The 2015 session of the Georgia General Assembly starts Monday and the AJC’s statehouse team is ready to go.
A lot has changed since last year. The election has come and gone, with it the distractions of election-year politics. Gov. Nathan Deal is getting ready to start his second term. New players have emerged, including 24 freshman lawmakers. An improving economy has plumped up state revenue, but education and health care costs have risen as well.
Some things haven’t changed. According to our latest poll, Georgians remain worried about the economy and jobs. Transportation remains a concern, as does the quality of education.
The statehouse team has spent recent weeks talking to lawmakers, lobbyists, advocates and Georgians like you in order to create our annual Guide to the Session. In it you will find summaries of the big issues, bios of the most influential people at the Gold Dome (hint: not all of them are lawmakers) and a cheat sheet that tells you how to navigate the Capitol like a pro.
This guide is a labor of love for us, and we hope it will provide the foundation you need to understand what happens at the Gold Dome, why it matters and how you can influence the outcome.
After all, lawmakers work for you. You elected them and you have every right to know what they are up to and weigh in on the issues that matter to you. Most of them welcome your input.
We work for you, too. Our Constitution grants the press protection offered to no other industry, and with that protection comes the responsibility of keeping you informed about what your government is doing. That’s the way democracy works.
The AJC invests a lot of energy and talent to carry out that responsibility. We have bucked a troubling trend to do so.
News organizations across the country have steadily cut back on state government coverage.
According to a 2014 report from the Pew Research Center, less than one-third of U.S. newspapers assign any reporter to the statehouse and even fewer local television stations assign reporters to the statehouse.
The AJC maintains a robust presence at the state Capitol. Our bureau in the Coverdell Legislative Office Building, across the street from the Gold Dome, is home base for seven of our best, most experienced staffers. Aaron Gould Sheinin covers the Georgia House of Representatives; Kristina Torres covers the state Senate. James Salzer and Chris Joyner are investigative reporters based at the Capitol. Salzer is also our expert on the state budget. Greg Bluestein covers the governor and state politics, and he works closely with Jim Galloway, our longtime political columnist and the founder of our immensely popular Political Insider column. Legal affairs reporter Bill Rankin also reports from the Capitol bureau.
In addition, several topic specialists devote a significant chunk of time to legislative coverage: Jaime Sarrio on k-12 education and Janel Davis on higher education; Ariel Hart and Andria Simmons on transportation; Misty Williams on health care; and Mark Niesse and David Wickert on local government issues. Jeremy Redmon covers immigration issues and other state news, and veteran photographer Bob Andres will chronicle the session in pictures.
Many of those names are familiar to regular readers. Behind the scenes are others whose skill, knowledge and creativity enhance the stories for you in print and online. Jim Denery not only edits, but crafts explanatory summaries, quizzes and other features to help you make sense of the news. Isaac Sabetai is our digital whiz, managing our online content and developing digital features and new ways to deliver them. Jim Tharpe helps edit and works with April Hunt and Nancy Badertscher, our PolitiFact team.
It’s a great group of people doing work that’s harder to find in today’s media, and we’re here for you.
Each one of us is focused on bringing you the news and background you need to follow and engage in the democratic process. I encourage you to save or bookmark the legislative guide and stay tuned as the session unfolds. We offer a number of ways to follow the action. We’ll bring you the latest on myAJC.com and AJC.com. You can look up bills and lawmakers by using our Legislative Navigator tool at http://legislativenavigator.myajc.com/ and sign up for our weekly political newsletter, The Georgia Insider, at ajc.com/georgiainsider.
