Power Under the Dome: Committee Control

Radio Commentary, WMVV 90.7 New Life FM, May 7, 2010
By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Good morning, Jim. Committees are where the action is in the Georgia General Assembly. Every bill is assigned to a committee, where members decide whether it lives or dies. In fact, the fate of most bills is decided BEFORE committees meet. Now, consider this.

When two very important bills were scheduled for Judiciary Committee hearings the same day, I said, “There’s no way both of those bills will pass out of committee the same day,” and I was right. The House Judiciary Committee had a plan. The bills would get back-to-back hearings, but only one would pass the committee that day. The other would be held until later.

The April 13th House Judiciary meeting began at two o’clock and the planned outcome became a painful reality four hours later. S.B. 235, prohibiting forced microchip implants, was voted out of committee, but S.B. 529 that prohibited forced abortion was held eight more days, when the committee passed it, as planned. But neither bill was out of danger, yet. Their next hurdle was the Rules Committee, “the gate-keeper,” that decides which bills stay alive.

But, neither bill was sent to the House floor for a vote. Both died in the Rules Committee. But the House Judiciary Committee had already killed identical bills that were introduced in the House. So, the death planned for the Senate bills was a little more drawn out. The Senate bills were allowed to pass the House Judiciary Committee, which have put them one step from completely passing, but at the very last minute, they would die in the House Rules Committee, which they did.

If Planned Parenthood’s explanation is correct, S.B. 529 was defeated by a coalition of local and national pro-abortion organizations. But, it’s not quite as clear why the microchip bill is never allowed to pass. So far, four bills prohibiting forced microchip implants have been killed in Georgia.

Perhaps, too many legislators believe government has a right to microchip people without their consent. If that’s true, legislators are disregarding the constitutional right of we, the people, to be secure in our persons. Although we, the people, reminded them of that constitutional right several times, we, the people, were ignored by legislative leaders and the bill died in the House Rules Committee. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.