Category Archives: Radio Commentaries

April 6, 2018 Radio Commentary

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When “Dying in Committee” Is a Good Thing

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, April 6, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

You might think bills and resolutions that die are defeated by House or Senate votes, but whether good or bad, most bills die in committee. The committee system is necessary to handle the 2500 bills and resolutions introduced every session.

This year, committees stopped two bills that would have weakened Georgia laws protecting monuments and state symbols. So, state monument laws remain as they were and so do local laws. A local law that remains in effect originated on September 14, 2017 when the Atlanta City Council established an Atlanta advisory committee to recommend the replacing or removal of confederate monuments and street names. The committee’s working list of Atlanta street names includes the twelve that have already been renamed and eighteen under consideration for change.

Committees, also, stopped two resolutions that proposed marijuana amendments to the state constitution. One resolution authorized in-state cultivation of marijuana and the other would have legalized the cultivation of hemp. Hemp is marijuana that has a very low level of THC, the hallucinogenic substance in all marijuana plants. Continue reading →

March 30, 2018 Radio Commentary

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2018 Legislative Session is Over!

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, March 30, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Yesterday was the last day of the 2018 legislative session, but it’ll be several days before we know the status of all the bills. Meanwhile, today’s topic is four bills that passed early enough for me to tell you about them today.

It’s sad, but culture had become so bad 16 years ago, that the legislature passed the Safe Place for Newborns Act of 2002 that authorizesmothers to drop off their newborns at a fire station or police station with no questions asked and no strings attached. It was enacted to prevent the injury or death of newborns whose mothers abandon them.

That law was amended in 2008 to specify medical facilities and sheriff’s offices as additional legal drop-off locations. This year, H.B. 513 passed to amend it again. The new language requires the Department of Human Services to develop a standard sign to be posted at all authorized drop-off facilities. DHS will decide the size and type of the signs and where they should be posted. Unless it’s vetoed, H.B. 513 becomes law on July 1st. Continue reading →

March 23, 2018 Radio Commentary

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H.B. 118 Offers Kids an Addiction

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, March 23, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Since next Tuesday and Thursday are the last two days of the session, several critical bills need your immediate attention. If the following four bills aren’t favorably reported out of the Rules Committee and onto the floor for a vote, they will die, along with many others.

H.B. 118, the Fantasy Contest Act of 2017 was carried into this session to create beginner gambling for kids. The bill requires “fantasy contest operators [to] develop fantasy contests that are limited to [18-year-old] beginners … and [prevent] non-beginner players from participating.” If this passes, and kids use their iPhones to gamble on Fantasy Sports, it would be almost impossible to deny access to kids under 18.

Two years ago, the Georgia Attorney General’s office notified the Lottery Commission that “fantasy sports constitutes illegal gambling and are not allowed under Georgia law.” Also, fantasy sports expert Arnie Wexler called daily Fantasy Sports online gambling, that can be as addictive as crack cocaine. The question is: How many legislators are willing to allow the lure of big bucks to expose teenagers to addictive behavior. H.B. 118 passed the House and is in the Senate Rules Committee. Continue reading →

March 16, 2018 Radio Commentary

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S.B. 373 Transformed Into Hate Crime Bill

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, March 16, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Several battles are raging at the State Capitol. One concerns Senator Tippins’ S.B. 373 that authorizes the governor to appoint one more judge to the ten-member Cobb County Circuit. The new judge would serve a two-year term, after which his successor would be elected in November 2020 for a four-year term that would begin in 2021.

That passed the Senate 39-0, but it was totally changed in the House Judiciary Committee. NOW S.B. 373 is a hate crimes bill that provides stiffer penalties for seven different crimes, if they, seemingly, are committed because of the victim’s gender or sexual orientation. Also, it provides civil rights status based on gender and sexual orientation that include behaviors that have always been illegal.

Call Rules Committee Chairman Representative Meadows at 404 656-5141 and ask him to stop S.B. 373 in his committee. Continue reading →