ATLANTA – State Senator Emanuel Jones (D – Decatur) and State Representative Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates) today issued the following statements on the results of the recent ballot referendum held to update the DeKalb County Board of Ethics and how ethics complaints would be handled by the County:
“Based on the outcome of yesterday’s referendum, it is clear the DeKalb County delegation still has work to do to produce a reasonable solution to ethics reform in our county,” said Sen. Jones. “Doing nothing is not an option, as the Georgia Supreme Court has already ruled that changes to the DeKalb Board of Ethics must take place. Specifically, the current composition of the Board was ruled to be unconstitutional. Therefore, the Joint Senate and House DeKalb County delegation will appoint a taskforce whose goal will be to gather information and provide recommendations on legislation to be introduced in the 2020 Legislative Session. I am committed to working with the Co-Chair of the Joint Senate and House DeKalb County delegation Rep. Karla Drenner (D – Avondale Estates), along with all other delegation members and stakeholders in our community to produce meaningful legislation that will enhance DeKalb County’s ethics procedures.”
“My colleagues and I, along with members of the public and DeKalb County officials, will be working together in the coming months to create a new ethics policy that will address the concerns that were brought up during our town hall meetings,” said Rep. Drenner. “I hope that together we can create impactful legislation that everyone can support.”
Sen. Emanuel Jones represents the 10th Senate District, which includes portions of DeKalb and Henry counties. He may be reached at 404.656.0502 or by email at emanuel.jones@senate.ga.gov.
Representative Karla Drenner represents the citizens of District 85, which includes portions of DeKalb County. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2000 and currently serves on the Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications, Health & Human Services, Natural Resources & Environment, Rules and Small Business Development committees.
###