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Monday, March 31, 2008
Behind the scenes: On the rising cost of credit freezes and funny accounting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Both the House and Senate have now passed legislation to let Georgians who fear ID theft to freeze their credit reports and block distribution of their credit histories.
Both chambers have voted to cap the fee for this service at $3.
But we’re hearing that, in conference committee, an attempt will be made to raise the fee to $5 — with the support of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, and at the urging of Equifax, the credit reporting giant.
The Senate’s opening bid for the cost of a credit freeze — nixed by the House — was $10.
In the House, state Rep. Jill Chambers (R-Atlanta) is letting it be known that she’s tinkered with S.B. 300, which is up for a vote Tuesday.
Chambers said new language in the bill would requires all state authorities and the Board of Regents to submit their annual audits to the state auditor, who will check their math.
The audits would be made available via the Internet.
Chambers specifically cited adventures that state Sen. Jeff Chapman (R-Brunswick) has experienced with the Jekyll Island Authority over its finances. In its 2006 annual report, the Jekyll authority stated it was $210,575 in the red. But the authority actually turned a profit of $1,950,081 that year, according to the state auditor’s office.
The bill would also give the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the House the authority to request assistance from the state attorney general when examining spending issues. Right now, only the governor can do that.
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Oh, those jokers in the House
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sonny Perdue was out of the country less than half a day before a certain lawmaker hung out a new shingle for the governor. Someone didn’t ask Neighborhood Watch to mind things while he was out of town.
A makeshift sign hung outside a certain governor’s office. Elissa Eubanks/AJC
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It looks like the end of the road for Brown’s modesty list
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A House committee has stalled the effort by state Sen. Robert Brown (D-Macon) to create a registry of people who don’t want any public building, road, or bridge named after them once they’re gone.
State Sen. Robert Brown (left) and Michael O’Sullivan, aide to Secretary of State Karen Handel. Elissa Eubanks/AJC
A House committee voted 4-0 to table S.B. 191 after a representative for Secretary of State Karen Handel spoke against it.
In essence, Georgia is too good for the legislation. Too modest. So many people might sign up that the list could become an unacceptable financial burden for the secretary of state, whose staff would have to maintain it.
“That could go on forever. You could have tens of thousands of people calling to have their names put on the list,” said Michael O’Sullivan, legislative affairs director for Handel.
There was also the issue of people who might change their minds, or the case of a bitter ex-spouse who nominates a former partner without permission — robbing said ex of a chance at immortality.
Brown likened the registry to a do-not-call list, and said the measure would help people avoid embarrassment when unwanted honors are heaped upon them. The Senate minority leader offered to add a $5 fee to the bill, to cover any unexpected costs that might arise from an outbreak of mass saintliness.
We might even make a profit, Brown said.
No dice. The committee tabled the legislation. It could come back, but it doesn’t look likely. Because the people of Georgia are just too darn swell.
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Meet Ralph Reed, novelist
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So what, you ask, has Ralph Reed been doing since is unsuccessful ‘06 run for lieutenant governor? Aside from those appearances on Fox and CNN.
Apparently, he’s been at the word processor — moving in the same direction as Newt Gingrich, from large thoughts to fiction. I just got an announcement from the Atlanta Press Club, saying Reed will make a June 12 appearance there.
The communication includes this line:
“He will also sign his first novel, Dark Horse.”
The guess here is that it won’t be a bodice-ripper.
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Linder has a Democratic opponent
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Democrat Doug Heckman is using a 2 p.m. conference call with reporters today, to announce his candidacy for the Seventh District congressional seat now held by John Linder, the Republican incumbent.
Heckman, who describes himself as a conservative, is a graduate of West Point, and recently served as a senior advisor to the Iraqi army. So he fits the pro-military, Jim Marshall-style profile that Democrats have attempted to develop among their candidates.
Heckman’s web site can be found here.
The Seventh is still considered Republican territory, but Heckman’s candidacy is likely to fuel GOP speculation over whether the state’s two longest-serving Republican congressmen, Linder and Nathan Deal, will sign up for another term.
Qualifying is at the end of this month. But you can bet that Republicans in Washington don’t want to see any more open seats in the House than they already have.
(Got a call this afternoon from a staffer for Deal. The congressman is in fact running again — though he won’t raise any local money until he has opposition. So all of you ambitious Republicans in north Georgia, please stand down.)
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On the transportation sales tax and family connections
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday’s Marietta Daily Journal had an editorial noting the high wall faced by a referendum that would permit groups of counties - specifically metro Atlanta - to levy a one-cent sales tax for transportation.
Said the MDJ:
At a time when even Georgia’s vibrant economy is starting to wobble a bit, and in the absence of a clear plan for how to spend the revenues from a regional SPLOST for transportation, that measure’s proponents may find voters less than eager to climb behind the wheel.
As MDJ columnist Don McKee aptly put it in his Friday column, “Most citizens of Georgia are looking for tax relief - not more taxes.”
What makes this editorial worth noting is the fact that MDJ publisher Otis Brumby’s son-in-law is Heath Garrett, former chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson. Garrett is now a private citizen, and formulates media strategy.
Should the House and Senate vote this week to put the regional sales tax on the November ballot, Garrett will be one of those putting together the campaign for passage of the referendum.
Another prominent Mariettan, former state GOP chairman Chuck Clay, has been carrying much of the water at the state Capitol for those who want more cash pumped into transportation infrastructure.
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