With the furor

over the flag vote simmering somewhat, Rep. Kathy Cox is moving on to

other issues.

After voting

in favor of the new Georgia state flag, she says she has not received

as many calls about it as other legislators, but most of those who have

contacted her have sent favorable messages.

"It was

about 50-50 before the vote," she said. "After the vote, calls

to me have been about three to one in support of my vote. People are glad

I did what I did."

As for the

new design, she said that she is "just glad we have a flag that can

represent everyone in the state. I'm glad we included Georgia's history

as well as 'In God We Trust.' I'm pleased with that."

As for new

issues, Cox plans to introduce legislation tomorrow that addresses another

hot-button topic teen driving.

Her measure,

one that she hopes will become part of the proposed driver training bill,

would allow employers who pay for their employees' driver training to

get the same $150 tax credit that parents currently get for their children's

driver training.

She said that

this goes hand-in-hand with the stipulations now being proposed that would

require any 16-year-old to get driver training before becoming licensed

or else wait until he or she turns 17.

Her suggested

measure might be an incentive for employers now competing fiercely for

a piece of the teen labor force, she said, and it could also encourage

16-year-olds to find jobs if their parents cannot afford to pay for their

driver training.

Cox's bill

addressing drug screening fraud has received a second reading and is now

with the Judiciary Committee. She said Monday that she has not pushed

the bill very much yet, but she might talk to House Speaker Tom Murphy

about it fairly soon.

This bill came

about because Georgia law does not currently address the selling of clean

urine for drug tests. While someone who used another person's urine for

a drug test is in violation of the law, the person who provides that urine

is not. Cox wants to make the sale of clean urine used in fraudulent drug

tests a crime.

The representative

from Peachtree City has also introduced resolutions commending students

for outstanding achievement in a variety of fields.

The varsity

boys and girls soccer teams from McIntosh and Starr's Mill high schools

visited the Gold Dome in mid-January after Cox's resolution saluting their

state championship seasons.

"I'm not

sure, but it probably made state history to have four state champions

from the same county in one year," she said.

A commendation

was also sent to Rachel Hubbard, who made the news recently when she helped

her mother, a school bus driver, safely park her vehicle after the mother

was injured by a deer.

Also recognized

with a Cox resolution was Andrew Thompson Roy of Peachtree City, currently

a senior at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis and holding the rank of

brigade commander, the highest ranking leadership position at the academy.