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Crawford: Our elected officials contradict themselves
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Georgia legislators have been wandering off in some strange and contradictory directions over the past few years.When you consider the mood swings that seem to have affected our lawmakers, you might even think that they’ve gone off their medication.A little more than 15 years ago, legislators passed a law that required Georgians to submit a fingerprint for display on their driver’s licenses.After the fingerprint law had been in effect for several years, legislators decided they didn’t like it anymore. In 2005, they reversed themselves and passed a bill that eliminated the fingerprints on licenses and required the state to destroy the fingerprint records.Shortly before the fingerprint requirement was repealed, another bill was passed that allowed people to renew their driver’s licenses simply by going online and filling out a form. This made life a lot easier for Georgia drivers.Less than 10 years after making it more convenient to renew a driver’s license, legislative sentiment has swung back again.The General Assembly has now passed a bill that requires anyone applying for a new or renewed license to produce reams of documentation.