The I-75 corridor north of Atlanta has just been offered a champion.
The state House Committee on Assignments late Tuesday issued its new list of committee memberships, including several chairmanships created by multiple resignations over the last several weeks.
Two transportation-related appointments dominate the new appointments. Christian Coomer, R-Cartersville, was named chairman of the House Transportation Committee, replacing Jay Roberts, R-Ocilla, whom the governor recently appointed as planning director for the Department of Transportation.
Coomer was the floor leader for Gov. Nathan Deal who navigated a close House vote on a constitutional amendment to give the governor the power to take over failing schools. But it is Coomer’s exurban residency, along the one of the most jam-packed stretches of interstate in Georgia, that raises the eyebrow.
In another move, Tom Taylor, R-Dunwoody, was named chairman of the Legislature’s MARTA oversight committee, replacing Mike Jacobs, R-Brookhaven, appointed by the governor to a DeKalb County state judgeship.
With Republican attitude toward mass transit quickly shifting – at least in theory, Taylor will have a great deal to do with any decision by the state to create a broader, regional approach to transit, whether bus or commuter rail.
Other new chairmanship appointments:
-- Industry & Labor: Jason Shaw, R-Lakeland;
-- Game, Fish & Parks: David Knight, R-Griffin;
-- Small Business Development: Bubber Epps, R-Dry Branch;
-- Special Rules: Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper;
-- Code Revision: Gerald Greene, R-Cuthbert;
-- Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety: Andy Welch, R-McDonough.
***
We told you earlier how Gov. Nathan Deal's plan to revamp Georgia's school funding formula is imperiled by yet another delay. The overhaul of the Quality Basic Education formula was staved off last week until 2017, amid fears that it would run aground in an election year.
The governor says, however, that smaller parts of his plan could still be in play next year. His Education Reform Commission is considering a wave of changes beyond tackling the funding formula, from tweaks to home-schooling rules to expanding school choice options.
"It will not necessarily delay everything," he said, noting that he's instructed commission members that "if there are things that we can move independently, we want to know that so that we can begin to prepare."
He sounded an optimistic tone, still, that he won't get mired in the same muck that bogged down other governors who tried to remake the funding formula.
"You can't get politics out of politics. And the General Assembly is in the business of politics. But a more overriding business is to improve, if possible, the education of this state," he said, adding: "While there may be some disagreement as to some of the ways to achieve it, the overall goal is a worthy one. And I think we'll have a lot of cooperation."
***
When an iconic company rumbles publicly about moving its headquarters, you can expect its chief executive's phone to start ringing off the hook.
Georgia is only one of the many states making a plea for General Electric's headquarters after its boss, Jeff Immelt, openly complained about new tax hikes in its home-base of Connecticut.
Cincinnati's leaders were on the phone with Immelt's assistant hours after the news broke, mindful that the chief executive grew up in a nearby suburb, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Officials in Tampa Bay are trying to lure the conglomerate as an anchor for a billion-dollar mixed-use center downtown, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. And Capital New York says a state official reached out to GE about moving its base to the Empire State. (It moved from New York City to Connecticut in 1974.)
Meanwhile, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy (not to be confused with one of your Insiders) said he plans to have a pow-wow with the state's Business and Industry Association to discuss the tax hikes.
***
We told you last week about a contest between Virginia and Georgia over the placement of a U.S. State Department training facility. The gist:
Not so fast, said key Republicans in Congress, who say the Obama administration could save hundreds of millions of dollars by simply expanding the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, near Brunswick. The administration says the site it selected in southern Virginia is more convenient to Washington and best met the State Department's needs.
On Tuesday, Georgia Republican Sen. David Perdue added another log to the flame by getting language into a State Department authorization bill that directs the Obama administration's Office of Management and Budget to release its internal cost estimate. Said Perdue in a press release:
"We need an honest cost-benefit analysis of these facilities, rather than an apples to. oranges comparison that hides how much it could cost taxpayers down the road. This provision ensures that Congress will see all documents associated with both the OMB and State analysis in a timely fashion."
But that did not shatter Georgia-Virginia relations: Perdue and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., added language to the bill that would strengthen the State Department's Office of Inspector General. In particular, it would keep the IG's computer systems separate from the department it's meant to investigate and mandate reporting of criminal misconduct by State Department employees to the IG.
The recommendations came out of the first hearing Perdue held as a subcommittee chairman in April. The State Department reauthorization cleared committee unanimously Tuesday.
***
Late last night, the U.S. House squeaked through a bill to fund transportation and housing programs next year, over the objections of moderates who did not like certain funding cuts to things like Amtrak and the D.C. Metro, and conservatives goaded on by Heritage Action, because the bill could allow for more spending in a highway bill extension.
Democrats are united against sequester-level spending and President Barack Obama already has vowed a veto. The bill also included a controversial provision to ease trucking regulations.
Among the 31 Republican no's on the bill were Reps. Jody Hice, R-Monroe; and Buddy Carter, R-Pooler. Carter’s vote particularly stands out because as a member of the GOP leadership’s “whip team,” it’s his job to make sure those tight votes succeed.
Hice spokeswoman Anna McEntee had a similar reasoning as Heritage, saying: "My boss had concerns that THUD would just be one in another series of bailouts for the Highway Trust Fund."
***
Our AJC colleague Andria Simmons has the rundown on the forum at Georgia Tech on Tuesday hosted by House Transportation Committee chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa. The most urgent question, as always: Where's the money going to come from:
Even so, Shuster said "there are a number of options out there." Most viable is probably the idea of "repatriation," requiring companies with investments overseas to return the money to the United States, he said.
"I like any idea that will fund the transportation system that is passable, that's possible," Shuster said.
About the Author
