Political Insider

He got very red in the face and let the entire room know in no uncertain terms that he had no intentions of having H.B.1 and H.R. 536 on the House floor. There was a bit of a gasp in the room.

Mr. Richardson went on to say that his concern was for the living children, and so he had legislation for a tax break of $2,000 for parents who adopt a foster child. This rang rather hollow, and I'm sure he knew it.

We called Scott Johnson, chairman of the Cobb GOP, who emceed the event. Johnson said he couldn't vouch for the theatrics described above. He didn't see the speaker's complexion change, and heard no gasps in the room.

But Johnson confirmed the bottom line: Richardson told the Republican group that H.R. 536 would not move this year. Johnson said the speaker expressed concern that the measure could have unintended consequences, and might even interfere with the state's ability to apply the death penalty.

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