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Legislative roundup for March for March 19-23
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Correspondent Corey Barnes
Updated: Mar 28, 2018, 1:26 PM
Published: Mar 28, 2018, 1:27 PM

(Editor’s note: This is a look at recent action in the Georgia Legislature and how Bryan County’s legislators voted. It was compiled by Correspondent Corey Barnes.)

Georgia International and Maritime Trade Center

The House on March 21 approved, 154-9, House Bill 354 regarding the Georgia International and Maritime Trade Center Authority. The bill renames the Authority as a public corporation under the state’s sanction. They will have the power to purchase property, employ people, make contracts, and construct and maintain projects. Ron Stephens and Jesse Petrea co-sponsored the bill in the House while Ben Watson sponsored it in the Senate. The bill moves on to Gov. Nathan Deal’s desk and will become law if signed.

Voting yes: Jesse Petrea, Ron Stephens and Jan Tankersley.

Hiring Real Estate Brokers

The House on March 23 approved, 156-1, Senate Bill 397 related to acquisition and disposition of property. The bill allows municipalities to hire state licensed real estate brokers to assist in the sale of property. Ron Stephens sponsored the bill in the House and Ben Watson sponsored it in the Senate. The bill moves on to Gov. Deal’s desk for consideration.

Voting yes: Petrea, Stephens, Tankersley.

Committee on Short-Term Rentals

The House on March 23 approved, 142-16, House Resolution 1398 related to short-term rental providers. The resolution creates a seven-person House study committee on short-term rental providers. The committee will meet between now and the end of the year to study the topic and report back on any recommendations. Ron Stephens co-sponsored the bill.

Voting yes: Petrea, Stephens, Tankersley.

“Surprise Billing and Consumer Protection Act”

The House on March approved, 92-63, Senate Bill 8 related to medical billing. The bill covers notification for costs of services for patients as well as provide for procedures for dispute of resolution for surprise bills for nonemergency services. The bill moves on to Gov. Deal’s desk for consideration.

Voting yes: Stephens and Tankersley

Not voting: Petrea

Georgia Student Finance Authority

The Senate on March 21 approved, 50-0, House Bill 700 related to educational loans. Georgia National Guard members would be eligible to apply for educational loans for degree programs at any eligible postsecondary institution in the state. Ben Watson sponsored the bill in the Senate. The bill moves on to Gov. Deal’s desk for consideration.

Voting yes: Ben Watson.

Low THC Oil

The Senate on March 23 approved, 31-17, House Bill 65 related to the establishment of the Joint Study Commission on THC Medical Oil Access. The group will annually review the conditions that have been shown through medical research to be effectively treated with low THC oil. Recommendations will be made to the General Assembly by Dec. 1 of each year. Ron Stephens sponsored this bill in the House. The bill moves on to Gov. Deal’s desk for consideration.

Voting yes: Watson

Registered nurse ratio

The Senate on March 23 approved, 34-12, House Bill 927 related to nursing in healthcare. The bill allows a delegating physician to enter into a nurse protocol agreement with up to eight advanced practice registered nurses at one time. He or she may also supervise up to eight such nurses at any one time. The previous law allowed for four. The bill moves on to Gov. Deal’s desk for consideration.

Voting no: Watson

If you want to read about other bills facing the General Assembly please visit http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/VoteList.aspx?Chamber=2

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Later yall, its been fun
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Ted O'Neil
Updated: May 23, 2018, 6:03 PM
Published: May 23, 2018, 6:05 PM

This is among the last pieces I’ll ever write for the Bryan County News.

Friday is my last day with the paper, and come June 1 I’m headed back to my native Michigan.

I moved here in 2015 from the Great Lake State due to my wife’s job. It’s amicable, but she has since moved on to a different life in a different state, and it’s time for me to do the same.

My son Thomas, an RHHS grad as of Saturday, also is headed back to Michigan to play basketball for a small school near Ann Arbor called Concordia University. My daughter, Erin, is in law school at University of Toledo. She had already begun her college volleyball career at Lourdes University in Ohio when we moved down here and had no desire to leave the Midwest.

With both of them and the rest of my family up north, there’s no reason for me to stay here. I haven’t missed winter one bit, but I’m sure I won’t miss the sand gnats, either.

Shortly after we arrived here in 2015, I got a job in communications with a certain art school in Savannah for a few short months. It was both personally and professionally toxic and I’ll leave it at that.

In March 2016 I signed on with the Bryan County News as assistant editor and I’ve loved every minute of it. My “first” newspaper career, in the late 80s and early 90s, was great. But when I left it to work in politics and later with a free-market think tank, I never pictured myself as an ink-stained wretch again.

Like they say, never say never.

During my time here at the News, I’ve covered everything that came along. That’s one big difference between working for a weekly as opposed to a daily paper. Reporters at a daily paper have a “beat” to cover. At a weekly paper like this, you cover … life. Sports, features, government meetings, crime, fundraisers, parades, festivals, successes, failures and everything in between. Oh, and hurricanes. Two of them. I’ll take a winter blizzard over that any day.

Along the way I’ve met a lot of great people. Volunteers, business owners, pastors, students, athletes, teachers, coaches, co-workers, first responders, veterans, soldiers and yes, even some politicians.

And I learned that the same adrenalin rush from covering “breaking news” that I experienced right out of college is still just as exciting nearly 30 years later.

With as much as I’ve written about the population increase and traffic problems, at least for a few short minutes my departure means there will be one less vehicle clogging up local roads. At least until I pass three or four moving vans headed this way as I get on northbound I-95.

The hub-bub over growth here can be humorous, unintentional and ironic all at once. We often get comments on our Facebook page that go something like this: “I’ve lived here for (usually less than five years) and the growth is out of control! We need a moratorium on new construction.”

It’s like people who move into phase I of “Walden Woods” subdivision after all the trees are cleared out and then complain about trees being cut down for phase II.

Bryan County will always hold a special place in my heart and I definitely plan on visiting again someday. My hope is that my boss, Jeff Whitten (one of the best I’ve ever had), will let me continue to be part of the Pembroke Mafia Football League from afar. If the Corleone family could expand to Vegas, there’s no reason the PMFL can’t expand to Michigan.

But the main reason I want to return someday is about that traffic issue. After all, I’ll need to see it with my own eyes before I’ll believe that Highway 144 actually got widened.

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