By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher, GwinnettForum
AUG. 22, 2025 | It may be another unwritten example of mankind, such as Newton’s Laws, only this applies to politics.
But first, back to Newton. We get from the Internet Newton’s three laws of motion, describing how objects move.
“The first law states that an object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. The second law relates force, mass, and acceleration: force equals mass times acceleration (F=ma). The third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
Now move it to politics: We’ll paraphrase:
“A law written tends to remain at rest, until a legislator walks by, at which time, anything can happen.”
We’ve seen this go on for years. Hard-working voters send people to the Capitol to work for them, but somehow, things get mixed up so much that the legislator forgets who sent him, and starts working to change matters, often to benefit someone, perhaps a constituent, one way or another. But not necessarily the people who sent him or her.
Georgia law requires that the legislature should meet for 40 days each year. But legislators don’t count 40 consecutive days from the beginning of the session. You, see, they don’t count the weekends, and don’t necessarily meet each day of the week. They only count the days that they actually gather in official sessions at the Capitol in Atlanta.
So while most people would say from the opening session in January, they might meet until about the middle or end of February, somehow the 40th day they meet might even end in April!
Some of you longtime readers may remember that one of the Continuing Objectives of GwinnettForum calls for the legislature to meet for 40 days every other year.
After all, since we already have enough laws on the books to govern Georgia properly, why have any more than necessary? And remember, we’re not trying to cut the remuneration of any legislator. Pay them for staying away from the Capitol every other year. That’s a small price to pay so that we won’t have many more unnecessary laws.
Yet remember the premise: “A law written tends to remain at rest, until a legislator walks by, at which time, anything can happen.”
Here’s another way these duly-elected officials are getting around the 40 day rule, as pointed out by Jet Toney, a veteran Georgia lobbyist, who was on a panel recently hosted by the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. Toney mentioned that these elected officials often form “study committees” on various topics, to report back to the 40 day session next time it comes around.
And guess what? Legislators get handsomely paid for these days they meet with members of “study commissions.”
When working on study committees, Georgia legislators receive a per diem (daily allowance) of $247 per day. This per diem is in addition to their annual salary, which is $24,341.64 per year.
This per diem covers expenses incurred during their time on study committees, including for their service on standing or interim committees, or any other board, bureau, commission, or agency created by law.
This $247 per diem was increased from $173 per day, effective April 15, 2022.
Final observation: “Always watch out when the legislature is in session. For sure, some ox will get gored.” Newton might appreciate that.
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