It was a disappointing

legislative session from where Fayette State Sen. Mitch Seabaugh sits.

He sums it

up thusly: how fair is it that $150,000 can be spent to build a statue

of a donkey in middle Georgia, but funds can't be found for other important

initiatives?

The redistricting

process also left a bad taste with Seabaugh, who said the Democrats proved

they were more concerned with maintaining their political power than the

people of Georgia.

Seabaugh's

district, the 28th, which currently includes parts of Fayette and Coweta

counties, will retain three more precincts in Fayette than originally

planned thanks to the new redistricting map. The original redistricting

map, which was struck down at the federal level, had Seabaugh losing three

Fayette precincts and gaining three in the more rural Pike County.

Though Seabaugh's

two most significant initiatives failed this year, he thinks they have

a solid chance of passing next year.

His plan to

steer more funds from the state's gasoline tax to pay for local road improvements

failed at the last minute in a power struggle between the Lieutenant Governor

and the Speaker of the House, who had offered a bill similar to the one

Seabaugh proposed.

Speaker Tom

Murphy had asked for the House rules to be suspended because his bill

wasn't approved for Senate consideration before the 33rd day of the 40-day

session, which is considered the drop-dead date for bills to be transferred

to the House and Senate for approval, Seabaugh explained. Lt. Gov. Mark

Taylor successfully battled for the bill to be held to those standards

despite the overwhelming support the initiative got from cities, counties

and transportation officials across the state, Seabaugh noted.

Bureaucrats

halted Seabaugh's efforts to pass a bill that would change state insurance

regulations "so more people could afford health insurance in Georgia,"

Seabaugh said. The bill would also lead to improved service while helping

keep the costs down for insurance companies, he added.

The senator's

plan to offer a $100 tax rebate for each taxpayer was also shot down during

the session. Seabaugh argued that with a $1.5 billion surplus from last

year and a $4.5 billion cash reserve that the state could afford to give

the rebate.

Those figures

"demonstrate that we are still overtaxed," Seabaugh said.

Seabaugh was

also upset that a plan to increase teacher salaries failed and Democr ats

successfully cut funds for media centers and staff development for educators.