Gonzo Lawmakers - Day 15

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 15

*And now we are truly up to date. Current day of the session and of the gang down at GPB.

* Bill to give local schools discretion on spending for the next three years passed the House. They can do things like redirect library funds to save furlough days.

* Scowling House clerks! And the red head is back. I'm dubbing her Scowly Red.

* Minority leader Porter wants to limit the bill to one year. Much like they did last year. This brought a brouhaha over certain House rules. Porter wanted to amend the bill, but that's only allowed in committee. He demanded Speaker Ralston put these rules aside, but the Republicans only have so much leniency in their system this year. Too bad they didn't have any tape of the fruforal.

* More retirement stuff. It's kind of a tradition to get all the housekeeping out of the way early. Before they get to the nasty stuff like the budget and transportation.

* More housekeeping. Removing the address from the drunk driver pictures required to be printed in the paper. Apparently some ne'er do wells were using the info to stalk women. That's pretty heinous.

* The House Democrats are back with their plan to grab uncollected sales tax. They want to cross reference tax delinquency records with the application for business licenses. Makes sense. Which means in doesn't stand a hoot in hell of passing.

* Numbers. Lots of numbers. Interesting numbers but lots of numbers.

* Lottery tax again! This thing is the early hot potato. Good lord, the Republicans are talking about taxing food again! The sky is yellow and the sun is blue!

* Transportation. But it's so weird I don't understand it. Something about pulling from the sales tax revenue. There are so many plans to fund this critical need, I don't know if it'll ever get through.

* Shots of the streets of Atlanta. Surely, the downtown connector will soon follow.

* I see now. They would take 25% of the sales tax revenue (once we get out of the recession of course) to create a trust fund for transportation projects.

* Instead of the connector, we get Ga-400. They camera dude is approaching the toll booths. Your tax dollars at work!

* Of course, this plan requires amending the State Constitution. Everything requires amending the State Constitution. We have such a byzantine system of government.

* Leadership series. Democratic House Caucus Chair Calvin Smyre. More about the Donkey's plan to find all the tax scofflaws. Both sides have plans to do this. So it's all going to be in the dickering. Give and take on transportation too. It's early. They're all playing nice.

* Hardie Smith was swore in to the Senate. He won the special election over in Augusta. And we see the new Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, for the first time.

* Casey - "He's already been sworn in and now he's gonna get sworn at". Cagle always has the best zingers.

* No pay increases for school administrators during a year when teachers are being furloughed passed sub-committee.

* More about the health care resolutions to allow us to do things that we don't even know if we are going to have to worry about yet.

* Humane society day. We get to see doggies? Nope. Just a room full of lobbyists. Make your own euthanasia joke here.

* Lawmakers flashback! Lt. Governor Zell Miller is smacking around Sen. Nathan Dean for opposing some bill. He's being removed as a committee chair. Oh my sweet lord! We've got a young Roy Barnes and good gracious did he have a head of hair! He's lucky a janitor didn't snatch him up, turn him over and start mopping the marble halls! He was the Governor's floor leader at the time. He's criticizing Zell's action. Back in the day Zell and whoever was Governor famously didn't get along. Seriously, follow my link at the top of the page and watch the clip. You will not believe what Barnes looked like!

* There was a mistake in last night's flashback clip. The Lawmakers crew at the time identified Sen. David Scott, now a U.S. Congressman, as Sen. Tom Scott, the long time tax commissioner of Dekaln. I thought that was David. Too bad there wasn't a Gonzo Lawmakers back then. We could had a good time with that one.

* Here's Ricky Bevington with the Book of Doom!

*Hurl Cam! They were on Nwandi when they should have been on Ricky. I'm going to have to start wearing one of those big neck brace thingees. Oh my sweet lord, they switched back to the main camera and caught Susan digging something out of her eye! Nwandi is trying to play it off by staring at the off screen Ricky and nodding. And we're back on Ricky.

* Now back to the Book of Doom. Revenue is down. "Locusts!" Bibb County's School Superintendent resigned. "Frogs!" Augusta has a new minor league hockey team. "Rivers run with blood!" Well maybe not, but hockey in Augusta?

* Tomorrow we start with the budget! What fun! Susan did a little stroke of the chin. In my mind that was meant for me. For now though, that's a wrap.