Over the weekend, the Marietta Daily Journal reported that state Sen. Lindsey Tippens, a Republican from west Cobb County, is contemplating local legislation that would require a countywide referendum before allowing public funds to be spent on mass transit.
Such a vote would likely be an obstacle rather than a permission slip. Cobb has a history of thinking unkindly about commuter rail or even bus rapid transit. The latter is currently on the table. From the newspaper:
"When you're talking about a half-billion-dollar investment, when you circumvent the input of the people it's a mistake. I don't care who you are," Tippins said. "This is a public project with public money, and we have a fiduciary responsibility to seek the approval of the voters before we obligate that future money. It's got to be vetted and approved by the people. They are the ones that can absolutely demand informed explanations and then make a decision."
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Gov. Nathan Deal's school funding overhaul is looking more imperiled by the moment. We told you earlier that Deal has delayed his central campaign promise -- a revamping of the Quality Basic Education funding formula -- for the second time this year, this time until 2017.
Now our AJC colleague Ty Tagami is reporting that the effort is facing more pushback from hand-picked members of his Education Reform Commission, some of whom question whether the comprehensive rewrite can be accomplished at all.
Deal told us earlier last week that he's still hoping to salvage a smaller piece of the school reform package next year, but he wouldn't say what he expected. Tim Callahan of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators told Tagami he thinks the governor has something else up his sleeve.
From Tagami's feed:
That committee "will be packed with his guys, who are 'yes, yes yes,'" Callahan said. He added that rural lawmakers have strong motivation to maintain the current financial rewards to schools that retain teachers for the long haul: Rural school districts tend to be the biggest employer around and there aren't many other jobs to entice teachers away. So they benefit most from the experience bonus.
"I think it would have a pretty devastating economic impact on some of these communities and would certainly destabilize faculty," he said.
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The U.S. House will likely take up Trade Adjustment Assistance again Tuesday, after Friday's split vote chaos, in the hopes that a flood of Democrats will change their minds.
Somewhat lost in the coverage was the heavy lift for House Republicans to squeak through the Trade Promotion Authority vote -- the centerpiece of three-part move of Obama's trade agenda in the House -- amid clamor on the right.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, gave us a peek into what he's dealing with following Friday's vote. He said he did not make up his mind for sure until the bill was on the floor, but put a fact sheet on his website days ahead of the vote to counter misconceptions:
"Even today we were getting calls from people who are very close to me saying: 'Tell Barry, don't vote for a bill you can't read until you pass it.' So of course that's not the case. The bill is on our website. 'Oh, well I trust you then.' So I'm sure our phones are ringing off the wall."
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Jeb Bush makes it official today at 3 p.m. at Miami-Dade Community College, a nod to his longtime multicultural home. From the Miami Herald:
You'll note that the logo Jeb Bush is using doesn't include the Bush name. Then again, there was another successful presidential candidate whose bumper stickers simply read "W." Clearly, with the exclamation mark, Jeb! is the flamboyant one in the family.
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Is it possible for Ronald Reagan to become more popular with the Republican base? Lock and load.
Brad Meltzer, author of a new thriller "The President's Shadow," writes in the New York Daily News:
I couldn't believe it.
"It's true," they said. A .38. Reagan used to hide it in his briefcase and take it on Air Force One.
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The Gallup organizations pronounces us a sour lot this morning:
The large decline in confidence in organized religion is likely tied to a decline in religiosity overall, but also to scandals that have plagued various religious organizations, most notably the Catholic Church. This year's 42% score for confidence in the church or organized religion is the lowest Gallup has measured for that institution. The prior low was 44% in 2012.
Confidence in the police, at 52% this year, ties the low for that institution recorded in the first year it was measured, 1993. In the past year, the police have been a major focus of news coverage in several incidents in which white police officers' actions resulted in the deaths of black men they were trying to apprehend.
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