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James Salzer

James Salzer has been covering state politics, legislation and finance at the Georgia Capitol for more than 20 years, including the past 13 years for the AJC. He is currently part of the AJC’s  investigative team, specializing in state tax, budget and ethics issues. Before coming to Atlanta, he was a political reporter in Texas and a general assignment and military reporter in Florida. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and lives in Decatur with his wife, Anna.

Latest from James Salzer

Keith Berger (front), Don Hall, and Andrew Fuqua, members of Dunwoody Cycling, take their regular Friday ride. Cyclists from across the state are outraged over a proposal to force bike owners to pay annual registration fees and limit how and where they can ride. The proposed legislation is the brainchild of Gainesville lawmakers, who say they are getting complaints from locals and folks in North Georgia, who say cyclists are clogging mountain roads and causing safety issues. The bill, which will have a public hearing Monday, would make bike owners get license plates and pay $15 a year registration fees, or $48 for a permanent license. It would also all but eliminate pelotons, big group rides, and allow state and local officials to limit where bikers can ride.

Cyclists angry over license plates for bikes

Georgia cyclists have their Spandex in a wad over a plan to require license plates on bicycles and annual registration fees to pay for them. The legislation, which is up for a public hearing Monday evening, comes from Gainesville-area lawmakers who say they’ve received numerous complaints about cyclists clogging roads ...

  • Updated: 7:26 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, 2013
  • Comments  (17)   

What a federal shutdown will — and won’t — mean for Georgia

If the federal government partially shuts down at midnight Tuesday, Tom Scott will be forced to stay home on furlough or come into work unsure when his next paycheck will arrive. “We’re not too happy about it,” said Scott, an engineer technician at Robins Air Force Base. “We are always ...

  • 3:45 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013
  • Comments  (16)   
Sen. Don Balfour , with attorney Robert Highsmith behind him, speaks briefly with members of the press as he leaves the capitol. The ethics committee was still in executive session but was believed to have accepted a settlement. The Senate Ethics Committee met and went into executive session where it is believed they have reached a settlement with Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, over a series of charges that he violated ethics rules and possibly state law. Balfour, chairman of the powerful Rules Committee, said a few words to the press and left before the executive session was over.

Sen. Balfour faces 18 counts, possible suspension

State. Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, once arguably the most powerful man in the Senate, was indicted Friday by a Fulton County grand jury on 18 counts of false expense claims and theft. Attorney General Sam Olens, whose office is prosecuting the case, released the indictment, which is based on allegations ...

  • Updated: 7:23 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, 2013

Insurer uses full-court press to regain state contract

You may have seen the commercials during last weekend’s Falcons’ game: “Sadly, the freedom to choose is being taken away from many Georgians by a small group of politicians in Atlanta,” the announcer intones after images of free, smiling Americans sharpen and then fade. The ad says that Georgia’s workers, ...

  • 7:21 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013
  • Comments  (8)   
Gov. Nathan Deal talks to reporters Thursday about allegations that the head of the state ethics commission intervened on his behalf during an investigation.

Ethics agency often mired in politics

Two years ago, Stacey Kalberman gave her replacement as director of the state ethics commission some advice: watch out. The job is political and you can get yourself fired, she told Holly LaBerge, the commission’s current director. LaBerge, who recounted the conversation in a deposition taken this summer, said she ...

  • Updated: 5:34 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013
  • Comments  (5)   

Lawmakers pass ethics law, then hit the beach

Less than three months after they passed historic ethics reform in March, dozens of Georgia legislators headed to the beach for summer conventions — sun, surf, golf and cocktails, most of it paid for by lobbyists. It all took place the same year that legislators capped gifts from lobbyists. That ...

  • Updated: 7:37 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013
  • Comments  (2)   

Judge halts fight between insurance giants, for now

A superior court judge Wednesday rejected UnitedHealthcare’s bid to stop rival Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia from taking over a giant state contract currently held by United. Blue Cross has already begun implementing the contract to administer health care for about 650,000 Georgia teachers, state employees, retirees and ...

  • 6:47 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013

Big state medical contract heading to court

UnitedHealthcare goes back to court Wednesday in an effort to get a judge to stop the Department of Community Health’s move to make rival Blue Cross and Blue Shield the provider of health care to 650,000 teachers, state employees, retirees and family members. UnitedHealthcare, which is currently one of the ...

  • 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013
  • Comments  (3)   

Judge to UnitedHealth: Give state back its documents

A judge on Thursday ordered UnitedHealthcare officials to return documents the state’s public health care agency gave it for fear that some of the information may contain trade secrets. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly M. Esmond Adams ruling came as UnitedHealthcare continues to press its legal case against the ...

  • 1:54 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013
  • Comments  (10)   

State tax collections keep going up

Georgia tax collections showed continued strength in July, another sign that the economy is picking up and that the state will have some fiscal breathing room in the months ahead. Tax collections were up 6.7 percent last month over July 2012, led by big growth in the income tax. That’s ...

  • 6:38 p.m. Monday, Aug. 12, 2013