Support at the state capitol

for allowing unlicensed drivers to once again legally operate golf carts

on Peachtree City's path system is growing, said Mayor Steve Brown

last week.

Brown plugged a proposal spearheaded

area legislators at Atlanta City hall hosted by the Metro Atlanta Mayor's

Association, or MAMA. Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin is chairman and Brown

is vice-chairman of the group, formed last spring to promote the needs

of metro cities to elected officials.

"It was a great opportunity

for me to lobby for our proposed golf cart legislation for the upcoming

session and I received nothing but positive feedback," said Brown.

The legislation proposed by

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Sharpsburg) essentially would allow local jurisdiction

over whether to let golf carts on paths and designate other parts of the

highway system for golf cart crossings. City Attorney Ted Meeker has said

the law would create an exception for golf cart usage on state highways,

and also gives the city the right to determine what vehicles are allowed

on city streets.

The City Council endorsed the

wording of the proposed ordinance back in October, at which time Councilman

Steve Rapson declared that the change in law "basically put Peachtree

City back where we were" before a court ruling in a DUI case led

to a judge determining that golf carts fell under the same rules as cars.

The outcome of that case, often

referred to as the Coker case, will not be affected by the rewritten law,

said Meeker.

The legislation is expected

to be introduced in the first few days of the session, which starts Jan.

12.

Meanwhile, Brown took advantage

of the MAMA gathering to promote some other metro-wide concerns, many

of which have a solid Peachtree City influence. They include improved

transportation funding, the need of cities to receive point-of-sale data

on local sales tax collections, special sales tax options for municipalities,

context sensitive transportation design, and the need to conduct safety

inspections on rental housing to maintain standards.

Many of the state legislators

were able to meet some of the metro mayors for the first time, and some

favored the idea of creating a legislative caucus for issues pertaining

to the Metro Atlanta region, Brown said.

MAMA members also met with

the new Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Harold Linnenkohl

and officers of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce to discuss possible

ways to resolve some of the obstacles facing metro cities.

"We have to be able to

plan for the future and look beyond today," Brown said, concluding,

"I am really encouraged by the fact that we have a large number of

local mayors who are willing to provide some collective leadership and

take some of our problems head-on."