Ga. House Wants Politicos to Perform Weddings

Georgia's top politicians would have the power to perform marriages under a proposal that easily passed the House.

House Speaker Glenn Richardson made a rare trip to the well of the House Thursday to support an amendment that would allow the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the House and constitutional officers to preside at weddings.

Georgia law now allows justices of the Georgia Supreme Court and some other jurists to officiate weddings, but it does not extend to elected politicians. Richardson says the measure was prompted when Gov. Sonny Perdue recently was told he could not preside at a wedding.

The measure, which was approved 155-1, was tacked onto a proposal designed to urge couples to get tested for sickle cell disease before marrying. It now goes to the Senate.
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On the Net:
House Bill 184: http://www.legis.ga.gov
(AP)

The drive towards less driving

Brent Cranfield telecommutes from his home in Marietta, Ga., one day a week, saving 30 or 40 miles on his car once a week. (Stanley Leary, AP)

Brent Cranfield can thank his boss for saving him money at the pump.

With gas prices so high, Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson is letting staffers telecommute one day a week this summer. For Cranfield, who works in the communications office, that means one less trip each week in his Ford Explorer from suburban Marietta to downtown Atlanta and back — saving more than $25 a month on his 16- to 17-mile commute. Cranfield plans to use the savings to help buy a more fuel-efficient car:

"I'm actually waiting for the '09 Camrys to come out so I can try to grab an '08 and get some of that initial sticker price taken off of it."

Some employers are reconsidering the traditional five-days-in-the-office pattern as the national average price for a gallon of gas hovers around $4. The idea is to whittle down commuting costs for workers by allowing them to work from home or switch to four days of 10 hours each.

Then there are more recent gas spike-inspired experimenters — many of them public employers — like at the Georgia Capitol.

"With gas prices exceeding $3.50 a gallon and no end in sight to the increases I want to try and do something to help you with that burden," Richardson wrote in an April staff memo.

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation requiring the head of each federal agency to set policies allowing qualified workers to work from home or another convenient location. Giving relief from high gas prices was one factor cited by the sponsor, Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill.

Savings can add up fast. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sun estimates that its more than 18,000 employees who can choose to work at home or the nearest office avoid buying 135 gallons of gas a year, which at $4 a gallon would save $540 each. Deborah Bryan, a program manager for IBM in Boulder, Colo., who switched to telecommuting in April, said she now spends $88 to fill up her Ford Expedition every third week, instead of weekly.

Millions of American workers cannot telecommute because they build houses, serve food, mow lawns, treat patients or perform other jobs tied to specific locations. Some companies have responded with programs ranging from van-pooling to bike-sharing.

Another alternative is compressing the five-day work week into four, 10-hour days. Condensed work weeks are the most popular program for employers trying to reduce workers' commuting costs, according to a recent survey by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a job placement consulting group.

(The Associated Press)

House Speaker Wants Tax Reform Now

With one day left in Georgia's Legislative session disagreements between the House and the Senate on tax reform still prevent legislation from being passed. Gerogians may not see a tax break in 2008 as the bickering continues. Leuitenet Governor Casey Calge blocked the House's proposals for and end to car taxes yet again. Cagle issued a statement asking the House to get on course with the Senate's plan for tax reform which is a cut in income tax.

House Speaker Glen Richardson said the Senate has simply found a new way to hide from the issue.

"The senate, again refused to vote on House Resolution 1246, and again the Leiutenet Governor of this state and the Senators of this state denied the people of GA the right to end taxes on their cars."

The time to pass tax reform in running short; Richardson is asking for a conference committee between the House and the Senate to try and work something out. Friday is the last day of the session.