Legislative Notebook: Midstate lawmaker has first bill

Insurance buyers will see how much of their premium increase, if any, is attributable to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, under a new bill by freshman state Rep. Burt Jones, R-Jackson.

It’s one of his first two pieces of legislation -- the other is a technical insurance change -- both filed Feb. 28. Senate Bill 236 attracted several co-signers. Freshmen often carry non-controversial bills and are heckled by colleagues when they present to the full chamber. But with the state’s annual legislative session nearly three-quarters finished, Jones’ time to schedule his hazing is fast running out.

Tift renaming for Tifton founder

Tift County is keeping its name but changing its namesake. The county now takes its name from Nelson Tift (1810 – 1891), a Georgia congressman, state legislator, slave owner and farmer who lived in Dougherty County, not Tift County. Under House Resolution 281, passed unanimously by the state House, Tift County will now be named for the legislator’s nephew, Henry Harding Tift (1841 - 1922), founder of Tifton. The bill now moves to the state Senate.

-- Maggie Lee