As the curtain falls on yet another legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly, those of us who have "day jobs" have since returned to our respective professions and are working overtime to earn a living.  Now that we are back in that groove, it seems appropriate to reflect on some major pieces of legislation which your elected officials bestowed upon the people of this state.

On Education
HB 656 was the Governor's 2001 version of continued reform.  The Bill calls for an end to "social promotion" by mandating criteria

referenced testing in the 3^rd, 5^th and 8^th grades.  This had my whole-hearted support, especially regarding 3^rd graders.  There was some opposition from minority advocacy groups because of the disproportionate numbers of these children who are currently failing, and their fear that the disparity would be accentuated.  My feeling is that there is no worse bigotry than that of "low expectations."  It would be a travesty of justice to simply "pass them on" so that the statistics don't look too bad.  The 3rd grade is the time to make absolutely sure that every child can read; and if necessary to offer remediation, retesting, sometimes retention.  Eventually the problem in the 5^th and 8^th grades would disappear!

On Teen Driving
I am very happy to report that Senate Bill I did pass and tougher restrictions are on the way.  While the Governor was not able to raise the driving age to 17 in metro-Atlanta, our Bill does strengthen existing curfew and limits the number of non-family passengers.  There is a training requirement prior to taking the road test and tougher penalties for speeding.  The bottom line is that 16 year old drivers will be more prepared and in a safer environment.  Saving young lives is what this is all about.

On Water Authority
The Governor created in Senate Bill 130, the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District to ensure a collaborative effort by "upstream" stakeholder local governments in addressing both quantity and quality of this vital limited resource.  Our leaders in Cherokee County have some serious reservations about the effects on Lake Allatoona and continued local control.  I am hopeful that the "good" of this bill will outweigh the negatives. 

These are just a few of the highlights of 2001 at the State Capitol.  In future columns, we can address other issues of vital importance to my constituents and the people of Georgia.