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Senator discusses session

• Though disappointing, his final legislative session had a few highlights, Sen. Michael Meyer von Bremen says.

Susan McCord

ALBANY — As dozens touted the qualifications of his potential successor, Sen. Michael Meyer von Bremen, D-Albany, reflected Tuesday on a few “bright spots” during the second session of his fifth term on the Georgia General Assembly.

Meyer von Bremen announced last month that he’d be seeking a position as judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Viewed by many, including himself, as a disappointing session, Meyer von Bremen said he found many issues his constituents said they viewed as important were sidelined until it was too late.

“I was disappointed that we didn’t do a transportation bill; I was very disappointed that we didn’t do trauma funding; and I was frustrated that on both of those, as big as they were to Georgia, they were held until the very last day to finally vote. Any time you hold something off that long and then there’s a change, it’s going to fail.”

But in dealing with dogfighting, obtaining payment from Care Management Organizations, reforming Georgia Certificate of Need laws and a handful of other issues, Meyer von Bremen told a meeting of Dougherty County Rotary members Tuesday that the session accomplished a few things:

• Though it still awaits Gov. Sonny Perdue’s signature, $9 million in appropriations funding for Albany Technical College will provide a “sorely needed” logistics center, aiding the region during the next round of Base Realignment and Closure.

• House Bill 301 provides significant penalties for anyone who organizes, watches, bets on or trains, exhibits or transports dogs for dogfighting, whether for financial gain or amusement.

• The “Made in Georgia” label opens consumers’ eyes to the state’s economic opportunities.

• Sales tax holidays and energy efficient appliance holidays were renewed, for July 31-Aug. 3 and Oct. 2-5, respectively.

• House Bill 1159 establishes tax credits for families who keep foster children.

• In light of widespread abuses, the legislature set restrictions on use of state employee purchasing cards — receipts are mandatory, and purchases of more than $5,000 must be part of a state purchasing contract.

• House Bill 1234 addresses “the frustrations of those of you who provide medical services to individuals and deal with CMOs,” Meyer von Bremen said. The Care Management Organizations’ reluctance to pay some $750,000 to local care providers prompted many calls to area legislators, he said.

The bill puts restrictions on CMOs’ ability to reduce or deny payments, require prior notification for payment or refuse out-of-network payment, he said.

• Passed on the last day of the session, Senate Bill 433 arrived at the Senate desk about 9:30 p.m., transformed largely by a House committee from a three-page destination cancer treatment center bill to a 50-page bill revising Georgia’s Certificate of Need laws, he said.

It exempts many non-medical facilities, such as parking decks, medical office buildings and gift shops, as well as ambulatory surgery centers, from existing CON requirements, where capital expenditures are less than $2.5 million.

• Georgia’s water management plan was introduced on the first day of the session “like greased lightning,” but actually reflects two years of work to draft a plan to establish regional water councils, which develop and implement water use plans, with approval from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

But a legislative oversight bill requires legislative approval before the EPD can impose regulations on water use, an issue especially important to users outside metro Atlanta, Meyer von Bremen said.

Revisions to Georgia’s Lemon Laws extend the pound limit for vehicles and time limit during which drivers can return defective vehicles to dealers.

Prompted by a question, Meyer von Bremen said anyone considering a run for his senate seat should remember, “It’s all about the people.

“It’s not going to Atlanta January through March, or in the recent past, January through May, then come home and hide in your office,” he said.

A senator might expect 500 e-mails per day during the session and frequent demands for public time during the rest of the year, he said.

Rep. Freddie Powell Sims, D-Albany, and former Democratic Rep. John White have announced plans to run for the District 12 senate seat, which covers Dougherty, Terrell, Randolph, Quitman, Clay, Calhoun, Baker and part of Mitchell counties. Various Albany officials spoke on Sims’ behalf at an event Tuesday.

Meyer von Bremen won’t have to resign his senate seat, and he already has begun the vastly different campaign for a statewide judgeship, meeting with county bar associations to get his name out.

“The support in the last three weeks, of attorneys calling me from all over the state, has been bigger than I expected,” he said.

Only one man, Atlanta lawyer Chris McFadden, has announced plans to run for the seat, one of 12.

Divided into three-member panels, the court renders opinions on more than 2,000 superior or state court appeals from some 3,000 filed with the court each year.

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