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Several new bills signed into law
Deal
Gov. Nathan Deal signs a bill into law in this file photo.
Corey Barnes
Bryan County News Correspondent
Updated: May 15, 2018, 2:34 PM
Published: May 15, 2018, 2:43 PM

When the Georgia General Assembly concluded its legislative session at the end of March, a litany of bills passed over to Gov. Nathan Deal’s office. Georgia law gave him until May 8 to review all bills and either affix his signature or provide a veto. With the deadline passed, here are some of the bills he signed into law.

HB 657 makes it a felony for an individual to knowingly and intentionally provide a firearm to any person who has been convicted of a felony. Upon conviction, the weapon provider shall be imprisoned for between one and five years. State Representatives Jesse Petrea (166) and Ron Stephens (162) sponsored the bill.

HB 673 prohibits actions which distract a driver while operating a motor vehicle. Drivers may no longer physically hold a wireless telecommunications device, write, send or read text messages, watch video, or record video. Drivers may utilize Bluetooth functionality to make calls or operate their phones. Drivers caught violating the law will be assessed a progressive fine of $50, $100 or $150 depending on the number of violations.

HB 834 provides several protections and definitions for individuals seeking relief from family violence. Chief among them, landlords may not charge a lease breaking fee or any other penalties for individuals who are leaving an abusive situation pursuant to their having the proper court documents.

SB 118 concerns coverage for autism spectrum disorders. Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, policies or contracts providing coverage for assessments, evaluations or tests by a licensed psychologist to diagnose an individual for an autism spectrum disorder will cover individuals ages 6 to 20. The policy may limit coverage for applied behavior analysis to $35,000 per year, up from $30,000.

SB 17, also known as the Brunch Bill, provides an opportunity for counties or municipalities to hold a referendum that would allow the start time for sales of alcoholic beverages on Sundays to change from 12:30 p.m. to 11 a.m. The change would only apply to a licensed establishment that derives at least 50 percent of its total gross sales from sale of prepared meals or food.

SB 82 allows for members of the Georgia National Guard or reserve members of the armed forces located in Georgia to be eligible for HOPE scholarships and grants.

SB 331 allows lottery award winners of $250,000 or greater to keep their information confidential if they submit a written request to that effect.

HB 65 creates the Joint Study Commission on Low THC Medical Oil Access. The 10-member committee shall study quality control, security, and safeguards surrounding the state’s use of medicinal cannabis oil. In addition, the law modifies the list of applicable conditions to include post-traumatic stress disorder and intractable pain.

HB 658 extends timeline for excise taxes on rooms, lodging and accommodations to be collected until Dec. 31, 2053.

HB 816 requires mandatory fingerprinting and criminal record checks for prospective employees of the Department of Revenue as well as any current employees who have not had a background check in the past 10 years. Contractors and subcontractors who would have access to confidential information would be subject to the background checks as well.

HB 840 states that no taxpayer shall be liable for penalty or interest if he or she incurred the fine while serving as a member of the armed forces in a combat zone and the error was not due to gross of willful neglect of the law. Upon return from service the individual will have 60 days to provide proof of the service and make full payment of taxes due.

For a full list of bills signed into law including their full texts please visit https://gov.georgia.gov/legislation/2018

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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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