Posted on

Guest Editorial: Creating a Fair and Open Process for Municipalization

The 10-county metro Atlanta region is undergoing a process of municipalization. Since 2005, the cities of Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Milton, Chattahoochee Hills, Dunwoody, and Peachtree Corners have all incorporated as new municipalities. And now, the Georgia House of Representatives has taken steps toward the creation of a city of Brookhaven (or Ashford, as it may be called) in DeKalb County. There is no reason to expect that this trend will stop.

The eruption of the debate in North DeKalb over whether to form a new city of Brookhaven makes it clear that our state needs a clear, non-political procedure for the creation of new cities.

The way things stand today, a small group of private citizens can raise money and draw whatever boundaries for a city they choose, as long as they have a legislator to champion their map through the General Assembly. Once approved, these citizens need only secure the passage of a referendum, which should be easy because only people within the new city are eligible to vote on the referendum.

The proponents need not take into account the circumstances of those just outside the boundaries who remain unincorporated, existing cities, or the financial health of the county or the region. In fact, there is nothing prohibiting potential cities from including commercial areas that provide coveted tax revenue while leaving out adjacent residential areas that typically cost more to serve than they bring in. This scenario has been seen in the proposed maps for the City of Brookhaven.

The process clearly needs to be more balanced, with better planning, and attention given to the economic viability of the existing counties and the Atlanta region, which is the economic engine of the State. To this end, I have introduced HB 830 with Representative Mary Margaret Oliver.

The need for this legislation is clear when we look at the proposed City of Brookhaven, which would have different effects on different residents of North DeKalb. There are those who would be residents of the new city, and theoretically could benefit due to what may be better services, lower taxes, or both. Then, there are those whose neighborhoods would become isolated from the remainder of unincorporated DeKalb and may well see their taxes go up as the city pulls revenue from the county. Unfortunately, the current method only gives a seat at the table to those select few who are interested in forming a new city.

HB 830 would simply give everyone affected by the proposed city a seat at the table. The bill provides for a two-year period to create the new city, with proposed boundaries set in the first year. It would also require a feasibility study that sets out the anticipated cost of services in the proposed city, in the unincorporated county, and in adjacent cities. This would allow residents to compare costs prior to and after the incorporation. HB 830 also requires the community proposed to be incorporated attempt less costly and disruptive alternatives to incorporation – such as overlay zoning districts and special tax districts – prior to presenting a proposal for a new city to the General Assembly.

There is nothing wrong with the creation of new cities. The opportunities they provide for local control, community investment, and enhanced local representation cannot be discounted. But we need a clear process that is free of politics so that we can truly focus on the residents, businesses, and local communities that would be affected by the new municipality. That is why I ran for office, and that should be the primary focus of all representatives.

Representative Elena Parent represents the citizens of District 81, which includes portions of DeKalb County. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 2010, and currently serves on the Children and Youth, Defense and Veteran Affairs, and Code Revision committees.

###

Posted on

Rep. Karla Drenner Introduces Legislation to Ensure Students are Safe from Potential Health Risks

ATLANTA – State Representative Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates) today announced plans to introduce legislation that would ensure students are safe from radiation by banning the placement of cell phone towers on the property of public K-12 schools.

“The long term effects of exposure to the type of radiation produced by cell phone towers are not fully known, but initial data indicates cause for concern,” said Rep. Drenner. “Placing cell towers on school property unnecessarily places our children in potential danger and could even be viewed as experimenting with our children’s health. I am strongly committed to stopping these efforts to put cell phone towers on school property.”

Rep. Drenner will introduce two different pieces of legislation. The first bill would prevent cell phone towers from being built on school property anywhere in the state of Georgia. Her second bill would only ban the practice in DeKalb County. Rep. Drenner was led to introduce this legislation after T-Mobile entered an agreement with the DeKalb County School Board to place cell phone towers on the property of nine DeKalb County Schools.

To ensure her legislation receives proper input from Georgians, Rep. Drenner will hold a hearing on cell phone towers and her proposal to prevent their construction on school property. The hearing will be held at 11:30 AM on Tuesday, February 21, in room 415 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building, which is located across the street from the Georgia State Capitol.

Representative Karla Drenner represents the citizens of District 86, which includes portions of DeKalb County. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 2000, and currently serves on the Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications, Health & Human Services, Natural Resources & Environment, and Rules committees. She also serves on the Special Committee on Small Business Development and Job Creation.

# # #

Posted on

Rep. Ben Harbin Introduces Legislation to Increase Transparency for Bond Revenue

ATLANTA – State Representative Ben Harbin (R-Evans) announced today the introduction of House Bill 951, legislation that would ensure that proceeds earned from the sale of general obligation bonds are spent only for their specifically designated purpose.

“The purpose of this bill is to ensure that the taxpayers have oversight of these funds,” said Rep. Harbin. “When the General Assembly approved bonds, we, along with our constituents, expect the funds from those bonds to be spent for a very specific purpose. HB 951 provides a more transparent state government by ensuring that bond revenue is spent only for the exact purpose for which it was approved.”

Currently agencies may redirect bond funds from one project to another to meet the agency’s needs. These transfers are only allowed with the approval of the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission as well as the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget. However approval from the General Assembly, which appropriates these funds, is currently not required.

HB 951 increases transparency and accountability for these general obligation bond proceeds by requiring that the funds shall not be redirected without approval from the General Assembly.

For more information on HB 951, please click here.

Representative Ben Harbin represents the citizens of District 118, which includes portions of Columbia County. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 1994, and currently serves on the Appropriations, Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications, Insurance, Intragovernmental Coordination, and Ways & Means committees.

###

Posted on

Rep. Randall Appointed to Special Joint Committee on Georgia Criminal Justice Reform

ATLANTA – State Representative Nikki Randall (D–Macon) was recently appointed to the Special Joint Committee on Georgia Criminal Justice Reform by Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge). The 18 member bi-partisan committee will draft and introduce legislation to reform Georgia’s criminal justice system.

“I am honored that Speaker Ralston chose me to serve on this very important committee,” said Rep. Randall. “This committee has an opportunity to work on legislation that will save taxpayers’ dollars and make our criminal justice system more effective.”

The Special Joint Committee on Georgia Criminal Justice Reform was created by House Bill 265, legislation passed during the 2011 legislative session. Recognizing that there had been many years since the last systematic study of Georgia’s correctional system and criminal justice structure, HB 265 also created the 2011 Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform to conduct a thorough study of the state’s criminal justice structure and make recommendations for legislation to the special joint committee.

The 2011 special council released its report last year, which found that non-violent drug and property offenders represent almost 60 percent of prison admissions. With each prisoner costing the state $49 a day, the council recommended cost effective alternatives like community treatment and probation supervision for low-risk, non-violent, first offenders. The council also found that other states, such as Texas, have saved money and seen a decrease in their crime rate, by making similar changes to their state criminal justice program.

Rep. Randall and the other members of the Special Joint Committee on Georgia Criminal Justice Reform will examine the council’s report and use it to create and introduce legislation during the current legislative session.

Rep. Randall is one of three representatives appointed to the committee by Speaker Ralston. The joint committee also includes three state senators appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, House Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones, Senate President Pro Tempore Tommie Williams, majority and minority leaders from both the House and Senate, and chairpersons from the House Committee on Judiciary, House Committee on Judiciary Non-Civil, Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate Public Safety Committee, Senate State Institutions and Property Committee and the House Committee on State Institutions and Property.

For more information on HB 265, please click here.

Representative Nikki Randall represents the citizens of District 138, which includes portions of Bibb County. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 1999, and currently serves on the Health & Human Services, Information & Audits, and Judiciary Non-Civil committees. She also serves on the Special Joint Committee on Georgia Criminal Justice Reform.

###

Posted on

Guest Editorial: Child Abuse Reporting Statutes: Time for Review

The Penn State institutional failure to report and address child sexual abuse on its campus is heartbreaking for both the victims and their families, as well as for those many individuals who have advocated for decades for improved systems to protect children from intentional injuries inflicted by adults. Closer to home, in Georgia in recent weeks, a four-year old Downs Syndrome child was stabbed to death by her psychotic mother, and afterword neighbors told news reporters that there was something “not right” about the mother’s behavior.

Are the child abuse reporting statutes too weak in either Pennsylvania or Georgia? If every person were required to report child abuse, instead of only certain professionals “mandated’ to reporter, would it make a difference for so many children who suffer daily from abuse?

Child abuse reporting statutes have been enacted in all 50 states over the last 50 years, following the medical recognition of the “battered child syndrome” in 1963. Mandated reporters in all states include professionals who presumably have the expertise to recognize abuse in children. This list of professionals includes teachers, doctors, and nurses. From currently collected data, 29 percent of investigated child abuse reports come from non-mandated reporters; 57 percent of the mandated reports were substantiated, and 45 percent were substantiated after investigation from non-mandated reporters. Is this difference in rate of substantiation great enough to prove that the assumed expertise of mandated reporters is better than that of the untrained neighbor who sees and hears a daily family struggle? If many substantiated reported cases are now made from non-mandated reporters can we assume that more reports of real child abuse would be made if everyone were required to report? Would children be safer?

I have introduced House Bill 948 this week in the General Assembly to fill what I believe are current gaps in Georgia’s child abuse reporting statute. This proposed legislation adds “Clergy” as a mandated child abuse reporter and provides a narrow exception for clergy-parishioner confidences. Twenty-six other states include clergy as mandated reporters. Additionally, “Coach” is added as a mandated reporter under the definition of child service organization personnel who are required to report abuse. Some argue that coaches are already mandated reporters under “school administrator” or “child serving organization,” but the clarifying language in HB 948 makes in indisputable that Georgia’s statute includes non-school based coaches and colleges where thousands of children participate in summer and special athletic programs.

Eighteen states do require everyone to report child abuse, and not just mandated professionals, and I am open to a discussion about this possible addition to the child abuse reporting statute. More importantly, however, and separate from government and politics, we should re-examine our own personal and moral duties to protect the children in our families, schools, little league ball clubs, and neighborhoods from abuse. Let us continue the debate of child abuse prevention regardless of what improvements the Georgia General Assembly may make to our child abuse reporting statutes.

Representative Mary Margaret Oliver represents the citizens of District 83, which includes portions of DeKalb County. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 2002, plus five years previous service. She currently serves on the Appropriations, Governmental Affairs, Judiciary, and Science and Technology committees.

###