Peachtree City Police Chief

James Murray said his department will not back off on enforcing laws against

underaged or unlicensed drivers from operating golf carts, even though

both sides of the Georgia Legislature have approved the bill.

That's because the governor

has yet to sign the bill, and nobody is sure when he will.

It's a matter of appearances,

said Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Sharpsburg, the bill's sponsor.

Peachtree City's golf

cart legislation is one of just two bills the General Assembly has voted

on and passed so far this year, even though the 40-day session is more

than half over.

House Bill 1063 was unanimously

approved by the House Jan. 29, the first of the year. It passed the Senate

Feb. 6, remarkable not just for its speed but because House-sponsored

legislation rarely makes it through the Senate.

But Perdue's office isn't

exactly sure how to proceed signing the bill into law even though language

in it specifically authorizes the governor to do so effective immediately.

"It's a matter of

protocol," said Westmoreland Wednesday. "They're looking

for the proper way to handle it."

This being politics and impressions

meaning everything, Westmoreland suggested that the Republican governor

was hesitant about how it might look to sign into law a golf cart ordinance

that's very local in focus, while two huge issues weigh heavy -

the state budget, and redistricting.

Westmoreland said he's

working with the governor's office to find the right opportunity.

But even then, it might not

be automatic. The City Council would potentially have to vote to reinstate

the resolution authorizing the change before the golf cart ban is lifted.

Chief Murray said this was

an ideal time of year to lift the ban.

"This is a slow time of

year anyway," he said, "with frequent cold and rainy weather

deminishing the number of carts out and about."

The teenaged drivers who once

flooded a parking lot at McIntosh High School especially designed for

golf carts are patiently waiting for the governor's signature. No

huge leap in golf carts on campus was noted after Feb. 6.

"Our teenagers at McIntosh

High are being very respectful of the law," commended Mayor Steve

Brown.