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Georgia’s New Ethics Laws      A Summary of the Changes Relevant to Lobbyists and Legislator       Georgia Bar Journal - December 2005 - Vol. 11 No. 4    --  View PDF pages 24 - 30.  This is a large       PDF fille and takes some time to open.

Distributed to GA GOP State Committee Members by Randy Evans, Attorney for McKenna Long and Aldridge, and General Counsel for the GA GOP.    A Look at the Law       By J. Randolph Evans     and Douglas Chalmers Jr.     Enacting comprehensive ethics reform is never an easy process,and ethics reform in Georgia was certainly no exception. Legislatures—putting it mildly—do not like to regulate themselves.They assume honest and hardworking elected officials will ordinarily do the right thing and legalistic rules only serve as opportunities for partisan political traps. The easiest solution has always been to change a few meaningless words, call it ethics reform, and then claim a huge win. Real ethics reform requires much more. On May 6, 2005, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed House Bill 48,1 which substantially overhauled Georgia’s Ethics in Government Act (the Act).2 The changes go into effect on Jan. 9, 2006, and will be seen and felt by everyone involved. This article reviews the changes to Georgia’s ethics laws that will apply to lobbyists and legislators in the upcoming 2006 session of the General Assembly. Read entire article  --  pages 24 - 30 of the December 2005 issue of the Georgia Bar Journal. This is a large PDF file and takes some time to open. Below is an enlarged pocket quick reference guide which addresses some of the most common issues that come up under the Ethics in Government Act.      ◄Back to top of page