School bus safety fix moving in House
♦ Freshman Rep. Mitchell Scoggins marks his first month.
Rep. Mitchell Scoggins is approaching his one-month anniversary in the House District 14 seat covering parts of Floyd and Bartow counties, and the retired probate court judge is already filling up his plate.
“It’s a learning experience,” he said. “I’m doing a lot of listening, but I’m trying to get involved — as much as they’ll let a freshman get involved.”
While the Cartersville Republican hasn’t sponsored any legislation yet, he’s been asked to sign on to several other lawmakers’ bills. He said he’s a supporter of House Bill 75, which will close a loophole in the law governing when vehicles must stop for a school bus.
“The way the attorney general interpreted the law, people traveling on a multi-lane road divided by a yellow line didn’t have to stop,” Scoggins explained. “This is changing it so that everyone has to stop unless it’s divided by a median or barrier of some kind.”
Scoggins also is the third listed co-sponsor of House Bill 70, related to temporary guardianship of minors such as foster children.
He said the law requires probate judges to sign the order as long as the proposed guardian submits the right documents. Under HB 70, they could transfer the case to juvenile court, which has access to Division of Family and Children Services investigators.
“If we (probate judges) see something that we think doesn’t need to happen, if we think there’s something wrong with a guardianship, we can pass it to juvenile court and they would take over,” Scoggins said.
The bill also extends the length of time to 90 days from 60 for temporary guardianship of adults and allows guardianships to be transferred from out of state.
“We’re just trying to help the probate judges out a bit ... to give them a little more room to operate,” he said.
Scoggins also co-sponsored House Resolution 112, which commends the Coosa High School girls volleyball team for winning their 2018 State Volleyball Championship.
Rep. Eddie Lumsden, R-Armuchee, is the sponsor and Rep. Katie Dempsey a cosponsor of the resolution, which was adopted Tuesday by the House of Representatives.