Georgian voted overwhelmingly to upend a 40-year-old independent judicial watchdog agency and turn control of it over to the General Assembly despite claims that politics, not policy, was behind the move to recreate the Judicial Qualifications Commission.
With all the votes counted, almost 62.5 percent of the ballots cast favored remaking the JQC, which has been responsible for more than five dozen judges leaving the bench in the past seven years because of injudicious, unethical, immoral or illegal activities. Critics said one of the reasons behind the move to change the JQC was judges who had been investigated by the commission had complained to key legislators that they were unfairly persecuted by the seven-member panel. Legislators behind the move said the JQC was out of control and needed oversight.
Beginning Jan. 1, the Legislature will make appoint four of the seven JQC members. The Legislature presently makes no JQC appointments. But next year, the State Bar of Georgia will no longer make JQC appointments; the speaker of the House and the lieutenant governor will take those slots. The Legislature also will take one of the two appointments the governor now has.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs, who sponsored the amendment, said new JQC members could be named and in place to take their posts on Jan. 1 even though the appointments require confirmation by the Senate, which will not be in session until Jan. 9. He said it was common for people named to state commissions to begin their work even before the Senate confirms them.
Also in the next few weeks, Willard said, a study committee he chaired will release its recommendations for how a newly-constituted JQC will operate.
Voters also approved two other amendments to the Georgia Constitution while rejecting an initiative backed by the governor allowing the state to take over poor performing schools.
One of the two other approved amendments creates the Safe Harbor for Exploited Children Fund. Money to the fund will come from fines levied against those convicted of human trafficking and a yearly $5,000 fee charged all strip clubs and other adult businesses. The money will then be used to provide housing, counseling and medical treatment for child victims. It was backed by more than 83 percent of the voters.
Also, more than 81 percent of Georgian's who cast ballots voted to guarantee a revenue source for trauma care statewide. Starting next year, an existing 5 percent sales tax on fireworks sales will be used to pay for the state's trauma care network, training and equipment for firefighters and local public safety.
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