ATLANTA — A move to expand the size of the Gwinnett County Commission came under heavy partisan fire Wednesday in the Georgia Senate.
Senate Bill 6EX is sponsored by state Sens. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, and Lee Anderson, R-Grovetown.
Dixon and Anderson also have introduced a bill — Senate Bill 5EX — that would make Gwinnett school board elections a non-partisan affair, a move the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee approved along party lines.
The General Assembly is holding a special session to redraw Georgia’s legislative and congressional district lines. Time constraints Wednesday tabled discussion of Dixon’s bill to expand the commission.
Both of Dixon’s bills came under fire from House and Senate Democrats, who decried the moves as Republican power grabs in a metro Atlanta county that has become more aligned with the Democratic Party.
“This is an overarching abuse of power and an example of meddling in local affairs with total disrespect,” said Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta, who is also critical of a proposed city of Buckhead that would be carved out of the city of Atlanta.
“We have people introducing bills who aren’t part of the communities that are being influenced,” Orrock said. Having a majority vote in this chamber is not a license to abuse power.”
Dixon said making the Gwinnett board of education non-partisan is the top issue in his district.
“Some of the proposed curriculum in my county includes the teaching of critical race theory,” Dixon said. “My constituents are very concerned about radical agendas such as these being taught in our schools.”
Sen. Nikki Merritt, D-Grayson, was highly critical of Dixon’s moves.
“In 2018 and 2020, Gwinnett County voters chose to elect Democratic majorities to our delegation, county commission and school board,” Merritt said.
“Republicans are showing their belief that local governments only exist to serve their party. They are weaponizing local legislation to force an unprecedented power grab that is attempting to take over Gwinnett, one of the most diverse counties in our state.”
Dixon conceded to Sen. Michelle Au, D-Johns Creek, that he has not brought his measures to either the Gwinnett Board of Education or the commission.
“This is not a new issue, and I’ve had numerous discussions with my constituents,” Dixon said.
The Georgia Redistricting Alliance opposes expanding the Gwinnett commission.
“Quietly dropping a bill that calls for major changes to the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners map shows blatant disregard for any process whatsoever,” the group wrote in a prepared statement.
“We have and will continue to demand that Georgians have opportunities for meaningful input toward the redistricting process at all levels of government. It is unfathomable to us that broad changes to the most diverse county in Georgia would be undertaken only in a language that a large percentage of its residents do not prefer.”
State Rep. Jasmine Clark, D-Lilburn, vice chairman of the Gwinnett legislative delegation, said no Democrats in her delegation were even aware of Dixon’s proposals and called the process an attack on people of color in Gwinnett.
Dixon defended expanding the commission as a way to keep pace with Gwinnett’s growth.
“Gwinnett is one of the most rapidly growing counties in the state,” he said. “Right now, we have four commission members representing about a quarter million people each.”
Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, said Dixon’s legislation didn’t include maps of the proposed new districts.
“I can’t tell what I’m being asked to vote on,” Jones said.
Dixon said new Gwinnett commission maps have not yet been developed but will be drawn with the assistance of state officials if the bill passes.
“Republican legislators are rushing through bills that directly impact Black and Brown communities without adequate public notice or public input,” said Common Cause Georgia Executive Director Aunna Dennis. “These bills are an insult to the voters of Gwinnett County. They are completely contrary to the principle that Gwinnett County voters should be able to govern themselves.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – The Republican-led Georgia House of Representatives adopted new boundaries for the 180 House districts Wednesday.
After nearly two hours of debate, the House approved a map proposed by GOP leadership 99-79, voting mostly along party lines.
The General Assembly redraws Georgia’ legislative and congressional district lines each decade to accommodate changes in population reflected in the U.S. Census.
The map crafted by House Republicans not only keeps House districts as close to equal in population as possible – the goal being 59,511 residents – Rep. Bonnie Rich, chairman of the House Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment Committee, told her House colleagues.
The map also creates 49 majority Black House districts, an increase of one district over the current House map lawmakers adopted in 2011, as well as 27 “minority-opportunity” districts where minority candidates should be competitive, said Rich, R-Suwanee.
The Republican map splits 69 counties, compared to 73 under the current map, Rich said.
It also pairs only eight incumbent House members in four districts, she said. The House map Democrats drew in 2001, the last time they held a majority in the chamber, paired 37 Republican incumbents and nine Democratic incumbents, she said.
“This is a map that complies with the law, first and foremost, with the Voting Rights Act and the United States Constitution,” Rich said. “The map is fair to Georgia.”
But Democrats complained the map favors Republicans in a state that has evolved into a 50-50 split between the two parties, which is reflected in the outcomes of recent statewide elections.
“Georgia has grown more diverse and urban,” said Rep. Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus. “This map ignores the fact the Georgia is equally divided politically.”
Other Democrats accused Republican leaders of diluting minority voting strength by “packing” minority voters into certain districts in order to reduce the minority voting-age populations of surrounding districts.
Rep. Winfred Dukes, D-Albany, who is paired in a House district with Rep. Gerald Greene, R-Cuthbert, cited District 153 in the city of Albany adjacent to his redrawn district as an example of such packing.
Rich objected to Dukes’ characterizing of Republicans’ strategy as packing.
“We didn’t have any packing in our map,” she said. “We have drawn legal districts that comply with the Voting Rights Act.”
The Republican map’s opponents also repeated complaints over the rushed pace of the special session they have raised frequently during the past week.
Hugley argued the 11 public hearings the committee held across the state during the summer were of little use when they came before the 2020 Census data was released and before the release of any proposed maps.
House Minority Leader James Beverly complained that the final version of the House map Republican leaders proposed was being voted on just two days after its release to the public.
“The people of Georgia deserve better,” said Beverly, D-Macon. “The people demanded a fair and transparent redistricting process. What they got instead was a rushed and secretive process.”
But Rich said the 2022 election schedule requires the General Assembly to act without delay.
“We have deadlines,” she said. “The elections officials are going to have to rush to implement this. … We have a job to get done now.”
The House map now heads to the state Senate, which approved its new map on Tuesday.
ATLANTA — A $340-million copper smelting and recycling plan is coming to Augusta.
Germany-based Aurubis, one of the world’s largest recyclers of copper and precious metals in the world, is building a 150-acre metal recycling plant in Augusta Corporate Park. The plant is expected to open in 2023, with hiring to begin next summer.
The company said the new facility will be the first of its kind in the U.S., and will create 125 jobs in the Augusta area.
Aurubis company processes complex metal concentrates, scrap metals, organic and inorganic metal-bearing recycling materials, and industrial residues into high-quality metals.
It produces more than 1 million tons of copper cathodes annually, and from them, makes a variety of products such as wire rod, continuous cast shapes, profiles, and flat rolled products made of copper and copper alloys.
“Aurubis will now join more than 500 German companies with operations in Georgia, and this project underscores the strengths of our exceptional state and local economic development teams,” Gov. Brian Kemp said Wednesday.
From Augusta, the company plans to produce materials found in lithium-ion batteries and other electronics.
“With this investment, we are setting a clear example of sustainable growth and will become a forerunner for multi-metal recycling in the U.S. as well – a role that we already have in Europe now,” said Roland Harings, CEO of Aurubis AG.
“The Georgia Ports Authority is happy to play a role in bringing jobs and investment to Georgia,” GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch added. “Exports produced by the Aurubis recycling operation will strengthen the state’s global position via Savannah – already one of the nation’s most balanced ports in terms of import-export trade.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp has solidified the support of one of the most important conservative groups for his reelection bid: Georgia’s sheriffs and law enforcement officials.
Kemp announced endorsement from 107 sheriffs across the state Tuesday at his Cobb County campaign headquarters.
“It has never been more dangerous to put on a uniform, and we’ve seen that during this once-in-a-century pandemic, civil unrest and the radical defund the police movement that continues to gain steam in Washington, D.C., and other liberal cities across the country,” Kemp said. “Despite being vilified by many, these men and women get up every day and put the uniform on and serve and protect us.”
Attorney General Chris Carr and state Insurance Commissioner John King appeared with Kemp, along with about a dozen sheriffs.
“Gov. Kemp is the exact leader we needed during very challenging times,” Carr said. “He remained steady and calm during the pandemic to both protect lives and livelihoods. He knows it’s a tragedy to lose your life, and it’s also a tragedy to lose your job.”
Carr cited Kemp’s support of laws and measures to prosecute gangs, human traffickers and street racers.
“He knows it’s the paramount duty of government to protect its citizens,” Carr said.
Specifically, Kemp pointed to his support of House Bill 286, which he signed earlier this year to prohibit cities and counties from reducing their law enforcement budgets by more than 5% in one year or collectively across five years.
“Defunding the police is simply an insane idea in an insane time that we’re seeing in places around our country,” Kemp said.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Georgia’s redistricting process took a major step forward Tuesday, as the Republican-controlled state Senate adopted a new map that redrew that chamber’s legislative lines for the next decade.
Shortly before Tuesday’s 34-21 Senate vote, which occurred along party lines the Georgia House Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment Committee cleared its new House map for action on the House floor as early as Wednesday.
Lawmakers are meeting under the Gold Dome to redraw legislative and congressional districts in accordance with the latest U.S. Census data. The Senate map is the first to gain passage by the full chamber.
With Republicans holding majorities in the House and Senate, both maps were drawn by GOP legislative leaders. Democrats continued to complain the Republican-led map-drawing processes have been rushed and have not allowed sufficient public input.
“This has not been the fair process Georgia deserves,” said state Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta. “This map was released the night before this special session began, as municipal polls were closing throughout Georgia and as the Atlanta Braves were playing in the World Series.
“This map was released when no one was looking. There has not been sufficient time to comment on these maps.”
State Sen. John Kennedy, R-Macon, who chairs the Senate Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee, continued to stress the map was thoroughly vetted by his committee and complies with federal voting laws and regulations.
Kennedy said the Senate map was the product of weeks of public hearings across Georgia, but he conceded the process of creating the new maps has been compressed because 2020 Census data wasn’t released until August.
The Peach State grew during the last decade by about 1 million to 10.7 million, primarily the result of increasing numbers of minority residents.
An independent analysis has predicted Democrats likely would gain one seat under the proposed map. Republicans currently hold 34 Senate seats, to 22 for the Democrats.
Democrats and members of civil rights and voting rights groups have argued Democrats could gain more seats if Republicans were willing to pass a fairer map that takes minority population growth into account.
But state Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, said Democrats weren’t willing to pass fair maps when their party was in control of the General Assembly. He pointed to heavily gerrymandered 2001 maps drawn by a then-Democratic majority, which a federal court subsequently ruled an unconstitutional violation of the Voting Rights Act.
In the House, the committee in charge of redistricting passed a map proposed by Republican leaders along party lines Tuesday, sending it to the House floor for a vote.
As in the Senate, Democrats raising the timing issue, arguing the substitute version of the House map the committee passed wasn’t introduced until Monday.
“I do not feel we have given the people enough time to review these maps,” said Rep. Sandra Scott, D-Rex.
But Rep. Bonnie Rich, R-Suwanee, the committee’s chairman, said the committee has taken into account the hundreds of comments Georgians have made about the House map on an online portal as well as testimony from two days of hearings this week.
Rich said redrawing district boundaries to satisfy the public and individual lawmakers while meeting guidelines set by the committee, general redistricting principles such as keep cities and counties together and complying with the federal Voting Rights Act is challenging. She compared it to solving a Rubik’s Cube puzzle.
“It’s difficult if not impossible to take one or two districts in a vacuum,” Rich said. “We have a job … to draw a map that complies with the law.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
