The Green[e]house Effect: a Weblog

Working the Capitol

Now that time has passed since the start of the 2004 legislative session, and what with the projects I work on getting press attention, let me explain what's keeping me busy.

The first item takes top billing because it got front-page, above-the-fold treatment in the Journal-Constitution this morning. My colleagues at the Georgia Alliance for Tobacco Prevention have rounded up 25 state senators to introduce a statewide smoking ban. I handle most of the communications work for them, writing opinion pieces, campaign materials, sample letters to the editor, speeches and such. We pulled together a press conference this afternoon that went over like gangbusters; every major television station in town sent a correspondent, along with a gaggle of newspapers and a couple of radio stations.

[Problem is, my stance on this pits me against a couple of libertarian bloggers I otherwise respect. That's small change, though — and besides, it might lead to some healthy discussion.]

Next comes an initiative pushed by the metro chamber of commerce, among others. We've gotten a group of House members to tout a package of teleworking tax credits, which — if they work — might provide local companies with a new incentive to try having more employees work from home on a regular basis.

Even though the state has a deficit [again] this year, we expect costs for this project to come in pretty low. Once you think about the amount of traffic people in Atlanta have to fight through — not to mention the pressure from the EPA to do something about air pollution — a project like this starts to sound worth more than a few bucks in lost revenue.

That comes under my work with the Technology Leadership Coalition, a group of hardware, software, and service firms with major operations in the state. I have to keep an eye on a few other bills for them until the session ends, but we've made this our top priority.

This talk aside, the screwball redistricting decision handed down today by the Northern District of Georgia — more on that later — could totally upend these projects, and leave us fighting for attention for the rest of the session. For now, though, things are cookin’.

Posted by Greg Greene at February 11, 2004 12:18 AM