Archive for the ‘Georgia Legislature’ Category

On behalf of 11Alive, Survey USA has conducted an automated, statewide poll that shows Georgians willing to use taxpayer funds to help build a $1 billion – if it’s the only way to keep the Atlanta Falcons in downtown Atlanta.

From the TV station’s web site:

The survey of 500 adult Georgians conducted Wednesday night shows that 47 percent oppose using hotel-motel tax funds to help build a new stadium. 43 percent favor it. 10 percent are undecided.

When asked if they would support the project if it’s “the only way to keep the Atlanta Falcons team playing in downtown Atlanta,” 54% supported it and 37% opposed. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 and a half percent.

See more details here.

The 11Alive poll paints far rosier possibilities for a new Georgia Dome built via a public-private partnership with the Falcons and the NFL. A Journal-Constitution poll released just last week indicated 72 percent of Georgians opposed the measure – though the newspaper …

Continue reading Survey USA/11Alive poll: Majority would support new stadium to keep Falcons in Atlanta »

At the tail end of Thursday’s state of the state address, Gov. Nathan Deal weighed into the debate over ethics at the state Capitol.

Never mind the dig at the press corps. The governor may have frozen the discussion by declaring that any rules applied to state lawmakers should also apply to every elected official in Georgia. Emphasis mine:

”I will conclude my remarks on a topic that does not require the recitation of statistics, but is one that is recognized in both the public and private domains as a cornerstone of success – that is ethics. We can build the strongest foundations of frugality, efficiency and competitiveness upon which our state government will rest; but if the citizens of Georgia don’t trust us, it will all be in vain, for the vibrations of distrust will crack even the strongest foundations.

“There will always be those in the media and elsewhere who thrive on sowing the seeds of doubt and distrust and who will never recant their sinister innuendos …

Continue reading The Union of Georgia Elected Officials? »

However reluctantly, the Legislature has begun a sensitive debate over the freebies that lawmakers accept from those pushing the bills they pass judgment upon.

At the risk of being accused of goal post-moving, allow me to point out that everyone involved – lawmakers, the press, tea partyers, and do-gooders of all stripes – has shied away from the fundamental situation that makes any conversation about ethics reform so difficult.

The topic is so politically volatile that no lawmaker, Republican or Democrat, is allowed to mention the subject – unless it is to douse it with cold water. But here it is in a nutshell: We need to start paying a decent salary to these 236 lawmakers sent to Atlanta each year.

The idea was considered and ultimately discarded by the alliance of conservatives, liberals and civic-minded pushing this year’s $100 cap on gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers.

“They don’t think that anybody is going to buy into it this year,” said Kay Godwin, a …

Continue reading The forbidden topic lurking behind the ethics reform debate »

Gov. Nathan Deal said Wednesday he will initiate a stricter review of Georgia’s mental health records for gun permit applicants, and gave a green light to legislation that would allow school administrators to carry concealed weapons.

The governor made his remarks during a reporters scrum that included my AJC colleague Greg Bluestein, who filed this:

Deal said he’d support procedural changes to ensure state agencies are checking mental-health records of people seeking guns. “We think that is one area where we need to be more vigilant,” he said.

Deal spokesman Brian Robinson said there’s no legislation tied to the effort, but that the state will beef up its review process to make sure the state is “doing everything it can to protect Georgians’ safety.”

A federal law adopted after the Virginia Tech massacre requires states to share the names of mentally ill people with the national background-check system to prevent them from buying guns. While many states …

Continue reading Nathan Deal to beef up mental health reviews, gives green light to guns for school administrators »

My AJC collegue Kristina Torres reports that Thursday’s Senate debate over Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed new Medicaid funding plan will likely be lively. And necessarily bipartisan.

From Torres:

The chamber’s Republican leaders, who fast-tracked the bill through their usual process in these early days of the legislative session, now need help from the chamber’s Democratic minority to waive their normal rules and allow Senate Bill 24 to hit the floor.

That’s because the chamber requires a two-thirds majority – or 38 votes – to amend the rules. The Republicans hold 37 seats, at least until a special election Feb. 5 to fill the District 11 seat of former Sen. John Bulloch. And at least one Republican, Josh McKoon of Columbus, voted against SB 24 in committee on Tuesday.

The expected trade-off for Democratic cooperation is a full discussion before the vote – unlike a vote Monday on the chamber’s new rules, which returned power back to Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle over things …

Continue reading Senate Republicans look for Dem help in ‘bed tax’ debate »

By tradition, Coca-Cola has served as the corporate sponsor of a luncheon honoring the president pro tem of the state Senate at the opening of each year’s session.

Also by tradition, the menu has included Bloody Marys and cigars. But no more. We’re told that both alcohol and stogies have been removed from this afternoon’s festivities honoring David Shafer, R-Duluth, the Senate’s newly elected leader.

The reason? The flourishes were thought to clash with the Capitol’s embrace of ethics reform, including a $100 per lawmaker cap on gifts from lobbyists passed by the Senate on Monday.

Or perhaps it was fallout from Coke’s new anti-obesity campaign. Either one.

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Speaking of ethics, here’s the exchange that just took place between House Speaker David Ralston and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle at this morning’s Eggs & Issues breakfast, sponsored by the Georgia Chamber. My AJC colleague Greg Bluestein said Cagle had just finished bragging about the Senate’s approval of a $100 …

Continue reading Your daily jolt: Bloody Marys, stogies dropped from Senate lunch menu »

He didn’t give it his endorsement, but Gov. Nathan Deal on Tuesday laid out some arguments likely to be used by supporters of a new, $1 billion stadium that would serve as a new home for the Atlanta Falcons.

First of all, the governor told my AJC colleague Greg Bluestein that he wants the team to stay put. “I think it’s important for us to keep the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta. We are proud of them, and they’ve had a great year, and we’re hoping they’re going to go all the way to the Super Bowl.”

Critics of a new stadium point out that the Georgia Dome is only 20 years old. But the governor said that if a new stadium doesn’t replace it, expensive updates would be required. “We do know the existing stadium, even though it looks very good now, within the not too distant future there will be significant repairs and upgrades that will be needed to maintain the current Dome,” he said.

As he has before, Deal said his involvement in the matter was limited, and …

Continue reading Nathan Deal: Dollars for new stadium ‘belong to Atlanta’ »

On Feb. 5, when the south Georgia contest to replace John Bulloch is completed, Republicans will have 38 members in a 56-member state Senate.

That will give the GOP a super-majority of two-thirds. Which means Democrats will be a super-minority.

Nonetheless, Senate Democrats this morning intend to push out their agenda for this year’s legislative session. Much of it is blue-skying, but here’s a quick rundown of the new legislation they’ll attempt:

– A bill to eliminate all distinctions between the Zell Miller scholarship and other HOPE grants, and to require colleges universities and tech schools to accept HOPE payments as full tuition. Sponsor: Curt Thompson of Tucker;

– A bill to reduce GPA requirement for HOPE grants to 2.0. Sponsor: Jason Carter of Decatur;

– A prohibition on the use of handheld devices while driving. Horacena Tate of Atlanta;

– Repeal of the “fetal pain” bill that the Legislature passed last year, reducing the period during which a woman can seek …

Continue reading Your daily jolt: Senate Dems to push back on ethics, abortion, HOPE and foreclosures »

The Committee on Assignments late Monday released its list of state Senate committee memberships. Click here to read, but I’m also experimenting with the embed function on Google Docs.

See if it works for you below:

- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider

For instant updates, follow me on Twitter, or connect with me on Facebook.

Continue reading Lobbyist alert: Your list of Senate committee assignments »

Last October, Grover Norquist, president of the D.C.-based anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform, warned state lawmakers not to renew the state’s “hospital bed tax” passed in 2010 to plug a hole in the state Medicaid budget. The tax/fee expires on June 30.

Today, in a statement obtained by my AJC colleague Greg Bluestein, a spokesman for Norquist doesn’t like Gov. Nathan Deal’s effort, unveiled today, to shift the burden of raising the cash from the Legislature to the state Department of Community Health. From Josh Culling, the ATR’s state government affairs manager:

”Gov. Deal’s decision to shift taxing authority from the legislature to the Department of Community Health does nothing to improve the hospital bed tax. Instead, it is a step in the wrong direction, attempting to absolve the governor and legislature of any potential blame for the looming tax increase.

“The hospital bed tax remains a job-killing tax hike that will increase the cost of health care …

Continue reading Grover Norquist’s verdict: ‘Bed tax’ solution a ‘step in wrong direction’ »