State News Briefs
Compiled By Staff

The House has approved an ethics bill that supporters say will make government in Georgia more transparent.

The House voted 168-2 on the bill Wednesday night. The Senate passed it unanimously.

Authored by House Speaker David Ralston, the package requires lobbyists to disclose more frequently what they spend wining and dining lawmakers. It requires many local officials to file campaign finance disclosures with the state for the first time. And it boosts fines for lobbyists and officials who are late filing their required disclosure reports.

The bill stops short of placing caps on lobbyist gifts and does nothing to regulate the transfer of money from one campaign committee to another.

House Republicans made ethics a top priority after a scandal last year involving a lobbyist that took down Speaker Glenn Richardson.

TOP GEORGIA LAWYER CRITICIZES ETHICS PACKAGE

Georgia's top attorney is criticizing the same ethics package because he says it will deter citizens from filing ethics complaints.

Attorney General Thurbert Baker, a Democrat candidate for governor, says lawmakers should fix a provision in the wide-ranging bill that would require a citizen filing the complaint to pay the official's attorneys fees if the Ethics Commission determines the complaint is frivolous.

He says that could cost Georgia residents tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees "just because they step forward and speak out.''

Gov. Sonny Perdue is now considering the measure.

GUN BILL CLEARS KEY COMMITTEE

House legislators have stripped provisions from a controversial gun bill that would have allowed licensed gun owners to bring firearms onto college campuses and into churches.

But legislation cleared Thursday by the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee would still allow gun owners to bring their weapons into parts of airports, some bars and in parking lots at colleges, courthouses and jails.

State Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, the Republican who sponsored the measure, said he hopes the bill will clarify the mishmash of varying gun restrictions that now exist.

The Senate has already adopted similar legislation and the House could vote on the measure next week.

BAN ON OUTDOOR BURNING BEGINS

Rules meant to clear Georgia's air by stopping residents from burning backyard waste soon go into effect.

The ban will be enforced starting May 1 across 54 counties at the outset of what's considered smog season. It covers metro Atlanta, Athens, Augusta and other areas. The restrictions end September 30.

State environmental regulators say burning yard waste releases small particles and nitrogen oxide into the air, which contribute to smog and cause other health problems. The ban began in 1996 around Atlanta and has expanded since then.

Georgia's chief air protection official, Jac Capp, says composting yard waste is better than burning.