detY of .~.
a telislator
ey p
along
at the game for egotistical pu~ses. In another
category ate those wanting to bring about social
change Who recoJRize that one avenue is to follow
the established governmental procedures for what
je year the Georgia General Assemb.ly convenes
on
second Monday In January to ~ss legiSlation
and '-Pprove a state budget, all in 45 days-if the session proceeds without any major hitches. The 1975
General Assembly marks the bicentennial of Georgia's
first provincial congress-a meeting 200 years ago
that has been termed part of "Georgia's drift to
revolution and independence." However. today the
ace
tion is that it is the General Assembly itself
that standing in the way of progressive changes in
Geotp. Sometimes the only progressive action in
the legislature is when one of the old-timers finally
dies
In 1970 the prestigious Citizens Conference on
State legislatures ranked Georgia's General Assembly
45th In terms of efficiency. function. independence
from the executive branch. openness. and "representativene s." Now five years later. if the study were
updated. Georgia's General Assembly might have
acquired a mid-range rating of around 20 to 25
according to
iversity of Georgia tudy; that 1$
until the recent Georgia Supreme Court ruling excludmg tho General Assembly from the 1972 sunshine
law, possibly bringinrGeorgia back down to the bottom of the heap.
But there may ~ hope for change yet. Onethird of the legislators in each of the houses are new.
presenting both advaJltages and liabilities. The 56
members of the Senate include one woman and two
blacks. With its membership at ISO, the House has
eight women. 19 blaelts, and one seat temporarily
empty due to the un pee ted recent death of James
"Sloppy" Floyd of Trion. Fulton Representative
Grace Hamilton notes that with the obvious change
in membership with more women and blacks "it is
hard to predict what will happen."
Some of the legislators respect and actually
believe this American legislative process to be adequate. functional judicial the "best of all." They
sincerely put forth the effort to be legislators. At
the other end of the spectrum. however. are those
who appear t get personal satisfaction out of the
they are worth. Others fit in between. The main
• qualification" for being in the General Assembly,
however, is knowing how to get elected.
The only formal preparations before the
January 13 opening session to change these poultry
processors, merchants, homemakers, insurance salesmen, and whatnots into legislators are seminars at
the Institute for Georgia Legislators. These are held
at the University of Georgia in mid-December.
Sitting back and watching these characters in
action can be amusing, but also quite frightening,
considering they are making the laws of this state.
Unlike the legislatures of most states, which restrict
themselves to levying state taxes, the Georgia General
Assembly giveth (and taketh away) the taxation
powers of municipalities. Cities cannot operate on
their own without authorization from the legislature.
If the City Council of Atlanta, for instance,
should want to redistribute some of the wealth in the
city by altering the burden of taxation, authority
must first be obtained from the Georgia legislature.
Yearly battles rage over taxation requests from municipalities. The state legislature is jealous of its power
to levy taxation and holds on to it just as a drowning
man clutches a floating straw. For such a petty reason the cities are kept in a strangling financial position at the mercy of what still remains largely a
bunch of old men from rural communities.
The crummiest feeling came over this reporter
at the realization of where this scene has been obser ed
before now. It was in the days of grammar school.
The kids who thought they were big shots (or want d
to be) made a lot of noise, goofing off, making ridic .
lous arg ents, not necessarily making any constru t
ive contributions (or any sense. for that matter). I
answer to wonderment at what would become of
them it seems as though the Georgia legislature i
full of people like them, not any more mature or
responsible, just older.
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