January 7, 2022
Volume 13, Special Preliminary Issue
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Legislative Session Begins Monday, January 10 |
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The new year ushers in another session of the Georgia General Assembly. Just as individuals set their goals for the year, state legislators and other key players in Georgia's lawmaking arena establish their agendas for the 40 legislative days where they intend to enact change on behalf of the citizens of Georgia.
Lawmakers will convene under the Gold Dome, also known as the People's House, on Monday, January 10. The House of Representatives has announced a start time of 8:30 a.m. with a break on Tuesday and plans to reconvene on Wednesday, January 12. As legislators are preparing for the hallmark of the state's policymaking process, so is ACCG. With the association's 2022 Policy Agenda set and Legislative Priorities distinguished, the team of lobbyists are ready to advocate on behalf of Georgia's 159 county governments. ACCG encourages county officials and other county partners to familiarize themselves with the association's Policy Agenda which can be found in the 2022 Legislative Toolkit.
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Read further for important updates as ACCG prepares for the start of the 2022 legislative session and for information on how your county can remain informed and engaged. ACCG looks forward to your active engagement this session and more successes on behalf of Georgia's county governments. |
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Access the Legislative Tracking Database for a compilation of all bills ACCG is following. |
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Redistricting - URGENT UPDATE
Earlier this 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:
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CRITICAL LOCAL AD INFORMATION. Please click here for details.
- 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.
- 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.
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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.
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Study Committee Reports Released
Legislative Study Committees of interest to Georgia counties have published their reports.
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House Rural Development Council - Click here to view the report.
- Georgia Commission on E-Commerce & Freight Infrastructure Funding - *Final report is forthcoming and will be shared upon receipt.
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House Study on Annexation and Cityhood - Click here to view the report.
More on Annexation
In 2021, the Georgia House passed a resolution establishing the House Study Committee on Annexation. This Study Committee met five times over the summer and fall, with ACCG submitting its recommendations to improve Georgia’s annexation arbitration process. On November 18, the House Study Committee issued its final report, incorporating many of ACCG’s suggestions. ACCG urges the General Assembly to pass the recommendations of the 2021 House Study Committee’s final report via legislation introduced during the 2022 General Assembly.
ACCG is asking counties that are interested in reforming Georgia’s annexation dispute resolution/arbitration process to please adopt a resolution supporting the recommendations of the House Study Committee on Annexation and Cityhood.
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Stay Connected and Engaged! |
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Leverage Your County Legislative Coordinator
Each year, ACCG asks counties to update their designated County Legislative Coordinator (CLC) to ensure this significant network of county officials remains current during the time in which they will be leveraged the most. The CLC’s primary responsibilities include relaying pertinent information about proposed or pending legislation to county commissioners and county management and maintaining an open line of communication with ACCG to ensure county-specific information is readily available for legislators. ACCG encourages all counties to designate a CLC.
Click here to see your county’s current CLC. To change or appoint your county’s CLC for 2022, please contact Tottianna Davis at [email protected] or (404) 522-5022.
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First 2022 Virtual Legislative Update Scheduled for January 14
The first Virtual Legislative Update of the 2022 legislative session will take place at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, January 14 via Zoom. This is a recurring event, so county officials can access the meeting each week through this link.
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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!
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Save the Date!
ACCG Legislative Breakfast - More Information to Come.
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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 6, 2022
Georgia Recorder - January 5, 2022
Georgia Public Broadcasting - January 5, 2022
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Questions? Email the
ACCG Legislative team:
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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.
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