Gov. Nathan Deal officially called lawmakers back into session starting Monday, a formality that came with a twist when he put at least two issues on the table besides redistricting.
Lawmakers will consider changing the date of regional transportation referendums to be put before voters next year, Deal said. The referendums, which would add a 1-cent sales tax to pay for transportation projects, may be moved from the primary ballot July 31 to the Nov. 6 general election in 2012. It's a move that would bring out more voters and perhaps work in favor of the referendum in metro Atlanta.
Deal said his decision to summarily suspend a July 1 increase in Georgia's gas tax will need to be formally approved by lawmakers.
With Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker David Ralston by his side Wednesday, Deal also said lawmakers would be allowed to consider local legislation "of an urgent nature," although all three deferred when asked what issues could rise to that criteria. Deal, who has the authority to set the special session's agenda, said only that he did not anticipate a large docket.
Regardless, the dominating issue is redistricting, or redrawing the state's legislative and congressional districts.
It is a once-every-10-years process, prompted by the release of data from the U.S. Census Bureau. It is hugely important to elected officials as a minor change in district lines can spell the difference between re-election and forced retirement.
It is also often highly partisan. With Republicans controlling the Legislature and the governor's office, a leading Democrat, House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, has already blasted the process as tainted and claimed leaders are trying to purge her ranks. The public will get its first glance Friday when drafts of proposed maps are released by the House.
"We have followed the law and, to the extent that there are not many moderate conservatives left in that [Democratic] caucus, that's her problem, not mine," said Ralston, adding that the legislative end of the redistricting process 10 years ago took about seven weeks. "I don't plan to be here that long," Ralston said of the upcoming session. "Get it done and get out of here."
Deal said the state would submit the maps to the U.S. Department of Justice for preclearance. Georgia is one of nine states that must get any change to voting or election law approved by the federal government, as required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The law says the state may petition either the DOJ or the federal court for approval, although it's far more typical to start with the DOJ, which can issue a ruling in as little as 60 days.
The transportation referendums will be held all across the state next year, in each of 12 regions. Their likely move to the November ballot appears to be a complicit acknowledgment that officials need more time to sell the idea to voters. That is especially true in metro Atlanta, where voters in 10 counties will be asked to approve a 10-year, 1-cent sales tax. It is expected to raise $7.2 billion, $6.1 billion of which is to be spent on a list of projects of regional significance.
Deal said the move would allow "more Georgians to participate," since voters typically show up in greater numbers during a general election. He allowed, however, that local officials may face a hard sell "in this economy."
Still, the change would likely help metro Atlanta’s referendum on the order of 6 to 8 percentage points, said Mark Rountree, a political consultant who once applied to work on the campaign. Voters more likely to turn out for the primary, such as suburban Republicans, are more likely to vote against the referendum, he said.
The extra time, however, has a cost. "You’re looking at 400,000 primary voters versus 1.8 million in the general" election, said Paul Bennecke, a consultant on the metro Atlanta campaign. "That means the budget for the campaign has to go up."
Staff writer Ariel Hart contributed to this article.
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