Deal signs cityhood and other DeKalb bills

Gov. Nathan Deal signed into law today several bills focused on DeKalb County that call for referendums on new cities, increase oversight of public money and prevent subtle tax increases.

Deal approved all of the DeKalb-related legislation that passed the Georgia General Assembly this year, and he signed six DeKalb bills today:

Deal also signed two other DeKalb bills earlier this month. One of them makes it easier for prosecutors to bring felony charges when government officials abuse their taxpayer-funded charge cards, and another allows for a referendum on raising sales taxes to 8 percent while dedicating a larger portion of existing sales tax collections for residential property tax relief.