Food Stamps and Mattresses

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, February 10, 2012
By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Good morning, Jim. Freshman Senator Ligon from South Georgia District 3 introduced S.B. 312 to require recipients of food stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to participate in personal growth activities. Current law already requires them to attend counseling on abstinence until marriage.

If those receiving food-stamps and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) don’t have a full-time job and don’t have a high school diploma, they could choose from a list of government-recommended ways to improve themselves and work toward self-sufficiency. They could go back to school and get a general educational diploma or they could go to technical school or self-development classes or enroll in adult literacy classes.

If S.B. 312 becomes law, the Department of Health & Human Services would make the rules and regulate implementation. Please call Health and Human Services Chairman Unterman at 404 463-1368 and ask her to pass S.B. 312 out of her committee.

Twin bills were introduced January 23rd to protect consumers who buy articles of bedding, which is defined as any mattress, mattress pad, mattress protector, upholstered spring, comforter, quilted pad, quilt, cushion, or pillow that’s partly or entirely stuffed or filled with concealed material.

If either of these bills passes, manufacturers, renovators and reupholsterers that make, reupholster, or renovate articles of bedding would be required to obtain a numbered certificate of registration from the Department of Agriculture. That certificate would cost manufacturers an annual fee of $1,000 and renovators and reupholsterers would annually pay $250.

Manufacturers of new bedding items, reupholsterers and renovators of used bedding must appropriately tag the product with “Made of New Material” or “Made of Previously Used Material” or “Secondhand.” However, there’s an interesting exception to these requirements. Such standards and annual fees do not apply to bedding made by inmates for use by prisoners, detainees, or other government purposes.

These bills authorize Department of Agriculture inspectors to open a seam, if necessary, to determine whether the tag is accurate and penalize violators as much as a year in prison and $10,000.

You need to call two legislators on these bills. Call Senator Bulloch at 404 656-0040 and ask him to pass S.B. 314 out of his committee. Then, call Representative McCall at 404 656-5114 and ask him to pass H.B. 678 out of his committee. Sanitary bedding sounds good to me. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.