The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • 42

THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION Friday, January 30, V. LEGISLATURE '87 TT1T inti Lawyer-legislator dispute re-emerges ouse fcS 1 Speaker Murphy then went back to the Supreme Court and won a clarification that lawyer-legislators may represent clients against state agencies if the attorneys do not charge fees for the service. Bowers, meanwhile, had lunch Thursday with the Senate leadership and members of the Senate's two judiciary committees. One senator who attended said Bowers talked about his difficulty with current state salary levels in competing with private law firms for young legal talent. The senator said the lawyer-legislator issue was not discussed.

Senate, said the state DOT traditionally has top-flight local lawyers on its side in condemnation cases, leaving property owners in many smaller communities without adequate representation. Barnes said, however, that he would oppose allowing lawyer-legislators to represent clients before state agencies. Former Attorney General Arthur Bolton dropped, the lawyer-legislator bombshell shortly before his retirement in 1981. The ban was challenged all the way to the Georgia Supreme Court, and Bolton's opinion was upheld by a 4-3 vote. the State Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Attorney General Mike Bowers has gone to the Georgia Supreme Court twice to sustain a ruling by his predecessor that such representation is a conflict of interest. Bowers had no comment on the latest legislative challenge. Authors of the House bill include Rep. Beverly Langford (D-Calhoun), a former state senator who is serving his first term in the House; and Rep. Denmark Groover (D-Macon), who has pushed similar bills in the past.

Langford, a lawyer, said he has three potential clients who wish to go to court over state Department of Transportation right-of-way condemnation efforts and sees no reason why he shouldn't be able to represent them in court Although several members of the Senate dismissed the legislation as yet another skirmish in a long-running battle between Bowers and House Speaker Tom Murphy, one influential senator said he sees nothing wrong with lawyer-legislators handling condemnation cases before juries. Sen. Roy Barnes (D-Mableton), the governor's floor leader in the By Duane Riner Staff Writer Never-say-die forces in the House are at it again in their long-running battle with the attorney general over whether lawyer-legislators should be allowed to represent clients against state agencies. A bill co-sponsored by a new HoUse member, who says he wants the right to defend property owners in highway condemnation suits, would allow lawyer-legislators to represent clients in actions against state departments and to appear before all boards and agencies except V1 Rep. Beverly Langford favors letting lawyer-legislators represent clients suing the state.

Li Hep. Billy McKinney: do things differently' Vis i aZ A 3 4 15? In the News 14 fc I'm, rj2r Al 4 'tr. -y Sodomy bills held for study by House panel By Steve Harvey Staff Writer Two proposals to legalize sodomy were tabled by a House subcommittee Thursday for further study, after the panel spent an hour discussing the issue. The first bill, introduced by Rep. Billy McKinney (D-Atlanta), would allow sodomy between consenting heterosexuals, but would retain the prohibition on sodomy between homosexuals.

A substitute measure, introduced by Rep. Jim Martin (D-Atlanta), would permit sodomy between any consenting adults if not done for money. "It is not my intent to foster any type of sexual behavior," Martin said. "But people have a right to be let alone if their behavior is in the privacy of their own homes and if it is not done for money. There is a point at which we all have a right to be let alone." McKinney said he "found no fault" with Martin's substitute proposal, but other committee members said they were concerned with the timing of the proposed legislation.

With the present concern over AIDS, said Rep. Lawton Stephens (D-Athens), "I wonder if by passing this legislation we will be sending a message saying that we're condoning behavior that is not conducive to the public health." Martin responded that a person who contracts AIDS is facing "a death penalty. That should be enough of a deterrent." Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Columbus) then suggested that the committee table the bill "to study it further concerning the right of privacy and see if it's possible to reconcile this legislation with the committee's good conscience." The subcommittee indicated it would bring the proposals back up for consideration later in the session. McKinney, in introducing his proposal two weeks ago, said his intent was to clear up confusion over a U.S.

Supreme Court ruling last year that upheld Georgia's anti-sodomy law. The court ruled that the constitutional right to privacy does not extend to homosexuals who engage in sodomy. But it did not say whether heterosexual sodomy is protected by the U.S. Constitution. By Steve Harvey Staff Writer Several years ago, to show how easy it was to buy drugs, Rep.

James Edward "Billy" McKinney stood in the well of the House and held up a J5 plastic bag of cocaine that he said he'd purchased near the Capitol. Another time, he stood in the House well wielding an ax handle while arguing against a pension for former Gov. Lester Maddox. "I do things differently from most other legislators," said McKinney (D-Atlanta). "I've done lots of things that other legislators shy away from." The 1987 legislative session has been no exception.

McKinney already has drawn his colleagues' attention by introducing a bill to sodomy between men and women. And for the second year in a row, he is pushing legislation that would allow health offi-. cials to examine a suspected AIDS victim under a court order. Among the other provocative causes McKinney has championed during his 15 years in the General Assembly: pari-mutuel betting, bingo, decriminalization of marijuana and the annexation of Sandy Springs into the city of Atlanta. Along the way, he admits to having gained a reputation as an agitator.

"My role is to make sure we have change," McKinney said. "But it means I have probably sacrificed any chance of promotion in this body." McKinney said his activist streak may be partly responsible for his fall from grace with House Speaker Tom Murphy. And part of it, he said, may be that he supported the late Rep. Al Burruss when Burruss ran against Murphy for House speaker. "I respect him Murphy and I think he respects me," McKinney said.

"But I'm not on 61s team. I've been here 15 years and I'm not (v5a the secretary of a committee." I Although many of McKinney's bills have meVa swift death, he has had his share of no- talfle successes. In 1975, McKinney successfully pushed a bill legalizing the Sunday sale of mixed drinks in Atlanta. I was the author when nobody else would touch it," he said. "If we'd been afraid of Sunday liquor sales, we'd still be a one-horse town." His proposal to legalize bingo also cleared the General Assembly and was approved later by voters as a constitutional amendment In 1948, McKinney was hired as one of Atlanta's first black policemen.

He served on the force for 20 years before resigning after he was suspended for picketing outside City Hall. Over the years, he said, "I have participated in every major demonstration from Sel-ma to Forsyth County. I can do all those things and still be effective in the House." An Atlanta native and Clark College graduate, McKinney, 59, works as a public affairs consultant. He and his wife, Leola, have three children. McKinney represents a northwest Atlanta district that is 82 percent black, and he says his constituents are comfortable with the legislation he sponsors.

His biggest frustration since being elected to the General Assembly, he says, has been "the powerlessness of black legislators." "We don't have the positions yet that we ought to have," he said. "Florida has a black speaker pro tern. California has a black speaker. We haven't learned to maximize our strength yet But that's coming. That's on the way." Rep.

Calvin Smyre (D-Columbus), the first black to serve as a governor's House floor leader, said McKinney "feels he needs to go after the system to shake it up and let the chips fall where they may. "I like Billy personally," Smyre said. "We differ from time to time, but I respect him. He's a shock trooper and I'm a shock absorber." li iA a WILLIAM BERRYStaff Rep. Billy McKinney on the floor of the House, where he has served for 15 years, championing causes ranging from bingo to the annexation of Sandy Springs into the city of Atlanta.

Bill would cut jobless benefits in firings for misconduct Panel OKs forced test Legislative Report where AIDS possible full Senate. Jim Thompson, a representative of the United Auto Workers, warned the committee that the bill "opens the door to unscrupulous employers" who might fire workers when layoffs are imminent In general, the rate of unemployment insurance taxes a company pays increases with the number of benefit claims. Mary Margaret Oliver of Georgia Legal Services, which serves indigent clients, said the bill would have "a tremendous impact" on low-income workers, especially in rural areas of the state where jobs are scarce. She warned that many fired workers would become welfare recipients. Dawkins said the bill safeguards workers by placing the burden of proof in a firing on the By Scott Thurston Staff Writer Workers in Georgia fired from their jobs for misconduct would be disqualified from drawing unemployment insurance benefits, under a bill approved Thursday by the Senate Industry and Labor Committee.

The bill drew criticism from union officials and legal advocates for the poor, who said the change will affect primarily low-income workers and could encourage employers to fire rather than lay off workers. The measure is backed by state Labor Commissioner Joe Tanner, who told the committee that unemployment insurance "was never intended to be a welfare program, take care of dependents or anything of that nature." Tanner said the bill is aimed primarily at "downright sorry" workers who simply refuse to show up for work or knowingly break rules and are fired. Under current regulations, such workers can draw unemployment benefits after serving a disqualification period of several weeks. Last year, 17,000 of the 207,000 Georgians who received benefits served a disqualification period after being fired, Tanner said. Under the bill, the estimated $20 million saved by denying benefits to fired workers would be used to raise the maximum benefit for qualified recipients to $165 a week by 1988.

The bill sponsored by committee Chairman Harrill Dawkins (D-Conyers) and others, was approved unanimously and now goes to the From Staff and Wire Reports The House General Health Subcommittee approved a bill Thursday that could lead to mandatory testing of people suspected of being infected with the AIDS virus. The measure, which would classify AIDS as a sexu- ally transmitted disease, was introduced by Rep. Billy McKinney (D-Atlanta) and now goes to the full commit- tee for consideration. The bill would require AIDS victims to give public health officials the names of their sexual partners, and it would allow health officials armed with court orders to force those suspected of being infected with the AIDS virus to undergo testing. The bill also would require testing of all pregnant women for exposure to AIDS.

Bill would require literacy for driver's license Sen. John Foster (D-Cornelia) believes that if you can't read and write, you shouldn't be allowed to drive a car. Salary bill for lawmen 'gutted, senator says Legislation to set a minimum monthly salary of $995 for deputy sheriffs and municipal police was passed by the Senate Thursday, but an amendment "effectively gutted it," said Sen. Paul Broun (D-Athens), the bill's author. The amendment by Sen.

Frank Albert (R-Augusta) nullifies the pay hike unless the state reimburses local governments for the extra expenditure. Albert argued the state should not be "mandating to the cities and counties" what they must pay their police officers. The bill now goes to the House. Senate passes pretrial reviews in capital cases The Senate Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bill under which the Georgia Supreme Court would have to review pretrial motions in death penalty cases. Under the proposal by Sen.

Alex Crumbley (D-McDonough), all defense claims involving pretrial issues such as where the trial should be held would have to be raised before the trial began and would automatically go to the Supreme Court for review. Crumbley said if such a law had been in effect when the Alday murder defendants were tried in Seminole County more than 10 years ago, it might well have resulted in a Supreme Court decision to move the trial immediately to another county. Instead, a federal appeals court only last year reversed the defendants convictions, citing pretrial publicity. The measure now goes to the House. PUBLIC NOTICE REST 4 Davs On If a bill he introduced gets through the Legislature this year, anyone born after June 30, 1973, would have to pass a written not oral test in order to get a driver's license.

At least 25 percent of Georgians are considered illiterate, Foster said. "One of the most important to a young person these days," he said, "is getting a driver's license. If they realize thev will $28 354 rm.iuEA. rfca lor beat aalaction fr2i Check our prices against price sales, truck load sales, truck driver stranded sales, coupon in the mail sales, wholesale to the public sales, brother-in-law sales! Don't make a costly mistake compare our prices. you'll save big bucks! QUEEN EA PC KoM KINO UK tA.

PC. A 80'. FREE 60 tO On Major Brands Sen. Foster Senate OKs spouses' testimony on child abuse LAYAWAY T7 Matltnssfls told separately at 6SV. ot ol price) 'have to pass a written examination to get that license, )St know that it would be an incentive for them to 'stayin school." Brass Iron Daybed Includes HOTELMOTEL FIRM Year Warranty The Senate voted 49-1 Thursday to create an exception to the right of spouses to refuse to testify against each other, allowing prosecutors to force spouses to testify in child abuse cases.

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But Pannell's bill vatd require that the rating be placed on the plastic This would alert parents to the contents of a Woie that was found out of its package, he explained. WThe measure now goes to the Senate. 10-year product liability limit passes House The House Thursday passed a bill setting a 10-year statute of limitations on negligence suits in cases involving faulty products. The bill would prohibit all damage suits arising from a product that was manufactured more than 10 years before the accident, except in cases where the product caused a disease. The measure now goes to the Senate.

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