Under the Gold Dome: Issue 3 - January 24, 2022

January 24, 2022, Issue 3

BUDGET AND VOTING IN A QUIET WEEK

Last week was slow for committee meetings as the legislators concentrated on the state budget. This is the one piece of business that must be completed before they can adjourn. The General Assembly will return to floor business today.

Local redistricting is happening now and will be completed by February 18^th. There is pressure to complete the process quickly so candidates can qualify between March 7^th and March 11^th for the primary election on May 24^th. Because of population shifts over the past 10 years, most counties will need to draw new county commission and school board districts. Municipalities that change the number of city council districts will also need to gain approval from the state legislature.

This rushed process leaves very little time for public input. Advocates are contacting local legislators as well as members of the two committees providing oversight to local legislation to demand hearings and access to data, tables, maps and GIS shapefiles of proposed plans with sufficient time for the public to analyze this information.

Here is the step-by-step process of local redistricting:

Local elected officials develop proposed maps based on the 2020 census results using local staff, consultants or the state Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office (LCRO).
A member of the county local legislative delegation sponsors the proposed map. It then goes to the LCRO for a technical review.
After it passes that review, the map can be formally approved by the local governmental entity (county commission or school board) and submitted by the legislative delegation for bill drafting.
A formal public notice of the intended bill must also published in the county’s legal organ (local newspaper) seven days before legislation is introduced.
The bill is then assigned to the House Intergovernmental Affairs Committee or the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee and goes through the process for local legislation.
Note: Legislators may also directly ask the LCRO to draft maps for entities in their district and submit as legislation.

We expect that due to the short time frame and number of local bills being submitted that there will be few hearings and legislation will be bundled and passed in groups. Large counties may receive a hearing, but they are likely to be scheduled with little notice.

You can monitor https://www.georgiapublicnotice.com for publication of legal notices for local legislation.

If you see such a notice, please contact Poy Winichakul at poy.winichakul@splcenter.org

At least two large counties, Athens/Clarke County and Cobb, have competing factions promoting different maps. The Gwinnett County delegation has proposed legislation for redistricting the Board of Commissioners (HB872) and the Board of Education (HB873). No hearing has been scheduled yet.

There are about a dozen bills assigned to the House committee and three in the Senate. The number of local redistricting bills are expected to jump dramatically in the next two weeks.

The Special Committee on Election Integrity, responsible for last year’s omnibus SB202 covering Georgia’s election regulations, has a new chairman. Rep. Barry Fleming (R-121 Harlem) has been replaced by Rep. Stan Gunter (R-8 Blairsville). Fleming was ousted as Hancock County attorney after local residents protested the bill, calling it voter suppression. The Hancock County Commission asked Fleming to resign.

Ethics

SB69, submitted last year and tabled, has been recommitted by Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-53 Rock Springs). This bill removes automatic voter registration when obtaining a new or renewal driver's license. Automatic registration became law in 2016, increasing the voter rolls by 1.5 million people. The new bill would make people sign a voter registration form every time they apply for a driver's license regardless of their previous voter registration status. In the League’s view, this is an extra and unnecessary hurdle.
SB71, also from Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-53 Rock Springs), would change the definition of “absentee elector” and significantly curtail no-excuse absentee voting by limiting it to one of the following:
Voters over age 65
Voters “required to be absent from their precinct”
Voters with disabilities.
SB363 had its second read on January 14^th. This constitutional amendment would make it illegal for non-citizens to vote. The Secretary of State and the bill’s sponsors are pushing the bill, even though the U.S. Constitution stipulates that only citizens can vote. They say that the amendment would guarantee that Georgia law cannot be changed in the future. The legislature would have to approve this by a two-thirds majority and then it would go on the ballot for voters to decide.

Important Links

Georgia General Assembly Schedule

Find your Senator/Representative

Under the Gold Dome will be distributed to League members and partners each week that the Georgia General Assembly is in session. It is a product of our Education Fund, allowing us to report legislative facts and activities at the State Capitol. The UTGD Team is comprised of LWVGA staff and volunteers, who will be tracking and reporting on legislation and committee hearings throughout the legislative session.

UTGD Team

Editor: Rebecca Rolfes, LWVCGA

rebeccar@lwvcga.org

Volunteer legislative observers:

Mikayla Arciaga

Julie Bolen

Gail Buckner

Blake Caldwell

Mary Kay Clyburn

Daniel Eason

Ashleigh Ewald

Jessica Fields

Gina Hill

Sharon Hill

Keona Lynn Jones

Alan Kaufman

M Maguire

Rosemary Mackey

Margarita Moldovan

Renee Rubens

Laurie Tyson

Michelle Weston

Elizabeth Melville

Maxie Kirk Williams

League of Women Voters of Georgia | Website