The Drought is Finally Over!

The state's worst dry spell in the last century has finally ended. Thanks to the second wettest spring in more than a hundred and ten years, the drought which has gripped parts of Georgia since summer 2006 has is finally over.

But more importantly say state officials, Georgia has returned to rainfall patterns recorded in the early part of the century. However, even with rivers flowing and reservoirs at or near capacity, all that good news is tempered with a bit of caution.

State climatologist David Stooksbury.

"There's been this perception that we've had this tremendous amount of rainfall over the last six months. In reality, we've had near normal rainfall over much of north Georgia. I think the fact that it’s been so dry, we have forgotten what normal rainfall is like. Now, South Georgia has been extremely wet and there are allot of fields sitting in water still in South Georgia. But here in North Georgia, the Athens area, the Atlanta area, near normal for the last six months."

At the height of the drought, lawmakers passed House Bill 1281, enacting tough water restrictions. Residents exceeded expectations cutting back water consumption by 10 percent. Five percent more than was called for.

Carol Couch heads Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

"Georgians did more than simply follow some state rule. At the end of the day, we cannot simply explain this consistent decrease in water use through this period by regulation alone. To me, it is a tribute to every Georgian in the 55 county area that chose to do the right thing."

The timing of the drought happened at the same time the country's economy hit the skids. And that hit Georgia's 8 billion landscape industry squarely in the pocket.

Sherry Loudermilk is executive director of Georgia's Green Industry Association.

"We lost about thirty five percent of our industry. And it’s been very difficult. There have been many who have hung on and some have just gone out of business this past spring. its been very difficult in most of our industry is still family oriented and if there were employees there, they were like family and having to terminate those people has been very difficult."

With the recent drenching things may be looking up for nurseries.

Jeff Hunter is a spokesperson for one of the nation’s largest …. Pike Nurseries. He’s says the slow economy has more people looking to save water and money.

"There's been an upturn in the past couple of years of rain harvesting, you know rain barrels, drip irrigation and more conservation of water. So it’s helped with new techniques anyway."

Last year, the Georgia legislature passed a measure establishing a study committee dedicated to formulating a statewide water plan.

Former Lt. Governor Pier Howard says now it’s up to the next administration to develop a long range conservation plan Georgians can live with. Howard now heads The Georgia Conservancy.

"I think what Georgia needs going forwards is an overall policy. We need input from all the different sectors. We need all the voices at the table, but we need a new policy in Georgia for water efficiency and water conservation."

Cagle: Expect a 'Painful Session' Over Recession

Show us the money.

That'll be the refrain when Georgia's Legislature returns to Atlanta on Monday and lawmakers will grapple with a massive budget shortfall that will color nearly every decision that's made under the Gold Dome.

Gov. Sonny Perdue has already ordered most state agencies to slash their budgets by 8 percent. State workers have been furloughed. Fees at public colleges are rising. Health benefits for the poor are being scaled back.

And the cuts could go deeper if the economy continues to worsen. Tumbling state revenues have ripped a deficit in the budget that's expected to top $2 billion for the current fiscal year. It comes as the recession pumps up the demand for government services like Medicaid, food stamps and unemployment benefits.

At the same time, Georgia is wrestling with vexing - and costly - infrastructure needs to keep up with booming growth in metro Atlanta. Roadways are clogged with traffic. Additional reservoirs are needed to quench the region's fast-growing thirst.

"It's going to be a painful session," predicted Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle.

Tax increases to fill the budget gap appear to be off the table. Republican legislative leaders have been cool to proposals that would slap new levies on strip club patrons, cigarettes or groceries.

Instead, they're talking about capping the rate at which home assessments can rise, a move that would hobble the ability of cash-strapped local governments to raise revenue.

Conservative Republicans cast the budget woes as an opportunity to "right-size" state government and get back to basics.

"It gives us the chance to really prioritize and figure out what government is here for," said Kelly McCutchen, vice president of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, an Atlanta-based conservative think tank.

The first salvo in the budget battle will come Wednesday when Perdue unveils his spending plan. He's pledged to include an aggressive bond package to kick start the state's economy by borrowing to fund road projects and school construction.

Legislators will be able to tinker with how the money is spent. But they won't be able to change the overall amount the state may spend. The governor has the sole authority to set that figure and the state is constitutionally prohibited from running a deficit.

The latest news from state money managers was bleak. On Friday, they reported that tax collections plunged 8.9 percent for December from the same month the year before. For the fiscal year that began July 1 revenues slumped by 2.7 percent, dragged down by sluggish sales and income taxes.

Already, advocates are jockeying to shield their pet issues.

"We are extremely concerned about how these budget cuts will affect Georgia's children," said Pat Willis, executive director of Voices for Georgia's Children.

David Blanchard, who lobbies for Georgians with developmental disabilities, summed it up this way: "We're bracing for the worst."

"The state is not meeting the needs (of the developmentally disabled) today. The idea that we would go backward really does make so many people nervous," Blanchard said.

The focus on the budget meltdown is likely to mean other legislation will take a back seat this session.

"I think everyone is so focused on the budget, that I really don't expect this to be a banner year for new legislation," said state Sen. Cecil Staton, a Macon Republican. "I don't hear a lot of people talking about lots of new bills."

Of course, there will be some exceptions.

A plan to fund transportation improvements could move quickly this session after falling just short of the needed votes last year. The plan would likely allow local governments to band together to assess a one-cent sales tax to fund road improvements.

School vouchers could also emerge as a politically charged brawl. State Sen. Eric Johnson, a Savannah Republican, has said he wants to give parents in failing school districts more options.

But the top Democrat in the state Senate predicted "the nuclear fight over universal vouchers will be more explosive than the Republican budget crisis."

"After years of deliberate underfunding, Republicans have severely weakened our public schools," said state Sen. Robert Brown, of Macon. "Now, they are aiming to drive a stake in the heart of our children's future with universal vouchers."

But for the most part, it will be a session focused on the state's pocketbook.

"It's going to be a legislative session of making cuts where it hurts the least," said state Sen. Don Thomas, a Dalton Republican.

Click here for more GPB News coverage about the Georgia Legislature.

(AP)

Georgia No. 3 in Nat'l Pre-K Rankings

A national education group is giving Georgia high marks for its pre-k program. But as with any report card, there is always room for improvement.

Since its inception 15 years ago, nearly one million children have graduated from Georgia's pre-kindgarten program. That's why one national group ranks Georgia near the top when evaluating pre-k programs around the country.

Steve Barnett directs the National Institute for Early Education at Rutgers University in New Jersey. It's most recent report puts Georgia in the number three position.

"The best thing that Georgia is doing with this program is making it available to as many children as possible. Without it, there would be a much larger number of children in Georgia who wouldn't get a pre-school education at all or would get a very poor quality one."

More good news, this time from the Southern Education Foundation. Steve Suitts is the group's director.

"There is an argument to be made that Georgia probably more accurately ranks second instead of third in the nation. While the state of Florida has a larger percentage of three year olds and four year olds in the program, the fact is Georgia's program is a higher quality."

All that good news however, is tempered by calls for improvement in Georgia's lottery funded pre-k program.

State education officials estimate there are eight thousand children on pre-k waiting lists. The problem is that there are not enough spots says Suits.

"We've had a participation rate in Georgia pre-k that's virtually been flat for the last five to seven years, despite the fact that there are thousands of people who are on waiting lists all over the state."

Finally, funding for pre-k has dropped -- more than one hundred dollars per child since 2007. The Southern Education Foundation says it has asked the legislature to tap into lottery reserves earmarked for education. To date, the lottery has contributed 3.6 billion dollars for early childhood education. However state education officials say there are presently no plans to increase pre-k per child spending.

Smyre Supporting Clinton

Smyre

U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton received another boost from a prominent black leader today when the head of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators threw his support
behind her presidential campaign.

Georgia state Representative Calvin Smyre says Clinton has "the strength and experience" to bring about needed change.

Clinton is locked in a battle for the black vote with U.S. Senator Barack Obama, who is trying to become the nation's first black president.

That fight is heated in Georgia where blacks have made up nearly half the vote in the state's recent Democratic primaries. Georgia's presidential primary is February 5.

Clinton has already been endorsed by Congressman John Lewis of Atlanta, a hero of the civil rights struggle.

Attorney General Thurbert Baker and Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, the state's only two black statewide elected officials, are also supporting Clinton.

Obama has the support of another pair of black U.S. congressmen from Georgia, Sanford Bishop of Albany and Hank Johnson of Lithonia.

Smyre has served for nearly 30 years in Georgia's legislature, where he has held a number of leadership roles.

He' s a past Chairman of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus and a past President of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials. He is an executive vice president for corporate affairs at Synovus Financial Corporation.

(The Associated Press)

Click here for more GPB News political coverage.

'Click It Or Ticket?' Not In a Ga. Pickup

Click image for .pdf brochure. (Courtesy of Ga. Governor's Office of Highway Safety)

Just about every state has responded to the pickup's rising popularity by requiring adults to wear seat belts in the trucks - except Georgia.

The fight over seat belts here is a familiar one, waged just about every year in the state Legislature with no resolution. No fewer than three House bills to require seat belts in pickups are now pending, and the Senate has already adopted its own proposal.

But there's hope this year that lawmakers could enact the changes, now that Georgia has emerged as the lone holdout state that doesn't require adults in pickups to wear seat belts.

"This is the year it should pass," said Sen. Don Thomas, a physician who sponsored one of the bills. "It's embarrassing. Instead of making our state look tough, it makes us look foolish."

There's little doubt that the laws could prevent dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries each year. On a nuts-and-bolts level, they can save millions of dollars in medical costs, not to mention help secure more federal highway money.

There are no known lobbyists lined up against the effort. But attempts to pass tougher seat belt laws here were blocked for years by lawmakers - particularly those from rural counties - who said wearing seat belts is a matter of personal freedom.

"I'm a free-spirited guy. I believe that people should wear their seat belts. I just don't believe the government should tell you to," said state Sen. Jeff Mullis, a north Georgia Republican who voted against the requirements. "It's really that simple. That's how I usually vote on these issues - anti-Big Brother."

The sentiment strikes a chord with many in south Georgia.

"We got enough laws on the books for law enforcement to enforce, and the seat belt law is another way to tack on something,"

said Phil Burrell, a 34-year-old pickup truck driver who lives in Sylvester, a southwest Georgia town of about 6,000.

He said he'd abide by the new law if it passes, but he's not sure it would make him safer.

"When the Good Lord calls me home," he said, "a seat belt ain't gonna stop it."

It's that type of fierce backlash that derailed earlier efforts to pass seat belt legislation.

State Rep. Calvin Hill, a north Georgia Republican, figured he had a great shot to do it two years ago. Insurers, public safety groups and auto associations lined up in favor of his bill, and he armed lawmakers with statistics on the number of lives a tweaking of the law could save. The bill, however, never made it to a vote.

"There's still, throughout rural Georgia, the thought that having a seat belt on a pickup is such an invasive thing on their privacy," said Hill.

Indiana used to be aligned with Georgia on the pickup seat belts question. But that state enacted a law last year requiring seat belts in trucks after lawmakers agreed to also block police from using checkpoints to enforce seat belt compliance.

Thomas concedes a compromise in Georgia may be trickier.

"They don't want government interfering with what we do. But what's the difference buckling up in a pickup truck and buckling up in a car?" said Thomas, a Republican. "We talk about being conservatives and saving lives and saving taxpayer dollars. This is an excellent opportunity to prove it."

Click here for more GPB News coverage of transportation and safety issues.

(The Associated Press)

Perdue: Peanut Company Broke a 'Sacred Trust'

Governor Sonny Perdue on Wednesday said a “sacred trust,” was broken between the Peanut Corporation of America and consumers over the spreading salmonella debacle at the company’s Blakely plant.

Perdue and state agriculture officials are circling the peanut wagons and throwing their full backing behind Georgia’s farmers, food producers and distributors.


Governor Sonny Perdue makes a point to the several hundred industry leaders, farmers and legislators at the Georgia Agribusiness Council State Legislative Breakfast, held in downtown Atlanta on Feb. 4, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

At a Georgia Agribusiness Council State Legislative Breakfast, Perdue told several hundred industry leaders:

“When people violate that sacred chain of food safety control, they will be prosecuted and held accountable; it is too important not to…(applause)”

Perdue faced a room packed with a veritable roll-call of food and ag industry officials.

Many worry that the an spreading peanut recall could prompt an already uncertain public could shun other preach-state-grown-and-produced foods.

Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin, says his department will reorganize to face the daunting task of better monitoring farms and factories across the state:

”Our inspectors have 16,000 facilities they have to inspect. You have to do that today with 60 employees – it’s impossible to give the necessary coverage that, apparently, we need.”

Irvin says his office will ask the legislature to establish a division to deal exclusively with checking processed foods.

The General Assembly is already mulling a mandatory food-testing bill.

Perdue, however, says no amount of externally-enforced inspections can replace a responsible food industry:

“In the food chain, there is a voluntary compliance: we share a sacred trust of safety among our producers, processors, preparers and servers of food – and you cannot be everywhere at one time.”

House Speaker Bill Richardson holds up a bag of Georgia peanuts, during his comments at the Georgia Agribusiness Council State Legislative Breakfast, held in downtown Atlanta on Feb. 4, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

To make a point of that trust, House Speaker Glenn Richardson held up a small bag of Georgia peanuts as he stood behind the podium:

"One of the fringe benefits of being at the capitol, is [that] the Department of Agriculture brings these Georgia peanuts by (opens foil packet); they leave them at our office. And everybody that comes to our office loves these, and you know what?… (eants a few peanuts) I love Georgia peanuts. (applause).”

And those Georgia peanuts make up almost half of all peanuts used in the United States.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the salmonella-tainted peanut products.

Genarlow Wilson freed; punishment 'cruel and unsual'

Two years after a Georgia court sentenced Genarlow Wilson to ten years in prison, the state Supreme Court has overturned his conviction. Wilson was 17 years old in 2003, when he engaged in consensual oral sex with another teen.

A Douglas County Court sentenced Wilson to 10 years in prison for aggravated child molestation.

A Monroe County judge later overturned the sentence. But that ruling was appealed by Attorney General Thurbert Baker. Baker said the judge overstepped his authority when he granted Wilson's motion.

In ordering his immediate release from prison, the Georgia Supreme Court called his ten year sentence, cruel and unusual punishment. BJ Wilson is Genarlow Wilson's defense attorney. Her argument before the Court in July, asked for a constitutional ruling on what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. "We've been waiting and praying every day. We've always looked to the court to fix this and the Georgia Supreme Court has and it's wonderful."

Wilson could have gotten out of jail months ago had he accepted a deal from prosecutors. But, the deal included lifetime registry as a convicted sex offender. Since his conviction, the Georgia legislature passed a so-called Romeo and Juliet law, making consensual sex between teenagers a misdemeanor instead of a felony.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears says changes in the law "represent a seismic shift in the legislature's view of the gravity of oral sex between two willing teenage participants." Sears says the severe punishment makes "no measurable contribution to acceptable goals of punishment" and that Wilson's crime did not rise to the "level of adults who prey on children."

At a press conference early Friday, Attorney General Thurbert Baker issued a statement saying he will not appeal Wilson's release.

CDC Says Little Progress In U.S. Food Safety

The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta says Americans did not suffer more food poisoning in 2008, despite high-profile cases like the peanut butter salmonella outbreak linked to a south Georgia plant. But a new CDC study also warns that Georgia and a handful of other states have made little—if any-progress in food safety over the past four years.

The study’s key statement is this: The U.S. has "reached a plateau in the prevention of food-borne disease." It calls for new efforts to make food safer from the farm to the table.

The CDC’s study looked at 10 states, including Georgia. It showed the number of food-borne infections declining over the past decade. But, by 2004 they leveled-off. And Georgia in particular has the second-highest rate of salmonella among the 10 states.

That’s due in part to the latest salmonella outbreak at a peanut plant in Blakely, which sickened nearly 700 people nationwide.

State lawmakers answered that alarm in the just-completed legislative session by overwhelmingly passing a bill to toughen food safety rules and regulations. State Republican Senator John Bulloch says the bill he co-sponsored is a good start:

"The tools that we put in place for the Dept of Agriculture is a great improvement over what they had before. Do the things need to be changed?...we don’t know. It may be that next year we need to come back as we see how these new changes have been implemented and what results they have, and maybe there are some other things that need to be changed."

Bulloch says changes already made within the state’s Agriculture Department include an additional five food inspectors in the field, with three of those positions newly-created by the Legislature.

But Bulloch also points out that Georgia should not be taking all the blame for failures in the inspection pipeline:

"At what point does the Food and Drug Administration…where’s their responsibilities? Have they done and have been doing a good job? And I’d say no, they need to change their rules and regulations."

Federal food safety officials say they’re using new tools in an aggressive approach toward reducing food-contamination.

Here in Georgia, Bulloch believes things will get better:

"I would say that going forward, the consuming public should have a higher level of confidence that the products that go to the grocery shelf would be from a Georgia-facility would be by far safer than it could have been in the past."

Senate Bill-80 toughening Georgia’s food safety rules and regulations, awaits Governor Sonny Perdue’s signature.

Georgia Public Service Commission considers rate increase for Georgia Power

The Georgia Public Service Commission began another round of hearings this week focusing on how to finance the construction of two new nuclear reactors at the Plant Vogtle power plant in eastern Georgia.

At issue...whether to let Georgia Power raise utility rates sooner, rather than later, to pay for two new nuclear reactors in Burke County, near Waynesboro.

Georgia Power says a rate increase beginning in 2011, while construction of the reactors is in progress, would cut billions of dollars in interest from construction costs.

The average residential utility customer, one whose power bill averages about $100 per month, would start off with an increase of $1.30 a month. The rates would increase each year, with those consumers paying at least $109 more a year by 2018.

"If you don't make any payments on the facility until it goes into service, then a large percentage of what our customers are going to be paying for is the accrual of interest," says Oscar Harper, a vice president at Georgia Power.

Harper estimates that increasing rates on the front end will save ratepayers money after the construction is completed.

But opponents of the reactors say that's risky, and unfair.

They held a press conference outside the PSC headquarters in Atlanta today.

"If you tried this is the competitive market, you'd be out of business instantly," says Neill Herring, a lobbyist and spokesman for the Georgia Sierra Club. "What if Kroger decided they wanted to charge more for groceries if they maybe wanted to build another store? You'd go to Publix. "Who do you go to if the power company does that?"

Construction on the proposed reactors would likely not begin before 2011, and that's only if federal officials approve it.

The hearings continue throughout most of the week.

The PSC will likely make its decision by March, although the state legislature can also vote on a rate increase.

For more information on the hearings, go to www.psc.state.ga.us.

GA scores high marks on nationwide report card

A nationwide study produced periodically by the Pew Center on the States, gives Georgia a B-plus overall for state management.

Governor Sonny Perdue was at a luncheon in the nation’s capitol where the results were announced. Perdue says it was "sensible, strategic reforms” that makes Georgia’s government more “efficient and responsive.”

The states were ranked on Money, People, Infrastructure and Information. Georgia’s cumulative score is the best grade of any south eastern state.

However, despite Georgia’s contentious budgeting process, which earned the state a B-plus, things are looking up, says Pew Center spokesman Neal Johnson.

“Oh-five and ’06 were a little bit more challenging in Georgia, and there seems to be a corner that’s been turned there. So, the good news on the financial controls area is the legislature recently created a state accounting office which has led to improvements in both the quality and timeliness of financial reporting in the state.”

Georgia’s highest grade was an A-minus in People, which the report attributed to the state’s ability to tap into the best offered by the private sector. But it warned that if state salaries don’t keep pace, the state could loose young talent quickly.

“There may need to be some adjustments to the pay structure, such that new incoming employees are compensated so there is not as much competition for that new talent from the private sector,” says Johnson.

The final grade for each state is calculated by averaging the score in each of four categories. Georgia received a B+ in Money, an A- in People, a B in Infrastructure and a B+ in information.

Only four other states got a B plus on the 2008 report card. They include Delaware, Michigan, Missouri and Texas. In 2005, the last year the report was issued, Georgia scored a B minus.

Full report at: http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/Grading-the-States-2008.pdf

Legislative Round-up: Bills Passed Final Day

The 40-day session came to a close, Friday. Here's some bills that passed the finish line before the gavel came down.

Georgia Budget 2010

The $18.6 billion state budget slashes about $1 billion in spending because of the lagging economy. The Senate's top budget writer said agencies will see an average cut of about eight percent. The plan voids increasing health insurance costs for state workers by tapping federal stimulus dollars to pay for Medicaid, the health program for the poor that's seeing enrollment soar as the economy worsens. The budget covers the fiscal year beginning July 1st.

Transportation

Lawmakers agreed on a separate transportation overhaul that would give state politicians vast new control over infrastructure dollars. The transportation makeover, which passed the Senate
33-22, comes after heavy lobbying from Republican leaders who argued that granting the governor and lawmakers new powers over transportation funding would help transform a dysfunctional bureaucracy into one that is more accountable to voters. However, no new funds for transportation were passed.

Tax Breaks

Lawmakers approved a sweeping new tax break that cuts the state's capital gains tax in half over two years. A capital gain is the difference between what you paid for an investment and what received when you sold that investment. Investments include mutual funds, bonds, stocks, options, precious metals, real estate, and collectibles.

The measure also doles out a $2,400 income tax credit to any business that hires someone who has been unemployed for at least four weeks. It creates a one-year "new business holiday" that waives the $100 filing fee for new businesses. Those efforst are aimed at encouraging businesses to hire new employees, but critics say the capital gains cuts would rip an even greater hole in the recession-ravaged budget and would benefit only the wealthiest Georgians.

Tax Delinquent Lawmakers

Georgia lawmakers who fail to pay taxes could soon face sanctions from a legislative committee.
The House and Senate each overwhelmingly passed measures late Friday that would allow their chambers' respective ethics committees to investigate and sanction legislators who fail to pay
their taxes.

The vote comes after the state Department of Revenue revealed that 22 state lawmakers - about 10 percent of the General Assembly - are delinquent on their taxes. Only three of those lawmakers' names have been made public. Legislators said they cannot consider sanctions unless they know who they are.

Voting Checks

Georgia lawmakers voted Friday to require prospective voters to prove they are U.S. citizens before they cast their ballots. Georgia would become the second state with such requirements. Only Arizona requires its residents to prove they are U.S. citizens to register to vote.

The measure, which passed the House by a 104-67 vote, would require voters to prove their citizenship using a passport, a driver's license or other documents. It now goes to Gov. Sonny
Perdue.

Access to Flu Vaccines

Pharmacists would be able to continue administering flu vaccines under legislation that cleared the Georgia Legislature. The "Access to Flu Vaccines Act" received final passage on Friday.

It allows doctors to enter into agreements with pharmacists and registered nurses to order and dispense the shots without each one needing a separate prescription.

Governor Sonny Perdue said the bill was needed to prevent confusion among pharmacists about whether they could dispense the shots. Perdue said the bill makes it easier for Georgians to receive their yearly flu shots.

(The Associated Press)

Tennessee legislature rejects border commission

Both chambers of the Tennessee legislature have now rejected Georgia’s border commission to redraw the state line.

The Tennessee Senate agreed by unanimous vote yesterday to a House resolution not to participate in the commission. Both chambers of the Georgia legislature passed a resolution in February to create a commission in order to rectify a mistake in a 19^th century survey that placed Georgia’s northern border just short of the Tennessee River.

Tennessee officials see the proposal as a land grab designed to supply water to Atlanta.

TN lawmakers balk at GA border change

Tennessee lawmakers say they sympathize with Georgia's water shortages but they will oppose an effort by our lawmakers to take water from the Tennessee River. A proposal in the Georgia Legislature seeks to shift the Georgia border so that it includes part of the river. The plan argues that a flawed survey in 1818 mistakenly marked Georgia's border one mile south of the Tennessee River. Changes to state borders have to be approved by legislatures in each state, then Congress.

Salmonella Outbreak Highlights Inspector Shortage

Tight state budgets have led some of the biggest farm states to leave dozens of food inspection jobs vacant at a time when hundreds have been sickened by a nationwide salmonella outbreak tied to a filthy peanut processing plant.

Georgia, the site of the plant, has about 60 inspectors for some 16,000 sites, while budget cuts have forced the state agriculture department to keep 15 inspector positions vacant.

California, Texas and Florida are among other states facing the same problems while food experts say the federal government relies increasingly on states to monitor the nation's food supply.

"You can only shift the pawns on the table so many times before the game catches up with you," Georgia deputy Agriculture Commissioner Oscar Garrison told legislators earlier this month while asking for more money to hire inspectors.

The salmonella outbreak linked to Peanut Corp. of America has sickened hundreds, may have caused nine deaths and prompted one of the largest food recalls in the nation's history. Federal investigators have launched a criminal investigation, and Virginia-based Peanut Corp. faces mounting lawsuits and a bankruptcy filing.

Food safety experts warn each loss of an inspector increases the possibility that food problems could elude detection.

In the Georgia salmonella case, a state inspector found only minor problems when she probed the Blakely plant in October for less than two hours; less than three months later federal agents found roaches, mold, a leaking roof and other problems.

Almost every state legislature in the country is staring down budget deficits and scraping funds for schools, roads and other public safety areas, like prisons and police. Food safety is a tough sell.

"It's getting pretty dire out there," said Doug Farquhar, an analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures. "With the salmonella scare, you'd think that now would be the time they'd say we need to invest in food safety. But the opposite is going on."

The belt-tightening comes at an inconvenient time.

The federal government increasingly relies on food safety inspections performed by states, where budgets for inspections have remained stagnant and overburdened officials have less training than their federal counterparts.

For officials in Georgia, the deadly outbreak has led to some soul searching.

Legislators have floated proposals to deputize county health officials so they can quickly pursue food safety tips.

And Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin said his department will focus more on food safety inspections and less on other duties, such as monitoring out-of-date foods. Leading lawmakers say they hope to boost inspections, despite budget cuts.

Inspectors are "referees of the food game," said Joseph Hotchkiss, a food science professor at Cornell University who once worked for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"There's no way for us as individuals to know much about our food — how it's manufactured and prepared — without these people we hire. And with fewer of those people, that could in general result in an increased risk."

(AP)

Click here for more GPB News coverage about the effects of the salmonella outbreak in Georgia.

Legislators snub gator fans

Georgia state lawmakers are weighing in on the war over vanity alumni license plates.

A bill being introduced in the Georgia Legislature could limit alumni tags for out-of-state schools only if the other state returned the favor.

The bill comes amid news that the University of Florida - one of the University of Georgia's biggest rivals - had its application for a state tag approved.

They're just waiting for 1,000 alumni to plunk down $25 apiece to get the plates printed. That
irks state Senator Eric Johnson and state Representative Barry Fleming.

The pair say its virtually impossible to get a Georgia tag in Florida.

GA A Step Closer to Food Safety Rules

Gov. Sonny Perdue is expected to sign a bill that would make Georgia the first to require food makers to swiftly alert state inspectors if their internal tests show their products are tainted. The proposed food safety regulations would require the food processors to report the results within 24 hours. The proposal moved rapidly through the Georgia Legislature in the wake of the salmonella outbreak that originated in a south Georgia peanut processing plant. It sickened hundreds and was linked to the deaths of at least nine people. Federal officials, food scientists, legal experts and industrygroups cannot point to another state with similar requirements. And Georgia lawmakers say the new provision would make it the first state to have such a rule.
(Associated Press)

Board of Regents approves Medical College of Georgia expansion plans

The Georgia Board of Regents has approved a resolution accepting a controversial plan for the Medical College of Georgia to expand in multiple cities throughout the state.

The vote serves as a formal endorsement of the plan, which calls for MCG to increase its student body by 60 percent by 2020.

The plan would expand MCG to other cities simultaneously.

That includes a new satellite campus in Athens, in partnership with the University of Georgia.

The proposed Athens campus has caused controversy, with lawmakers in eastern Georgia calling for expansion to happen at the main campus in Augusta first.

While MCG can now move ahead, the plan must ultimately pass muster with the state legislature, which would approve any funding for expansion.

The state is facing a shortage of doctors. Officials hope the proposed expansion will keep more of them in Georgia.

State leaders mull gas crisis solutions

Some 200 motorists lined up at a Kroger gas station in Marietta, Ga., on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008. Scenes similar to this were common throughout the metro Atlanta area, as well as in other parts of the state in recent weeks. (Dave Bender)

Georgia leaders are debating whether to revise the state's emergency fuel plan and are considering ways to bolster gas supply in the aftermath of the abrupt shortage of gas that sent some motorists into a frenzy.

As lines outside gas stations grow shorter, frustrating searches for fuel have given way to soul-searching among Georgia legislators. Critics, meanwhile, have sharply condemned the state's response to the crisis.

The gas shortage started with the one-two punch of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which shut down refineries along the Gulf Coast. And the hankering among panicky drivers to top off their tanks when they passed an open fueled station made things worse.

Soon many gas stations around metro Atlanta were shuttered, and some lines outside those that stayed open could stretch for hours. Radio stations eagerly broadcast the names of open stations, and some drivers tailed fuel trucks in hopes of filling up their tanks.

Georgia's leaders updated an emergency plan last year to better handle a gas crisis. Among other options, the plan allows the governor to limit drivers to fill up their tanks every other day and set minimum and maximum limits on how much fuel they can purchase.

Gov. Sonny Perdue lobbied the Environmental Protection Agency to permit delivery of high-sulfur gasoline to metro Atlanta because the cleaner-burning low sulfur fuel normally required was in short supply.

But he ruled out more stringent options amid worries they would spark an even greater panic. Some of the measures proved too difficult to enforce while others weren't feasible, said Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley.

Gas retailers, for one, complained their pumps weren't equipped to set minimum fuel limits. And state officials were uncertain how they would enforce the every-other-day limits if they were enacted.

"You're looking at asking retailers to hire additional folks to be out there and try to enforce something like this," said Brantley. "And what do you do about the guy who's on empty, but it's not his day?"

Perdue, who returned Friday from a weeklong trade mission in Europe, has also taken heat from critics for the his absence in the middle of the fuel crisis.

"The governor should have gotten on MARTA to go to the Capitol as an example to use mass transit," said DuBose Porter, the House's top Democrat. "But he was in Spain, so it would be kind of difficult for him to lead by example."

Perdue's office countered that the governor was still calling the shots from abroad.

"This isn't the '50s where you'd go out of the country and not be reachable for a week," said Brantley. "He is incredibly reachable.

As the dust settles, the governor's office said it will consider several changes to the emergency gas plan, including a more structured policy to apply to the EPA for high-sulfur gasoline permits.

And state officials say they will explore ways to bolster supply of gas. Two pipelines that run from Houston through Georgia supply most of the state's gas, but officials sound eager to explore ways to ship in more fuel.

"There are some capacity issues and supply issues we want to look at in the future," said Shane Hix of the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority. "We'll look at improving supply, including the diversity of supply from the port of Savannah."

House Speaker Glenn Richardson's office said he'll be looking at "various options" to prevent another crisis.

Legislators could also consider another effort to speed along the construction of a $2 billion pipeline that would stretch from Louisiana to Atlanta's suburbs. A bill to fast-track the construction failed in the Legislature last year, but the project is still moving forward.

Some say the state should have done more.

Democrats said the state should have warned the public about the tight gas supply sooner, and should have been quicker to implement anti-gouging protection. And Porter, the House leader, said legislators should dedicate more funding for alternative transportation by allowing a penny of the gas sales tax to fund mass transit.

"We're lucky it was a better case scenario, not a worst case scenario," Porter said. "But we weren't prepared either way."

Tom Smith, a finance professor at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, said legislators should tighten gouging rules and draft firm plans to take to the airwaves to soothe panicky residents and encourage them to telecommute amid the crisis.

"It's times like these where you have to give people incentives to behave in ways that are counterintuitive," said Tom Smith, a finance professor at Emory University's Goizueta Business School. "You have to convince them to buy less gas."

Some frustrated drivers simply wanted more of a warning.

Lining up at the pump in Marietta, on Sunday, Sept., 28, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Jack Brownfield, who passed 10 Atlanta gas stations this week before finally finding one with one fuel, said state officials should have done more to warn residents about Georgia's precarious gas supply.

"It was predictable," he said.

(The Associated Press)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the gas crisis.

Georgia Nears English-Only Driver's Tests

The Georgia Legislature could soon require driver's license applicants to take the written portion of the test in English only. The plan, which the House adopted 104-58 Monday, would likely make Georgia the only state to have such a rule. The Senate has already adopted a similar version. It would go to Gov. Sonny Perdue after the chambers hash out minor differences. The exams are now conducted in about a dozen languages, including Spanish, Korean, Polish and Japanese.

GBI probes alleged voter fraud in Dodge County

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into voting irregularities in Dodge County during the July 15th primary. According to a GBI official in Eastman, there have been complaints about fraudulent voting practices during last week's primary. The complaints were related to absentee voting and assisted voting. Georgia's Secretary of State's office confirms an investigation is underway, but would not provide further details.

This probe follows one from the mid 1990's when a huge voting scandal in Dodge County was uncovered. Then, 21 people were indicted of vote buying. Many pled guilty and a handful of residents went to jail. Since that scandal, Georgia's legislature has made it easier to vote absentee.