Friday, April 16, 2004
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Friday, April 16, 2004 |
Governor coming to PTC to sign new golf cart lawBy J. FRANK LYNCH Gov. Sonny Perdue will be in Peachtree City next Thursday, April 22, to officially sign into law House Bill 1063, restoring golf cart driving privileges to Peachtree City’s unlicensed drivers, his office confirmed Wednesday. Perdue is planning to call a special session of the state Legislature any day now to re-negotiate the state’s $16 billion 2005 budget, passed at the last minute by the General Assembly as time ran out April 7. It was feared the uncertainty of a special session would prevent the governor from coming to Peachtree City, said Mayor Steve Brown. The signing ceremony will take place at 1:15 p.m. Thursday at The Gathering Place, 203 McIntosh Trail adjacent to the amphitheater. The event is open to the public. Loretta Lepore, the governor’s press secretary, said Tuesday that plans for a Perdue visit to Peachtree City were “up in the air right now,” but she did not discount the possibility that Perdue might still make the visit. “The governor would certainly like to get down there and sign it on site,” she said Tuesday. Perdue witnessed Peachtree City’s love affair with the golf cart up close last July 4, when he rode as co-grand marshall in the city’s Independence Day parade. That came just days after a court decision ruled the city’s previous ordinance allowing unlicensed drivers was in violation of state law. The new law defining the use and driving privileges of “motorized carts,” written specifically to apply to Peachtree City’s famous cart path system by state Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Sharpsburg, was among the first bills to pass the House and Senate early on in this year’s General Assembly session, but it has languished on Perdue’s desk for weeks awaiting his signature. The law will essentially restore the city ordinance to what it was last June, allowing the following people to drive a golf cart: •ÊPersons 16 and older, unless they have had their license suspended or revoked by the state; • 15-year-olds who are accompanied by a licensed 18-year-old, parent, grandparent, or legal guardian; •Ê15-year-olds with a valid learners permit under the above conditions, accompanied by up to one other person at least 15 years old, or up to three immediate family members in the cart; and •Ê12-, 13- and 14-year olds when accompanied in the front seat by a parent, grandparent or legal guardian. No one under the age of 12 may operate a cart. Low Speed Vehicles such as the GEM car still require a valid drivers license for operation. According to Betsy Tyler, city spokeswoman, until the bill is signed all golf cart drivers must still have a valid drivers license. Police Chief James Murray has said his officers will continue to enforce the current ban on unlicensed drivers until the ordiance is officially changed. Citations for driving a cart without a valid license have the same penalties as operating a car without a license, Tyler said.
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