Deal signs Child Booster Seat bill, creates MLK Advisory Council

Gov. Nathan Deal today bolstered child safety efforts by signing a bill to strengthen the state’s booster seat law (SB 88), and he enacted legislation that creates an advisory council for state Capitol ceremonies for the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday (SB 141).

“We must do everything in our power to protect young Georgians, and studies show consistently that booster seats provide children with a much greater level of safety than vehicle seats built for adults,” said Deal, who signed the bill at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Scottish Rite Hospital. “I have no doubt that this law will save countless lives and prevent serious injuries for many young children.”

This bill will bring Georgia in line with the age recommendations of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by raising the mandatory booster seat age to 8. SB 88 contains exceptions for children taller than 4 feet 9 inches or a child’s parent or guardian obtaining a physician’s written permission.

At Ebenezer Baptist Church, surrounded by members of the King family, Deal signed SB 141, a bill that promotes the legacy and philosophy of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. by creating the Martin Luther King, Jr. Advisory Council.

“It will be the duty of this council to promote the principles of nonviolence, peace, social justice and the awareness and appreciation of the civil rights movement and the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr.,” Deal said. “Our state is proud to be the home of Dr. King, and Ebenezer Baptist Church, surrounded by Dr. King’s family, was the perfect place to start this new council.”

The advisory council will also develop and coordinate ceremonies and activities relating to the observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. on behalf of the state of Georgia.

Bills can be read in their entirety at http://www.legis.ga.gov/en-US/default.aspx.

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GSU speaker series to focus on Georgia’s water wars

Diverse voices will address the many issues surrounding Georgia’s disputes about water resources during an upcoming lecture series at Georgia State University.

The university’s Department of Geosciences will present speakers who have different perspectives on the legal, social and physical aspects of the ongoing water dispute between Georgia, Alabama and Florida over water resources in the Chattahoochee River basin, especially Lake Lanier. The series is free and open to the public.

The lectures, to be held at 4 p.m. on the following dates, include sessions with:

· James Bross, professor of law at Georgia State University, who is an expert on water law and the history of the dispute; Jan.28 in Room 718 of the General Classroom Building.
· Neill Herring, a lobbyist with the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club, who will speak about water conservation in Atlanta; Feb. 11 in Room 316 of Kell Hall.
· Frank Stephens, program analyst for Gwinnett County’s Department of Water Resources, who represents the county’s interests in the ongoing dispute; March 18, Room 316 of Kell Hall.
· David Feldman, professor in the Department of Planning, Policy and Design at the University of California Irvine, who will address similarities between Georgia’s water war with its neighboring states and the famous Los Angeles water grabs of the early 20th century; April 29, Room 718 of the General Classroom Building.

In July 2009, a federal judge ruled that by 2012, Georgia would have to drastically reduce water withdrawals from Lake Lanier to support Atlanta’s water needs to 1970s levels. Georgia recently won the right to appeal the case — part of the decades-long battle between Georgia, Florida and Alabama to settle the dispute.

“The series is timely, particularly given the ruling last summer in the dispute over water resources,” said Jordan Clayton, assistant professor of geosciences, a co-organizer of the speaker series with Katherine Hankins, assistant professor of geosciences. “It’s important to understand what the judge’s ruling is, its impact for Georgia, and the roles of Alabama and Florida in the dispute.”

“We are intentionally presenting speakers with opposing points of view who will provoke discussion in the audience, and who have different perspectives on the way water is being managed,” he added.

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New 'Super Speeder Law' Starts New Year with New Fines

Georgia drivers should mark that date on their calendars and put a sticky note next to their keys.. January 1st, 2010. It’s the day the new state ‘Super Speeder Law’ goes into effect in Georgia. And any high-risk drivers who make a habit of ignoring posted speed limits will be the first to feel the pinch of higher state fines (called fees) on their wallets.

How much higher? The new law titled HB160 tacks-on another two-hundred-dollar state-fee for any driver convicted of speeding at 75-or-more on any two-lane roads.. OR convicted of speeding at 85-and-over anywhere in Georgia. Those new state fees will be in addition to any local fines already in effect in the jurisdiction where the speeding offense occurs.

Who is a SuperSpeeder? Under the provisions of this new Georgia law, any driver convicted of violating HB160 will now be classified by the state as a ‘Super Speeder’ and subject to an additional fee. The new ‘SuperSpeeder Law’ is designed to get tough on high-risk drivers who’ve been endangering other motorists and ignoring warnings to slow down. On average, there’s a speed-related death-a-day in Georgia!

The ‘SuperSpeeder Law’ established the new state fees to help police put the brakes on Georgia’s dangerous and illegal speeders. Failure to pay the ‘SuperSpeeder’ fee results in an additional $50.00 fee and the suspension of the offender’s driving privileges and license. ‘SuperSpeeder’ is a highway safety law designed to save lives on our roads by changing the way illegal speeders drive in Georgia.. By slowing them down within legal limits.

And these new fees will save lives another way. Fees collected under the new ‘SuperSpeeder Law’ will be used to help fund Georgia’s trauma care hospital system where approximately sixty-percent of all trauma-care-patients are crash-related. Now for the first time, ‘SuperSpeeders’ will help pay for the hospital beds where their crash-victims are being treated.

Drivers need to remember: There are safety reasons for posted speed limits. Any time motorists drive at illegal speeds they put themselves, their passengers and others at tremendous risk. Crash forces double on impact with every ten mph increase in speed above fifty. Speed reduces the amount of available time needed to avoid a crash. Georgia’s new ‘SuperSpeeder Law’ and fees go into effect January 1st, 2010. Learn more at www.superspeedergeorgia.org .

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Child Prostitution Documentary, Panel Discussion Hosted by Emory Law

Emory University School of Law will host a screening of the film "The Sold Project: Thailand" at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 19, in the school's Tull Auditorium, 1300 Clifton Rd. Filmed on location in Thailand, the documentary tells the story of children whose lives have been affected by prostitution. The screening is free and open to the public.

Rachel Sparks, founder of the SOLD Project and producer of the documentary, and Rachel Goble, executive director and associate producer, will speak at the screening. A question-and-answer session and panel discussion on human sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children in Atlanta and internationally will follow.

Panelists include:

Stephanie Davis, policy adviser, women’s issues, Office of the Mayor, Atlanta
Monique Hennink, associate professor, Rollins School of Public Health
Joseph Fonseca, coordinator, Crimes Against Children, Atlanta Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Kaffie McCullough, program manager, Community Collaboratives-Juvenile Justice Fund, A Future Not a Past
Nathan Whiteman, coordinator, MATCH Task Force, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Kirsten Widner, post graduate fellow in law, Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic
The event is sponsored by the Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic at Emory Law, the Emory Law Office of Student Affairs, the Feminism and Legal Theory Project, the Legal Association of Women Students (LAWS) and the Emory University Office of Multicultural Programs and Services.

About the SOLD Project

The SOLD Project is a grassroots organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering individuals to stop child prostitution before it begins.

The SOLD Project prevents the buying and selling of children through scholarships to those at risk. It supports partner organizations in Thailand that work to rescue and rehabilitate at-risk children.

The film tells stories of the children and allows those stories to inspire individuals to react.

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Gas Chambers Still an Option in Several Georgia Counties

Georgia Voters for Animal Welfare is trying to reintroduce to our state lawmakers last year's bill (House Bill 1060) to shut down the remaining carbon monoxide gas chambers used to kill homeless dogs, cats, puppies and kittens in Georgia shelters. The law, if passed, would make lethal injection the only approved method of killing homeless pets.

See, at bottom, a list of the Georgia counties and cities still using gas chambers.

We need to act quickly and effectively to garner support among our state legislators. A peaceful demonstration on the front lawn/stairs of the State Capitol is one way to draw attention to our bill and to the barely-known issue of gas chambers.

DETAILS OF THE DEMONSTRATION

Date: Thursday, February 26th (rain or shine!)
Time: 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Location: State Capitol (the gold dome) main entrance on Washington Street downtown Atlanta
Directions: Exit 248A off I-75/85. Take MLK toward the gold dome, cross over Washington Street and through the next light to parking garage on right
Bring: posters saying "Ban Gas Chambers" or whatever you'd like to say, so long as you do not use profanity or say anything that will get us thrown out. No sticks/stakes, just poster board or foam core, hand-held.

Our goal is 100 people. That should be easy! We have 100x that many animal advocates in Georgia! We need to show our state lawmakers that the humane treatment of homeless pets is a high priority for many Georgia voters. Please don't use work as an excuse to not attend. We all work, but we all take a day off now and then. What better use of a personal day, a vacation day or a sick day will you ever have than this? Make your plans today and ask your boss for the day off. What does it say to the animals and to our legislators if this issue isn't worth one day off work to many, if not all of, Georgia's animal advocates? One day off to possibly end the torture of gas chambers. How can you say no? Please don't. Please be part of this important movement!

The State of Tennessee banned gas chambers a few years ago because a shelter worker died of co2 poisoning. The State of Virginia passed a ban on its gas chambers last year. "Davie's Bill" is pending in North Carolina at this moment. But Grace's Bill hasn't even been introduced to Georgia's General Assembly yet. We need your help to make it happen!

To learn more about gas chambers, visit the website of Animal Law Coalition:

http://www.animallawcoalition.com/gas-chambers

Here's what Animal Control Officer, Linda Cordry, in Liberty County had to say about the gas chamber she used before her local elected officials made the humane decision to switch to lethal injection:

"The gas chamber is simply a torture device for both animal and human alike. I hate that thing with a passion. It is NOT a humane way to put animals to sleep. It is not humane for those of us that have to witness its use! To hear the piteous cries that come from within that monstrous machine is unnerving at best. At least with lethal injections, you get to hold and wish these animals a safe journey to the bridge. You get to apologize for all the horrors they've had to endure at human hands. After all it is OUR fault they were born, not theirs. I wish I could make everyone understand the pain and sorrow I live with for having done my job (being made to use the gas chamber for so long). I still have nightmares about all the innocents lost over the years."

Whether or not you can attend the demonstration, PLEASE CALL OR WRITE TO YOUR STATE SENATOR AND HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE TO EXPRESS YOUR SUPPORT OF THE PROPOSED BAN ON GAS CHAMBERS! Here's how to find out who are your Senator and Representative and how to contact them:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg /dbq/officials/?lvl=L

Input your zip code. Then click on 'State' elected officials. Then input your full address. Then you'll see, under Sonny Perdue's name, the names of your Senator and House Representative. Then go to this website to get their contact information, bios, etc.:

http://www.legis.state.ga.us/

List of Counties and Cities still using gas chambers (to the best of our knowledge... there may be others):

Ashburn, GA
Barnesville, GA
Bulloch County
Butts County
Cordele, GA
Cuthbert, GA
Vienna, GA
Haralson County
Lanier County
Lowndes County
Macon, GA (City Council voted June 2008 to stop using its chamber July 1, 2009)
Mitchell County
Pulaski County
Spalding County
Sumter County
Warner Robins, GA

Thank you for reading and for joining the cause to spare our homeless pets prolonged and painful death by suffocation.



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Top 10 Most Endangered Areas in the South for 2009

The population along Georgia's coast is expected to double by 2020. How will we take care of our precious salt marshes?

/PRNewswire/ -- The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), the largest environmental advocacy organization dedicated solely to protecting the Southeast, today announced a list of ten special places in the South that face immediate, potentially irreparable threats in 2009. These endangered areas were chosen among hundreds that are impacted by SELC's law and policy work throughout the six states of Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.

"The South is not only the fastest growing region in the United States but in many respects, the South is also a testing ground for the nation's most pressing environmental issues, including energy, global warming, drought, land conservation, and biological diversity," said Jeff Gleason, SELC's Deputy Director.

The next 12 months will be telling for SELC's list of endangered areas as they face a series of decisions that will either raise or lower the bar nationwide on critical issues like air quality and clean water. "Our region will either protect -- or lose -- areas of our native forest, coastline, and rural countryside. How the South accommodates growth and development while preserving our precious natural heritage could set a model for the rest of the country," added Gleason.

Gleason also points out that the South disproportionately contributes to global warming. "If our six-state region were viewed as a country, we would rank 7th in the world for output of carbon dioxide. Reducing carbon emissions in the South is a critical part of any comprehensive global warming solution."

Top Ten Endangered Areas in the South for 2009:

1) Clinch and Powell Rivers (Virginia)

Issue: Construction of a new coal-fired power plant in Wise County will accelerate mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia, and further increase mercury levels in the Clinch and Powell rivers.

2) Interstate 81 Corridor (Virginia)

Issue: Virginia officials are reexamining a plan to widen all 325 miles of I-81 to perhaps eight lanes to support long-haul truck traffic -- a plan that would cost billions of dollars and cause tremendous harm to communities and historic, scenic, and environmental resources.

3) Marine Waters (Virginia)

Issue: Virginia is the first state in our region to begin the process of opening up its marine waters to offshore drilling for oil and gas. The benefit of this short-term supply of energy is dramatically outweighed by the harm to the environment and communities.

4) Globe Forest (North Carolina)

Issue: Destruction of rare, old-growth forest in the Southern Appalachians.

5) Pamlico River (North Carolina)

Issue: The single largest destruction of wetlands in North Carolina's history will occur if a phosphate mining company gets permission to expand its operations on the river's banks.

6) Great Pee Dee River (South Carolina)

Issue: Santee Cooper, a state-owned utility, is proposing to build more coal-fired power plants with outdated technology that would dump an additional 300 pounds of mercury into an already mercury-overloaded river.

7) Johns Island (South Carolina)

Issue: A $420 million highway proposal threatens to bring large-scale development to this historic community, transforming the island into a sea of condos, mega-stores, and traffic.

8) Salt Marshes (Georgia)

Issue: Large-scale development on biologically rich islands and tidal waters.

9) Weeks Bay (Alabama)

Issue: Unchecked development and weak regulation threatens an area so unique it is one of only three in Alabama to receive the designation of Outstanding Natural Resource Water.

10) Cherokee National Forest (Northeast Tennessee)

Issue: The U.S. Forest Service is moving forward with its plans to log several areas of this remarkable landscape, endangering trout, unbroken wildlife habitat and rare species.

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Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to Teach at the UGA School of Law

Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, will be joining the University of Georgia School of Law as a Carl E. Sanders Political Leadership Scholar this spring. He will be teaching a course on judicial review.

"We are greatly honored and excited to have Newt Gingrich leading a course next semester," Georgia Law Dean Rebecca H. White said. "We strive to offer our students a variety of learning opportunities, and I am confident that studying under the former speaker will help them better understand the interplay of law, politics and policy."

A frequent lecturer and author on government ethics and politics, J. Randolph "Randy" Evans will assist Gingrich with teaching the class in the spring.

The Sanders Political Leadership Scholar position is named for Georgia's 74th Governor and Georgia Law alumnus, Carl E. Sanders. It was created so law students could learn from individuals who have distinguished themselves as leaders in politics or other forms of public service.

Gingrich was first elected to Congress in 1978, where he served the 6th District of Georgia for 20 years. He served as speaker of the U.S. House from 1995 to 1999. In 1995, he was named TIME magazine’s "Man of the Year."

Today, Gingrich is still involved in shaping public policy. He is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He is a member of the Terrorism Task Force for the Council on Foreign Relations, the U.S. Commission on National Security and the Defense Policy Board, and he is an advisory board member of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and a member of the Defense Policy Board. Gingrich is also an editorial board member of the journal Biosecurity and Bioterrorism and a contributor to FOX News Channel.

He is the author of more than 15 books, including his newest release Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less and the New York Times bestseller Real Change: From the World that Fails to the World that Works. Additionally, he writes a weekly newsletter for Human Events. Gingrich is chairman of the Gingrich Group, founder of the Center for Health Transformation and general chairman of American Solutions for Winning the Future.

A 1983 graduate of Georgia Law, Evans is a partner at McKenna Long & Aldridge. He served as counsel to the speakers of the 104th-109th Congresses of the United States. He has also participated and supervised matters on behalf of the Office of the Speaker involving separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches.

Previous Sanders Political Leadership Scholars who have taught a course at the law school include: former U.S. Sen. Wyche Fowler Jr., prominent media personality and political consultant Paul E. Begala, former Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox, former U.S. Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Theodore "Ted" W. Kassinger, former U.S. Sen. J. Maxwell "Max" Cleland and former Georgia Supreme Court Justice George T. Smith.

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Students' Project Becomes Georgia Law

When businesses and nonprofits work with Georgia agencies to coordinate relief efforts in times of crisis, they can now be assured some level of liability protection thanks to new legislation that got its start in a Georgia State University College of Law classroom.

The Corporate Good Samaritan Act, as it's informally known, was signed into law earlier this year by Gov. Sonny Perdue as part of House Bill 89 and went into effect July 1.
The provisions of the good Samaritan portion of the law began as a project in Assistant Clinical Professor Sylvia Caley's year-long Health Legislation and Advocacy class in 2006. The law is designed to encourage businesses and nonprofits to coordinate relief efforts with state agencies in a time of emergency, such as widespread storm damage, flooding or disease outbreak. The idea was championed by Gene Matthews, a long-time legal advisor to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and, for two years, a faculty fellow at the College of Law.

In Georgia, as in many other states, good Samaritan laws that limit an individual's liability when they render aid in an emergency didn't extend to the business and nonprofit communities. With a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Matthews has sought to change that, setting up the Public/Private Legal Preparedness Initiative at the North Carolina Institute for Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is a senior fellow.

"What I was interested in doing was building partnerships with the private sector around legal preparedness issues," said Matthews. "Without Georgia State's College of Law, this important improvement in preparedness law in the state of Georgia would not have happened," he said.

As part of Caley's class, students work with a nonprofit or government partner to craft legislation that fits the needs of the partner. Caley, who is also director of the Health Law Partnership and co-associate director of the HeLP Legal Clinic, says the students learn the ins and outs of crafting legislation, and about the often-complex manner in which proposed bills become law.

"So much of our law and public policy is created through the legislative process and I think it's important for everyone, particularly law students, to have an understanding of how the process works," she said. "People have different impressions of what goes on under the Gold Dome, but people have to understand they are going to pass laws that affect us."

Lee Gillis and Nichole Hair, who worked on the proposal as students, say crafting the legislation played to each of their interests: Gillis' interest in the legislative process and Hair's in health and public welfare.

"It's tough because it is ultimately going to be legislation," said Hair, who now works for civil defense firm Hall, Booth, Smith & Slover in Atlanta, and has had the opportunity to review proposed legislation as a professional. "If you're going to make law, you want to make a good law," she said.

Gillis, who has also worked on legislation professionally, says the good Samaritan law, in emergencies, extends the same protection enjoyed by state agencies to business partners working on behalf of the agency.

"If you have a group of in-house lawyers, and they don't have this protection, they're more likely to advise their client to sit on their hands," said Gillis, who now practices in Macon with the firm James, Bates, Pope and Spivey. "The bill was designed to help corporations be good Samaritans without making their lead counsels nervous."