One of two state senators serving Fayette County, Greg Hecht is no stranger to the state legislature. He has also served a term in the State House of Representatives.

A Democrat, he won the seat over Fayette County's Bill Bonner, a Republican.

Hecht, 35, was born and reared in Columbus, Ga., and is a graduate of the University of Georgia Law School. He is an Ad Hoc Prosecutor for the City of Fayetteville.

He lives in Jonesboro with his wife, Cherie, and they are expecting their first child.

Hecht and a partner have a law office in Morrow.

Serving on the Appropriations Committee in the Senate, he is chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee, Vice Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and Vice Chairman of the Corrections Committee, as well as serving on the Defense, Science and Technology Committee.

He is co-author of Senate Bill 1, which would allow special drug prosecutors to each judicial district in Georgia. The person appointed must receive special training, as drug cases can be lost on Constitutional points.

Other bills he is working on is one to provide a study committee on how to protect and provide care in the "gray areas" as pertains to children and their families. "For instance," he said, "the rules regarding mental retardation were written many years ago, and that definition has been drastically changed. Too many children cannot be helped because they do not fit into the rules as currently written." This bill has just been filed.

He is also working on legislation to change the framework within which the older population can make their own decisions. "There is not enough discretion allowed in the current laws to permit our older population to make the kinds of decisions most of them are perfectly capable of making," Hecht commented.

Another bill he has just authored and filed is one that is a first step in moving the state more towards "the computer-based society we are living in. Many things, such as filing for a corporation can be done electronically, as opposed to have a piece of paper pass through a number of hands, and then it's all entered in a computer anyway. Electronic filing can decrease the red tape and save everyone a lot of time," he said.This bill has also been filed.