Georgia Politics, Campaigns & Elections for March 14, 2013

Happy Pi Day.

Hippie Alert – the Peachtree chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and Moms for Marijuana will be hanging out at the Georgia State Capitol today. Expect long lines at security and around vending machines. King of Pops should totally be there today. In case things get out of hand, here’s some helpful advice from former President Jimmy Carter.

Yesterday, Governor Nathan Deal named six new members to the DeKalb County Board of Education, to replace those he removed under state law and in accordance with the unanimous recommendation of the Georgia State Board of Education.

District 1, John Coleman – MBA and MPA from Harvard, former McKinsey & Company consultant who is a strategic planning professional and serves on several nonprofit boards.

District 3, Michael Erwin – Navy veteran and Ph.D. in Biological Science, faculty member at Georgia Gwinnett College, former researcher with Duke University Medical Center, University of South Carolina and NOAA.

District 5, David Campbell – an energy conservation manager at Georgia Power and certified public accountant, former chair of Leadership DeKalb, a member of the DeKalb 100 Black Men and an active member of St. Phillips AME. He formerly served on the Stephenson High School Council.

District 7, Joyce Morley – mental healthcare professional with a doctorate in Counseling, Family and Worklife from the University of Rochester, specialist’s and master’s degrees in Counseling Education, and a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education.

District 8, Karen Carter – Chair of the Business and Social Science Department on the faculty of Georgia Perimeter College with a law degree, classroom teacher and has held several senior administrative roles in the field of education. She is a graduate of Leadership DeKalb and is an active community volunteer and a PTSA member.

District 9, Thaddeus Mayfield – holds an MBA and co-chaired the successful Friends of DeKalb Education SPLOST IV Campaign and is an active member of several business and civic organizations in the metropolitan area.

This is a very highly-qualified group of individuals and I congratulate them and wish them the best. There are a lot of business professional and some accounting credentials in this group, which is sorely needed in management of an organization with a budget in excess of $760 million and nearly 100,000 students.

SACS, the accrediting body whose placing DeKalb County on accreditation probation kicked off the whole shebang, lauded Governor Deal’s appointment process and the new members.

Dr. Mark Elgart is the CEO of the parent firm of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or SACS.  He said he applauds the process the Governor used to select the six new members, and he called them outstanding, experienced individuals who are dedicated to community service.  But, Elgart said the new appointments alone are no guarantee that SACS will move any faster to take DeKalb’s schools off probation.

“Oh, there’s a lot of work to be done,” Elgart said, in a conversation with WABE’s Rose Scott.

Last December, SACS gave the DeKalb board four benchmarks to meet by year’s end:

• a written plan for unifying the board;
• procedures to ensure that board decisions reflect the will of the members and abide by the law;
• policies to ensure board members don’t intrude on responsibilties of the staff;
• a plan for fiscal stability.

Five of the six new members of the Board were sworn in yesterday.

Governor Deal said he’d emphasized two points to the new board members.  Because the six suspended members were ousted for governance problems, the governor said he asked the group to work cooperatively:

“… that they understand the importance of reaching some consensus on very difficult issues from time to time.  I do not want governing to be a problem, and I have no reason to believe that it will.”

Deal said he also stressed the importance of working well with DeKalb’s new interim superintendent, Michael Thurmond.

Members of the DeKalb delegation were supportive of the new members.

“Their credentials seem outstanding. I think this nominating committee did a really good job,” said Senator Fran Millar (R – Dunwoody).

Representative Howard Mosby (D – Atlanta) originally questioned the constitutionality of the removals, but said accreditation was now his sole focus.

“The courts have ruled the governor had the legal authority to do these things so we’re just going to stand behind the process for right now and ensure that the kids’ needs are taken care of, that the school system is accredited, and the system is successful.”

Mosby also gave credit to the governor for selecting applicants who reflected the racial makeup of the replaced board members – five of the six appointees are African-American.

“I give him an ‘A’ for effort to be able to make that happen and be able to fulfill whatever criteria that he was looking for out of those appointees.”

Senator Jason Carter noted, “It’s not a who’s who of politicians — which is good. The group looks very good on paper.”

Georgia General Assembly

Senate Rules Calendar

HB 124 by Rep. Brett Harrell, sponsored by Senator Jack Murphy – relating to local authorization and regulation of sales of alcoholic beverages on Sunday, so as to provide that an election in which the votes cast are for disapproval of Sunday package sales by retailers of malt beverages, wine, and distilled spirits shall not nullify the prior election results for approval of Sunday package sales by retailers of malt beverages and wine

HB 487 by Rep. Matt Ramsey, sponsored by Senator Butch Miller – relating to offenses against public health and morals, so as to correct a cross reference; to clarify the application of certain provisions to the Georgia Lottery

Senate Committee Meeting Calendar

8:30 AM	EDUCATION & YOUTH Sub Comm- Academic Achievement
1:00 PM	EDUCATION & YOUTH	307 CLOB
1:00 PM	INSURANCE & LABOR	450 CAP
1:00 PM	PUBLIC SAFETY	125 CAP
2:00 PM	FINANCE	MEZZ 1
2:00 PM	NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT	450 CAP
2:00 PM	JUDICIARY	310 CLOB
3:00 PM	VETERANS & MILITARY AFFAIRS	125 CAP
3:00 PM	APPROPRIATIONS Sub com-Agriculture	307 CLOB
4:00 PM	BANKING & FINANCIAL INST	310 CLOB

 

House Rules Calendar

HR 218 by Rep. Barbara Sims – Local school superintendents; recognize that learning the United States Constitution is a vital facet of primary education; request

HR 410 by Rep. Mike Glanton – International Olympic Committee; keep wrestling in Olympic games after 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; request

HR 532 by Rep. Alan Powell – United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); utilize adaptive management techniques to control lake levels and river flows within Savannah River Basin; request

SB 61 by Sen. Jesse Stone, House Sponsor Rep. Edward Lindsey – relating to self-service storage facilities, so as to change the short title; to provide for definitions; to change the due date for monthly rental payments; to provide procedures for sending notice of default; to provide for print or electronic publication of notice of public sale of property; to provide for limitations on an owner’s liability; to provide for towing of motor vehicles and watercraft; to provide for delay in filing an owner’s lien if an occupant is deployed overseas by the armed services; to exempt certain rental agreements

SB 66 by Senator Jesse Stone, House sponsor Rep. Mike Jacobs – Courts; increase penalties that can impose for contempt of superior and state courts

SB 81 by Senator John Wilkinson, House sponsor Rep. Rick Jasperse – relating to prohibited acts regarding harvesting ginseng, so as to shorten the legal season for harvesting ginseng

SB 193 by Senator Bill Cowsert, House sponsor Rep. Regina Quick – updating the “Uniform Interstate Family Support Act”

House Committee Meeting Calendar

TBD	Floor Session (LD34)	HOUSE CHAMBER (9:30am)
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM	NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT	606 CLOB
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM	Jacobs Subcommittee (Two) of Judiciary Civil	132 CAP
9:00 AM – 9:30 AM	RULES	341 CAP
9:00 AM – 9:30 AM	Powell Subcommittee (One) of Judiciary Civil	415 CLOB
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM	Ramsey Subcommittee of Judiciary Non-Civil	132 CAP (or Upon Adjournment)
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM	JUDICIARY CIVIL	132 CAP
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM	Setzler Subcommittee of Judiciary Non-Civil	506 CLOB (or Upon Adjournment)
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM	HIGHER EDUCATION	606 CLOB
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM	INTRAGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION	403 CAP

Drama in the State House may subside briefly after Rep. Edward Lindsey’s local bill to raise the homestead exemption in Fulton County passed with the minimum number of votes — 120 or 2/3ds of House members — ending the hostage crisis.

House Bill 541 would allow Fulton voters to decide whether to raise the county’s homestead exemption from $30,000 to $60,000. If approved, homeowners would receive a significant tax break at a cost to the county of about $50 million.

The bill’s supporters argue Fulton’s government is bloated and needs to shrink.

“By reducing services and turning them over to municipal governments for a county that’s over 90 percent municipalized, that’s a very reasonable thing for us to be asking,” said House Majority Whip Ed Lindsey (R – Buckhead).

But opponents, including most Fulton officials, have said the bill threatens core county functions, like funding Grady Hospital.

“On its face, it is financially irresponsible,” said House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams (D-Atlanta). “It is being done without any real evaluation of who would actually be impacted and there’s still core services that the county has to provide and if anyone believes they are being over-served in Fulton County, I have not heard that.”

The Senate Higher Education Committee passed HB 287, which will transfer the state archives to the University System of Georgia from the Secretary of State’s office.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to pass HB 242, which comprehensively reforms the state juvenile justice system to seek less-costly and more effective alternatives to incarceration for juvenile offenders.

Senate Judiciary Non-civil recommended passage of HB 349, which will provide for departures from minimum sentencing in some limited cases.

The House Health & Human Services Committee voted in favor of SB 65, which broadens the class of healthcare professionals who can have individuals committed if they are thought to be a danger to themselves or others.

Senate Bill 250 by Sen. Lester Jackson will redistrict the Port Wentworth City Council.

Campaigns & Elections

Rollcall.com writes that Congressman Phil Gingrey is putting together a campaign team that includes political consultant Chip Lake, media strategist Sonny Scott of Rising Tide Media Group and Stoneridge Group for direct mail, and likely digital. No particular reason, just in case an election comes up or something.

Brain Injury Walk Saturday

Columbia County will host the Fourth annual Brain Injury Awareness Walk on Saturday, March 16th from 10 AM to noon. It is sponsored by NeuroRestorative Georgia, Walton Foundation for Independence and the Brain Injury Association of Georgia.

Brain injuries are surprisingly common – there are about 1.7 million a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 75 percent are concussions or milder injuries but brain injuries account for nearly a third of injury-related deaths every year, according to the CDC.