The state's 2014 Georgia legislative session is here. That is to say, politicking came alive at the state Capitol Monday. Lawmakers, lobbyists, citizen activists, troublemakers - the usual crowd - were there.

And true to all of the previews you might have read, everyone at the Capitol Monday talked about how 'fast and furious' the session will be. It's expected to be so fast that a new category has emerged - although it doesn't have a formal name, it could be called: 'all the issues lawmakers say they can't possibly get to this year.' More on that later.

First, let's deal with the 'fast' part. Last year's session went by fairly quickly but this year's could be even a month shorter because of primary elections that are slated to take place in May, instead of July. Some people are saying the session will be out by St Patrick's Day, March 17. And lawmakers wasted no time Monday holding a hearing about the bill required to move up the primaries. A bill could be on the floor of the House this week. That's fast.

Now let's deal with the 'furious' part. To be fair, State Senator Don Balfour didn't sound furious either in the well of the Senate where he addressed his colleagues or in an interview beforehand.

An Innocent Man

But less than a month after a Fulton County acquitted him of fraud charges, the Snellville Republican demonstrated no intention of letting the issue rest. The former chair of the Senate Rules committee and the longest-service Republican was accused of trying to bilk the state by falsifying travel vouchers, and in one instance double-billing taxpayers and his employer, the Waffle House, for a trip. But a Fulton County jury recently cleared him of all charges. And now he has some questions of his own about the case.

"Ask any prosecutor in the state of Georgia, ask any D.A. in the state of Georgia if they've ever indicted someone for a felony for $11," he said to reporters. "I think you'll find zero percent have. You don't get indicted for an $11 mistake."

That's not idle talk. He's taking aim at the state's attorney general, Sam Olens, who brought the charges. And he's touching on a topic near and dear to the heart of every conservative Georgia lawmaker: fiscal restraint and responsibility.

Now you may say: well I heard all of this from him after the verdict last month. Yes, but now that the legislature is in session, he has a much bigger megaphone.

Of course, it's personal too. He's showing there are factions within the Georgia GOP. And people who might one day have been the closest of allies are now acting like sworn enemies.

"Forgiveness is important," he said slowly. "But it's an awfully hard concept."

A Penny Has Two Faces

There are two sides to every issue, of course. And not everyone thinks justice has been served and it's time to move on from whether Balfour knowingly filed false expense reports.

State Senator Josh McKoon, a Columbus Republican, said Monday he plans to take steps to explore additional punitive action. He said the criminal trial portion of this story may be over but all options are on the table in terms of disciplinary action for what Balfour says were innocent mistakes.

Balfour has already paid a $5,000 fine. But, if McKoon, the chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, has his way, he could even face censure.

McKoon questions how Balfour used the per diem system, which as a committee chairman gave him carte blanche to claim legislative pay outside of the General Assembly session calendar. Essentially, Georgia lawmakers are free to claim legislative pay without having to explain what they were doing to earn it.

And that means this story isn't just the legislative version of a grudge match. It's about taxpayer dollars, and how they're spent.

It may even generate another chapter in the book of ethics reform. Last year, gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers were capped. Could this year be the year per diems get an overhaul?

(Before we get ahead of ourselves, the answer is no. Apparently there's no political will to tackle anything the slightest bit controversial.)

But back to the issue of per diems: McKoon says they should be scrapped and additional compensation should just be rolled into lawmakers' salaries.

So What'll It Be?

That was probably the most exciting thing that happened at the Capitol Monday. But several committees also met, including one vetting a tort reform bill that would overhaul the medical malpractice system.

Sponsor Brandon Beach, a North Fulton Republican, said since healthcare costs aren't going down something needs to be done. And he's proposing a system that would resemble worker's compensation.

"As a state, we can't do much about Obamacare. But we can cut costs out of the medical system," he said after the hearing.

That's worth reporting if only because a Republican in Georgia is saying the state can't do much about Obamacare. It's also known as the Affordable Care Act.

But opposition is stacked up against Beach's bill. Liz Coyle of the watchdog group, Georgia Watch, said, "No other state has this."

And she said that's because it's unconstitutional.

"It takes away people's right to a trial," she said.

Stay tuned. Beach is still refining the bill. Judging from the intensity with which he spoke about it to your GPB News Now correspondent, it's not the last you've heard about this idea.

Lawmakers didn't do a whole lot of legislating the first day. But they did make preparations for some of the higher-profile events coming up this week. That includes Wednesday's State of the State address, which Gov. Nathan Deal will deliver to a joint session of the legislature.

And the House, at least, has already passed a calendar through Jan. 24 that foresees lawmakers working a five-day week this week and a four-day week next week, observing the King Holiday on Monday. Sounds like they mean business.