The plan for a new state judicial complex has gained newfound momentum as Gov. Nathan Deal pushes the next phase of his plan to expand the bench of Georgia's top courts.
The Georgia Building Authority's board voted Wednesday to devote about $7.3 million in bonds to design what would be the most expensive state-funded building in Georgia history. It did so by re-directing bond money lawmakers approved in 2014 to demolish the old Archives building and plan the new complex.
Deal and his predecessors have long sought to tear down the boxy, aging building down the street from the Gold Dome. And the state's top judges have pined for a new home for the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals for years.
But the money for the demolition was moved to other projects after estimates showed the state would need another $6.5 million to prepare the site.
Now, though, there's new juice behind the demolition project. April King, the authority's chief financial officer, told the board Wednesday she anticipates getting the additional funding for the demolition in next year's budget.
Not coincidentally, Deal is pushing an extraordinary expansion of the judiciary. And a new courthouse complex could help him sell the plan.
The governor won passage of legislation earlier this year that adds three judges to the Court of Appeals bench; he's expected to appoint those jurists by the month's end. And he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this month he wants to expand the Georgia Supreme Court from seven justices to nine.
Deal on Wednesday said the appellate court's expansion - court officials say the existing building is strained even before adding three more judges - helped build the case for the new complex. Adding two more justices to the state's top court, he said, would only provide more evidence that new digs are needed.
"There's no direct link" between building support for the complex and his Supreme Court plan, the governor said.
"But obviously, if the decision is made to expand the Supreme Court, any design would have to accommodate those additional justices."
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