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Political Insider

Jeff Mullis reins in scope of development secrecy bill

2:50 pm March 7, 2011, by jgalloway

SB 159, a bill to permit more secrecy when it comes to economic development in Georgia, has its first hearing at 5 p.m. today in the Capitol.

Anticipating another storm of protest – similar to the one that killed a similar measure six years ago – state Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, the author of the bill, has pulled many of its fangs. Though not all.

As originally written, the measure would have allowed economic development secrets – tax incentives, rezoning deals, etc. – to be kept wholly secret from the public until a deal with a private entity is sealed – and it would have applied to cities, school boards, and local development authorities.

Mullis and other advocates say the bill is needed to shield information from competing states.

But this Friday editorial in the Athens Banner-Herald is getting widespread play:

The language in the heart of the bill is almost chilling, describing how “information relating to a private person or entity’s economic development project, as designated by a government agency, shall not be subject to any mandatory public disclosure requirement, and no document or record containing information about such private economic development project shall constitute a matter of public record.

“No meeting of a government agency discussing matters related to an economic development project of a private person or entity shall be a public meeting or be required to be opened to the public.”

….In the end, Senate Bill 159 is designed for the sad purpose of making it easy for the state to attract industries and businesses that will exact a heavy price for the state’s lack of readiness for top development prospects.

Common Cause of Georgia has weighed in against the bill as well.

Mullis has now removed local governments and local development authorities from the bill’s reach. As of now, it would only apply to state agencies, like the Department of Economic Development. Which has been the primary advocate for the legislation in the past.

One also wonders if this Sunday article in the AJC might have played a role in Mullis’ decision as well:

Two Gwinnett County real estate developers made more than $1 million in a day by buying large tracts of land and immediately selling the property to the county’s school district, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation has found.

In two other transactions uncovered by the AJC, a third developer cleared $840,000 and another made $340,000 selling land to the school district the same day they bought it.

At least two of the developers got the land under contract after the school district began looking at the specific property as a potential school site.

Updated at 4:10 p.m.: Robert Williams, publisher of the Blackshear, Ga., Times, was one of the opponents of this measure when it was called HB 218. Of Mullis’ decision to remove local governments, Williams said:

“They offered to do that last time. The results will be the same because local commissioners, development authorities, etc. will just say that ‘the state is handling’ whatever deal it is and say they can’t release any information without state approval.

“This is the exact same scenario playing out now that occurred back then when the bill was called HB 218. The proponents are just trying to get it passed this time by starting in the Senate. This ‘concession’ is really no concession at all. Probably part of the original strategy.”

Now, just in case you think Williams was straddling a fence, he added this:

“This is an assault on government accountability and the public’s right to monitor government. This bill is one of the worst attacks on open government in the nation.”

- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider

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25 comments Add your comment

GaBlue

March 7th, 2011
3:16 pm

How is Gov. Deal supposed to turn $4mil/debt into a surplus on $135K/yr in just one term if he can’t make deals in private? What about the state legislators who make even less? What’s the point of being a bigshot in the state government if you can’t leverage backroom secrets and sweetheart deals to feather the personal nest on the side? Let’s be reasonable. Why else would anyone want to lead a drain-circling state like ours? Anyone? Anyone?

Last Man Standing

March 7th, 2011
3:42 pm

GaBlue:

“Why else would anyone want to lead a drain-circling state like ours?”

To give people such as yourself a reason to live? If it weren’t for him, your life would be so boring. Imagine, no Republican to write about and loathe endlessly.

Shar

March 7th, 2011
3:43 pm

Jeff Mullis, lest anyone forget, is the selfsame fella who carried Glenn Richardson’s water on his $350 million taxpayer-funded payoff to his AGL Resources prostitute/lobbyist. Mullis actually argued that putting a $350 million extra natural gas pipeline through Georgia would make natural gas cost less in the state. He apparently wasn’t aware that natural gas prices, like oil, are set on the world market. Anything this dissembling moron brings to the table should be shot down immediately.

Private Sector

March 7th, 2011
3:56 pm

Typical response by LMS..,never offer a constructive counterargument to the initial post..Just criticize and ridicule the poster, rinse and repeat

deegee

March 7th, 2011
3:58 pm

Jeff Mullis is the one that wants to carry a gun to church. Now I think I know why. What kind of a secret society does he think he belongs to? Boot him out.

RetiredSoldier

March 7th, 2011
4:03 pm

Private-

You mean like Blue’s post does to Deal? Just sayin….

The Shadow

March 7th, 2011
4:05 pm

“SB 159, a bill to permit more secrecy when it comes to economic development in Georgia, has its first hearing at 5 p.m. today in the Capitol.”

In keeping with the spirit of the bill the hearing should be closed to the public, no minutes taken, and participants required to sign an oath of silence.

They will try to Get Away with what ever they can

March 7th, 2011
4:10 pm

They are going to shift the tax burden from the high income to the middle and lower income Georgians. The AJC just ran an article about how Atlantic Station really didn’t have it after all. Not talking financially, but as a marketing cincept. No one has calculated what it cost the Ga taxpayers. They are trying to do it at the GM Doraville and Ford Hapeville. And they insist that no one has the right to watch what they do with our money.

GaBlue

March 7th, 2011
4:18 pm

Retired Soldier,

Fair enough! Let’s put this one on hold until the end of Deal’s second term, shall we? Only after we compare his net worth before and after will we be able to judge whether his personal financial decision-making skills got any better after assuming this position. In between, we should note when the $4/mil negative numbers hit zero and start going the other way, as this information could be useful to average hard-working citizens who are struggling. Why, he’ll put Dave Ramsey out of business with his helpful books, CDs, and speaking engagements!

RetiredSoldier

March 7th, 2011
4:21 pm

GaBlue-

I knew you were a reasonable person. It’s more fun to find agreement than differences. I would just add, if Deal’s debt numbers improve, there might be a good reason. Hold your fire till you know how they improved, if they do. If Deal abuses he position for financial gain, I’m with you to kick him out. Fair enough?

GaBlue

March 7th, 2011
4:26 pm

Retired Soldier,

Totally fair! However… back to the topic…. if folks like Sen. Mullis are successful keeping the sunshine locked out of state business, how will we know? I don’t buy the notion that it has to be done secretly to have a competitive edge over other states. We stand on our merits or we don’t. If a company would rather develop in S.C. or Alabama…. Next! Giving it all away (tax breaks, etc.) without demanding accountability in return (show us the JOBS!) isn’t working, and it should stop.

rightofcenter

March 7th, 2011
4:26 pm

You people crack me up. On the one hand, you demand that the state government create jobs (forgetting, of course, that the only job the state can create are government jobs). Then, when try to pass legislation that will actually influence whether or not private industry creates jobs, y’all cry “corruption”, “crooks”, “the public has a right to know”, etc. None of the states that we compete with for industry and new jobs have the strict open records laws that we do – that is a huge disadvantage to us. And it isn’t a matter of restricting information – it’s a matter of timing. The taxpayer will still be able to see where his dollars are going – it will just be after a deal is done.

deegee

March 7th, 2011
4:32 pm

“The taxpayer will still be able to see where his dollars are going – it will just be after a deal is done.” HAHAHAHAHAHA! That’s what makes us nervous.

RetiredSoldier

March 7th, 2011
4:34 pm

Blue-

Read right of center’s post. He’s right, it’s the companies that want secrecy more than the state. It’s a fine line between public disclosure and remaining competative for new industry. I would prefer everyone play by completely open knowledge, but that’s not realistic.

findog

March 7th, 2011
4:47 pm

If Georgia’s politicians want to give away the store to keep the thieves from going to Alabama I think we ought to know about it before it’s too late

findog

March 7th, 2011
4:52 pm

GaBlue,
Retired Soldier,
You two didn’t learn anything from Sonny?
The Governor doesn’t do a financial report after being elected to a second term because the law feels he can’t be bought as he can’t run again…
Nice to see you two playing nice today, hope it lasts

RetiredSoldier

March 7th, 2011
4:52 pm

Interesting, perspective employers are “thieves”. How do you fix the 10 per cent plus unemployment.

findog

March 7th, 2011
5:01 pm

RS,
I don’t have the time to give you the research right now but in the past companies have taken the tax free profits and then left before we recouped the losses through payroll taxes.
So, not every private enterprise is infested with thieves, but there are enough of them unscrupulous Wall Street Barons out there that it should be done in the open. If a truly honest man does the same thing in private as he does in public then he would not care which way it was done; trust but verify…

RetiredSoldier

March 7th, 2011
5:11 pm

Glad you are a Reagan fan findog.

R U Kidding Me?

March 7th, 2011
5:14 pm

Jeff Mullis is one of the most corrupt members in the entire General Assembly. He’s 5′7″ and about 400lbs of Krispey Kreme lard. He’s never held a real job, unless you count his job as “Chief” of the Volunteer Fire Department in Chickamauga. Once he got elected, the shake down started. The lobbyist in the state have just about gone bankrupt trying to keep this guy in donuts and liquor. Then he has his home county paying him $100K+ to be their “Economic Developer”, or basically paying him to do the job he was elected to do for $17K. He lives out of his campaign fund, paying rent, utilities, etc. despite being paid $175 per day by the State for meals and lodging.
So, does anybody think letting ‘Boss Hog” write a bill to allow for more secrecy and less open government is a good idea? If so, I’ve got some beachfront property in Chickamauga for you. Time for Mullis to go home and take Chip Rogers with him.

Road Scholar

March 7th, 2011
5:20 pm

Last Man: This bill has nothing to do with specific people or parties; it is bad legislation.

rightofcenter: OK let’s put a strip club and liquor store next to your kids schools, and a chicken farm next to your home! How does that sound/smell? But, but, but, it will create jobs!

Of course this is after a rep has introduced a bill to do away with any updates, or even the preparation of a five year comprehensive plan for development of a city or county and its road improvements. Oh, great one, do you realize if you don’t have an up to date plans, that ALL Federal funds will be denied for the city/county/state? It’s Federal Law!!!!!

My mom used to say” the more you know, the more you don’t know!” It still amazes me how much basic info and analitical thinking the people of Georgia have no clue about!

Somebody Didn’t Get The Memo — Peach Pundit

March 7th, 2011
9:59 pm

[...] down there really has someone that will be making light bulbs just for Georgia.  They just need to rush through SB 159 so they can tell you that all details of this super secret plan are an official secret of the [...]

SpaceyG on Twitter

March 8th, 2011
2:04 pm

There’s a Facebook Group for this one bill. Stop SB159. It’s THAT offensive to open government:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_101912436557966

SpaceyG on Twitter

March 8th, 2011
2:09 pm

And speaking of GA state orgs having issues already with Open Records, be sure to see what the Ag. Dept. is NOT allowing press access to in the Columbus area. If they work this fervently to keep horse abuse stuff from the public they’ll surely work extra hard for human cronies and special interest peoples.

From the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer on Feb. 27:
http://bit.ly/gODnPd

SpaceyG on Twitter

March 8th, 2011
2:38 pm

And while we’re at it, can someone please look at how APS came to an agreement to purchase the former IBM property, near the Chattahoochee River, for a new North Atlanta High School (the IBM property borders Cobb County and is nowhere near the community the new North Atlanta High School is supposed to serve)… while flat-out refusing, APS Board, to hear input from the community, in the form of refusing meetings from stakeholders and refusing to review extensive petitions on the matter? While they (APS) were inking the deal with the IBM property owners? For over $50 million dollars. This is a high school school site nobody even wants, except of course someone selling their excessively inappropriately-located land/site to Atlanta/APS. Again, locating a City of Atlanta high school almost in Cobb County does not serve the community it’s supposed to. North Atlanta is Buckhead are, not Cobb County. Schools should be in and a part of the community they serve – not annexed off into a remote area just because somebody took somebody to a nice steak dinner somewhere.

That AOL Patch news thingee wrote about this in their Buckhead edition. I don’t like to link to exploitative (of journos) AOL product, so I’ll leave it up to you good people to find it on your own.