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for the next session.

Incomplete Redistricting - The Senate passed a bill that would prevent political gerrymandering by requiring much tighter limitations of district size deviance. The Senate redrew districts, which would put local communities, counties and precincts back together. Unfortunately, the House decided to continue with our poorly drawn map and at the same time took the unprecedented step of killing the new Senate map. The Governor has vowed to fix this process.

A Methamphetamines - We passed significant laws aimed at curbing the production and distribution of methamphetamines. This drug has quickly become one the most dangerous and deadly illegal drugs in Georgia. The new law comes with mandatory sentences for trafficking ranging from 10 to 25 years.

Incomplete Water - A comprehensive water plan failed on the last day of the session. The selling of water rights, as practiced in many western states, was a problem for many legislators. The bill would have also increased inter-basin transfers. A vast majority of this new water plan is needed. If we can remove the two major problems next year, I believe we can earn an "A."

C+ State Flag - A new Georgia flag was adopted. The new flag design represents a compromise among most of the concerned groups. A referendum will be held in March 2004 to confirm the new flag. A second referendum that would have included the post-1956 flag was eliminated. I supported having the post-1956 referendum so that everyone had a voice in our state symbol. Sadly, I believe this issue will now continue to be discussed because the post-1956 referendum was eliminated.

B- Indigent Defense - A much-needed statewide indigent defense structure has been created. Had we not begun this process, the federal courts would have likely mandated something much worse. Clearly we need to do a better job of defending those (in court) who cannot defend themselves. The biggest problem now is how to pay for it.

Incomplete Ethics Law Changes - Despite a long history of ethically challenged appointments and campaign funding, we could not adopt any of the Governor's ethics legislation. While there is a serious need for this legislation, I did not hear much public outcry. Hopefully this does not fade out of the public conscience.

Though the 2003 session is over, the work does not stop. There is a chance of a special session to deal with revenue shortfalls and perhaps redistricting. Committee meetings will continue over the next seven months. Most importantly, we begin crafting new legislation for the next session and build support for our current bills and resolutions. It is certainly not a part-time position as the state's founding fathers had envisioned. But then again, I'm not sure they pictured 8.5 million Georgia citizens and a $16 billion budget.

Your concerns and input certainly make my job easier. If you have any issues you would like me to work on this "off-season," please contact me at any time. Thank you for allowing me to serve you in the State House of Representatives.

The 2003 Session of the Georgia General Assembly
by Chip Rogers

State Rep. for District 15.
(770) 516-0543
(770) 936-1967 (fax)
chiprogers@attbi.com

This years edition of the Georgia General Assembly was 40 days that stretched over almost four months. It was also the first time since the 1870s that we worked in a divided state government. In the end, we didn't accomplish everything we needed to, but we also stopped some bad legislation. We passed a total of 210 general bills, this compares to 205 in 2001 and 259 in 2002. History will judge whether we did well, but for now I'll share my personal report card...

A+ Predatory Lending Changes - I believe it was the most important piece of legislation we passed in 2003. It corrected a major mistake that was passed in 2002. In February of this year, Moody's and Standard & Poor's stopped rating investments that included Georgia mortgages. This meant that mortgage companies essentially could not sell most Georgia mortgages on the open market. We were the only state that had such restrictions. The mortgage and housing industries were in serious trouble. Without the predatory lending law changes, Georgia would have suffered potentially a catastrophic economic downturn.

C+ The Budget - The FY 2004 budget is $16.17 billion. It's almost identical to the FY 2003 amended budget of $16.14 billion. Furthermore, based on a 3% population increase, it represents an actual decline in spending per citizen. The amount of local projects, sometimes called pork, has almost been eliminated. Local news outlets report an estimated $20 million in pork projects this year, that's down considerably from the more than $200 million in the final year of the previous administration. Unfortunately, those of us who wanted to completely eliminate waste, instead of any tax increase, lost out. Not bad, but it could have been better.

D+ Taxes - A significant increase on tobacco taxes has become law. The homestead exemption has become permanent, and future income tax breaks for senior citizens were approved. While I support the future tax breaks, they are not certain. Meanwhile the tax increase is immediate. True tax reform will remain elusive with Democrat control of the Ways & Means Committee. My hope for the elimination of the state personal income tax is going to require a Republican Speaker of the House.

C- Education - The Governor's sweeping and needed reforms were mostly killed in the House Education Committee. A one year reprieve on class size reduction was given to local systems. This will keep your property taxes from skyrocketing, but perhaps only for a year. We absolutely need to enact the Governor's local flexibility plan, which will return considerable responsibility back to local boards of education. This should be our single most important priority as we start the 2004 session. Not many results this year, but the groundwork has been laid