Charles B. Tanksley was elected to the Senate from Cobb County's 32nd District in a special election held in January, 1995 for the 1995-96 legislative term.

Tanksley, a Republican, has been appointed by Governor Roy Barnes as one of his Floor Leaders in the Senate. He is the first Republican to be appointed to this position by a Democrat Governor.

Senator Tanksley is the chairman of the Special Judiciary committee. He is a member of the Education, Banking and Financial Institution and Transportation committees. Tanksley successfully steered legislation through the 1996 General Assembly which establishes the crime of "sentence circumvention," targeting officials or prosecutors who make it possible for a prison sentence to be reduced or eliminated when a defendant pays money in addition to a fine.

As one of the Governor's Floor Leaders, he helped usher through legislation he previously sponsored reducing unemployment taxes by almost $1 billion, a measure which will greatly benefit employers and employees in Georgia. He has also worked for passage of legislation to pave the way for expanded religious freedom in public education including voluntary devotions and purely elective courses on ethics and morality for any students or teachers.

Born April 7, 1952 in Atlanta, Tanksley earned a BA in American Studies, Government, Economics and Religion from the University of Virginia. He received his law degree from the University of Georgia in 1978. He is a partner in the Marietta law firm of Browning and Tanksley.

Active in community and professional affairs, Tanksley is a member of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, the Salvation Army, the Atlanta, Cobb County and Georgia Bar Associations, the American Trial Lawyers Association, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta. He is a member of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, the Vinings Civic Club and the Vinings Neighborhood Association. In 1999, Senator Tanksley was appointed to the Board of Visitors of UGA's Law School for a three year term.

Tanksley and his wife Kathryn are the parents of three children -- Lark Elizabeth, Jeptha Charles, III, and Branch Graham. They are members of First Northside United Methodist Church.

January 2001