January 14, 2022
Volume 13, Issue 1
2022 Legislative Session Commences
Governor Kemp Delivers State of the State Address, Announces Budget Recommendations
Monday, January 10 marked the beginning of the 2022 legislative session. Members of the Georgia General Assembly were in session four days this week and will be in adjournment next week to work on the budget. A schedule for the joint budget hearings can be viewed here.

Governor Kemp held his State of the State Address on Thursday which included his administration’s legislative agenda and budget priorities. He also released his AFY 2022 and FY 2023 Budget Report.

During his address, the Governor announced that he is proposing a $2,000 raise for teachers and a $5,000 raise for state employees. To help address case backlogs in the courts, the Governor recommends an additional $7 million to be used for upgrades to Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) crime lab equipment while providing an additional 32 crime lab and medical examiner's office staff to address their increased volume. This recommendation is in addition to the $110 million dollars of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that the Governor has already made available to the courts to address the case backlog issue.

Also noted in the Governor's remarks was his recommendation to assist local governments and state agencies address workforce shortages in the area of law enforcement. The Governor has asked Commissioner Greg Dozier of the Technical College System of Georgia to add law enforcement and criminal justice degrees to the high-demand career initiatives. He also wants to provide free tuition for more than 1,000 Georgians looking to obtain those degrees. Furthermore, he mentioned the $1,000 bonus that was given to law enforcement and first responders at the end of last year.

Click here to read the full transcript of the Governor's address.
Click here to watch the replay of the Governor's address.

Budget Highlights of Interest to Counties

ACCG will provide a more comprehensive summary of the Amended FY 2022 and FY 2023 Budgets next week. Until then, here are a few additional highlights of interest to counties.

Georgia Department of Transportation
Local Maintenance & Improvement Grant (LMIG)
AFY 2022 - No Changes
FY 2023 Total -$200,888,789 (an increase of $4,885,093)

FY 2023 General Obligation Bond Projects:
Soil and Water Conservation Commission = $2,160,000 in bond funds for assessment and rehabilitation of Category 1 dams.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation
AFY 2022 = $469,102 for two temporary positions and two full-time positions to investigate elections complaints.

Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (FY 2023)
  • $7,807,113 for a 10% increase in outpatient core services for addictive diseases and mental health.
  • $6,176,524 to expand behavioral health and substance abuse crisis capacity.
  • $4,500,000 for three additional Assisted Outpatient Treatment programs.
  • $2,500,000 for a 20-bed jail-based competency restoration program pilot.
New Elections Legislation Calls for Securing the Security Ballot Paper

Last year’s omnibus election legislation, Senate Bill 202, required counties to purchase and use an enhanced security paper. House Bill 886 requires election superintendents to place newly received security ballot paper in locked containers. The containers shall be sealed and numbered, with the numbers recorded on tracking forms. Anyone who takes possession of these containers shall provide written confirmation that includes the date, time, and signature verifying that the number of the seal on the container matches the number recorded on the tracking forms. They must also confirm that such seal has not been broken or otherwise tampered with or compromised. The form shall also serve as a chain of custody mechanism, with several other verification steps required. 

This security paper can only be removed from the locked container for use as ballots or for necessary training or maintenance on election equipment, requiring documentation of how much paper was removed and the reason.      
Click on "This Week's Bills" to review the bills included in this week's Legislative Update.
Access the Legislative Tracking Database for a compilation of all bills ACCG is following. 
More from the Gold Dome
Legislation Preempting Counties' Authority to Restrict Rental Housing Introduced

In the first of what is sure to be numerous housing preemption bills introduced this legislative session, House Bill 844 prohibits local governments from restricting the long-term rental (over 12 months) of single-family detached dwellings on any property where such dwellings are authorized under the local zoning code or are not otherwise prohibited by the local land use plan. The bill also waives a local governments' sovereign immunity, allowing aggrieved parties to sue for damages up to $1 million per violation. Furthermore, any local government in violation cannot receive financial assistance, grants, or other funds from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. 
Your County's Redistricting Bills Require Immediate Action to Avoid Litigation Over Your County's Next Election

Last week, ACCG was informed that the Secretary of State’s Office has requested that election staff input all redistricting changes from new redistricted maps into their voter registration system by February 18, 2022. This request is being made to ensure all voters are in correct districts in time for qualifying the week of March 7, 2022. A copy of the letter can be found here. Additionally, both the House and Senate leadership have indicated that all local redistricting legislation must pass by the beginning of February to meet this deadline.  

While the deadline provided by the Secretary of State’s Office is not a legal requirement, it is the deadline that elections staff believe to be necessary to administratively prepare for qualifying. Further, it has been noted by the press that Governor Kemp has communicated to legislators that he wants all local redistricting maps ready for signature prior to qualifying. As such, ACCG recommends that counties that have not yet completed or adopted their maps in preparation for the local Act to be prepared by the General Assembly to consider the following steps in streamlining the process:

  1.  CRITICAL LOCAL AD INFORMATION. Please click here for details.
  2. All maps that are not drawn by the Reapportionment Office (i.e., maps drawn by the county or by a consulting group) must be certified through a technical review by the Reapportionment Office before they can be adopted locally or can be introduced by the General Assembly. This is a brand-new requirement that was passed in 2019. This step is not needed for maps drawn for your county by the Reapportionment Office. The Reapportionment Office has noted that almost all maps that are drawn outside of their office require changes to be made once they are submitted for technical review. Allowing the Reapportionment Office to correct these issues rather than having the county or consulting group make the correction and send it back to the Reapportionment Office for review will reduce the time it takes to certify the map. 
  3.  If your county is making changes other than simply adjusting district lines such as changing commissioner terms (length of term, staggered versus concurrent), changing district numbers/names, switching from at-large to district or vice versa, etc., make sure that these proposed changes have been noted in your communications with Reapportionment and in preparation for the local Act.
  4.  Complete the Post-2020 Census Local Redistricting Checklist and Chart and provide to your legislative sponsor for legislative counsel to use in drafting your local Act. Completing this form may save time in the creation of your local Act in that all the details needed to draft the Act will have been provided in one document. 

ACCG updated the Local Redistricting Toolkit in December to include more FAQs and a sample redistricting resolution. It is available on the ACCG website here. If your county has any questions about maps or the new certification process for maps drawn outside of the Reapportionment Office, please contact Brian Knight, Local Redistricting Coordinator at [email protected]. If your county attorney has questions about the local ad or preparations for the local Act, please have him or her contact Stuart Morelli, Deputy Legislative Counsel at 404-656-5000. 

Click here to read ACCG's urgent update on reapportionment in its entirety.
Population Acts
A Population Act is a specific class of general state law that only applies to particular counties, or cities, or both, within specific population range. These laws are based on the population figures according to the most recent decennial census results. The 2020 Census results released in the fall of 2021 may impact these Acts and could potentially shift counties outside of their current population Act range or cause a population Act that was not originally created for a county to now apply. As such, it is very important that each county reviews their current population Acts in relation to their revised census numbers.

If it is determined that your county is shifted out of its current population Act or into an unwanted population Act, a policy decision needs to be made by the board of commissioners in consultation with the county attorney to determine whether to repeal the population Act or amend it as to keep the provision applicable only to the counties and/or cities which were covered by it immediately prior to the date the new census figures becoming effective. Once a policy decision has been made, the board of commissioners will need to reach out to their legislative delegation to make these proposed changes to state law.

Population Act Resources:
Stay Connected and Engaged!
Virtual Legislative Update Recap

Did you miss this morning's Virtual Legislative Update? Don't worry. Catch the recap here.

Don't forget to join us every Friday at 9:00 a.m. on Zoom. County officials can access the meeting each week using this link.
Policy Communication Tools

Don't forget about the various communications tools that will help keep you informed and engaged. Click here to read all about them!
Standing outside of the Gold Dome, the ACCG policy team was all smiles as they wrapped up their first week of the 2022 legislative.
Save the Date!
ACCG Legislative Breakfast - More Information to Come.
ACCG News
News You Can Use - Articles Related to ACCG Policy Issues
Articles covering some of ACCG's major policy issues are found here. Click the hyperlinked title to begin reading.



Atlanta Journal-Constitution - January 13, 2022

Georgia Recorder- January 13, 2022

Georgia Public Broadcasting - January 12, 2022

Georgia Recorder - January 10, 2022

The Center Square - January 7, 2022
Questions? Email the
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ACCG is YOUR county association. We are here to advance all Georgia county governments. Please feel free to contact a member of the policy team if they can assist in any way.