Wednesday, April 17, 2002
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Wednesday, April 17, 2002 |
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Seabaugh's road, insurance bills scuttled at last minute By JOHN
MUNFORD It was a disappointing legislative session from where Fayette State Sen. Mitch Seabaugh sits. He sums it up thusly: how fair is it that $150,000 can be spent to build a statue of a donkey in middle Georgia, but funds can't be found for other important initiatives? The redistricting process also left a bad taste with Seabaugh, who said the Democrats proved they were more concerned with maintaining their political power than the people of Georgia. Seabaugh's district, the 28th, which currently includes parts of Fayette and Coweta counties, will retain three more precincts in Fayette than originally planned thanks to the new redistricting map. The original redistricting map, which was struck down at the federal level, had Seabaugh losing three Fayette precincts and gaining three in the more rural Pike County. Though Seabaugh's two most significant initiatives failed this year, he thinks they have a solid chance of passing next year. His plan to steer more funds from the state's gasoline tax to pay for local road improvements failed at the last minute in a power struggle between the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House, who had offered a bill similar to the one Seabaugh proposed. Speaker Tom Murphy had asked for the House rules to be suspended because his bill wasn't approved for Senate consideration before the 33rd day of the 40-day session, which is considered the drop-dead date for bills to be transferred to the House and Senate for approval, Seabaugh explained. Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor successfully battled for the bill to be held to those standards despite the overwhelming support the initiative got from cities, counties and transportation officials across the state, Seabaugh noted. Bureaucrats halted Seabaugh's efforts to pass a bill that would change state insurance regulations "so more people could afford health insurance in Georgia," Seabaugh said. The bill would also lead to improved service while helping keep the costs down for insurance companies, he added. The senator's plan to offer a $100 tax rebate for each taxpayer was also shot down during the session. Seabaugh argued that with a $1.5 billion surplus from last year and a $4.5 billion cash reserve that the state could afford to give the rebate. Those figures "demonstrate that we are still overtaxed," Seabaugh said. Seabaugh was also upset that a plan to increase teacher salaries failed and Democrats successfully cut funds for media centers and staff development for educators.
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