David's blog

I am honored this year to again receive the Environmental Leadership Award from the Georgia Conservation Voters (GCV). I have received this award each year I have served in the General Assembly. Congratulations to Jason Rooks and the other hard working staffers at the GCV. This year was especially successful with victories on stream buffers and billboards. I look forward to being with the many other honorees at the event in May.

The following statement was issued in response to Governor Perdue's Exective Order regarding adult stem cell research.

Statement of Senator David Adelman (D-Atlanta)
Regarding Perdue Executive Order
April 15, 2006
Contact David Adelman at 404-853-8206

Governor Perdue is a day late and a dollar short. During the 2006 Session he had a chance to lead in biomedical research but he refused to do so. Families suffering from degenerative diseases do not need photo ops they need leadership.

In February, I introduced the Search for the Cure Act of 2006 which would have established an umbilical cord blood and tissue bank. My legislation also encouraged the most promising stem cell research which is supported by the likes of Nancy Reagan, Bill Frist, Orin Hatch, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the Shepherd Spinal Center, many patient groups and the overwhelming majority of the scientific community.

Governor Perdue and the Republicans in the Georgia Senate refused to give the Search for the Cure Act a hearing. Instead, they tried to pass a bill that criminalized the most promising types of research. Thankfully, their effort was thwarted by an outcry from patient groups, the scientific research community and public pressure.

Georgia continues to fall behind. Other states have put science and medicine before politics. California has devoted $3 billion for all types of stem cell research. Very recently, Maryland’s Republican Governor worked hard to make available $25 million for the full range of stem cell research. The Governor of Illinois specifically provided for research into all types of stem cells (including pluripotent cells, totipotent cells and cells derived from somatic cell nuclear transfer).

End

Below is a copy of the editorial that I wrote regarding stem cell research. This editorial appeared in the Atlanta Journal Constitition.

Georgia Should Lead on a Search for the Cure

By Sen. David Adelman (D-Atlanta), Georgia Democratic Senate Whip

I have a lot in common with former First Lady Nancy Reagan. That may sound strange coming from the Democratic Whip in the Georgia Senate, but it's true. What we have in common has nothing to do with politics.

We've both watched helplessly as a loved one slowly gave way to Alzheimer’s disease. And, we both support embryonic stem cell research.

Millions of Americans suffer from degenerative conditions including Parkinson’s, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, and macular degeneration. That’s one reason a majority of Americans, Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike, support embryonic stem cell research.

Stem cell research is complicated. Adult stem cells are derived from several sources including umbilical cord blood. Embryonic stem cells are derived from unused embryos or eggs following in vitro fertilization. Hundreds of thousands of unused embryos remain frozen at fertility clinics, destined to be discarded. Adult stem cell research is promising and should be pursued. However, adult stem cells are limited in their ability to grow and generate cells for therapies. Embryonic stem cells do not have such limits. Embryonic stem cells are “pluripotent,” meaning they have the capacity to become any type of cell in the human body.

Stem cell research is bigger than politics. Senator Bill Frist, a heart transplant surgeon and the Republican Leader in the U.S. Senate, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, and more than 100 other Republican members of Congress have joined Mrs. Reagan and most Democrats in bi-partisan support of embryonic stem cell research.

In 2001, President Bush authorized federal funding for research using existing embryonic stem lines. Importantly, the President did not limit privately funded research on new stem cell lines. Senator Frist warns that the older stem cell lines are deteriorating and losing research capability. Senator Frist, Mrs. Reagan, and others support federal funding for research involving new embryonic stem cell lines. That’s a matter for our representatives in Washington. But, we can do something in Georgia.

Several weeks ago, I introduced Georgia’s Search for the Cure Act of 2006 (SB 537) which would create a “bank” to collect voluntary donations of umbilical cord blood, placental tissue, and unused embryos from fertility treatments. SB 537 requires high ethical standards for research and strictly bans human reproductive cloning and the sale of tissue. My bill has the potential to attract additional advanced medical research--and jobs--to Georgia.

A competing bill was introduced last week that would take the extraordinary step of criminalizing research on new embryonic stem cell lines. This competing bill, SB 596, is tricky. It looks a lot like my bill. Its author gave it a confusingly similar name and copied my bill verbatim in many places. But, in stark contrast to my bill, SB 596 criminalizes embryonic stem cell research, making it a felony, requiring up to a ten-year prison sentence and imposing a $100,000 fine on researchers who work on new stem cell lines. Proponents of the bill have claimed it sidesteps controversy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. By criminalizing the study of new stem cell lines (even privately funded research), the bill launches a frontal assault on research supported by a broad bi-partisan coalition of leaders and most Americans. And, it does so without the benefit of a thoughtful study of the issue. If passed, it would distinguish Georgia as an especially hostile place for medical research.

We should work to honor the memory of President Reagan and my grandmother and to help the millions of people suffering from degenerative diseases. We need to slow down on the effort to criminalize embryonic stem cell research in favor of a more deliberate study of the issue. In the meantime, we can move forward on establishment of a universal system of banking umbilical cord blood and placental tissue. Georgia should lead the search for the cure.

As is usually the case in the Georgia Senate, much of the first week of the 2006 Session was devoted to ceremonial matters and an initial review of the Governor’s annual budget which was released in the middle of the week. Georgia’s Constitution requires the Governor to propose a budget to the General Assembly every year. In fact, the annual budget is the only legislation we are required by law to consider. This week will be devoted entirely to hearings relating to the budget. While I have not fully analyzed the Governor’s proposals, I am happy to see he has proposed restoring some of the previously reduced funding to K-12 education and changed his position now favoring mandatory classroom size reductions.

Budget

The State’s healthy economy spurred an increase in State revenues of $1.24 billion from last year. The Governor proposed a FY 2007 budget of $18.4 billion. This amount is exclusive of motor fuel tax revenues and the Georgia Lottery. After three years of failing to fund classroom size reductions, the Governor has allocated $163 million to the effort. This money is only for reductions in grades K-8.

Some of the Governor’s other budget initiatives include:

A 4% pay raise for teachers and $10 million to provide every teacher with a $100 “gift card” intended to offset personal expenses associated with classroom supply purchases.

Requiring local school districts to spend at least 65% of their budget in the classroom.

$23 million to raise Georgia’s graduation rates by hiring one High School Completion Counselor for every high school.

$3 million to recruit high performance principals to serve in Georgia’s “needs improvement” middle and high schools. (Of the 2,040 schools in Georgia, approximately 300 middle and high schools are in the “needs improvement” category.)

$23.3 million to raise Georgia’s graduation rates, including a High School Completion Counselor in every high school

$285 million in tax savings for senior tax relief

Up to $20 million will be returned to taxpayers this winter with a 50 percent reduction in the sales tax on natural gas

$60 million in tax relief for small business and reform of the corporate tax system

$434 million in property tax relief

$5 million grant program to support rural broadband access

$45 million to add more than 4,300 beds to the state prison system to reduce the jail backlog burden on county jails

$1 million to target and investigate meth-related crimes statewide

$5 million to expand the state’s Seed Capital Fund for early state bioscience entrepreneurs

$5 million for the Life Sciences Facilities Fund to help provide growing bioscience firms with resources to continue to grow

$38 million in bonds for the construction of a Nanotechnology Research Center at Georgia Tech to establish Georgia as a global leader in nanotechnology

$2 million for seed research to develop alternative fuels

While there is some good news, missing from the Governor’s budget is any serious effort to address Atlanta’s traffic gridlock or a sophisticated approach to addressing public health needs.

Voter ID Bill

A great deal of media attention has been devoted to the so-called Voter ID bill. Late last year, a federal court halted the implementation of the Voter ID bill that passed last year finding that the bill was most likely unconstitutional. On Thursday, the Georgia House of Representatives passed a bill that seeks to address the court’s concerns by providing free photo IDs. I anticipate the bill will be brought before the Senate during the week of January 23, 2006.

Immigration Reform

Several bills have been introduced in the Senate addressing the issue of illegal immigration. One such bill would have put strong restrictions on the admissions policies of University system institutions. Students of Georgia history know that our state has a not very proud history of legislative meddling with university system policies. I strongly support Georgia’s system of an independent Board of Regents and for that reason generally look unfavorably on laws which would micromanage our state’s colleges and universities. I am pleased the author of the bill directed at the University System has indicated he will not pursue the matter in 2006.

Campus Security

I appeared before the House Judiciary Committee to testify in favor of Senate Bill 153, the bi-partisan legislation I authored requiring private college and university police departments to respond to requests for information made under the Open Record Act. The House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously in support of the bill. This legislation passed the full Senate last year and now must come to the House floor for a vote. I am delighted the Georgia Press Association and the Georgia First Amendment Foundation support this effort.

Doraville GM Plant Site

Mayor Ray Jenkins and the City Council of Doraville have appointed me to serve on Doraville’s Blue Ribbon Committee to study the possible redevelopment of the General Motors property located within the City of Doraville. While local officials work in an attempt to convince GM to reconsider their decision to close the plant in 2008, I think it is important we begin to plan the potential redevelopment of the site in a way that improves the quality of life in our region.

Share the Road Tags

Legislation I authored to create a “Share the Road” car tag was signed into law by the Governor last year and the tag is scheduled to become available in 2006. Proceeds from the tag will go to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety for programs to make Georgia safer for pedestrians and cyclists. You can learn more about the tag at County tag offices or at www.georgiabikes.org.

I look forward to blogging again this Session. //David

Several people have emailed me to inquire about whether I intend to continue to blog next session. I am glad to do so. The Session begins January 9, 2006.