It’s an election day in Georgia. Lots of local issues on the ballots today across the state. Most ink in the metro Atlanta area will be dedicated to the MARTA referendum in Gwinnett County. A recent poll from Rosetta Stone showed the measure trailing 51-39, though late endorsements and a last minute PR push may
This week’s Courier Herald column: On March 5th, the day before “Crossover Day” when a bill must pass either the Georgia House or Senate to be considered for final passage this year, the Senate failed to pass a bill creating Education Scholarship Accounts, or ESAs, for students currently attending Georgia public schools. The Senate Bill
Yesterday, while Savannah was in full St. Patrick’s Day celebration, the Savannah Morning News posted an editorial urging Skidaway residents to vote no on the measure to create an island city. The paper joins a rather vocal and influential group of Skidaway residents in opposing the measure. Skidaway Island is dominated by the mega-subdivision, The
Newly elected Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan has just sent word via press release that he is endorsing a constitutional amendment to limit the tenure of the Lt Gov two two terms. The Amendment is sponsored by freshman State Senator Greg Dolezal, a Republican from Forsyth County. “The Office of Lt. Governor is no place for
This week’s Courier Herald column: Reform of Georgia’s healthcare system stalled last week when the Georgia House voted down the most sweeping reforms to Georgia’s Certificate of Need (CON) laws in decades. Certificates of Need are essentially state issued monopoly grants that allow hospitals and some other health care providers to operate in a given
The legislature convenes today for Day 28, or “Crossover Day”. If you need to understand Crossover day, start here. In shorthand, the most straight line for a bill to become a law involves getting it passed by either the House or Senate by today. For a bill to get on the floor, it has to
Ok, if you’re reading this site, you probably are beyond the basics for crossover day, now “Day 28” of the 40 day legislative session. Still, some of you are new, and some of you have succumbed to the surface level reporting of what today is/does. Hint: No bill is really, truly dead until Sine Die…of
As Theresa mentioned in Morning Reads, yesterday was another devastating day for parts of Central and South Georgia. While Georgia was spared the loss of life that occurred just across the state line in Alabama, property damage was spread across the southern half of the state, with the towns of Talbotton and Cairo taking a
This week’s Courier Herald column Last week there was a bit of a kerfuffle involving House Bill 530, a bill aimed at parents who withdraw their children from school for the purpose of “avoiding compliance with laws relating to mandatory attendance, school discipline, parental involvement, or parental responsibilities.” That sounds simple enough. The bill’s primary
This week’s Courier Herald column: Several years ago, I had the opportunity to tag along on a trip with a handful of Georgia legislators, education officials, and Governor Deal. We visited New Orleans, and talked to a variety of educators and community leaders who were all stakeholders in re-creating the local school system in the
