Rule 108.3 No amendment to any appropriations bill shall be in order if the amendment has the effect of both reducing one appropriation and either increasing another appropriation or adding a new appropriation. No amendment to any appropriations bill increasing any appropriation or adding a new appropriation shall be in order unless there has previously been adopted an amendment reducing some other appropriation so as to make funds available for such new or increased appropriation; and no amendment to any appropriations bill shall be in order which would cause the bill to violate the balanced budget requirements of the Constitution.
Desperate for water amid a historic drought, some Georgia lawmakers are trying to reopen an 1818 border dispute with Tennessee.
They have set their sights on a stretch of the 652-mile long Tennessee River that flows tantalizingly close to the Georgia line - and by some historic accounts, should be within Georgia’s borders.
“It’s never too late to right a wrong,” said state Sen. David Shafer, R-Duluth.
Shafer’s Senate resolution says a flawed survey in 1818 mistakenly marked Georgia’s border one mile south of the 35th parallel - and thus excluded the Tennessee River from Georgia’s reach.
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The resolution would not change Georgia’s borders, but it would create a “boundary line commission” that aims to resolve the dispute. It was co-sponsored by all of Georgia senators, and a similar proposal was introduced in the House.
The border debate centers on an 1818 survey that has entered the folklore of north Georgia. As the story goes, surveyors charting out the 35th parallel were either frightened by a nearby Indian party or simply used flawed math to draw the line.
The resolution, which can be viewed here, creates a commission to review the disputed boundary.
Shafer addressed the issue in the Senate today:
However, our friends from Tennessee are are hostile to the idea. As one legislator put it, “If they ever tried, the governor, and me, and everybody else would be waiting for them.”
The State Senate approved a measure dealing with the immigration issue today. SB 340 would strip funding for so-called “sanctuary cities” in Georgia by a vote of 45 to 8.
As the article notes, no “sanctuary cities” exist in Georgia.
When lawmakers arrived today, the amended FY2008 budget was sitting on their desks. The budget has to sit for 24 hours after presentation and will be taken up during the tomorrow’s session.
No copies have been distributed. As soon as one comes available, we’ll get it posted.
[UPDATE] You can view the amended FY2008 budget here.
The House version was no different from the Senate version, but one of them needed to pass both bodies:The state’s first water management plan is on its way to Gov. Sonny Perdue’s desk.
With a 42-10 vote and no discussion, the Georgia Senate on Tuesday approved a plan that had been passed by the House last month.
The plan, which calls for three years of assessments to measure Georgia’s water supply and demand, comes as the state continues to face a severe drought. It creates 11 regional councils charged with drafting their own water plans. Opponents had wanted the council districts based on watershed boundaries, not political lines.
The Governor signed the plan into law this afternoon.