State officials filed court papers this week offering a preview of how they will appeal a federal judge’s recent decision to temporarily halt the most controversial parts of Georgia’s tough new immigration enforcement law.
In documents filed with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the state Attorney General’s office says it will focus on eight questions. Among those questions is one that reaches to the heart of the case: whether the halted sections of Georgia’s statute illegally intrude on the federal government's power to regulate immigration.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Devon Orland(cq) says in court papers that those halted provisions mirror the objectives of federal law. She also asks whether U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Thrash(cq) “properly determined that the public interest weighs in favor” of his decision to halt portions of the law.
Thrash sharply criticized state officials for making an end-run around federal law when he issued his decision in a 45-page ruling last month. He temporarily halted two sections of the state's new law, one that would authorize police to investigate the immigration status of certain suspects and another that would punish people who transport or harbor illegal immigrants in Georgia.
JEREMY REDMON
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A legislative study committee is pushing ahead with plans to evaluate Georgia's method for financing public schools, setting Aug. 25 as its next meeting date and naming four subcommittees and their chairs. The State Education Finance Study Commission, co-chaired by House and Senate education committee chairs Fran Millar, R-Atlanta, and Brooks Coleman, R-Duluth, held an organizational meeting June 30. The four subcommittees will address: the foundational funding formula, chaired by Sen. Jack Hill, R-Reidsville; support and services, chaired by Professional Standards Commission Executive Secretary Kelly Henson; state and local district partnership and equity, chaired by Rep. Terry England, R-Auburn; and move from compliance to accountability, chaired by State School Superintendent John Barge. Follow the committee's work at http://www.gadoe.org/fbo_financial.aspx?PageReq=FBOFinStudyComm NANCY BADERTSCHER
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