At 10 a.m. the urgent tones of the bell in the House of Representatives alerted the swarming politicians in the stately chamber that it was time to officially begin the 2012 Legislative session.
The General Assembly kicked off Jan. 9, with politicians, lobbyists and journalists packed under the Gold Dome to begin the annual 40-day session.
State senators and representatives said they were glad to be back at work.
“It’s a real adrenaline rush to hear those bells ring,” said Rep. Elena Parent, D-DeKalb County.
The Senate got right to business on Day 1, approving Senate Bill 184, a bill that among other measures would ban school districts from using length of employment as the sole factor for consideration when laying off teachers.
The bill was approved by the House last year. It will now go to the governor to sign into law.
“It’s the first time in the 14 years I’ve been down here that I’ve we’ve taken up bills on the first day,” said Sen. Fran Millar, R-Dunwoody.
Millar said he hopes the first day sets the tone for the rest of the session. He said legislators have serious issues to deal with this year.
“You get a sense of hope that we’ll actually deal with these problems,” Millar said. “It hasn’t been all pomp and circumstance. We’re actually taking up some issues of substance.”
The House of Representatives had a more traditional first day. House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, welcomed the representatives back to the Capitol and acknowledged three newly elected members.
“I can sense that this House is ready to go to work,” Ralston said.
The House adjourned after roughly one hour.
Rep. Ed Lindsay, R-Buckhead, said the Republican caucus also met that morning to discuss its priorities for the 2012 General Assembly. Lindsey said the state budget, education reform, transportation and criminal justice reform will be important issues this year.
“As the Majority Whip, I’ve got to make sure our team is ready to go day one,” Lindsey said.
The first day of the session is fun, too, Lindsey said.
“It’s kind of like your first day of school. You see people you haven’t seen in a while,” he said.
It’s also a chance to visit the Capitol shoe shine stand, which was busy with lawmakers getting their Oxfords and cowboy boots in top shape. “My shoes never look this good when I’m out of session,” Lindsey joked.
Parent said she expects the first week of the session will be pretty quiet.
“It’s good to ease into it and remain focused on what you want to accomplish,” Parent said. “Forty days can actually pass by really quickly.”
Though Jan. 9 was the first official day, local legislators were attending extra-curricular activities over the weekend.
On Jan. 8, politicians attended the Wild Hog Supper, the traditional barbecue dinner the night before the session begins. That morning, Dunwoody United Methodist Church hosted a legislative forum with Millar, Parent and Republican Reps. Mike Jacobs of DeKalb County, Tom Taylor of Dunwoody and Wendell Willard of Sandy Springs and Sen. John Albers of Roswell.
The politicians spoke about the legislative priorities this year and took questions from the audience, many of which were centered on education.
Legislators praised the work of University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby. “We have, with regard to bloat in the university system, a chancellor who gets it, is going to cut it down to size, and deliver good value to the taxpayers,” Jacobs said.
Albers said more cuts still need to be made in the university system.
“We’ve got to get our colleges to act a lot more like a business if we’re going to get more business out of our colleges,” Albers said.
There were also questions about the DeKalb County School Board shrinking from nine to seven members as well as proposed changes to DeKalb County’s CEO form of government.
“I would vote to do away with the CEO in a heartbeat,” Jacobs said. “But the fact is we have a delegation in DeKalb County that doesn’t have the political will to do that.”
Parent said she would like to look at reforming the existing government.
“You’ve got to deal within the system you have and make positive changes,” Parent said.