Gov. Nathan Deal touted the General Assembly’s 2012 legislative accomplishments at a talk Tuesday at the Atlanta Press Club. He credited bi-partisan cooperation for passing a tax cut bill and a sentencing rules overhaul.

Both bills were part of Gov. Deal’s legislative agenda and he said their near unanimous passage was the session’s "crowning" achievement.

Deal also plugged a transportation sales tax vote that’s the result of a 2010 bill.

Representatives from 12 regions chose projects that will appear on the July ballot for local voters.

He said state department of transportation officials typically make such decisions. And he warned about the result if the vote doesn’t pass.

“You may not get the General Assembly to be able to delegate that authority back down to local levels of government to participate in the project selection process again if this proves to be unsuccessful," he told the crowd of journalists, lawmakers and others. "I’ve not heard anyone suggest that before but I think I’m in a position to be able to suggest that.”

During a question and answer session, Deal said a law he signed Monday mandating drug testing for welfare applicants is constitutional. That’s because he says it allows a parent who tests positive to transfer benefits to another parent or guardian.

“Without some proviso that there be a conduit to whom the money can flow for the benefit of the child, then I think it’s one of those constitutional deficits," he said. "I think our statute addressed that, and addressed it appropriately.”

Some groups are drafting a lawsuit to challenge the measure. A Florida court blocked a similar law as unconstitutional because it violates people’s Fourth Amendment protection from unlawful search.

Deal expressed concern about the recently-released high graduation rates. State education officials say Georgia high schools graduated 67 percent of students who had entered ninth grade four years before last year. He said that causes him to wonder what happened to the 33 percent who didn't graduate.

"Where did they go? Where did they go?" he said. "I tell you where they went. Some of them went into our prison system."

Deal also signed an overhaul of the state’s open meetings and records act that will stop public boards from voting in closed door sessions.

Tags: General Assembly, Nathan Deal, Atlanta Press Club, Sunshine law, 2012 General Assembly, welfare drug testing bill