Gasaway, Wilkinson Recap Legislative Session

Local leaders hear from state legislators on a wide array of topics at a legislative wrap-up.

The Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Post-Legislative Breakfast event on Monday with 28th District State Representative Dan Gasaway and 50th District State Senator John Wilkinson.

A large crowd filled the Mitchell Allen Meeting Room at the historic train depot in downtown Toccoa to hear from the two lawmakers.

Wilkinson and Gasaway hit on a number of different topics ranging from bills that were passed to issues like the future of the HOPE scholarship and the medical marijuana debate.

Both legislators talked about the budget that the state passed.

Gasaway said it is important for people to understand that while the overall budget is bigger, that does not tell the whole story.

“We are spending, per capita in Georgia, at 1998 levels, so that is a key component,” said Gasaway. “A lot of the headlines say ‘biggest budget in Georgia history,’ which is true, but we also have the greatest population in Georgia history today, so you have to think about these things on a per capita basis.”

Meanwhile, Wilkinson noted that the majority of the state budget is put towards education.

He said that state budget does provide more for local school systems.

“It costs about $260 million to give every teacher in the state a three percent pay raise,” said Wilkinson. “We allocated $300 million additional dollars and we gave the local school systems some flexibility as to how they spend the money.”

Wilkinson said the first priority was to restore days for students, then get rid of furlough days and then give pay raises.

The two men also talked about some of the more hot-button topics, touching briefly on their support for the “religious liberty” bill vetoed by the governor.

They also talked about the “campus carry” bill, which still sits on the governor’s desk after it was passed.

Both Gasaway and Wilkinson voted in favor of it.

Wilkinson said he understands that there are strong emotions on both sides of the issue, but says he does not think many students will carry as a result of the bill.

“You have to realize the only students that would be eligible to carry a gun on campus would be students who are 21 years of age or older and students who have concealed carry permits,” said Wilkinson. “If you look at our state, only one percent of people in our state have a concealed carry permit.”

Someone asked the two legislators whether the “campus carry” bill could also come with a discussion and look at whether the requirements for a concealed carry permit should include training or a more stringent check.

Gasaway said it has come up.

“The resistance to it is clear,” said Gasaway. “There are groups who feel like we are already, by requiring a background check, infringing on second amendment rights.”

He said for that to happen, there would have to be a need shown.

Wilkinson added that he does not think there is a desire to pass additional requirements.

Besides recapping the session, the two men also received thanks during the meeting from Stephens County Administrator Phyllis Ayers for their efforts on behalf of the county in the Wilbros controversy.