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Rep. Randy Nix, R-LaGrange, won re-election to his fourth term in November. His district includes LaGrange and runs north to Carrollton.

What do you think of the proposed changes to the ethics laws? Will you be voting for or against?

I will support ethics legislation that I believe will improve the trust citizens have in legislators. Expect to see the House offer more comprehensive ethics legislation than the Senate adopted into their rules.

I don’t have a firm opinion on the proposed new (Georgia Dome) stadium other than to say that the economic impact of college and professional football on Atlanta is huge. I am open to hearing the debate.

Do you see the General Assembly doing anything with gun laws and/or school safety in light of recent events and federal proposals? What is your take on what should be done?

I don’t think we need to over react to recent events, but we do need to take this opportunity to seriously evaluate security at our schools. Legislation has been introduced which will allow the school systems to authorize (not mandate) qualified staff/faculty to possess firearms on school property. I think this is reasonable and also would support having more school resource officers in the schools.

I do not think we need more gun laws. First, I think it is unfortunate that people want to use tragic events to advance a political agenda. I don’t think we need new legislation-it was not a failure of gun control legislation that caused these tragedies. We have gone to great lengths to eliminate God from our schools, any sense of morals and decency from our society, devalued the family and promote violence nonstop to our young people through video games and movies and television. Until we get back to valuing life and promoting and valuing personal and parental responsibility, new laws or legislation won’t matter. Laws only matter to those who are taught to respect them. We need to address the real issues which lead to the massacres we have seen lately – a dysfunctional mental health system and the glorification of extreme violence in movies and video games. I am part of a House working group whose task is to find better and more effective ways to deal with our citizens who are struggling with mental illness.

What about Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed budget? What would you like to see?

I haven’t had time to go through the specifics of the Governor’s budget-we will have budget hearings next week. I am seeking additional education funds for soft skills training and evaluation in order to support career pathways legislation I sponsored two years ago. Employers statewide consider this critical to the success of our graduates in the job market.

I don’t know if it will result in legislation or not, but I am heading an education subcommittee looking at discipline issues in our schools. Also, I am continuing to work to address the problem Georgia has with scrap tires. Since last session, I have worked with GDOT to get approval to use recycled tires in the asphalt on our roads. I am working on legislation to make it easier to identify those who continue to improperly dispose of used tires.

Is there any local legislation you will be introducing or any particular issue you plan to be involved in this session?

I don’t have any specific local legislation at this time.

Nix has a new statehouse address this year. Constituents may write to him at:

402 Coverdell Legislative Office Bldg.

Atlanta, GA 30334

Phone: (404) 656-5087

and locally:

P.O. Box 991

LaGrange, GA 30241

706-845-9853