by Staff Writer | Aug 5, 2022 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – A federal court ruled Friday that Georgia’s unusual system for electing members of the state Public Service Commission (PSC) violates the federal Voting Rights Act and must be changed because it dilutes the Black vote.
Under Georgia’s current system, commissioners run statewide but must live in one of five districts.
The PSC regulates the state’s public utilities and sets utility rates.
The General Assembly amended Georgia law in 1998 so that each commissioner had to reside in one of five districts. This year, lawmakers redrew the boundaries of voting districts in Georgia – including the five PSC districts – to reflect new census numbers.
A group of prominent Black leaders who vote in those districts sued the state, claiming that the Black vote had been diluted.
The plaintiffs include Richard Rose, the president of the NAACP’s Atlanta chapter; Wanda Mosley, the national field director at the Black Voters Matter Fund (based in Atlanta); James Woodall, a former president of the NAACP Georgia chapter; and Brionté McCorkle, president of Georgia Conservation Voters.
The court agreed with the challengers, finding that the redrawing of the boundaries of PSC Districts 2 and 3 diluted the Black vote. Those are the two commission seats on the statewide ballot in November.
PSC District 3, which includes parts of Fulton, DeKalb, and Clayton counties, was 52.02% Black, but under the redrawn maps the Black population dropped to 48.79%, the ruling stated.
Friday’s ruling prohibits Georgia Secretary of States Brad Raffensperger from preparing ballots for the November election for the PSC District 2 and 3 races.
The court is postponing the the election until the General Assembly approves a different method of electing commissioners and the court approves the new plan.
“The Court’s decision today vindicates what we have advocated for two years: Georgia’s statewide method of electing Public Service Commissioners unlawfully dilutes the votes of Black Georgians,” said Nicolas Martinez, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
“This ruling immediately impacts how millions of Georgians will elect those powerful officials who determine how much everyday folks must pay for basic utilities. It is one of the most important decisions to advance voting rights in a generation,” Martinez said.
The secretary of state’s office, which has 30 days to appeal Friday’s decision, could not immediately be reached for comment.
PSC spokesman Tom Krause said the commissioners have no comment on the case.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
by Dave Williams | Aug 5, 2022 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Local development authorities have been at the heart of the biggest business deals in Georgia, including the record-breaking incentives that lured electric-vehicle manufacturers Hyundai and Rivian to the Peach State.
But such huge incentives packages as the $1.8 billion that went to Hyundai and the $1.5 billion doled out to Rivian have given rise to concerns that local governments and schools are losing massive amounts of tax revenue to development authorities without sufficient state oversight or demands for transparency.
A state Senate study committee has begun a series of meetings to look for ways to require more accountability from development authorities without sacrificing the jobs they help create.
“Our objective is to support economic development in this state,” said Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania, the study committee’s chairman. “[But] it’s important that we understand the ramifications of our development authority decisions … and the impact they have on our state.”
About 1,300 local government authorities have cropped up across Georgia since 1995, when the legislature passed a law authorizing cities and counties to form authorities, Kyle Hood, director of the state Department of Community Affairs’ Community Development Division, told members of the study committee late last month. Of those, 575 are development authorities or downtown development authorities, he said.
Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, who formerly served as a Lumpkin County commissioner, said local development authorities are critical to economic development when corporate prospects come calling.
“Without these authorities, county governments would have to go to taxpayers and put out a referendum,” he said. “It’s the only development tool they have.”
Despite the jobs development authorities help generate, the General Assembly has put some controls in place to monitor their activities.
In 2018, lawmakers passed a bill requiring authorities to register with the state annually and undergo financial audits.
This year, the legislature passed a measure capping the per-diem allowance for directors of development authorities in counties with populations of 550,000 or more. The bill also gave the state ethics commission jurisdiction to handle complaints aimed at authority directors.
But state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, who sponsored this year’s legislation, said more needs to be done.
Oliver, D-Decatur, introduced a bill last year giving cities, counties, and school districts the right to participate in bond validation hearings. However, the bill failed to gain traction in the House.
Bonds typically underwrite incentives packages development authorities offer companies they’re trying to attract. Once approved by a judge following a hearing, authorities can issue bonds to purchase land for a project or finance construction, resulting in either full or partial abatement of property taxes.
“Abating school taxes without schools being part of the discussion is problematic,” said Oliver, who despite being a member of the House is on the Senate study committee.
Oliver’s bill giving local governments and school districts the right to take part in bond validation hearings has the support of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG), which advocates on behalf of counties at the state Capitol.
Kathleen Bowen, associate legislative director for the ACCG, said development projects that contain a housing component are particularly concerning because they bring residents who rely on taxpayer-funded services.
Tax abatements deprive local governments and schools of the revenue they need to provide those services, she said.
Oliver said her efforts are not aimed at the Hyundai and Rivian incentives packages.
“I think those are major state-controlled projects,” she said. “My focus is more on the day-to-day [offering] of tax abatements without much discussion or accountability.”
While Oliver’s bill didn’t pass, Bowen credited the lawmaker’s push for the legislation with drawing attention to the issue. That focus could pay off during next year’s legislative session, Bowen said.
“There’s going to be robust discussion on tax abatements. I consider that a win,” she said. “These deals need to be for the public good. It’s up to those affected by the taxes to be part of the conversation.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
by Staff Writer | Aug 4, 2022 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – A state Senate study committee began work Thursday trying to find ways to help homeless Georgians living on the streets.
Sen. Carden Summers, R-Cordele, the committee’s chairman, made waves earlier this year when he sponsored a bill that would have criminalized street camping.
But on Thursday, Summers emphasized that criminalization is no longer being considered and he is focused on solutions.
“This is not a Republican or Democrat issue,” he said. “This issue is an issue to make Georgia a better place and to help folks that need help. That’s what we’re here for.”
“Criminalization is off the table,” Summers repeated several times.
The committee is focused on the “unsheltered” homeless population – that is, people without permanent housing living on the streets, in the woods, and in other places not meant for human habitation.
The number of homeless people in Georgia appears to have declined over the past decade, said Christopher Nunn, commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs.
The most recent data, from 2019, showed about 3,880 unsheltered homeless people in the state. Nunn said a new count conducted earlier this year will likely show an uptick over the 2019 level but is still far below where the homeless population stood a decade ago.
One major driver of homelessness is increased housing costs in Georgia, both in Atlanta and in more rural areas. That makes it harder for people to pay rent – even when they are receiving housing assistance.
Nunn said there are currently around 970 households in Georgia who hold a federal housing voucher but cannot find a landlord.
“Supply and affordability are inextricably linked with homelessness,” Nunn said.
About one-third of homeless Georgians live in Atlanta, said Cathryn Vassell, CEO of Partners for Home, the lead agency for homelessness in Atlanta.
In an older approach to addressing homelessness, people who needed medical or mental services were asked to get those services first, to get “ready” for housing, said Vassell.
But today’s best practices focus on providing housing first, Vassell said. This allows people some stability as they tackle other issues they may face, like mental illness or finding a job, she said. The additional supports help prevent many people from returning to homelessness.
Vassell said the housing-first approach is also more cost effective than short-term housing solutions or continued homelessness. She said the organization has also partnered with private funders and developers to build additional supportive housing units.
Partners for Home has had success in getting people in Atlanta into temporary housing and often permanent housing.
But some see the housing-first model as too permissive.
Judge Glock, senior director of policy and research at the Cicero Institute, a conservative think tank, argued that people who are getting housing assistance should be required to meet certain standards, such as sobriety.
If homeless people are unable or do not want to meet those requirements, structured tent encampments are a good alternative, he said. They are safe and can provide sanitation facilities and clean water, he said.
But Richard DeShields, who recently started living in an apartment after years of homelessness, said the tent encampment model would not have worked for him.
DeShields’ life unraveled after his wife and child died in a house fire. He ended up homeless, withdrawn from the world and living in the bushes in a city park.
“I would not have wanted to be in a camp around a lot of people,” DeShields said. He was in such a dark place, he could not stand to be around others, he said.
DeShields said when he was offered temporary housing on a cold night and started to get some social support services, he finally began to put his life back together, though it was a slow process.
DeShields said the support of case managers was a key in his journey to an apartment from the streets.
“You can’t do it by yourself,” he said. “You have to have someone who can hold you. … It takes everybody in Georgia to help bring someone who is homeless up.”
by Dave Williams | Aug 4, 2022 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp has named former state Sen. Bill Hamrick to serve as Georgia’s sole Statewide Business Court judge.
Hamrick, a Republican from Carrollton, was elected to the state Senate in 2000 and served until 2012, when then-Gov. Nathan Deal appointed him to the Superior Court bench in the Coweta Circuit.
“Having served with Judge Hamrick in the state Senate when I first entered public life, I witnessed firsthand his dedication to the law, to its fair application, and to our state,” Kemp said Wednesday.
“I know he will be a capable and thoughtful presence to oversee the Statewide Business Court, and I am proud to appoint him as only the second judge in state history to hold this position.”
Georgia voters approved creation of the business court in 2018, and it was codified it into state law during the 2019 legislative session. The court provides specialized expertise in the adjudication of complex commercial cases with an eye toward efficiency and responsiveness.
Hamrick succeeds Walter Davis, appointed by Kemp in 2019 as the state’s first business court judge.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
by Staff Writer | Aug 3, 2022 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – From icy roads on wintry mornings in the Appalachian foothills to dirt roads that wash out in heavy rains, it’s not always easy getting to and from school in Georgia.
This year, rising fuel prices are making it more expensive as well.
But help is on the way from the federal government. A new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program aims at providing school buses an alternative to gasoline or diesel fuel by funding bus electrification.
The agency will award around $1 billion annually for the next five years to school districts that want to purchase electric, propane, or CNG (compressed natural gas) vehicles.
The funding comes from the infrastructure spending law Congress passed last year. The awardees will be announced in October. Some of the funding can also be used for setting up electric charging infrastructure.
The EPA says that reducing or eliminating pollution from buses helps improve children’s respiratory health. The agency also says alternative-fuel buses also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and maintenance and fuel costs.
Joe Meadows, transportation director for the Ware County Schools, said the county is the largest by area in the state. The district’s fuel expenditures have nearly doubled, Meadows said.
He runs about 73 routes every day. About half of his buses run on diesel and the other half on gasoline, he said. Rising prices on both types of fuel are hitting the district hard, he said.
Meadows said he’s had to double up on some routes to save money. Nevertheless, three days into the school year, the buses are running smoothly.
“We’re working through this day by day,” said Meadows, who must ensure that students who live on dirt roads on the border of the Okefenokee Swamp can make it to and from school each day.
Those long distances and treacherous conditions rule out electric vehicles for his district, Meadows said. He’s considering propane and CNG-fueled bus options, however, as a way of keeping down costs.
Georgia’s second-largest county by area, Burke County, has succeeded in using propane-fueled buses to rein in costs.
The district began converting its buses to run on propane fuel in 2013. It has converted about two-thirds of its fleet so far, Burke County Public Schools spokeswoman Amy Nunnally said.
She said that though diesel prices rose this summer, the district is able to purchase propane at just $1.10 per gallon after a federal rebate.
“Just this year alone, we will save almost $700,000 in fuel costs,” Nunnally said.
Nunnally said the district has started considering electric buses but – like Meadows in Ware County — has questions about whether they are up to the task.
“We are unsure how an electric bus will perform on the many miles of dirt roads we travel daily and how this will impact the traveling range of the vehicle,” Nunnally said. “We are also unsure how long the batteries will last before they must be replaced and the cost to replace them.”
On Wednesday, Macon-based school bus manufacturer Blue Bird announced that it may have a solution for this quandary: buy now, convert to electric later.
The new program will allow school districts to retrofit gasoline- and propane-fueled buses with electric technology.
“Blue Bird customers can future-proof their school bus fleet by purchasing gasoline- or propane-powered vehicles and converting them easily and cost-effectively to zero-emission electric buses later,” the company stated in a news release.
The retrofitting process can be completed within 30 days, the company said. Once retrofitted, the buses will be able to travel up to 150 miles on a single charge, depending on battery configurations.
According to Blue Bird, the program will allow districts that may not have electric-charging infrastructure in place yet to convert later, once charging stations are built.
Blue Bird’s had more 500 orders for electric buses in 2021, according to the company’s latest annual report. Although that’s only a small fraction of its close-to-10,000 total order, the company aims to make electric vehicles half of its bus production by the end of this decade.
That push should get a jumpstart from the new EPA bus electrification program. School districts have until Aug. 19 to apply for the funding.
