GOVERNOR SIGNS MAJOR LEGISLATION: Some key bills passed by the Legislature in this year's session officially passed their final hurdles this past week with Gov. Nathan Deal's signature.
On Wednesday — surrounded by the families of five Georgia Southern University nursing students who died in a 2015 truck accident in which distracted driving was cited as a factor — the governor choked up as he described their efforts to win approval of House Bill 673.
The measure prohibits motorists from handling their cellphones and other electronic devices while driving. When it takes effect July 1, it will be the most significant change in driving rules since lawmakers banned texting while driving in 2010. The law also prohibits other behavior — like shooting video or watching movies while driving. Drivers can still talk on their phones and even text — as long as they use hands-free technology.
Also on Wednesday, Deal signed a historic $26.2 billion budget that for the first time in more than a decade fully funds the formula used to pay for the public schooling of about 1.7 million Georgia children.
The governor made the decision to fully fund schools in the closing days of this year’s legislative session, after it became clear state revenues would allow it. Under the budget for fiscal 2019, which begins July 1, the state will be pouring $9.9 billion into K-12 schools.
The state budget also includes tens of millions of dollars designed to help boost the economy of small-town Georgia, and more than $1 billion in new spending for construction projects such as college classrooms and labs, roads and the continued deepening of the Savannah harbor to allow for larger cargo ships.
When he leaves office in January, Deal will likely be handing his successor reserves topping $2.5 billion, better-funded schools and an economy that has grown, producing enough tax money to sustain a record state budget.
And on Thursday, the governor signed legislation that could pave the way for the region’s biggest expansion of mass transit in a generation.
The law creates a new board to coordinate transit funding and construction across the region. It also allows 13 metro Atlanta counties to raise sales taxes to pay for transit expansions, if their voters approve: Cherokee, Clayton, Coweta, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale. The sales taxes could raise billions of dollars for new transit lines in coming decades. Throw in $100 million included in next year’s state budget and transit projects could get a big boost in funding.
» Distracted driving bill: Signed in emotional ceremony
» What's allowed, prohibited: Distracted driving rules
» New state budget: Fully funds schools
» Bill tracker: What's awaiting the governor's signature
» Transit milestone: Regional effort applauded
» Shifting attitudes: Could pave way for more suburban Atlanta transit
WAFFLE HOUSE UNDER FIRE: A week into the firestorm triggered by a black woman's controversial arrest at an Alabama Waffle House, the iconic Southern diner attempted to extend an olive branch to opponents calling for a boycott — while simultaneously defending the actions of its employees.
Activists from a number of metro Atlanta advocacy groups held protests and press conferences outside Waffle House’s Gwinnett County headquarters Monday morning, calling for more information and accountability in the case of 25-year-old Chikesia Clemons. A cellphone video captured her arrest, showing her being wrestled to the ground by several police officers in a Saraland, Alabama, restaurant. Her breasts were exposed in the process.
A Waffle House statement said that employees are trained to call authorities “anytime there is any concern about their personal safety or that of their customers.”
Monday’s events marked just the latest entry in a recent series of high-profile incidents for Waffle House, which was born in Avondale Estates and located its corporate headquarters in Gwinnett County years ago.
On April 11, a Fulton County jury brought an end to a years-long sex scandal involving Waffle House chairman Joe Rogers Jr. The jury acquitted Mye Brindle (a former housekeeper for Rogers) and her attorneys on criminal charges that accused them of secretly filming sexual encounters between Brindle and Rogers and using the tape to try and extort Rogers.
The same day Clemons was arrested, a man named Travis Reinking walked into a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee, and opened fired with an AR-15 rifle. Four people were killed and more were injured.
Video also has surfaced of another racially charged incident from April 22, this time at a Waffle House in Pinson, Alabama, not far from Birmingham. The black woman who shot the video says she was denied service and locked out of the restaurant because of her race.
» April unrest: Will troubles turn into May protests?
Credit: Gary Coronado
Credit: Gary Coronado
BOY SCOUTS MAKE ANOTHER CHANGE: Next year, the program now known as the Boy Scouts will become Scouts BSA, a branding change that reflects the decision to allow girls to join. The parent organization remains Boy Scouts of America (hence the BSA) and Cub Scouts will continue to be called Cub Scouts. Officials are also touting the new slogan "Scout Me In."
Boy Scouts of America announced in 2017 they would begin enrolling girls, a move Girl Scouts of the USA, founded in Savannah, greeted coolly. Underscoring that sentiment was a statement Wednesday from Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta CEO Amy Dosik, which included: “Girl Scouts is the best and only leadership organization created by and for girls, and we have an unparalleled record of developing female leaders for more than 100 years. The first word in our name is ‘Girl,’ and girls are at the center of everything we do. Boy Scouts’ decision to admit girls as a matter of convenience does not change these facts.”
However, the Boy Scouts’ changes have found support in metro Atlanta and Georgia.
Mitch Leff, who along with his two sons has been active with a Decatur troop for years, doesn’t see the rebrand as a big deal, and is glad girls have the opportunity to join. “I see so many girls who are so excited about the opportunity to be part of this,” he said.
The Boy Scouts’ current membership stands at about 2.3 million, down from 2.6 million in 2013 and more than 4 million in peak years, while Girl Scouts count more than 1.7 members, The Associated Press reported.
» The name change: Scouts BSA
» Reaction: What area leaders say
