I spent most of today in the cafeteria of Peachtree Ridge High School in Duluth as a delegate to the Gwinnett County Republican Convention.  Representative Tom Rice did a great job as convention chairman, and we elected a fine team of officers to lead us for the next two years.  Greg Howard will remain at the helm as county chairman, and he will be assisted by Brandon Doty, the new first vice chairman.

Two very good friends, Don Butler and Chris Farris, were elected to the county executive committee as at-large members.

But the most interesting news came from the Presidential straw poll, which had been tacked on to the end of the officer ballot, almost as an afterthought.  The delegates were given a choice of a dozen or so candidates.  None of the Presidential campaigns were represented at the convention.

The national frontrunner, Rudy Giuliani, placed third, right behind Georgia’s own Newt Gingrich, who finished second.  But the winner was former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee, who received more votes than all the other candidates combined.

Fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh place went to Romney, McCain, Huckabee and Brownback, in that order.

I have always liked Fred Thompson, but his stunning and seemingly spontaneous victory took me completely by surprise.  I am not sure what it means, but his nascent candidacy certainly bears greater scrutiny. 

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The Senate overwhelmingly approved Senate Bill 148, the Saving the Cure Act, but only after rejecting amendments offered by supporters of embryo destructive research. 

As I have written before, the purpose of Senate Bill 148 is to advance the types of non embryo destructive research over which there is no ethical controversy.  An amendment by Senator David Adelman, which was crafted to muddle this distinction, was rejected by a large bipartisan majority.  Senator Adelman then offered a “floor substitute” which, if passed, would have had the effect of sending the bill back to the Rules Committee, likely killing it for the session.  This stunt too was rejected, again by an overwhelming bipartisan majority. 

The bill then passed by a vote of 39 to 15.  Seven Democrats joined 32 Republicans in supporting the bill.  The two senators who missed the vote were both Republicans and cosponsors of the bill, so had all members of the body been present, Senate Bill 148 would have passed 41 to 15.

Still, fifteen members of the Senate Democratic Caucus went on record opposing stem cell research unless it included embryo destruction.  They did so even though every stem cell medical advance has involved stem cells from nonembryonic sources.  It was a revealing — and in many ways, disturbing — moment.

Senator Nan Orrock and Senator Vincent Fort, whose filibuster last year killed a similar bill to promote nondestructive stem cell research, joined Senator Adelman in voting no.  Senator Orrock was the lone vote against the bill in committee.

Keone Penn, who in 1998 was cured of sickle cell anemia by a then experimental treatment involving an umbilical stem cell, was in the Senate gallery to show his support of this bill.  He will be 21 years old this year.

Senate Bill 148 has been endorsed by the American Sickle Cell Anemia Association and Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia.

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives.  For more information about Senate Bill 148, visit Saving the Cure dot com.

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Writing today in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Jim Wooten urged passage of Senate Bill 148, the Saving the Cure Act.  His column is entitled, “Stem cell bill covers ethical bases; pass it.”

His closing paragraph quotes Dr. James Carroll, chief of child neurology at the Medical College of Georgia.

This [bill] really is a no-brainer. “It is unusual to come across an issue that clearly eclipses political party considerations,” said Dr. Carroll. “Senate Bill 148 is one of these issues.” Indeed it is.

Jim Wooten is the last great columnist at Atlanta’s largest daily newspaper.

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Senator Chip Pearson is backing Jim Gilmore for President.  Governor Gilmore will be at the Capitol tomorrow morning, and I am looking forward to meeting him.

Last month, John McCain visited the Capitol and spoke to the Senate Republican Caucus.  He came with one of my political heroes, Phil Gramm.  I left the Caucus meeting wishing that Senator Gramm was again a candidate for President.

At this point, I lean toward Mitt Romney.  I have heard him speak three times, twice in Atlanta and once in Boston.  I also had the privilege of introducing him on one of those occasions, when he was in Atlanta last fall campaigning for Casey Cagle.  He is an impressive, almost charismatic, individual, and I agree with much of what he says.

I also like Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee and Sam Brownback, although each for different reasons.   

I will turn my full attention to the Presidential race once the session is behind us.

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The Senate Rules Committee met this afternoon to set the calendar for tomorrow, Day 29.  We will have a full calendar, with over thirty bills.  Senate Bill 148, the Saving the Cure Act, willl be on the calendar tomorrow, along with Senate Resolution 5, the Taxpayers Dividend Act. 

Senate Resolution 20, the Taxpayer Protection Act, sponsored by Senator Chip Rogers, is also on the calendar.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, the provisions of Senate Resolution 5 have been incorporated into Senate Resolution 20.  If Senate Resolution 20 passes tomorrow, my plan is to withdraw Senate Resolution 5.

The only bill that generated controversy during the Rules Committee meeting was Senate Bill 154 by Senator Jack Murphy.  The bill deals with solid waste contracts, requiring municipalities to honor existing contracts when they annex land.  It is vigorously opposed by the Georgia Municipal Association, which complains that the language is vague and could have unintended effects.  Senator Murphy plans to introduce amendments tomorrow that he believes will address all outstanding concerns.

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The editors of The Augusta Chronicle today threw their editorial weight behind Senate Bill 148, the Saving the Cure Act.  In “The ‘everbody wins’ law,” they write:

Dr. David Munn, a pediatric oncology professor at the Medical College of Georgia, told Sen. Shafer in a March 5 letter that “I consider the goal of facilitating and encouraging nondestructive stem cell research to be a laudable one. Many of the most scientifically exciting possibilities for human therapy, and the ones that are the most practically attainable and closest to human clinical trials, are based on non-embryonic stem cells. In my opinion, it would be unfortunate to allow the dubious and controversial ethics of embryonic stem cells to divert attention from the many ethically acceptable, more promising and much less speculative non-embryonic strategies.”

We agree, and we believe Georgia lawmakers would be foolish to pass up this chance to advance science, and medical cures, with no pain or cost to donors - and no harm to human life.

They join the editors of the Savannah Morning News, Macon Telegraph, Albany Herald, Gwinnett Daily Post and Rockdale Citizen in supporting this bill.

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I have proposed a constitutional amendment, Senate Resolution 248, which would stop the double taxation of municipal property owners.  It applies to property taxes and provides, in essence, that:

No county shall levy ad valorem taxes or assessments within a municipality for services that are provided by the municipality.

Under my plan, counties would tax for the services that they provide (sheriff, courts, etc.).  Cities would tax for the services that they provide.  If you live in a city with its own police department, why should you pay a second time for a county police department?

I have heard from a number of mayors and city council members, and they are thrilled with this idea.  County commissioners, not so much.  What do you think?

[UPDATE]  Peach Pundit is discussing this idea here.

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The Macon Telegraph today endorsed Senate Bill 148, the Saving the Cure Act, in this institutional editorial:

A proposal before the Georgia Legislature, Senate Bill 148, addresses the cord blood stem cell issue in a unique and innovative way. Sponsored by state Sen. David Shafer, R-Duluth, and Cecil Staton, R-Macon, the law would establish a Georgia Commission for Saving the Cure. The mission of the commission would be to set up, in conjunction with public and private universities and hospitals, tissue banks. Women, after giving birth could voluntarily donate their postnatal tissue and fluid to the Newborn Umbilical Cord Blood Bank. The women would not be required to donate and they could also donate the tissue to a private firm.

The Macon Telegraph joins the Savannah Morning News, Albany Herald,  Gwinnett Daily Post and Rockdale Citizen in editorially supporting this bill.

Also, the Medical Association of Georgia and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce today both joined the growing list of organizations supporting this bill.  For more information, vist www.savingthecure.com.

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Senate Bill 137, the Sunday sales bill, passed out of the Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee this morning. Tom Crawford of Capitol Impact filed this report:

Legislation to allow Sunday package sales of beer, wine and distilled spirits cleared a significant hurdle Tuesday as the Senate Regulated Industries gave a “do pass” recommendation to SB 137 sent it on to the Rules Committee.

If the Rules Committee agrees to put the bill on the Senate calendar, it could be voted on by the members of that chamber as early as next week when the General Assembly is back in session.

“I think it will be well-received [by the Rules Committee] and get to the floor quickly,” said Sen. Seth Harp (R-Midland), the bill’s sponsor. “I think we’ve got the votes to pass it on the floor.”
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The Gwinnett Daily Post has today added its editorial voice to those supporting Senate Bill 148, the Saving the Cure Act.  An institutional editorial entitled “Nondestructive stem cell bill may save lives,” closes with these strong words:

The bill honors Keone Penn of Gwinnett County, the first patient to receive a cord blood transplant from an unrelated donor for sickle cell disease. Keone had suffered a stroke at age 5, experienced excruciating pain and had to undergo biweekly blood transfusions before getting his cord blood transplant in 1998. A year after the transplant, Keone’s physicians declared him cured.

“I want to hug the man who thought of it,” Keone said at a banquet honoring cord blood transplant survivors. “I just want to give him a big hug and break his ribs and squeeze him so tight.”

Shafer’s bill goes out of its way to avoid any of the controversy that comes with embryonic stem cells. The public and our elected representatives in the Georgia General Assembly should do the same. For Keone and thousands of others who could benefit from a bank of these nondestructive stem cells, this bill should become law.

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