Witnesses' lies would be felony

ATLANTA --- Legislators say they've become fed up with witnesses' lies, and one bill approved by a committee Thursday aims to stop it.

The Senate Special Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to recommend passage by the full chamber of Senate Bill 7, which would make it a felony to give false testimony to a legislative committee. The bill's author, Sen. Ed Tarver, D-Augusta, said he decided to draft it last year after growing to believe he had been lied to, but he declined Thursday to offer specific instances.

Sen. Seth Harp, R-Midland, said he reached the same point this week as he withdrew his bill to allow communities to vote on the sale of packaged alcohol on Sundays. He recounted the comments of a preacher opposed to drinking who admitting that lying was permissible if the issue was important enough.

"He actually said, 'It's OK to lie.' Now, I think it's out of control," Mr. Harp said. "I'm tired of being lied to. I'm tired of having to face people who run out crazy ideas and come up with these absolute fallacious arguments."

Georgia law already makes it a felony to lie to other state agencies, Mr. Tarver said.

"Testimony provided to the General Assembly is just as important -- many cases more important -- than some of the other offenses that subject a witness to a penalty of a felony," Mr. Tarver said.

A lobbyist for the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Bill Clark, told the committee that few lobbyists are tempted to mislead a committee because getting caught would end their effectiveness. But others might let their emotions carry them away.

"If somebody walks in and they're not the professional lobbyist and they're not the professional advocate, they're just passionate about their issue, if they see (the chairman) telling a witness to raise their right hand to take the oath, there is a chilling effect in just that act alone," he said.