Cagle Announces Appointments to Study Committees
Over the last few weeks, we’ve gotten the names of those appointed to various House study committees. Now, it’s the Senate’s turn. Friday afternoon, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle announced the composition of eight Senate and Joint study committees, created pursuant to various resolutions passed during the 2016 legislative session.
In a statement, Cagle said, “With the General Assembly adjourned, the interim provides an opportunity for legislators to delve into the numerous issues facing Georgians. These study committee chairs and members are uniquely qualified to develop real, lasting solutions aimed at building a better Georgia now and for future generations. I look forward to evaluating the findings of these committees as we look ahead to next session and beyond.”
Senate Resolution 842 established the Senate Study Committee on the Legislative Process. The committee will examine how bills, amendments and resolutions are dealt with in the upper chamber, and will see if better efficiency and transparency can be achieved. Members include:
Senator Jeff Mullis, Chair
Senator David Shafer
Senator Bill Cowsert
Senator Steve Henson
Senator John Wilkinson
Senator Renee Unterman
Senator Elena Parent
The Senate passed Senate Resolution 876, the Joint High-Speed Broadband Communications Access for all Georgians Study Committee. Nathan described its purpose here, and Speaker Ralston has already named the House members on the committee, including co-chair Don Parsons. Here are the Senate members:
Senator Steve Gooch, Co-Chair
Senator Rick Jeffares
Senator Tyler Harper
Senator John Wilkinson
Senator David Lucas
As you may know, Georgia is has developed a thriving industry for processing credit card transactions, one of the largest in the country. The Joint Study Committee on Incentives for Financial Technologies and the Payment Processing Study Committee, which was established by Senate Resolution 883, will examine the challenges facing the financial technology industry, including competition from other states and countries, and will also consider whether any financial incentives should be given by the state to promote the industry. The committee will be co-chaired by Rep. Ron Stephens from he House, and includes these members of the Senate:
Senator Brandon Beach, Co-Chair
Senator Burt Jones, Banking and Financial Institutions Committee Chairman
Senator John Albers, Senate Member with Expertise in Financial Technology
In addition, these leaders of the state Economic Development Department will serve on the joint committee:
Chris Carr, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Economic Development
Dawiet Zamadie, Director of Information Services, Georgia Department of Economic Development
It’s an unexpected “gift” many people receive following a hospital stay. Your hospital is in your insurance company’s network, so you are not expecting a large bill. However, one of the doctors or technicians that worked on your procedure is out of network, causing a huge spike in the hospital bill. That’s what the Senate Surprise Billing Practices Study Committee will look at, and try to make some recommendations based on what other states are doing to address the issue. It was created by Senate Resolution 974.
Senator Renee Unterman, Chair
Senator Dean Burke
Senator Ben Watson
Senator Chuck Hufstetler
It’s no secret that tuition has been increasing at the institutions within the University System of Georgia. One of the realizations resulting from last year’s study committee on how to preserve the Hope Scholarship was that each tuition increase meant that the students receiving Hope had to bear a larger share of the costs. Senate Resolution 1001 established the Senate Study Committee on Higher Education Affordability. Members include:
Senator Fran Millar, Chair
Senator Donzella James, Vice Chair
Senator Jack Hill
Senator P.K. Martin
Senator Judson Hill
Senator Lindsey Tippins
Senator Charlie Bethel
Senator Elena Parent
The Joint Alternative Fuels and Vehicles Study Committee will tackle a classic chicken and egg problem in the Peach State. Consumers are looking at alternatively fueled vehicles, perhaps electric or natural gas, as a way to protect the environment and save money. However, there aren’t too many places to recharge or refuel these vehicles, so consumers are reluctant to purchase them. Meanwhile, alternative fuel providers don’t want to invest in the infrastructure necessary to provide these fuels, because there are too few vehicles using them. The solution? Form a joint study committee to look at the problem, which is what Senate Resolution 1038 did. You can see the House members on the committee here, along with more information on what the study committee will do. The Senate members include:
Senator Jeff Mullis, Co-Chair
Senator Butch Miller
Senator Rick Jeffares
Senator Frank Ginn
Senator Emanuel Jones
There has been a lot of talk about improving transit options in the Atlanta metro area, but there remain major questions over funding and governance of an expanded regional transit system. Two tears after passing House Bill 170, which covered improving roads and bridges, the legislature might be ready to consider transit. The House and Senate established separate committees to look at options and make recommendations. Formed by Senate Resolution 1085, the Senate Regional Transit Solutions Study Committee consists of:
Senator Steve Gooch, Chair
Senator Brandon Beach
Senator Lindsey Tippins
Senator Fran Millar
Senator P.K. Martin
Senator Nan Orrock
Senator Valencia Seay
The next committee will examine what to do with the Invest Georgia initiative. Invest Georgia was authorized by the General Assembly in 2013 to help promote early stage companies by providing venture capital to assist in their growth. Sounds like a good idea until you realize you have the state investing in private companies, in hope of getting a return later. Which means you could end up with the Peach State’s version of Solyndra and a huge loss. Oops. Is it worth the risk, and can anything be done to minimize the risk? How much money should the state invest in the program? That’s what the Senate Study Committee on Venture Capital Investments formed by Senate Resolution 1132 will examine.
Senator Brandon Beach, Chair
Senator Judson Hill
Senator Elena Parent
In addition to the three senators, Lt. Gov. Cagle appointed the following people to serve on the committee:
Chris Carr, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Economic Development
Hala Moddelmog, President, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
Lynn Riley, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Revenue
Gardner Garrad, TTV Capital- General Partner from Georgia Based Venture Capital Fund
Jeff Muir, Fulcrum Equity Partners, General Partner in Georgia Based Private Equity Fund
Blake Patton, Advanced Technology Development Centers Representative
Sam Burch, General Counsel, University System of Georgia
Sean Banks, TTV Capital, Board Member-Technology Association of Georgia
But wait, there’s more. In addition to the committee positions filled today, there is a slew of additional committees needing members. Look for those appointments over the next days and weeks.
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Jon Richards
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So explain how a member of the Executive Branch of the State appoints members of the Legislative Branch to legislative study committees? Our Constitution defines the Lt. Gov. as a member of the Executive Branch, and states that a member of one branch of government can not “serve” in another branch of State government. “Presiding” over the Senate is exclusive of the Lt. Gov. controlling in anyway workings of the legislative bodies – hence he can not “serve” in the Senate. We use to call the separation of the three branches “checks and balances”, but then us old fogeys use to believe government was a contract between the people and those that would govern.
The legislature can pass bills as they wish, and they can adopt rules – but the State’s Constitution is supreme to O,.C.G.A. or rules. Which leads me back to my question; how does the Executive Branch trump our Constitutional law?
The short answer is each is different, as each study committee is originated by separate legislation, and the appointments depend on what is in the legislation that creates each study committee. There are a few exceptions to this rule.
None of these study committees create law. They do flesh out issues and often draft legislation to be introduced in January when the legislature convenes.
The resolutions mentioned here which were introduced, debated and voted on by the Senate gave the President of the Senate (the LG) appointment authority.
Thanks – the answers still leave me not seeing the justification how a Senate resolution trumps specific safeguards in our Constitution that ensures the Legislative Branch is separate from the Executive Branch and vice versa. WHY would the Legislative Branch concede any of its independence. or the appearance of concession of being an independent branch, to the office of the Governor by allowing a member of the Executive Branch to appoint members of the Legislative Branch to Legislative Study Committees? The Gov. appoints Executive Branch Study committees all the time, – I’ve never seen Sen. Shaffer appoint members to the Executive Branch Study Committee. Bet if you guys did the Gov. would squeal like a stuck pig.
Let’s ask this another way – if Mark Taylor was still the Lt. Gov., and the Gov. was a democrat – would the republican majority allow Mark Taylor the same control over the Senate?
As I said before – I believe government is a contract between the people and those of you that govern – with the State Constitution and our O.C.G.A.’s being the written contract. The Senate is breaking that contract by not sustaining the independence of the Legislative Branch from the Executive Branch.
The Georgia Constitution says that the Lt. Governor will be the President of the Senate. This is the same as in the U.S. Constitution, which gives the Vice President the role of President of the U.S. Senate. That is the only constitutional duty of the LG, besides taking over for the Governor in the case of disability or death.
The LG does not get a vote in the Senate, although he typically presides during the legislative session. There’s no constitutional reason that the LG makes the committee assignments; as Charlie and Josh have said, the LG was named to select committee members in the enabling legislation for each resolution.
You asked whether Democrat Mark Taylor would have been allowed such power with a Republican Senate majority. This is not a hypothetical question. The GOP had a majority in the Senate in 2003, however Taylor was the LG. (Sonny Perdue was the governor.) The Senate stripped Taylor of his power, and gave it to President Pro Tem Eric Johnson, who effectively ran the chamber until Casey Cagle was elected LG in 2006.
Similarly, Tommie Williams and Chip Rogers stripped Cagle of many of his Senate powers (rightfully so) when they controlled the Senate. It took a Faustian bargain by Cagle with the current Senate leadership to regain that authority. Didn’t help (or hurt depending on your pov) that Chip Rogers was a dumbass.
Thank you Charlie/Josh/Jon.
1) In no case has the US VP exclusively been granted the authority to appoint members of the US Senate to a US Senate Study Committees because of the Separation Clause in the United States Constitution. The US VP may have been consulted – but in no case has the US VP had exclusive power of appointment in the Senate. Georgia has a similar Separation Clause in Article I Section II Paragraph III. Similar in that our State’s Constitutional wording is more clear than the US Constitution – the intent of the two Constitutions are the same.
2) Article I Section IV Paragraph I states that the Legislature may not usurp any portion of the the State Constitution – which would include Article I Section II Paragraph III ( the Separation Clause). The Separation Clause can not be ignored by authority of a legislature or the Gov.
3) Jon noted Article V Section I Paragraph III states the Lt. Gov. will be President of the Senate, BUT the rest of the sentence limits the Lt. Gov. The full sentence states; “The Lieutenant Governor shall be the President of the Senate and shall have such executive duties as prescribed by the Governor and as may be prescribed by law not
inconsistent with the powers of the Governor or other provisions of this Constitution. ” So the sentence in the Constitution states the Governor sets the duties of the Lt. Gov. in relation to the Lt. Gov. servings as President of the Senate. The referenced sentence in the Constitution does NOT say the Senate can set the duties of the Lt. Gov. – only the Governor. That same sentence also prohibits the Gov. or the Legislature ignoring the Separation Clause in Article I Section II Paragraph III. The Legislative Branch does not have Constitutional Authority to vacate its obligations in deferrence to the Executive Branch on any subject because of the Separation Clause.
4) Note that all descriptions and powers for the office of Lt. Gov. are in Article V “Executive Branch”. None of the duties or powers of the Lt. Gov. are contained in Article III “Legislative Branch”.
5) Thank you for confirming that the republican Senate stripped LG Taylor of powers not enumerated in the Constitution. That in itself proves the Constitutional point in fact.
I’m neither a republican or a democrat – just a guy that use to believe I could count on government to follow the Constitution, and government not be usurped by political expediencies.
Article I Section IV Paragraph I technically no longer exists, since it was the section dealing with marriage being between a man and a woman, which in any case isn’t supportive of your argument. Perhaps you meant another section?
I believe that the resolutions all state that the “President of the Senate” shall appoint the members. That could be the Lt. Gov, the President Pro Tempore, or whoever is acting as the presiding officer. So, in my opinion, the authority is not conferred upon the office of the Lt. Gov, but rather the President/presiding officer of the Senate.
How ridiculous can it be when you twice mention naming Chris Carr to post…you list him as Head of Econ Dev when he has been the Attorney General for over a year.
Hi GaExpert,
Chris Carr was appointed AG on October 12, 2016. This article was written June 17, 2016.