixth and last edition of the Mary Margaret Oliver House District 83 email newsletter for the 2006 General Assembly Session, sent upon completion of 40 days of this legislative Session. Thank you for your attention to and participation in this year’s legislative work! I do not regularly send email newsletters when the General Assembly is not is session but if you do not want to receive this email newsletter in the future please visit my website: www.marymargaretoliver.org to unsubscribe. In past newsletters, I asked how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses and I personally read all of your answers. End of Session Evaluation/Question -- How would you “grade” the 2006 General Assembly? A,B,C,D,or F? What did we do well, and what important issues did we address? What issues did we ignore that you cared about? 2006 Session Wrap-up Good News -- My favorite bill and success of the 2006 Session is the passage of HB 1066 which expands the number of health screenings for newborn babies to provide for early detection of genetic disorders. This focused legislation will help families prevent unnecessary illnesses in addition to saving money for individuals and tax payers. I am also pleased that ultimately the General Assembly stopped legislation that was problematic environmentally. SB 510, relating to the narrowing of stream buffers for rivers and reservoirs was defeated on the House floor late in the evening of the Session’s last day. The Garden Club once again, on the final day, was also successful in protecting our highways from expanded billboards in HB 1097. The “private cities” legislation, HB 1323, that would allow developers to finance private communities through bonds, after being passed by the House (I voted against it), was never called for a vote in the Senate. The Atlanta Gas Light Gas Light Company’s effort to build a 300 million dollar gas pipeline, HB 1325, was also stopped in the Senate. This legislation created a direct opportunity for one company’s expansion without appropriate Public Service Commission oversight. The Eminent Domain legislation, HB 1313, passed and fairly restricted the governments’ rights to take private properties through eminent domain. This important legislation was crafted after extensive attention by the House Judiciary committee. Legislation to reduce class size for 4th and 5th graders passed in HB 1358, after being stalled for the past two years. Good/Bad News -- SB 382, to create new child support guidelines, passed without the worst provisions relating to “parenting time units,” meaning the non-custodial parent could reduce child support based on a daily formula of how many hours were spent directly with the child, and modification provisions of existing child support orders. I voted against the final draft, however, because it will reduce child support, in many cases significantly, for middle and upper middle income parents, primarily women. For the most accurate description of the political process that resulted in the final bill, review the April 2, 2006 lead editorial of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. www.ajc.com/sunday/content/epaper/editions/sunday/opinion SB 529, relating to “immigration reform”, represented a final compromise that, in effect, restates federal law, and offers no meaningful solutions. Based on the extensive messages I received on SB 529 from constituents, and the negative political messages sent by the bill’s proponents, I voted against the final proposals. I am hopeful that the national discussion will result in the United States Congress passing some form of a guest worker permit with a process for ultimate citizenship. Anti-abortion legislation was also a mixed result, with the SB 429 mandatory ultrasound for women seeking an abortion not passing into law, but the “Pharmacist Conscience” HB 1178 passing. The HB 1178 version of the Pharmacist Conscience bill granted narrow employee protections to pharmacists who refused to fill an a short list of emergency “morning after” pills because he/she did not believe a possible pregnancy should be terminated. The final draft that passed represented a narrowing of the impact and a compromise. Bad News – An amendment to SB 136, to restrict the incarceration of unruly, truant, and status juvenile offenders, was eliminated from the bill based on lobbying from juvenile judges. Mandatory sentencing for sex offenders, and an overboard expansion of probation and parole of offenders as set forth in HB 1059, will cost too much money with limited protections for children. Mandatory sentences can be particularly onerous for younger offenders, and do not allow the courts sufficient discretion for a wide range of crimes, some of which relate to consensual sex acts. SB 390, the Governor’s proposal to spend 65% of education money in the “classroom”, passed and will hurt the local control opportunity for school districts to decide priorities. This measure nationally has no rational relationship to children’s educational achievement, and was opposed by both Decatur and DeKalb School Boards. For one more year, the title pawn industry that charges 300 percent interest on pawn transactions escaped with any real consumer protection reforms despite a well publicized study committee process and extensive press coverage. My legislation, HB 675, that would have lowered the interest rate by one-half was never called for a hearing. For the full text of any bill, please visit the General Assembly website at: http://www.legis.state.ga.us. MMO Legislative Activities -- I continued my committee work and was successful with amendments to and the restructuring of SB 420 – the Care of a Grandchild Act, and solutions to the child support guidelines legislation. In the Governmental Affairs committee, I was involved through the final days in the legislative creation of the new cities of Chattahoochee Hills and South Fulton in Fulton County. These measures will allow Fulton voters to choose to create new cities or be annexed to existing cities, and provide a helpful primer for possible cities in DeKalb that will surely be proposed next year. My Guardianship reform bill that I proposed on behalf of the State Bar of Georgia passed, but the treatment of under-age prostitutes by the Juvenile Court did not. HB 847 passed and included the legislation I offered on the age to marry and procedures relating to emancipation for which I was an active co-sponsor. In local legislation, I was successful in stopping DeKalb county’s efforts to expand its bonding authority without a referendum for public safety projects that would have added to property tax bills. This measure was also very contentious, including a House floor vote at 11:00 pm of the last night of the Session. Capitol and Community Events -- On Tuesday, March 14 I spoke at the WAND/ White House Project’s 8 in ’08 panel discussion. The White House Project is a national, nonpartisan, non-for-profit organization, that aims to advance women’s leadership in all communities and sectors, up to the U.S. presidency. On Wednesday, March 15, 2006, Tracie Lee Dean, of Decatur, Georgia, was recognized by me and Justice P. Harris Hines of the Georgia Supreme Court before the Georgia House of Representatives with House Resolution 1603, and was presented with the Dignity Memorial® Escape School Good Samaritan Award. Ms. Dean is the local hero, who, acting on her own instinct, was responsible for the rescue of two children in Alabama from abusive felons. Ms. Dean humbly accepted the honor and award, and dedicated them to groups that serve to protect Georgia’s children everyday, such as Our House in Decatur, where she serves as a Board member, and R.E.C.O.N. (Rescuing Endangered Children via an Organized Network). On April 10th, I will speak to the Castlegate Garden Club in Victoria Estates and to the Hunting Hills Garden Club on April 25th to give 2006 legislative wrap-ups. If you would like me to address your community group please let me know. Please contact me with any questions that you may have about the Session or any opinion that you may have regarding a bill. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve you in the 83rd House District, and I will qualify again this month for re-election to the 2007-2008 term of the General Assembly. Thank you!   Fairness takes custody of bill April 2, 2004   Atlanta Journal Constitution OUR OPINION: VITAL SUPPORT: Fairness takes custody of bill Child support guidelines change in a way that's a victory for the children of divorce Staff Sunday, April 2, 2006 Following a tumultuous 48 hours of tense negotiations and intense politicking over guidelines on child support, the children of Georgia gained critical ground in the legislation approved Thursday by the Georgia General Assembly. Whether because of political pressure from the governor's office or twinges of conscience, the House stripped the new guidelines of the most damaging provisions to children before approving them in a 158 to 14 vote. The House scuttled the contentious dollar-for-days parenting time adjustment that would have granted noncustodial parents a break for spending extra time with their offspring. Lawyers predicted a record-keeping nightmare, saying parents would have to keep Blockbuster and Krispy Kreme receipts to show evidence to the courts that they'd had their child overnight and for breakfast the next day. The House also struck the parts of the bill that would have permitted virtually all noncustodial parents, even those with existing support agreements, to go back to court to try to lower their obligations. Now, the guidelines specify that the courts will only reopen child support cases if there is a "substantial change in either parents' income and the financial status or needs of the child" --- a higher bar to reach and the one now in current law. Noncustodial parents were not sent home completely empty-handed. They succeeded in changing the formula that Georgia will use to calculate support. Georgia will switch from a percentage-of-income model that considers the noncustodial parent's income to an income-shares approach that cites the incomes of both parents. Advocates for the change mistakenly argued that under Georgia's system only noncustodial parents, largely fathers, bear responsibility for their children's expenses. Studies of the percentage-of-income model show that custodial parents support their children with their incomes in the same proportion that the noncustodial parents do; their financial contributions just aren't spelled out in the court agreement. Nor did advocates understand that the actual formula is not as important in setting support as the economic assumptions about the costs of raising a child that underpin it. Unfortunately, the House did not address the economic tables created for the new guidelines. The tables hold the greatest potential for harm because they only reflect the basic necessities of child rearing and exclude the summer camps, baseball leagues and weekend trips to museums typical in middle-class families. As a result, the tables will likely produce less support for middle- to upper-income households, creating what state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) warned will be a "rich house, poor house" dichotomy for children of high-earning fathers and lower-earning mothers. "I am disappointed that there has been so little attention to the real economic impact of the tables," she said. But, overall, the House amendments to the child support guidelines provide more protections for children. They also represent a stinging and surprising defeat for the architect of the guidelines, House Rules Chairman Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs). Ehrhart had assumed the guidelines would breeze through the Legislature without dissent, and he punctuated that certainty with chilly glances at any colleagues brave enough to raise objections, including the heroic Rep. Mack Crawford (R-Concord). As Rules Committee chair, Ehrhart controls which bills see the light of day. Either legislators curry his favor or end up adrift on an ice floe in a legislative Siberia. However, in the last few days, several political fronts coalesced to challenge both Ehrhart and the guidelines. Finally, critics weighed in, including the governor, and GOP women such as Rep. Jan Jones (R-Alpharetta). That they succeeded in killing two of the worst aspects of the guidelines reflects the GOP's belated realization that botching child support --- an issue that affects many families --- could cost the party the support of moderate female voters in November. That it took the Republicans so long to wake up to that fact shows that they have taken these women for granted for far too long.   Lobbyists rule: No naked steaks March 31, 2006   Atlanta Journal-Constitution Ben Smith "No Varsity!" exclaimed Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur). Since sometime in the 1970s -- nobobdy seems to know the exact date -- Georgia House members have on closing day ordered hamburgers and hot dogs from the famous Atlatna eatery.   Bill poised to halt jail time for kids in nonviolent acts March 28, 2006   Atlanta-Journal Constitution Jill Young Miller "Nonviolent children with minimum offenses ... don't need to be locked up with people who are selling crack, stabbing or raping people," said Rep. Ronald Forster (R-Ringgold), who, with Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), authored a key amendment to the bill.   Legislature 2006: IN BRIEF March 24, 2006   Atlanta Journal-Constitution Speaker says no to pickup seat belts House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) shot down a bid to mandate that pickup truck drivers and passengers wear seat belts. Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) tried to attach the mandate to an unrelated bill on state police vehicles.   After $32 million, computer in limbo; Legislators want to see progress in tracking children March 24, 2006   Atlanta Journal-Constitution Craig Schneider Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), among the project's sharper critics, said she is asking for greater legislative oversight over SACWIS. She worries that spending on the project has gotten out of hand and that the project will not produce the expected benefits for children.   Sex Offenders won't Vanish for Good March 23, 2006   Atlanta Journal-Constitution EDITORIAL, OUR OPINIONS "Protection of children will be afforded by intensive supervision upon release, not unrealistic sentences or attempts to banish offenders, which will not work in the real world," says state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), one of the Legislature's experts on juvenile justice. "Treatment can work, particularly for younger offenders."   Put Divorce Bill on Permanent Hold March 22, 2006   Atlanta Journal-Constitution The problem is that protracting a divorce may add to a child's misery, not lessen it. "Every single day a divorce goes on, children are hurt by the conflict," state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), a family law attorney.   MMO Email Newsletter 5 March 10, 2006   MMO Email Newsletter No. 5, 2006 Session This is the fifth edition of the Mary Margaret Oliver House District 83 email newsletter for the 2006 General Assembly Session, sent upon completion of 29 days of this legislative Session. The Georgia Constitution limits the annual Session to 40 days, and last year the General Assembly adjourned after 39 days. I anticipate that the 2006 Session will end around March 28. If you do not want to receive this email newsletter please visit my website: www.marymargaretoliver.org to unsubscribe. In each newsletter I ask how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses and I personally read all of your answers. Thank you for your interest and opinions! Weekly Question: Should Dunwoody be able to incorporate as a city without the input of all DeKalb residents? Should the Georgia General Assembly allow Dunwoody to incorporate without appropriate fiscal and operational review and consideration by the other affected citizens of DeKalb County? Currently, the General Assembly is considering several bills and proposals that would allow for the incorporation or re-incorporation of cities in DeKalb County. Senate Bill 566 would create a new charter for the City of Doraville, Senate Bill 567 would re-incorporate the City of Chamblee, and Senate Bill 568 could incorporate the city of Dunwoody. This bill would take substantial tax revenue from DeKalb County, in part, because it includes the commercial area of Perimeter Mall. If the City of Dunwoody is created by the General Assembly and approved by the voters of Dunwoody, I predict there will be additional cities created in the unincorporated areas of DeKalb as is the new pattern in Fulton County. Is this the preference of voters and taxpayers? For the full text of this or any other bill, please visit the General Assembly website at: http://www.legis.state.ga.us. Legislative Successes of the Week: On Thursday, March 2, HB1021, relating to the juvenile court’s treatment of minors charged with prostitution, passed out of a Judiciary Subcommittee and now moves to full committee. A public hearing was held during which testimony in favor of the bill was presented by the Barton Child Law Clinic, the Mayor’s Office of Atlanta, the Fulton County District Attorney’s office, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, and other community agencies. The bill passed out of the Subcommittee unanimously. Also, HB 1464, referred to as "Peachcare for All Kids," which would create universal healthcare for all children, was introduced and received broad bi-partisan and community support at a press conference held by VOICES for Georgia’s Children. I am a co-sponsor of the bill and will work with legislators in a year-long coalition to broaden support for this important piece of legislation. The proposal will raise the eligibility for working parents to purchase health insurance for their children at a more affordable rate, and allow Georgia to receive a greater share of federal dollars for children's healthcare. MMO Legislative Activities: I have continued to work with other Judiciary committee members on refining the Governor's legislative proposal to reform eminent domain laws. The committee has met for over 20 hours on these complicated issues, and HB 1313 passed the House on March 9, and now moves forward to the Senate. The sometimes tedious and detailed work of the committee process is the key element to all the legislative processes during any Session. As a member of the minority party in the House, the committee process offers the best opportunities for me to contribute, and I have enjoyed the work of all my committee assignments. Chairs of both the Judiciary committee and the Governmental Affairs committee have included me in many projects, and I am always in attendance. In general, about 50% of committee members attend committee meetings. I have been appointed to a Judiciary committee subcommittee on the Child support calculations legislation, and this effort is moving forward. I have voted against lowering child support for children, and the current draft of the proposals particularly targets middle income families, and will create more litigation for families in transition. Another problematic provision of the current draft of SB 382 will allow automatic reductions of child support based on the number of days the non-custodial parent "visits" with his or her child. This "days for dollars" provision is opposed by most women’s and child advocacy groups. I continue to help the cities of DeKalb County negotiate on a more equitable basis with the county to purchase services. Under the local delegation rules, ten members of the House delegation must sign as co-sponsors of the local legislation I am sponsoring on this issue, and I have obtained the necessary signatures for this bill to move forward to the Senate. Capitol and Community Events: On February 28, I attended the Fernbank Elementary PTA meeting at Fernbank Elementary. The meeting was also attended by Representative Stuckey Benfield and Senator David Adelman, and included a good discussion of school funding issues, physical education, and special education services. If you would like me to visit your PTA or community group, please let me know. On Monday, March 13, The League of Women Voters will hold a public forum regarding the City of Dunwoody proposal. This will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church on the I-85 access road between Clairmont and North Druid Hills roads, at 7:00 p.m.. On Tuesday, March 14, I will present with a panel of speakers for WAND (Women’s Action for New Directions) and the White House Project, to review issues of the 2006 Session and its impact on women. On Wednesday, March 15, I will host Ms. Tracie Lee Dean at the Capitol who will be recognized by the House, and a Resolution will be read in her honor. Ms. Dean is the local hero, who, acting on her personal intuition, was responsible for the rescue of two children in Alabama from an abusive and criminal caregiver. Justice Harris Hines of the Georgia Supreme Court will participate in this ceremony. In the last two weeks I have hosted two Pages at the Capitol: Allison Herzog, who attends Renfro Middle School, and Jason Wilkins, from Lakeside. Any school child over the age of 12 is welcome to apply to Page at the Capitol. If you are interested, please go to the House website to download an application.   Ethical responsibility wanes; Sadly, legislators focus on power, forget the people March 1, 2006   Atlanta Journal-Constitution Bill Bozarth In 2004, the Republican Senate passed Perdue's ethics reform bill. Under the leadership of Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), the House Judiciary Committee endorsed that bill with unanimous bipartisan support and added campaign finance reform measures.   Let teens marry -- when age is ripe February 24, 2006   Atlanta Journal-Constitution "You just have so much potential for abuse with the marriages of a 15-year-old or a 12-year-old," says state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur). "We had older men impregnating and lawfully marrying girls who were 13, 14 and 15 to avoid statutory rape charges."   MMO Email Newsletter 4 February 24, 2006   This is the fourth edition of the Mary Margaret Oliver House District 83 email newsletter for the 2006 General Assembly Session, sent upon completion of 23 days of this legislative Session. If you do not want to receive this email newsletter please visit my website: www.marymargaretoliver.org to unsubscribe. In each newsletter I ask how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses and I personally read all of your answers. Thank you for your interest and opinions! Weekly Question: Should lawmakers be prohibited from receiving gifts from lobbyists? Should lobbyists be able to supply lawmakers with airline tickets, concert tickets, and free plane rides, for example, as has been recently reported. Currently, gifts, including meals, but excluding token marketing gifts such as caps or coffee mugs given to all legislators, must be reported and are listed on the Secretary of State web site for each legislator. Is disclosure of gifts to legislators a sufficient protection for the public, or should all gifts be prohibited? Last year the General Assembly passed additional ethics provisions that increase disclosure, but refused to pass a gift ban or place a dollar limit on meals provided to legislators from lobbyists. This session I have introduced HB 1383, which would place a $50 limit on individual lobbyists’ meals to legislators and prohibit all other gifts, such as concert and sporting event tickets and free airplane rides. For the full text of this or any other bill, please visit the General Assembly website at: http://www.legis.state.ga.us. Legislative Success of the Week: This week MMO celebrates two legislative successes. The Garden Club members have once again won against the billboard industry! I was happy to join a bi-partisan effort to defeat the HB1097, that would have threatened native plants and birds, and expanded the rights of the billboard industry to cut trees along highway rights of way. The House leadership supported the billboard owners and a surprising vote by rank-and-file members overturned their wishes. With continued good debate on age limitations for marriage, HB 1023, which repeals the parental consent exception for marriage in the case of pregnancy, passed the House with broad bi-partisan support this week. I was quoted in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution in an editorial piece on February 24 speaking on behalf of the bill (http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/0224edteen.html). MMO Legislative Activities: I introduced HB 675 relating to the reform and regulation of the title pawn industry in the 2005 session. This issue has been given some coverage from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, both in an article published on February 21 entitled “Title pawn lenders pull out wallets, Politicians who get cash say they can’t be bought” (http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/0221metpawn.html) as well as in an Op-editorial that I wrote, for the AJC, entitled “State must set borders for title pawn industry” (http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/0221edoliver.html). There are currently several drafts of title pawn bills floating around the Capitol that are written by the industry lobbyists that I oppose, and I am working with Georgia Consumer Watch and the AARP, to provide more meaningful protections to consumers. I also introduced HB 1383, mentioned above, that would place a $50 cap on meals provided to legislators from individual lobbyists. This bill has been assigned to the House Ethics committee, and I have requested a hearing from Chairman Joe Wilkerson. I continue to work on HB 1021, relating to the juvenile court’s treatment of minors charged with prostitution, and I anticipate a public hearing on this bill next week. A meeting was held last week by the Mayor’s Task Force to End Child Prostitution at the law offices of Powell Goldstein and a substitute bill with minor changes was discussed and reviewed. HB 1130, relating to guardianship law amendments, has passed out of the House Judiciary committee and has moved to House Rules Committee, and hopefully will soon be put on a calendar for a vote by the House. I also participated this week in floor debate to oppose HB 1325, which was proposed on behalf of the Atlanta Gas Light Company. The bill seeks to bypass the oversight of the Public Service Commission and allow Atlanta Gas Light to build a $300 million pipeline from Savannah and northwards, and pay for the pipeline by charging consumers a monthly surcharge. I have also chaired a sub-committee for the Science and Technology Committee regarding HB1307, relating to web-based electronic publishing of state agency rules and regulations. I appeared today with Julia Levy, Executive Director of the Decatur Preservation Alliance, before the House Appropriations subcommittee, to request a grant of state funding to assist the Alliance’s purchase of adjoining land for the Woodlands project. And finally, in relation to local legislation, I am working with Bill Floyd, Mayor of Decatur, and the other mayors of cities in DeKalb county, to pass legislation that would alter the costs of services that residents of cities in DeKalb pay for services provided by DeKalb County. The special service district statute has not been updated to reflect the current operations of the cities and the county for many years. And, I continue to ask questions about DeKalb County’s request for 30 million dollars of additional bonds for the Public Safety Bonding Authority. Capitol and Community Events: On Tuesday February 21 and Wednesday February 22, I met with two of Dr. Louise Bill’s Community Intervention classes from Kennesaw State University. The classes were visiting the Capitol to learn how to influence public policy and learn more about current issues affecting them and their communities. On Thursday, February 23, I attended the DeKalb Delegation Public Hearing held in the Manual Maloof Building of the DeKalb County Government Building. On Tuesday, February 28, I will attend the Fernbank PTA meeting at Fernbank Elementary at 7:00 pm with Representative Stephanie Stuckey Benfield and Senator David Adelman. In the last two weeks I have hosted three Pages at the Capitol: Emma Claire Macon, Grace Herndon, and Jimmy Dilz. Any school child over the age of 12 is welcome to apply to be a Page at the Capitol. If you are interested, please go to the Georgia General Assembly, House website to download an application. Please contact me with any questions that you may have about the Session or any opinion that you may have regarding a bill. Thank you! Representative Mary Margaret Oliver   State must set borders for title pawn industry February 21, 2006   Atlanta Journal-Constitution GUEST COLUMN By MARY MARGARET OLIVER Published on: 02/21/06 During last week's legislative session, Republican leaders demonstrated once again how insider politics and legislation drafted in the back room are commonplace under the Gold Dome. Legislation drafted by industry lobbyists and the lawmakers who have accepted record-high campaign contributions from title lending interests replaced a bill that would have finally brought real reform to title pawn lending. Georgia is one of only two states that do not regulate title pawn lending. Every other lender in this state can charge no more than 60 percent interest under Georgia's criminal usury statutue. Title lenders charge as much as 300 percent. Georgia is the only state that allows title pawn lenders to repossess a borrower's car, sell it and keep all of the proceeds. In the state House, the three lawmakers with the most power to make or break title pawn lending regulation are also the top three recipients of campaign contributions from the industry: House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram), Rep. James Mills (R-Gainesville) and Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs). The state's top two elected officials, Gov. Sonny Perdue and Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, have accepted more than $20,000 each from these companies. When bills to regulate were on the table, the title pawn industry lavished lawmakers such as Ehrhart, who drafted last week's substitute legislation, with flights on their corporate jets and enormous campaign contributions. In fact, the industry gave $328,310 to lawmakers with the power to kill or weaken laws that would affect their business, more than twice what was given in the previous two years. These legislators are now carrying forward a substitute bill on behalf of the title pawn industry, allegedly to provide consumer protections. In truth, this will cement the industry's stranglehold on low-income, hard-working Georgians who are paying 300 percent interest, the highest in the nation, to borrow money using their car titles as collateral. They are attempting to create regulatory oversight of these loans in the Department of Banking and Finance, not the Office of Consumer Protection. The current substitute eliminates any regulatory oversight by local governments and does not just fail to address the interest rates, but also arguably eliminates the 300 percent cap on rates. We have been told that the title pawn industry provides "good service" to low-income families, who need short-term cash and would otherwise go to loan sharks on the street. Because this industry did not even exist 15 years ago, I doubt who the real loan sharks are in Georgia. I admire the industry's sophistication and ability to generate profits, but I am weary of it controlling the process and the legislative product in the General Assembly. The title pawn industry's latest legislative substitute draft never had a public hearing, and copies of the draft were not shared with legislators who have worked in the area or lobbyists working on behalf of consumers. We must pass meaningful reform of title pawn loans. These lenders are taking advantage of innocent Georgia families. This is a problem that transcends party affiliation and racial boundaries. The same state leaders who have the power to rewrite bills that would provide meaningful regulation can also use that power to fast-track legislation that would protect our constituents. In a time when Washington is consumed with a scandal born in hardball lobbying and excesses of campaign cash, we can ill afford our own Georgia version. But this revelation about one industry's attempt to buy favor with the top leaders of our government is starting to sound awfully familiar.   Top Democrats call for ban on lobbysists' gifts February 16, 2006   Atlanta Journal-Constitution By Sonji Jacobs This bill . . . is a moderate, sensible, good, well-worded ban on gifts to legislators, with provisions that will allow the reasonable meal-entertainment that is part of our business and social life at the Capitol," said Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), the bill's sponsor.   Title Pawn Lenders pull out wallets, politicians who get cash say they can't be bought February 12, 2006   Atlanta Journal-Consitution By Alan Judd, Ann Hardie The wave of title pawn money has had an obvious impact, said state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur). She sponsored a bill that would have significantly lowered the maximum interest rate on title pawns.   PSC perk unlikely to pass - Bill would help with expenses of one member February 9, 2006   Atlanta Journal-Constitution By: Nancy Badertscher, Margaret Newkirk Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) said this could grant a "$40,000 benefit to one person. Is that a policy we should be passing on the floor of the House?"   Eldridge, Kemp are remembered February 7, 2006   The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Reports Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), who also served previously in the state Senate, said Eldridge "carried out the part of the Scripture that says: 'You must do justice. You must love kindness, and you must walk humbly.'"   Bill would imprison predators 25 years February 3, 2006   The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Nancy Badertscher, Carlos Campos State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) cautioned about the potential consequences, citing the case of Marcus Dixon, a teen athlete whose felony conviction of aggravated child molestation and stautory rape and 10-year prison sentnece were overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court in 2004. Under this legislation, Dixon would face a 25-year sentence, Oliver said.   MMO Email Newsletter 3 February 12, 2006   This is the third edition of the Mary Margaret Oliver House District 83 email newsletter for the 2006 General Assembly Session, sent upon completion of 16 days this legislative Session. If you do not want to receive this email newsletter please visit my website: www.marymargaretoliver.org to unsubscribe. In each newsletter, I ask how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses and I personally read all of your answers. Thank you for your interest and opinions! Weekly Question: Should the lawful use of “deadly force” as defined by SB 396 be extended by Georgia Law similarly to the “castle law” passed by the state of Florida? Should a person be immune from civil and criminal prosecution if he or she “stands his ground, or fails to retreat” and kills another person in response to attack or threat, not just at home, but at any other lawful place. And should a person be additionally immune from civil liability for shooting someone to defend property, instead of defending body or life? Currently Georgia law allows for the defense of the use of deadly force when one is attacked at his or her home to protect himself personally, or another person from harm. A bill, SB 396 would extend the definition of “self-defense” to allow the use of deadly force against an attacker at any place that a person has a right to be, so long as the firearm used is legal. The bill would also protect the shooter from any civil liability for defending property. Will this make the citizens of Georgia safer because it will deter criminals who know they can be shot for stealing property, or by someone who perceives a threat? Or, will it endanger the lives of Georgians by making the use of firearms more excusable? What do you think? SB 396 is introduced on behalf of the National Rifle Association, NRA, as is HB 998, that makes it illegal for your employer to prohibit an employee have a gun in his or her car on company property. HB 998 is opposed by Emory University and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. For the full text of any Bill, please go to the General Assembly Website at www.legis.state.ga.us. Legislative Success of the Week: The House of the General Assembly favorably voted this week on HB 1066 that expands the number of health screenings for newborn babies to provide for early detection of many more genetic disorders thereby preventing later health consequences and costs. Currently, Georgia screens for 13 disorders and the legislation would expand this number to 29, as recommended by the American College of Medical Genetics. This improvement in the law is based, in part, on the pioneering genetic research conducted at Emory Medical School by Dr. Skip Elsas. MMO legislative activities: HB 675, legislation relating to title pawn transactions I introduced in 2005, is being addressed in a substitute bill authored by the chairman of the Banks and Banking committee. I am opposing this substitute because it fails to limit the high interest rates of pawns and provide other meaningful consumer protections. HB 102 calls for public funding of judicial elections, and HB 46 limits political party contributions to non-partisan judicial state-wide elections. They will be referred to study committee on issues of judicial elections that will be considered over the summer. I continue to work of HB 1021 relating to the juvenile court’s treatment of minors charged with prostitution, and I anticipate a public hearing on this bill soon. And the House Judiciary committee will soon schedule a hearing for HB 1130, relating to guardianship law amendments. Finally, MMO led the opposition on the House floor, which was successful, to defeat legislation that would have granted a $45,000 benefit to one member of the Public Service Commission, who was seeking a daily per diem reimbursement for his service. Capitol and Community Events: On Monday, January 30, MMO hosted a group of first year law s