Well, sometimes it DOES pay to have a "big mouth", the willingness to
use it and to know the "right people".  It seems that in the 1999
Session of the Georgia Legislature redid the procedures to obtain a
Disabled tag.  (Until then, all it required was a letter from the
doctor, in-state or out-of-state, treating the disability.)  A form had
to be filled out by the owner(s) of the vehicle.  Then the treating
doctor, who HAD to be licensed in GA had to check a box that
appropriately covered the disability, sign it and GET IT NOTARIZED!!!
That form then had to be presented at the Tag Office.  Oh and the
Visually Impaired was NOT on the form.  (it took a while but I FINALLY
got my in-state eye doctor to check a somewhat ambiguous line.  He had
to keep the forms because the Notary Public was in his other office.  So
he was out the postage for this STUPID new piece of red tape/)

I did not find out about this until late last year.  (We have not bought
a vehicle since 1999.  However, every 10 years, GA changes its tags and
EVERYONE has to get new ones.)  I got the forms for our 2 vehicles and I
immediately got ticked off.  (Because of my Bilateral Coloboma, cataract
in my right eye and Nystagmus, I am VERY light sensitive.  I also know
alot of other conditions that can result in a person being light
sedative or night blind.)  I called my State House of Representatives
person.  She got back with me the NEXT day.  I faxed her a copy of the
form and she took it from there.

She thought that having the Hearing Impaired but NOT the Visually
Impaired listed was absurd.  (Heck, even her teen aged kids thought the
same thing!!!)  BEFORE the 2004 Session even started, she had already
lined up a co-signer and had the bill ready to go into "the hopper" on
the first day.  (All but 2 HR reps voted in favor of the addition of the
Visually Impaired.)  It took most of the rest of the Session for the
State Senate to read it and vote in favor of it.

I got home tonight to find a message from my Rep.. (Jan Jones for anyone
in GA that wants to thank her.)  Friday morning at 11:00 I am invited to
be present in Gov. Perdue's office to witness him sign the Mary Blanton
Bill into law.   I am pretty excited about this.  (Oh, "my" bill caused
a couple of others to be drafted for some other deserving groups.)

Just HAD to share this one.

MaryB.


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