Deal outlines second-term agenda in greatest detail yet

Gov. Nathan Deal outlined his second-term agenda in his most detailed terms yet Tuesday, issuing a campaign manifesto that seeks to reassure supporters as to why he’s seeking another four years and counter the notion that his re-election platform is thin.

The governor's credo, called "Staying No. 1: It's Why I'm Running," documents a range of proposals he's previously announced. But as his November matchup with Democrat Jason Carter and Libertarian Andrew Hunt draws closer, the campaign hopes it becomes a unifying document that establishes his case "to keep Georgia the No. 1 place for business and jobs."

“I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished working with the General Assembly these past four years, but we have only just begun,” Deal said in the opening. “To stay No. 1, your team has to go out on the field every season and prove again and again that you’re the best.”

Carter spokesman Bryan Thomas called the document a "rehash of small-bore election-year promises that don't even come close to addressing the major challenges facing Georgia families." Carter's campaign has sought to focus on boosting education funding and improving transparency in government.

Thomas added: “The Deal manifesto makes one thing clear: The governor has no vision for Georgia’s future.”

Deal's education platform would rewrite a decades-old school funding formula and allow schools to emphasize computer programming course work, though there was no mention of his previous proposals to give top teachers pay raises and empower the state to intervene in more struggling school districts.

On transportation, he vows to overhaul the I-285 interchange with Ga. 400, complete the long-planned express toll lanes for commuters on I-75 and bolster key high-traffic corridors in other parts of the state. He also repeated his vow to finish deepening the Savannah harbor and said at a campaign stop Monday that the state could get final approval this month.

He again hinted at a proposal to expand a grant program that pays for full technical school tuition for students in high-demand fields, an expansion likely to include some students in the film industry. And Deal pledges to pass "major reforms" that would expand the ethics commission and seek to prevent conflicts of interest.

The governor broke new ground in sharpening details of his next wave of criminal justice proposals, which include a plan to boost transitional housing and job placement offerings for released offenders, bolster educational opportunities to those still in prison and establish more veterans courts for service members.

“The next goal is to give them the skills they need to keep a job,” he said, “so they don’t return to a life of crime.”