Tougher Food Safety Rules To Get House Review

Tougher food safety rules for Georgia could be another step closer after today’s activity ahead at the State Capitol. House lawmakers are set to look at the measure to revamp requirements. Since it’s already passed through the Senate, House approval would move the bill to Governor Sonny Perdue’s desk.

The bill includes the provision to require food makers to alert state inspectors within 24 hours if a plant’s own tests show products are tainted. Georgia would be the first state in the nation to adopt strict new food safety rules. The movement for tougher rules comes in the wake of the salmonella outbreak, linked to a south Georgia peanut plant.

State Senate approves red light camera measure

The state Senate approved a bill Thursday that makes it tougher for local governments to use red light cameras as a revenue generator.

For the second time in as many weeks, debate over the measure banning red light cameras was fiercely contested. This time some lawmakers sought to attach an amendment that allocates a portion of the fines toward trauma care. However, some feared the entire bill faced certain death if tied to trauma care funding.

Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson had backed a proposal to fund trauma care with an additional car tag fee. He urged his colleagues to support the bill but reject the trauma care amendment.

"If you wanna do something for trauma, let's do it the right way and not the wrong way. If you vote for this, and people think they've fixed the trauma problem, they haven't and it'll make it harder to pass the 10-dollar fee for trauma care".

The trauma care amendment failed but the bill did pass the Senate 45-13. It requires local municipalities apply to the Department of Transportation for permission to install any new red light cameras. It also mandates the cameras be necessary for public safety and not to raise money.

--from Valarie Edwards at the Capitol

Senate says no to House death penalty proposal

The state Senate Thursday halted a move by the House to allow judges to impose the death penalty without a unanimous jury verdict.

The original Senate bill was meant to give prosecutors more leeway to pursue life without parole sentences in some capital cases, including felony murder. However, in a surprise move, the House added a provision that would have allowed judges to sentence defendants to death even if one or two members of the jury voted against it.

Speaking from the well, Republican Preston Smith of Rome said the measure would destroy the death penalty law.

"But now, if the jury is unable to reach a unanimous verdict, then the judge asks what their last vote was. They have made no recommendation. And whatever their last vote was, he dismisses them and he imposes a sentence of death, life without parole, or life".

In a 44-7 vote, the Senate rejected the House amendment. The two sides must now reach a compromise or abandon the measure altogether.

--from Valarie Edwards at the Capitol

Safer driving via 'information superhighway'

Georgia took a step toward allowing virtual defensive driving classes yesterday, as the state House approved a measure allowing motorists to complete courses online instead of in
person.

The measure's sponsors say it will help the state better regulate the schools, as many judges already order motorists to take online courses through uncertified programs. But critics worry that it is too lax on driving offenders and could lead to widespread fraud because there's no way to tell who is actually taking the course.

The bill requires state regulators to first sign off on the six-hour driver's improvement courses before they could be offered online. Each program would also have to have security measures to hinder fraud. The measure would not apply to DUI schools.

It passed 103-56 and now goes to the Senate.

(The Associated Press)