ATLANTA – A South Georgia lawmaker said he still plans to push a bill forcing school districts to enclose their dugouts, but he said he’s willing to ease up on the requirements.

Rep. Dexter Sharper, D-Valdosta, originally wanted dugouts “fenced in overhead and on all sides,” which could quickly become pricey for schools with multiple fields.

Now, Sharper is looking to allow netting, considered a more affordable alternative.

He’s calling the proposal the Colton Shaw bill, in honor of a Valdosta player who died last March. Shaw, 14, was sitting in the visitor’s dugout in Colquitt County when an errant throw struck him in the head.

Sharper plans to file the bill this week.

Medical marijuana bill builds early support

More than 100 legislators have signed onto a bill that would expand the state’s medical marijuana law and allow for production of cannabis oil in Georgia.

Valdosta-area Reps. Amy Carter and Jason Shaw were among 108 House members who signed the bill. Georgia has 180 state representatives. Reps. Dexter Sharper and John Corbett have not lent their names to the effort.

Corbett, for one, said he wanted to see legislation that can win over the support of law enforcement, which has expressed concern about in-state production.

Sharper, meanwhile, said he is not opposed but questions how the oil would be manufactured and distributed.

Rep. Allen Peake’s proposal, filed this week, seeks to build on a bill, passed last session, called the Haleigh’s Hope Act. It allows Georgians with a qualifying condition to possess medical cannabis oil, but they risk arrest when transporting it here.

The Macon Republican’s new bill calls for licensing up to six operations in the state, with the oil available to patients by July 2017. It would also add diagnoses that qualify for the state’s program, including post-traumatic stress disorder, glaucoma, sickle cell disease, HIV and AIDS.

Gov. Nathan Deal has said he opposes allowing production of the oil in Georgia. A commission also recently voted against it, citing concerns from law enforcement and those who believe the federal government should take action.

 

Dems rally for Medicaid expansion

Democrats say they plan to pursue Medicaid expansion in earnest this legislative session.

“More than anything, this is about putting a stake in the ground because this is the last year Georgia can accept the dollars for free,” said Rep. Stacey Abrams, D-Atlanta, the House minority leader, at a press conference Thursday.

Moving forward, the state’s costs will grow incrementally should it expand the federally backed insurance program for the poor.

“The urgency of now is that we have families, communities and jobs that are being lost because we are refusing to accept dollars because we don’t like whose name is on it,” Abrams said, referring to President Barack Obama’s healthcare law.

Republican Gov. Nathan Deal has been steadfast in his decision not to expand Medicaid, and House Speaker David Ralston said Friday that it’s unlikely expansion will be debated this year.

Rather, the speaker said he’s hopeful that states will gain the flexibility to “craft solutions on their own” if a Republican president is elected this November.