QUICK START FOR THE LEGISLATURE

The General Assembly got off to a fast start Monday, with lawmakers acting
quickly to reprimand one of their own, cut taxes and abolish parole.

A House committee vote on the fast-track tax cut measure could come as
early as today.

The Senate Ethics Committee approved a resolution to censure Sen. Ralph
David Abernathy III (D-Atlanta) for trying to smuggle marijuana into the
country. Abernathy apologized, but could still face impeachment
proceedings.

The full Senate could vote on Abernathy's censure as early as Wednesday,
said Ethics Committee Chairman Eddie Madden (D-Elberton). If the resolution
is adopted, it would mark only the second time in recent history that a
lawmaker has been reprimanded by his colleagues. In 1976, then-Sen. Roscoe
Dean was censured for misusing his state expense accounts and was later
convicted of drug trafficking.

The Ethics Committee vote for censure was 5-1, with Sen. Donzella James
(D-College Park) opposing the measure.

"I'm not trying to minimize what he has done," said James. "But we have
double standards."

Several senators have been convicted of DUI in recent years, but they were
not reprimanded by their colleagues. Madden said some of those incidents
also might have merited censure, but that Abernathy's action was "perhaps
the bell ringer."

Abernathy tried to smuggle about one-fourth of an ounce of marijuana in his
underwear as he left a flight from Jamaica at Hartsfield International
Airport last Dec. 1. The case was handled as a civil infraction by the U.S.

Customs Service, which levied a $500 fine that Abernathy said he paid Dec. 30.

Abernathy did not attend the Ethics Committee meeting, but apologized to
the full Senate for his actions. "I've gotten down on my knees and asked
God for his forgiveness," he said. "Now I stand and ask you for yours."

Despite Abernathy's contrite statement, there is still some sentiment in
the Legislature to impeach him.

"He's sorry only because he was caught,'' said Rep. Bart Ladd
(R-Doraville), heading an effort in the House to oust Abernathy. "He should
resign. If he doesn't resign, we're going to push it."

If the House does vote for impeachment, Madden said there was "a
probability" that the full Senate might follow suit.