In the second installment of Become a Budget Expert, we discuss the three areas that make up state funding: taxes and fees, bonds, and the rainy day fund. Taxes and fees make up the yearly state budget in good economic times and are supported in bad times by reserve revenues, called the rainy day fund.
Eight former chairmen of the conservative group American Legislative Exchange Council signed a letter endorsing HB 929, which calls for the winner of the popular vote to become president. Earl Ehrhart, himself a former chair of ALEC and sponsor of the bill, was signatory to the letter. HB 929 doesn’t call for the Electoral College to be abolished.
That didn’t take long. Less than 24 hours after Rep. Matt Ramsey of Peachtree City announced he would not seek another term representing the 72nd House District, former Peachtree City mayor Harold Logsdon tossed his hat into the race to replace him. In statement, Logsdon said, We need proven conservative leadership to succeed Rep. Ramsey
Yesterday, Representative Bill Werkheiser (R-Glennville) announced his intentions to file a piece of legislation aimed at increasing openness between the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) and southeast Georgians. A private company recently announced intentions to dispose of large amounts of coal ash in the region. While legal, the actions were kept out of public knowledge.
With the announced retirement of State Representative Stephen Allison (HD-8, Blairsville) the mountain counties and the entire state of Georgia is losing one of the few real public servants. While it is understandable that he would want to spend more time with his wife and teen-aged sons, his announcement is also indicative of the tremendous
House Majority Whip Matt Ramsey (R-Peachtree City) will not be running for re-election. Ramsey had been considered a possible front runner to replace Congressman Lynn Westmoreland, but decided not to enter that race. Instead, he’s decided (as many others are this cycle) that the difficulty of running a business and being a citizen legislator are
Last March, a DeKalb County police officer responded to a call reporting a naked man behaving strangely. The officer, Robert Olsen, shot the man dead. Tried by the grand jury, District Attorney Richard James won the indictment against Olsen. However, many believe that the justice system through which law officers are tried is in need
The House Judiciary Committee voted out Do Pass recommendations for the Pastor Protection Act and the Georgia Civil Rights in Public Accommodations Act, sending both bills to the Rules Committee prior to a vote in the full house. While the Pastor Protection Act passed without controversy, there was considerable discussion and proposed amendments to the
A House Judiciary subcommittee on Monday voted to send House Bill 849 to the full Judiciary Committee. The bill, entitled the Georgia Civil Rights in Public Accommodations Act, would provide civil rights based on race, religion, and national origin in places of public accommodation, including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and movie theaters. Georgia is currently
This week’s Courier Herald column: During the process to approve partial taxpayer financing of Atlanta’s new Mercedes Benz stadium, I was perhaps one of the most frequent and outspoken of the critics. Atlanta had and has many infrastructure needs. The decision to tie up a dedicated revenue stream for three decades in order to replace
