For two years, Georgia Sen. Seth Harp has tried to push a bill through the General Assembly that would allow voters to determine if their communities sell alcohol on Sundays.

Harp, a Columbus Republican, is back at the bar.

He has introduced a similar bill for the session, which starts today under Atlanta’s gold dome.

Gov. Sonny Perdue and key members of the General Assembly have blocked Harp’s previous efforts to pave the way for Sunday alcohol sales. Harp said he has not talked to the governor about the latest version of the Sunday sales bill, which comes as the state is tackling a major budget crisis.

“I don’t know what he’s going to do,” Harp said of the governor. “But money is the source of all evil. It may be a way of getting this legislation passed.”

Harp’s legislation is drawing a little more support this time around. Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, has signed on as a co-sponsor. Balfour chairs the Senate Rules Committee.

“We have a lot more support this time,” Harp said.

Sunday alcohol sales are permitted across the Chattahoochee River in Phenix City.

Harp started his push for the bill three years ago when he was standing in line at the Publix on Macon Road. Harp had just left Wynnton United Methodist Church.

“There was this couple in line — they were about my age and obviously from the North from the accents,” he said. “They had a couple of cases of soft drinks, two cases of beer and five bottles of wine. The clerk told them, nicely, but in no uncertain terms they could not purchase the alcohol on Sunday.”

The couple was buying the alcohol to celebrate the engagement of their son, who was training at Fort Benning.

“I am sitting there saying to myself, ‘This is crazy,’” Harp said. “It makes no sense.”

Harp, in his role as chairman of the Senate’s Higher Education Committee, has also made a controversial suggestion that the University System, which governs the state’s colleges and universities, consider merging two historically black colleges with other universities.

Harp has said that Savannah State and Armstrong Atlantic University in Savannah should merge, as well as Albany state and Darton College. The proposal has drawn questions from some in the General Assembly and national press coverage, including the New York Times.

Harp said the Board of Regents, which governs the University System, will have to make the first move.

“We can do a resolution, but we can’t do it,” Harp said. “The regents will have to do it. Who knows what will happen when they start looking at the magnitude of the cuts?”

There will be a number of local issues that the General Assembly will face. One of those could be the future of West Central Georgia Regional Hospital, a state mental facility on Schatulga Road.

There is a possibility that the Department of Human Resources could move to privatize or close the hospital. The facility was targeted for closure in 2005 by the Department of Human Resources.

“I have not seen all the details,” said Rep. Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus, “But I will be looking out for the best interest of my constituents. I am not convinced by closing West Central that people can be served better.”

Hugley fought against the closure last time.

“Until I see all the details, my position will be the same as last time,” she said. “I am going to fight against it happening. It is a vital service. And in the absence of it, that mental health service will be provided in the jails.”

Sen. Ed Harbison, D-Columbus, said one of his priorities will be to pass an interstate compact that is designed to make life easier on military families when they are transferred across state lines.

The bill passed the General Assembly last year but was vetoed by Perdue despite unanimous bipartisan support in the Senate and just one vote against it in the House.

The bill would have cut red tape for children of military personnel attending state schools. It would have standardized across state lines such things as course pre-requisites, immunization records and graduation requirements for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Harbison, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, said the bill was still a priority of the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce.

“I will reintroduce it,” Harbison said.

Rep. Vance Smith, R-Pine Mountain, will have his hands full with transportation issues. Smith is the chairman of the powerful House Transportation Committee. He was pushing a bill last year to address the state’s growing transportation problems. The bill died in political crossfire between the House, Senate and governor’s office.

He expects to introduce a bill early in the session.

“We need a transportation funding bill that looks at all 159 counties,” Smith said. “We have to provide mobility, congestion relief and keep good air quality. I hear businesses say they need better mobility in the larger cities, and not just Atlanta.”

And that is more than just roads, Smith said.

“We need to look at transit and rail,” Smith said. “We also need to look at a better way to fund small airports.”

The seven-member Columbus delegation may have found a new friend in December. Sen. Emanuel Jones bought the bankrupt Bill Heard dealership in Columbus. Though Jones’ 10th District includes parts of Henry and Dekalb counties and he lives in Ellenwood, will be watching Columbus matters more closely after making a nearly $25 million investment?

“Absolutely,” he said last week. “I will be much more tune to the issues.”

Jones pointed to his working relationships with Harbison, Harp, Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus, and Department of Transportation Board member Sam Wellborn, a retired Columbus bank president.

It looks like it could be a quick legislative session, Harp said. The session can last 40 legislative days, but those in recent years have been spread over three or more months.

“The early indications are we will run wide open,” he said. “I am told we will go five days a week until we hit the 40.”

The exception will be next week when the General Assembly takes a break for the MLK holiday and inauguration of President Barack Obama.