Campaign Director: Dennis Beasley

(Email: georgiapetition@bellsouth.net

May 30th, 2007 Georgia’s Twin Bill Becomes LAW!

Today's signing of Georgia's Twin Bill into LAW by Governor Sonny Perdue is a victory for all parents of multiples and their children!  Thanks to all of the hard work and support of thousands of concerned individuals, Georgia parents can now CHOOSE to have their twins and higher order multiples placed in the same classroom, regardless of official (or unofficial) school policy.  Many future Georgia parents and their multiples will benefit from this new law...Hopefully more states will soon follow.

Thank you everyone for your support of this important legislation and for all of the time and effort you invested in it!!  And a very special thank you to Kathy Dolan for conceiving of and organizing this national movement for the benefit of multiple children everywhere...This Georgia Law wouldn't have happened without her!

Story: "Perdue also signed a bill to require school districts to place twins or other multiple siblings in the same classroom if the parent requests it. School districts had been permitted to make the decision. The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, said the new law will allow parents to have more control over their children's education."

Thank you again and please take a few minutes to sign the petitions of the other states listed at www.TwinsLaw.com if you haven't already done so.

Dennis Beasley

Governor Perdue signed SB 123 Twin Bill today so it is now law!  An article below details the Governor’s signature. 

 

Thank you to all who worked to make this possible by making phone calls, testifying, writing emails to State Legislators, and commenting on blogs.  To those who have had trouble with school administrations and your multiples, hopefully, this will alleviate some of your difficulties. 

 

I would like to extend a few special thanks.  First and foremost to State Senator Chip Rogers for introducing and sponsoring the bill and for being an advocate for parents of multiples!!!  Also, another special thank you goes to State Senator Judson Hill, who is a twin, and State Representative Charlice Byrd who answered my seemingly endless questions and guided me through this process.  Finally, to Nancy Segal, Ph.D. and researcher of twins, who wrote a letter on our behalf in support of the bill and encouraging parents to work cooperatively with schools to monitor situations and to be receptive to school administrator’s suggestions.

 

Thanks again!  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Please feel free to forward this email.

 

Have a great day!

--Jenny Beth Martin

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=93110

 

Perdue signs new laws, vetoes also expected

The Associated Press - ATLANTA

Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a raft of bills into law on Wednesday, the final day that he can act on legislation from the 2007 legislative session. The governor was also expected to issue vetoes later in the day and to sign the fiscal 2008 budget.

Lawmakers will be watching the $20.2 billion budget closely to see if Perdue brandishes his line-item veto pen to strip out spending they had sought. The bruising battle over spending between Perdue and House Republicans has led to speculation that Perdue will slash House projects.

In the first batch of signings released Wednesday by Perdue's office was a bill to require school districts to place twins or other multiple siblings in the same classroom if the parent requests it. School districts had been permitted to make the decision.

The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, said the new law will allow parents to have more control over their children's education.

The legislative session ended April 20. It was notable for the bitter power struggle between Perdue and House Speaker Glenn Richardson, who locked horns over the supplemental spending plan for the fiscal year that ends June 30. Perdue first vetoed _ then reversed himself and un-vetoed _ the $700 million midyear budget saying it failed to fund critical needs and contained a $142 million one-time property tax refund that the state could not afford. Perdue eventually vetoed only the tax refund.

The budget Perdue was set to sign on Wednesday contains spending for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

March 2, 2007

We cleared the first hurdle...The Senate Committee on Education & Youth unanimously passed our Twin Bill Tuesday night!  Now it's a race against the clock since there's only 14 business days left in this year's session.  It has to go before a Rules Committee and a House Committee before the voting can start...You can track the current status here :

 

http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2007_08/sum/sb123.htm