Congressman Tom Price On Budget Agreement

December 11, 2013 9:29 am

by Nathan · 10 comments

Congressman Tom Price (R-GA-06) has issued a press release on the budget agreement reached by the House and Senate budget conference committee:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Price, M.D. (GA-06), a member of the House and Senate budget conference committee, issued the following statement regarding the agreement.

“It is increasingly obvious that success – particularly in divided government – has to be measured in positive steps, not leaps and bounds,” said Congressman Price. “But in doing so, the American people expect their elected officials to find common ground without sacrificing the principles we hold dear.

“This agreement – more than $20 billion in deficit reduction compared to current law with zero tax increases – reflects both that common ground and our conservative principles. Just as important, we are jumpstarting the appropriations process so that future spending decisions reflect our priorities.

“Moving forward, the manner in which spending reductions occur will not be based on arbitrary cuts that usurp the proper role of Congress in determining the nation’s budget priorities. Instead, this package relies on smarter cuts and common sense reforms, which make incremental progress toward the ultimate goal – a smaller, more efficient and accountable Washington.”

Congressman Tom Price, M.D., is vice chairman of the House Committee on the Budget. He is a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, as well as the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Discuss.

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Morning Reads — Worldwide Fan Appreciation Day

December 11, 2013 7:52 am

by Ed · 4 comments

My fame and the fame of my Morning Reads is spreading far faster than I’ve ever imagined. The fan mail has increased in volume and scope tremendously. So thanks to the millions of you worldwide reading this.

Get into the Christmas spirit with the Buck Owens Appreciation Series: “Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy.” 

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The Weather Channel Looking For Some Gravy Too

December 10, 2013 14:11 pm

by Nathan · 9 comments

With the Cobb County Commission voting to proceed forward with plans on building the future home of the Atlanta Braves, The Weather Channel (based in Cobb County) is looking to sop up some of that gravy too according to the Marietta Daily Journal:

Its planned expansion is valued at $90 million, Mathis said in emails obtained by the MDJ. Shirley Powell, executive vice president, said The Weather Channel would not comment and that anything the MDJ reported at this point would be “speculation.”

The negotiations are ongoing and one of the sticking points could be a parking facility for the expanded Weather Channel offices.

“To be honest with you, (off the record) none of these discussions have really provided us with any type compelling incentives for us to stay in Cobb County. I am just being honest here,” Angell wrote to Mathis in an email. “Our senior management feels that they would be making a significant investment to stay here and as far as I know, The Weather Channel has never historically asked for any incentives from Cobb County. The property tax abatement is also not a compelling incentive at the current amount, and in fact would cost us to pursue that option. Nobody has focused on any incentives for a parking build, which is our most current challenge to solve.”

It’s speculation for now, but the talk flying around is that the Weather Channel is dangling the possibility of moving out of the area if they are unable to get satisfactory tax breaks/economic incentives. Heck, it’s possible the state may throw a few bucks their way. I’m sure it will only be a matter of time before we hear that gravy train pulling into the station for the Weather Channel.

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Greg Morris is Doing the Lord’s Work at the Capitol

December 10, 2013 13:02 pm

by Ed · 26 comments

Now that Tom Watson is gone from the Capitol’s campus, Greg Morris wants to replace him with a monument containing the Ten Commandments.

He makes a compelling argument to do so to Creative Loafing.

“We have the constitutional right to display it. When we, as legislators, swear an oath, we swear it to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Georgia. I believe the freedoms we enjoy in those documents are directly derived from the Ten Commandments.”

Can’t argue with that. And really, what document is more deserving of a monument at the seat of our government than the Ten Commandments?

I’m sure this has nothing at all to do with Morris having a primary opponent from the Tea Party.

 

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Can’t Balance a School Board Budget? Blame the Governor

December 10, 2013 12:00 pm

by Eric The Younger · 28 comments

Since I’ve been on an education kick for the last little bit, might as well keep the streak going. There was an interesting article in the MDJ on Thursday that covered an informational meeting about Cobb County Schools and their budget issues.

Apparently the district is going to have another budgetary shortfall for the ’14-15 school year. How much of a shortfall? $79 million.

That’s not an inconsequential number. However that is not the most glaring issue posed in the article. Indulge me for a couple quotes from the article.

Cobb school board member Scott Sweeney called on parents at a Wednesday town hall meeting to deprive Gov. Nathan Deal of another term in office if he doesn’t give the school system more money.

“Gov. Deal needs to feel uncomfortable,” Sweeney said to about 100 parents gathered at East Side Elementary School. “He needs to think the people of Cobb County will not support him unless he writes in additional funding for education. It’s a fight for dollars.”

Followed immediately by this gem.

“The second largest school system in the state of Georgia is broke. That’s alarming,” Scamihorn said.

Instead of pointing fingers at the board members for failing to balance the budget, Sweeney told parents they should be on their phones with their elected officials, asking for state funding.

So let me sum this up.

  • The second largest school district in the state is broke. Not just a little late on the bills but projecting a $79 million shortfall.
  • Cobb County is a Republican stronghold that prides itself on local control of it’s schools in order to create what used to be one of the best systems in the state.
  • The School Board, in the spirit of local control, is blaming their inability to balance a budget on the Governor.
  • Further, the school board will not address the possibility of cutting personnel at the central office. Instead they want to furlough teachers, cut direct contact jobs (teachers and para professionals), and increase class size.

The school board is shifting blame to the Governor because they can’t balance a checkbook. They also want to cut classroom time (furlough days) and teachers and not cut administration or add any similar extra responsibilities to county administration. But remember, it’s all for the children.

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Tom Graves Wants To Reform Transportation Funding

December 10, 2013 11:00 am

by Jon Richards · 10 comments

Construction and maintenance of the nation’s highways is mostly paid for by the Federal Highway Trust Fund, which gets its money from the 18.4 cent per gallon gasoline tax. Unfortunately, the trust fund is running out of money, and is expected to be depleted by 2015. Because cars are using less gas and because the gas tax hasn’t been raised since 1993, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the tax should be 10 cents per gallon higher and indexed to inflation in order to remain solvent.

Democrats in the U.S. House have introduced a bill to raise the gas tax by 15 cents a gallon, but raising taxes is not a popular idea with Republicans, especially with 2014 being an election year.

Enter Georgia Rep. Tom Graves, who is proposing the Transportation Empowerment Act, which over a period of five years reduces the federal gas tax to 3.4 cents per gallon and transfers much of road infrastructure funding responsibility to the states. The bill has 26 cosponsors, including Georgia Representatives Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey, Lynn Westmoreland and Rob Woodall. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate by Mike Lee.

The bill probably wouldn’t affect how much you pay at the pump, because it’s expected that states would raise their gas taxes by the same amount the federal government reduces its tax.

Transferring taxing responsibility to the states, even if the tax at the pump remains the same, would actually add dollars available for road construction. That’s because most states, including Georgia, don’t get back all the money they pay in gas taxes, and because many expensive environmental reviews and other requirements imposed by the federal government would be eliminated.

In his Sunday AJC column, Kyle Wingfield notes Georgia would have had an additional $185 million to spend this year if Graves’ proposal was in effect today.

Congress will need to pass something before the end of the 2014 fiscal year in September because the current transportation bill is expiring. It will be interesting to see if Graves’ bill gets any traction.

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What Did Ceasar Mitchell Know, and When Did He Know It?

December 10, 2013 8:30 am

by Jon Richards · 6 comments

In the memorandum of understanding recently signed by the Cobb County Commission and the Atlanta Braves to bring the team to Cobb in 2017, the entertainment district surrounding the stadium is to be developed by BRED Co. LLC, a separate entity owned by the Braves. The Registered Agent for BRED Co. is Maxine Hicks, a partner at the DLA Piper law firm’s office in Atlanta, where she is chair of the office’s Real Estate practice.

Hicks joined DLA Piper in 2011 from the Atlanta office of Epstein Becker & Green, bringing along five other lawyers, Including Ceasar Mitchell, who is now Of Counsel in Piper’s real estate practice. Mitchell was the featured attorney in the 25th Anniversary edition of the Atlanta Tribune. In a Patch article noting this achievement, Mitchell is cited as saying that Hicks is one of his mentors.

Mitchell is also president of the Atlanta City Council.

In an Atlanta Daily World story following the Braves’ announcement, Mitchell is quoted as saying,

“I was never briefed by the administration on what was happening,” said Mitchell. “I was aware that there were negotiations going on, [but] I was not aware that the Braves had made a decision to leave. I learned like everyone else, I learned roughly the same time that the mayor did…although I was aware that there were negotiations that were going on for at least a year.”

Is there a potential conflict of interest here? The American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct addresses the situation when a lawyer is a current government officer. In a nutshell, Mitchell would be prohibited from participating in the BRED Co. negotiations unless the Atlanta City Council had given consent in writing.

The City of Atlanta Code of Ethics would also appear to prohibit Mitchell from being involved in the BRED Co. deal.

There is no evidence that Mitchell, Hicks or DLA Piper committed an ethics violation in their handling of the stadium deal. It’s quite possible that the law firm constructed a “Chinese Wall” and kept all information about BRED Co. away from the City Council president.

But especially in this day and age, when trust in government is low and charges of crony capitalism are rampant, should DLA Piper have been involved in representing BRED Co., knowing the potential conflict of interest?

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Morning Reads for Tuesday, December 10th, 2013

December 10, 2013 7:11 am

by Stefan · 13 comments

The metric system, Huckleberry Finn, and the Nobel prizes debuted on this day in 1799, 1884, and 1901, respectively.

Morning Reads after the jump! [click to continue…]

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Deal Names Fulton’s Lynne Riley New House Floor Leader

December 9, 2013 15:00 pm

by Buzz Brockway · 3 comments

rileyLynneCongratulations to one of my suite-mates, Rep. Lynne Riley who was named Friday by Governor Deal to be a House Floor Leader for the upcoming session. We’ll miss her in Suite 504 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building, but know she’ll do a fantastic job in her new position.

Here’s what Governor Deal’s press release had to say:

Gov. Nathan Deal today named state Rep. Lynne Riley (R-Johns Creek) to his House floor leader team, replacing Rep. Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin) who was elected state House majority leader.

As floor leader, Riley joins Rep. Christian Coomer (R-Cartersville) and Rep. Chad Nimmer (R-Blackshear). The floor leaders carry the governor’s legislation in the House and serve as the Governor’s Office liaisons to their fellow members.

Riley is serving her second term representing House District 50. She serves as a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force. Riley previously served as the Fulton County commissioner for District 3. In 2008, she was appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to the Georgia Public Defender Supervisory Council for the Atlanta Judicial Circuit. Riley has been a professional accountant and Principal of Riley Accounting Services for more than 30 years. She attended Northeastern University, Bentley College and the American Institute of Banking. She and her husband, Mike, have three children. They reside in Johns Creek.

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Rep. Doug Holt Will Not Seek Reelection, Two Candidates Poised To Announce.

December 9, 2013 12:28 pm

by Buzz Brockway · 7 comments

holtDougNews came out today that Rep. Doug Holt (R-Social Circle) will not seek reelection in 2014. Holt will have served 10 years when his term ends next December.

…Holt also stated that “I’ve really enjoyed working with the other members of the Morgan and Newton legislative delegations, as well as the members of our local governments. We are fortunate to have so many thoughtful, hardworking people serving us.”

He concluded by saying “I’m very grateful to the many folks who’ve supported me in this endeavor, especially my campaign team, and my wife Julie and son Ray. If I’ve done some good in these years, I must respectfully attribute it to the invaluable support and advice they’ve given me.”

Holt will be returning full time to his IT consulting firm, Newton Computing Corporation, which he has operated since 1996. The company focuses on business applications programming and database support for Microsoft Windows and the IBM AS/400, with more information available at www.newtoncomputing.com.

It’s been an honor to serve with Doug for the past three years. He’s a class act and works very hard at understanding legislation and serving his constituents. He will be missed in the House.

We’ve received word that two people will announce their campaigns to replace Holt in the House. Aaron Brooks and Ester Fleming intend to seek this post we’re told. Fleming ran for State Senate in 2010, finishing third. Fleming previously served on the Newton County Commission.

Brooks has a web domain reserved and announced his candidacy via press release. Here’s a bit of that release:

With over 20 years of experience in business and sales, Brooks wants to make Newton and
Morgan County a place where enteprenuers can prosper with lower taxes and less regulations. “If business owners can prosper there will be higher paying jobs and less unemployment.” Brooks is a regional sales manager for commercial laundry supplies and a 20 year resident of Covington. He is married to Michelle Brooks of 15 years and has two children. He is a Navy veteran, a member of Philadelphia United Methodist Church, and a founding member of Newton
Conservative Liberty Alliance, a local taxpayer advocacy group.

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Another 24-hours at Grady

December 9, 2013 12:09 pm

by George Chidi · 37 comments

A year ago, my mother had to go to Grady Hospital. We waited 24 hours in Grady’s dystopian, crazy-filled emergency room triage pen. I blogged through the last 16 hours of it.

Well, I’m doing it again. Journalism as performance art.

Right now, I’m sitting in Grady Hospital’s emergency triage ward. For 24 hours straight, I’m going to walk the halls of Grady, documenting everything I see as a live blog on Peach Pundit.

Grady is facing a $100 million budget cut of county, state and federal funds. If they lose that money, Grady is going to cut its mental health services and it’s going to be like killing the power on the containment field at Ghostbusters Headquarters.

I am aware of HIPAA and I’m not going to break the law. But unless people really understand what Grady has to do to get through a day, those cuts aren’t going to be viewed as insane as they should be.

Let’s see what a day here is like. [click to continue…]

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Balfour Motion Denied; Trial Remains Set For 16 December

December 9, 2013 11:50 am

by Charlie · 5 comments

The Daily Report brings the news:

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Henry Newkirk today denied suspended state Sen. Don Balfour’s attempt to quash the 18-count indictment against him.

The judge’s denial of Balfour’s motion did not state a reason. The November demurrer argued that prosecution by the state attorney general’s office violated the state constitutional provisions mandating separation of powers and vesting exclusive authority in the Senate to punish and imprison its own members for violations arising from official duties.

Balfour had earlier requested a speedy trial, before then deciding he wasn’t subject to a trial at all.  Feel free to speculate what his next brilliant legal move will be.

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Convictions In DeKalb School Corruption Case

December 9, 2013 11:23 am

by Buzz Brockway · 1 comment

My WSBTV iPad app just sent me this:

“ex-DeKalb schools COO sentenced to 10 yrs, ex husband 8 yrs in corruption case.”

The ex-COO is Pat Ried and her ex-husband is Tony Pope.

More details to come.

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Yu Has a Website For You

December 9, 2013 11:00 am

by Jessica S. · 0 comments

Team Yu has launched their snazzy new website, MIACongressmen.com, complete with photos and voting records of Broun, Gingrey and Kingston. It’s worth noting that this is different than their campaign landing page but seems to focus strictly on the sitting congressman. No mention of Gardner, Grayson, Handel or Perdue. I do find it interesting, though, since I saw Mr. Yu at an event on Friday and he told a table of people that Broun hadn’t been there too long and “he could stay”.

The new launch comes not long after some serious internal turnover after relieving consultant Robert Trim from his duties. Now leading the team is Cobb County native Tyler Jacobs. Tyler previously worked for Representatives Teasley and Rogers as well as the American Action Network and Huckabee in 2008.

[click to continue…]

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Give Them Something To Believe In

December 9, 2013 10:00 am

by Charlie · 23 comments

This week’s Courier Herald Column:

Republicans last week were celebrating a Harvard survey of “Millennial” voters – those Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 – showing that they have quite sharply turned their backs on both President Obama and his signature Affordable Care Act.  The poll went so far as to showing that a majority of those under 25 go so far as preferring the President be removed from office.

The results please Republicans even though the reliability of younger voters has proven unreliable at best.  The age group had previously represented the strongest core of support for the President and Democrats.  In addition, those looking at demographic trends have been predicting that these voters would remain loyal to the Democratic Party as their age wave replaces voters who are older and currently lean Republican.

A word or two of caution is in order before Republicans pop the corks on their Champagne.  Just because these younger voters are displeased with Democrats doesn’t mean they believe their only alternative is to embrace the GOP.  The poll shows a genuine amount of disillusionment with the youngest voters.  It is possible that decades of partisan bickering with each side seeking to show the other as illegitimate may have these voters placing a pox on all political houses.  [click to continue…]

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