Felony DUI Legislation. Last week, I wrote in this column that I expected the full House of Representatives to vote on House Bill 336, my felony DUI bill. At my request, the bill was returned to the Rules Committee to make some needed changes. The bill should be back before the House this week, and I still need your help.

As I wrote last week, if you know people living in different areas of Georgia who care about making the roads safer for all of us, then please contact them right away and ask them to express their support for HB 336 to their Representative in the House.

This measure makes make a fourth or subsequent DUI offense a felony, rather than simply a misdemeanor, and mandates that offenders not be released before serving at least the minimum mandatory sentence. The bill also provides the opportunity for repeat offenders to participate in strict, court- supervised substance-abuse treatment to decrease the likelihood of recurring offenses.

New and Improved Website. Please visit my recently updated District 82 website ( www.kevinlevitas.org), which has both new information and a new look. Keep visiting for more improvements and updates in the near future. Thank you for your support!

House Action. Several bills were approved by the House last week, including the following:

House Bill 1019, which authorizes the creation of the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank. The bank will provide low-interest loans to communities across Georgia for local transportation projects.

House Bill 1065, allowing local education sales taxes to be used for the capital outlay projects of local charter schools.

House Bill 250, which adds convictions for illegal substances and sexual offenses to the list of offenses that the Professional Standards Commission is authorized to investigate. After receiving complaints that an educator has been convicted of a listed offense, the Commission may proceed with an investigation to revoke the educator's teaching certificate.

House Bill 1091, redefining residency requirements for Georgia colleges and universities and requiring that a student graduate from an eligible high school in Georgia or from a course of home study in the state before becoming eligible for a HOPE scholarship or grant.

House Bill 1129 (Georgia Tourism Development Act), which provides a sales and use tax refund to companies building or expanding a tourist attraction.

House Bill 978, which states that any motor vehicle involved in an accident while being operated by a person who is not legally in this country is declared to be contraband and subject to forfeiture to the state.

House Bill 1159, providing a state income-tax credit of $2,000 per year for families who adopt foster children.

House Bill 255, which adds any felony offense related to an officer's or public employee's public employment to the definition of "public employee related crime." Once a person is convicted of this type of crime, his or her membership rights, privileges, and benefits in a public retirement system will be terminated.

House Bill 393, allowing Georgia farm wineries to offer wine samples and to make retail sales of their wines (and the wines of any other Georgia farm winery) in tasting rooms at the winery as well as at five additional locations in the state. The wine must be for consumption on the premises or in closed packages for consumption off-premises. The bill also allows the licensees of farm wineries to sell any farm or non-farm wine for consumption on-premises or in facilities adjacent to and owned by the winery.

House Bill 887, providing for the creation of the Tobacco Prevention Master Settlement Agreement Oversight Committee, dedicated to tobacco-use prevention. Among other things, the measure charges the Committee with establishing tobacco-use prevention programs, providing recommendations to the governor, reviewing current programs and reporting on progress.

House Bill 962, which requires local boards of education to make public notice of budget deficits or irregularities within three business days.

House Bill 1113, restricting the use of government charge cards and providing criminal sanctions for their abuse. This measure follows in the wake of widespread misuse of these cards.

Sponsored Legislation. Last week, I introduced House Resolution 1474, calling for a constitutional amendment to free counties from following any future laws that require the expenditure of local funds if the state has not appropriated the needed funds and made them available to the county.

All too often, state government passes down mandates for county governments to follow without providing any money for implementation. This results in higher county tax bills and the diversion of funds from other important county projects. It is time to put the brakes on these unfunded mandates.

Committee Action. In the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee, we voted to send House Bill 1245 to the full House. The bill revises Georgia's indigent defense laws, and, among other things, prohibits senior judges--such as the one who, until recently, presided over the infamous Brian Nichols case--from presiding over death penalty cases.

Transportation. The House Transportation Committee adopted Senate Resolution 781, calling on the Georgia Department of Transportation to create a statewide strategic transportation plan and to present it to the General Assembly by December 31, 2008.

If you are interested in more detail about what happened at the General Assembly this session, then please feel free to call or write me or visit the General Assembly website: www.legis.ga.gov. The website provides direct access to the text of legislation and vote tallies as well as schedules and live coverage of committee meetings.

(Another resource is offered when the General Assembly is in session by Georgia Public Broadcasting through a television program called "Lawmakers," which airs daily at 7 PM and rebroadcasts at 5:30 AM the following morning. The program covers each day's events at the Capitol.)

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