Georgia Political News for March 9, 2012

Angels Among Us Pet Rescue has these  six Australian Shepherd puppies available.

Prospective parents may fill out an application at www.AngelRescue.org or email melissa[at]angelsrescue.org.

Angels Rescue is also in urgent need of foster homes for animals it is rescuing.

Legislative

Gov. Deal’s tax credit proposal designed to stimulate job growth was revised by the state house on a 167-0 vote on Wednesday. Deal proposed raising some job creation tax credits from $750 to $2000 per job. “The cost was higher than expected and we think we’ve arrived at a proper proposal that fulfills our competitive needs,” [Deal’s spokesman Brian] Robinson said in a statement.

Ashley Fielding with the Gaineville Times writes that Senate Bill 458, which requires proof of immigration status for those enrolling in Georgia colleges and universities, caused internal conflict within the Senate Republican Caucus and within some GOP Senators. Here’s an extended excerpt from an outstanding article:

Miller talked about the impact of the bill on people’s lives and posed this scenario: A child’s parents bring him to Georgia illegally as an infant or maybe older. He graduates from high school and goes to college. Then, halfway toward earning his degree, someone says, “you’re not allowed to finish.”

“How do you say that?” Miller said.

It’s an argument President Pro Tem Tommie Williams later made on the floor of the Senate before sitting down and voting in favor of the bill. But in that moment when the bill didn’t seem like it might be debated Monday, Miller said it was because Republicans were trying to come up “with a good law,” one that didn’t penalize children who were brought here.

“We’re looking for some opportunity to do what would be fair and reasonable and acceptable to all concerned,” Miller said.

Miller told me the Bible on his desk was there because of SB 458. Earlier in the morning, he spoke against the bill in a meeting of Senate Republicans.

Senate Bill 87, which would have expanded the eligibility definition of special needs students who may receive state funds to attend a private school, was tabled by the Senate on crossover day and even if passed, will not be voted on by the house.

One notable victim of Crossover Day was House Bill 673, the “Return to Play Act,” by Rep. Billy Mitchell, which would seek to reduce problems associated with concussions in youth sports by codifying treatment requirements, and in favor of which several former Atlanta Falcons football players testified. A member of the state house noted that Rep. Mitchell appeared to have several bills moving after voting in favor of the Charter Schools Amendment, HB 1162, but that the concussion act died after Mitchell’s vote against the budget.

Local legislation that would require major contractors with the City of Augusta to submit to periodic audits is likely to pass this year.

Several groups you’ve never heard of are threatening to file suit to block the incorporation of a proposed City of Brookhaven. Kevin Hughley, President of the Brookhaven Chamblee Homeowners and Neighborhood Business Alliance, who is neither a homeowner nor a real business said, “The 700,000 people in DeKalb elected people to represent them. When they went around these people, they diluted the minority voting strength in DeKalb County.”

Threatened with being named in the suit, Rep. Tom Taylor and Rep. Mike Jacobs stopped short of calling it moronic. But I don’t.

Taylor said he isn’t concerned about the possibility of being named in the suit.

“What this looks like is an attempt to sow some fear, uncertainty and doubt in the community,” Taylor said.

He also doesn’t believe that the process violates the Voting Rights Act.

“At the end of the day it’s frivolous and it’s not going to affect us at all,” Taylor said. “This is the seventh city to go through this process in the last five years.”

Jacobs said he doesn’t think the lawsuit has merit either.

“We’re not going to let outside agitators stand in the way of the right of people to vote on cityhood,” Jacobs said. “I don’t see how you can file a lawsuit to prevent the legislative process from running its course. But stranger things have happened.”

The Brookhaven incorporation bill may be revised to include four single member city council districts and a mayor, rather than three single-member districts, three at-large members and a mayor.

House Bill 1052, which would shift the appointment of some Fulton County members of the MARTA Board to North Fulton mayors, was called “very divisive legislation” by Fulton County Chairman John Eaves. That’s the same John Eaves who sought to united Fulton County voters of all races in 2006 by running a campaign robocall that compared Republicans in North Fulton to “fighting off dogs and water hoses in the 60s” civil rights movement.

Liberal Progressive Democratic group Better Georgia noted that a January poll showed that 79 percent of Georgia voters think legislators should be drug-tested. The group didn’t mention whether unauthorized Viagra use would be flagged in drug test results.

Executive Branch

Governor Nathan Deal announced that February tax revenues were up 7 percent from February 2011, with a $471 million increase. “February’s numbers saw positive trends, as we continue to move in the right direction,” Deal said. “With revenues up and unemployment down, Georgians have to like what they’re seeing, even though there’s still much work to do.”

Secretary of State Brian Kemp said that changing Georgia’s presidential primary date ensured a greater voice in the nomination process for voters. “It really allowed us to be in a position where we mattered, and I think it will in the future,” Kemp said in an interview… Kemp denied that lower turnout numbers were the result of reducing the early voting window from 45 days to 21.

Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisholm (D) will seek reelection to a second term. Meg Daly Heap previously announced that she will run as a Republican for the seat.

Election News we Missed

Hall County voters approved Sunday Sales of package alcohol and liquor by the drink on Tuesday.

Flowery Branch sends Fred Richards and Jason Covert to a runoff for City Council on April 3.

Federales

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has enjoined enforcement of two additional sections of Alabama’s immigration reform bill.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order blocking a section that says courts can’t enforce contracts involving illegal immigrants and another that makes it a felony for an illegal immigrant to do business with the state.

Last week, the court heard appeals of lower court decisions in cases challenging immigration laws in both Alabama and Georgia.

Democrats

In disorder and short on funds, the Georgia Democratic Party will hold its annual Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner on Saturday, April 28, 2012 from 5 to 8 PM at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Energy Issues

A public meeting by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division on air issues surrounding a proposed biomass power plant in Jefferson County drew over 150 people whose public comments were overwhelmingly critical.

A project manager at Southern Company’s Plant Vogtle nuclear reactor units 3 and 4 has been banned from the site according to a filing with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Railroads

Norfolk Southern formally announced its program to paint 18 locomotives in “heritage paint schemes” reminiscent of historical paint jobs of its predecessor railroads. Included in the program will be homages to the Southern Railway, Central of Georgia Railway and  Savannah & Atlanta Railway. Below are renderings of what the locomotives might look like.

Marietta will host the Great Locomotive Chase Weekend, April 12-15, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War raid.

Random

Congratulations to Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, who is the newest member of the Billionaire’s Club. Blakely credits Atlanta with being a “supportive community.” Many Atlantans credit Spanx with being a supportive product. So I’ve heard.

Pat Robertson has come out in support of legalizing marijuana, leading him to become a “hero of the hippie culture.”

“I just think it’s shocking how many of these young people wind up in prison and they get turned into hardcore criminals because they had a possession of a very small amount of a controlled substance,” Robertson said on his show March 1. “The whole thing is crazy. We’ve said, ‘Well, we’re conservatives, we’re tough on crime.’ That’s baloney.”

The brother of Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry was sentenced to 15 years in prison for child pornography.