Legislative Notebook: Fort Valley, Mercer chiefs visit Capitol
Legislative Notebook: Fort Valley, Mercer chiefs visit Capitol
ATLANTA -- If there's a new bar of goat's milk soap on a lawmaker's desk, there's a good chance it's from the annual Fort Valley University Day at the state Capitol.
Nearly every working day at the Capitol, one or more organizations make an official visit, sometimes with a box of little gifts in tow. For Fort Valley Day this past Tuesday, school leaders including new President Paul Jones met lawmakers, while others from the school manned a booth to talk about research and courses offered on campus.
The soap is a token of one of the school's flagship programs: It's a leader in goat research.
The same day, Mercer University President Bill Underwood visited the state House and Senate to accept formal accolades for an award he received earlier this year: being named The Telegraph's Middle Georgian of the Year.
Such House and Senate resolutions honoring Georgians of note are also part of daily business at the Capitol. Several are approved each morning.
SECOND AMENDMENT ON CAMPUS
A gun policy similar to one that's been shot down before has reappeared in the state Capitol: a bill to allow those with licenses to carry guns on Georgia's public technical school, college and university grounds.
The bill would not apply to dorms, fraternity and sorority houses, or athletic facilities.
And it would not apply to the typical young undergraduate either. Except for past or current military members, carry permits are for those age 21 and up.
House Bill 859 comes from state Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper.
Jasperse's new bill had about two dozen signatures when it was filed Jan. 27.
Legislators passed a gun law rewrite in 2014, which opened houses of worship and bars to licensed concealed carry, with the landlord's permission.
During that debate, some lawmakers pushed to open public college campuses to gun carriers as well, but they could not overcome objections from university leaders.
THREE HEADS ARE BETTER THAN SEVEN
When Georgia's top judge, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Hugh Thompson, addressed the Legislature on Jan. 27, he said he hopes that by this time next year, his court will no longer hear certain types of cases.
Divorces, wills, alimony cases and land title cases sometimes appear in his court in front of all seven justices.
He said such cases could be handled by the more numerous judges of the state Court of Appeals, which sits in panels of three judges at a time.
In such kinds of cases, "most judicial systems believe that three judges are enough to provide the parties with a full and fair consideration of their appeal," Thompson said.
And though he did not name any counties or cities, he also mentioned another kind of case that he thinks can be handled by three judges as well: border disputes.
Macon-Bibb County and Monroe County have been arguing about their border near Bass Pro Shops for years. Despite two visits to the state Supreme Court, the line is not yet settled.
Telegraph writer Maggie Lee compiled this report. Contact her at mlee@macon.com.
This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Legislative Notebook: Fort Valley, Mercer chiefs visit Capitol ."