Gov. Nathan Deal has vetoed a bill that would have imposed term limits on Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary but not the five City Council members. House Bill 600 also prohibited the mayor from voting on matters before the council except to break a tie.
Voters approved creating the city of Stonecrest in November 2016, and HB 600 was introduced just days before the city’s first election. It was fast tracked to a vote on the House floor in March 2017.
VIDEO: Previous coverage of Stonecrest
The bill in its original form did two things: tweaked City Council district boundaries and established term limits for the mayor. During the vetting process, the language about boundary lines was taken out. Lawmakers added a sentence that said the mayor could not vote unless the council was deadlocked.
The House approved the amended bill as part of a slate of local proposals. The Senate did the same in March 2018.
In his veto message, Deal wrote that the measure would have introduced substantial changes to the relatively new city and had not been fully vetted.
“These amendments to a city charter that has been in effect for less than two years have not, apparently, received the proper amount of discussion during the legislative session as legislators from the delegation could not reach a consensus,” the governor wrote.
Support real journalism. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today. See offers.
Your subscription to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution funds in-depth reporting and investigations that keep you informed. Thank you for supporting real journalism.