ATLANTA—Today State Representatives Mike Jacobs (R-Brookhaven) and Tom Taylor (R-Dunwoody) met with Briarcliff, Lakeside and Tucker cityhood proponents to discuss directions issued by House Governmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Amy Carter (R-Valdosta) for DeKalb County cityhood boundary line proposals. The House Governmental Affairs Committee oversees legislation in the Georgia House of Representatives involving the creation of new cities.
“Tom Taylor and I worked with Rep. Carter, Chair of the House Governmental Affairs Committee, to develop a process for DeKalb County cityhood proponents to follow as we approach next session,” said Rep. Jacobs. “Our goal for this process is to encourage all stakeholders to engage in conversations now about cityhood boundary lines and to ensure any remaining disputes are resolved prior to 2015.”
The directions for drawing cityhood proposals are as follows:
• Each of the three DeKalb County cityhood proponent groups (City of Briarcliff Initiative, Lakeside Yes, and Tucker 2015) will have until September 5 to identify one authorized signatory for a compromise boundary map.
• DeKalb County cityhood proponents have until November 15 to come to a mutual agreement on city boundary lines and submit the agreed upon map bearing three signatures from the authorized signatories to the House Governmental Affairs Committee.
• If an agreement cannot be reached by that date, House Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Amy Carter will appoint a panel of five state House members to carry out the task of drawing city boundaries for the proposed cities. The panel’s sole charge will be to produce a boundary map no later than December 31 by majority vote of the panel.
• Either the agreed upon map by cityhood proponents or the map drawn by the legislative panel will be the only acceptable version that the House Governmental Affairs Committee will consider.
“This process Rep. Jacobs and Rep. Taylor developed gives cityhood proponents in DeKalb County the best chance for successful passage of legislation that will allow new city proposals to go before the voters for consideration,” said House Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Amy Carter. “There is a need to bring order to this process and the directions outlined to the stakeholders today will accomplish just that.”
For more information about the House Governmental Affairs Committee, please click here.
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Representative Mike Jacobs represents the citizens of District 80, which includes portions of DeKalb and Fulton counties. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2004, and currently serves as Chairman of MARTOC. He also serves on the Budget & Fiscal Affairs Oversight, Insurance, Juvenile Justice, Judiciary, and Transportation committees.
Representative Tom Taylor represents the citizens of District 79, which includes portions of DeKalb County. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2010, and is currently serving as the Vice Chairman on the Regulated Industries Committee. He also serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Human Resources and the Economic Development & Tourism and MARTOC committees.
Representative Amy Carter represents the citizens of District 175, which includes portions of Brooks, Lowndes, and Thomas counties. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 2006 and is currently the Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee, the Secretary of the Appropriations Committee, and the Ex-Officio of the Ways & Means Committee. She also serves on the Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, Education, Higher Education, and the Small Business Development committees.