Fresh Loaf

If you thought this year’s extended, vitriolic, veto-laced General Assembly was sausage-makin’ at its ugliest, you should fasten your seat belts for the grotesquery that will unfold under the Gold Dome come January.

The whining, backbiting and public displays of pique coming from various House members over the election of Gov. Perdue’s hand-picked candidate for DOT commissioner has reminded us what a gruesome melee this next legislative session is likely to be.

Here’s how one longtime lobbyist predicts the session will unfold:
First, the House will immediately become mired in a tantrum over Sonny’s vetoes of several House bills and spending measures. Speaker Glenn Richardson will lead his troops in overturning the gov’s veto, but the Senate will likely try to stay out of the fray for the most part.

Then comes the DOT battle. House leaders, including Democrats, backed Rep. Vance Smith, R-Pine Mountain, for commish, while the gubner wanted Gena Abraham, a former engineering professor who had worked in the Georgia Building Authority. Both Republicans and Dems have called for the resignation of DOT board members who voted for Abraham; hard-liners may even try to oust the new commissioner, thereby weakening an already beleaguered department. Expect more name-calling.

Then there will be the big issues that provide opportunity for grandstanding: the water shortage, Grady Memorial Hospital and Brian Nichols.

Anyone with the slightest thought of running for governor will be proposing some quick fix to the water problem. Expect much political jockeying and little consensus. Ditto for Grady. The state’s largest public hospital and private university, Emory, will be turned into twin punching bags as legislators compete to see who can claim credit for reforming — or destroying — Grady. And the law-and-order folks will be falling all over each other to make sure Nichols’ defense team doesn’t get another dime of public money.

And don’t forget the speaker’s GREAT plan to rid Georgia of property taxes. Here’s betting he manages to crowbar the bill through the House and then pitches a fit when it languishes in the Senate without coming to the floor.

Finally, the budget. Remember that Richardson has already accused Perdue of lying about how much money the state collected last year. So try to imagine the infighting that will erupt now that Georgia’s economy is in an actual downturn. Also, expect another round of tug-of-war between Sonny and Glenn over the speaker’s call for zero-based budgeting for state departments.

Frankly, we don’t believe 40 days will be enough to contain all the feudin’ and fisticuffs that this session has to offer. We can hardly wait.

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Tags: General-Assembly, Georgia-DOT.