Fresh Loaf

The influence of Fresh Loaf reaches the highest levels of government, as evident from a brief exchange I had with Sen. Eric Johnson, R-The Garden of Good and Evil, after Wednesday’s Senate committee hearing about the statewide water plan.

After chatting for a moment — and wondering if the gentleman from Savannah was going to pummel me for our paper’s past jabs — Johnson said, “I love Creative Loafing. Don’t always with agree with it in terms of ideology, but it’s a great read. I read Fresh Loaf every day.”

So do we get the credit for your sleek cranium, senator?

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Thursday was full of surprises under the Gold Dome as the usually unified Republicans split on the two biggest issues of the day, handing unanticipated defeat to Jekyll Island developers and to proponents of a city of Dunwoody.

The Jekyll debate was over whether resort builders should be allowed to get their mitts on the picturesque, undeveloped south end of the island — and do potential damage to the coastal ecosystem. Word is that Gov. Sonny Perdue, who has otherwise been fast asleep this session, pushed hard to open the door to his developer buddies.

But Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford — who, hailing from Gwinnett, pointed out that she knows from sprawl — gave a spirited speech against the governor’s bill, invoking the image of “unscrupulous developers who want to rape and pillage the land.” Wow. Sounds like something you’d normally hear from a tree-hugging lefty.

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Decaturguy blogs about a provision in the bill approved by the House to move our presidential primary to Feb. 5 that would make it more difficult to have a runoff election.

Under the bill, which still needs Senate approval, the plurality to be elected goes from 50 percent plus 1 to 45 percent plus 1. Here’s the money quote:

Don’t think this is a big deal? Well, in the 2006 election cycle, most notably, Cynthia McKinney wouldn’t have had to face a runoff with Hank Johnson (she got 47% in the primary) and would probably still be the Representative from the 4th District today.

Shouldn’t that be enough to scare the bejesus out of any senator thinking of supporting this bill? Of course not. Once in office, it becomes all about staying in office. Which helps explain why so many people today have grown so cynical about politics.

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The health care debate has officially begun.

In a Senate Insurance and Labor Committee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Judson Hill, R-Marietta, introduced Senate Bill 28, which encourages state tax exemptions for businesses that offer individual health plans, and tax breaks for those people who open personal health savings accounts.

“People need monetary incentives to stay healthy,” said Hill, arguing that his bill, laden with free-market incentives and built around the idea of individual rather than employer-based health insurance, would result in “better health care access at lower prices.”

The bill will naturally generate a lot of controversy this session.

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The first couple of weeks down at the session were a George Lucas film finale of grand ceremony, but this week the gigantic cigars started coming out, stuck into mouths with relish, as if the big shots had arrived and were ready to do business.

The mood was changing.

Sandbags were being wedged into place.

Battle lines were being drawn along party lines.

The stakes were rising.

On Wednesday the first big proper fight went down in the Senate, and as expected it was a victory for the majority Republicans. Sen. Eric Johnson’s, R-Savannah, bill enabling parents of special-needs children to use vouchers to attend private schools passed by a vote of 31 to 23.

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As the debate over Senate Bill 10 unfolded in the Senate Wednesday, state Rep. Fran Millar, R-Dunwoody, was observing with great interest. Millar, who serves as vice chair of the House Education Committee, admits he has doubts about Sen. Eric Johnson’s, R-Savannah, bill, which would enable the parents of special-needs children to use publicly funded vouchers to send their children to private schools.

After an all-morning fight (please see the following post on this page for full coverage), the Senate passed Johnson’s bill: 31 to 23 votes. Now Millar must face the issue on his side of the bicameral equation, and consider a House version of the bill with some different measures. Included in Rep. David Casas’, R-Lilburn, version is a requirement for private-school special-needs teachers to have at least a bachelor’s degree. That language is missing in Johnson’s bill, and created an opening Wednesday for Democrats attacking Senate Bill 10.

Millar has his own questions.

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