Gonzo Lawmakers - Day 24

A daily recap of the Georgia Public Broadcasting show "Lawmakers". The show airs weekdays at 7:00pm with a replay at 5:30am the following weekday.

Day 24

* The long march to crossover day continues. I imagine we're going to hear about this. Oh and probably this. Let the fireworks begin.

* Whoa. The House passed the amended budget (that's the one that gets us to the end of the fiscal year, June 30). There was hardly a whimper on this one but everyone has been saying the big budget is where the fights gonna happen. So it's not really that surprising.

* Wow! It's 18.9 billion! That was the size of the entire budget only a few years ago. The reason for the large number is it includes all the stimulating. The department cuts helped a lot too. Apparently no more furloughs.

* Dubose of course praises the stimulating and also mentions the Perry ponds and that pesky Milledgeville Veteran's home.

* SB31 and our first live shot. Brittany's back and in one of the chambers again.

* Here's the floor debate. I watched some of this. It was over four hours long. Lawmakers is doing a machine gun approach with the highlights. It passed 107-66. That was a pretty short segment for the "most controversial" bill of the session.

* Now here's a weird one. Apparently there's a regulation regarding the alcohol sales near public housing. And the burr in the saddle is in...Winder. Now it makes a little more sense. They want to create a mixed use development (they're very trendy, dontcha know) and they want to include a restaurant that serves booze. Passed.

* Renee Unterman's bill to expand who reports child exploitation not surprisingly passed without dissent.

* There was a slew of bills that passed the Senate today. It was pretty much all the ones expected to pass. Very little opposition. They must have felt like resting a bit while their stinkbomb exploded over in the House.

* Valerie's back at the Capitol and back in the House chamber. The Senate voted to create a state trauma agency. Good first move. Now they have to find funding.

* Card check again. More later. Can you tell I'm procrastinating?

* SB200 (the big transportation hoo-hah) got some more committee time today. It got a do pass.

* Poll result time! Did you vote? People don't want sales tax on food. Although the percentage that said yes was shockingly high.

* End of the week. Time to talk to Tom Crawford! And Tom's segment was at the Capitol too! Was there some sort of traffic snarl or flash mob that prevented people from getting to the studio?

* Tom matches my surprise on the pharma-tort reform bill getting thrashed in committee. Sign of lame duckedness?

* Gena Evans firing. GPB Radio's John Sepulvado was at the meeting. This should be fun. Apparently the board voted then scurried for the exits. There's a billion dollars of stimulating sitting out there we could lose if this ruckus causes us to delay projects.

* A bill to waive liability if somone gets kilt while hunting or fishing on your property. The lobbying firm of griftdrift etal. gives this one a big hell yeah!

* Grandparents and grandkids gathered to support allowing the old 'uns 24 hours paid leave to see to the young 'uns and what not. They rolled out a fifth grader to talk about how her mom couldn't eat lunch with her or something. The lobbyist really have no shame when it comes to using children as props.

* Skin cancer awareness day. That probably means Alan Freedman. Yep. There's his dulcet tones. Let's hope we see his tie. Nope. No tie.

* Everyone wore roses today to honor the anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment - that's the one that allowed women to vote. Nope. Not going there.

* Another smooth broadcast. They are starting to make this look too easy. We're still on a three day week, so until next Tuesday, that's a wrap.