Fact-checkers take on Georgia lawmakers and another email controversy


How does PolitiFact Georgia’s Truth-O-Meter work?

Our goal is to help you find the truth in American politics. Reporters from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other PolitiFact affiliates fact-check statements by local, state and national political leaders, including lobbyists and interest groups. We then rate them on the AJC Truth-O-Meter.

To fact-check a claim, reporters first contact the speaker to verify the statement. Next, the research begins. Reporters consult a variety of sources, including industry and academic experts. This research can take hours or a few days or even longer, depending on the claim. Reporters then compile the research into story form and include a recommended Truth-O-Meter ruling.

The fact check then moves on to a panel of veteran editors who debate the statement and the reporter’s recommended Truth-O-Meter ruling. The panel votes on a final ruling; majority prevails.

The end of this year’s General Assembly appears to be in sight, with major bills headed to down-to-the-wire votes.

With that in mind, PolitiFact Georgia last week a checked legislation that would ramp up insurance requirements for the increasingly popular ride-share options, such as Uber.

The Hillary Clinton email controversy continued to produce fodder for fact-checks. This time, we looked at a claim that there was “just about zero press coverage” of a 2007 Bush White House email controversy.

We also dissected comments in the ongoing debate about whether 47 Republicans should have written Iran leaders, a move that some from both parties have said undercut President Barack Obama’s negotiations with Iran over its nuclear capabilities,.

Abbreviated versions of our fact-checks can be found below. Full versions can be found at www.politifact.com/georgia/.

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Abbreviated versions of our fact checks are below.

February 10th, 2015 in news reports:

The proposed transportation tax plan revokes a tax-credit for consumers’ electric cars while the state retains similar credits for similar vehicles for businesses.

With state lawmakers revving up plans to tackle Georgia’s underfunded transportation system, we checked a claim that the House version of the changing enabling legislation (HB 170) would revoke a tax-credit for consumers’ electric cars, while leaving a similar break in place for businesses.

Since the fact-check, a radically different proposal has emerged in the state senate. Though that version also calls for nixing the electric vehicle tax credit, it is unclear whether both chambers will be able to hash out a deal before the legislative session ends on April 2.

The House version would eliminate the state percent sales tax on gasoline and replace it with an excise tax of 29.2 cents per gallon. It also would eliminate the popular $5,000 state tax credit for all-electric vehicles ($2,500 for low-emission vehicles) as of July 1. Owners of low-emission and zero-emission vehicles, meanwhile, would be required to pay a $200 annual registration fee.

State Rep. Jay Roberts, R-Ocilla, said electric vehicle owners “practically pay nothing” to lease and operate those cars.

Our research shows the House bill eliminates a popular consumer tax credit while retaining a similar break for businesses. One caveat: the tax credit for businesses, which is not mentioned in the latest proposal, would expire in two years anyway.

We rated the claim True.

Juan Williams on Sunday, March 15th, 2015 in comments on “Fox News Sunday”:

There was “just about zero press coverage” of the 2007 Bush White House email controversy.

Why is everyone picking on Hillary Clinton about her use of a private vs. government email account? They didn’t mind when President George W. Bush’s White House also used private email, pundit Juan Williams said on Fox News Sunday on March 15.

We found Williams claim that there was “zero press coverage”in the Bush administration is an exaggeration — even allowing for a bit of hyperbole. We found hundreds of articles and television transcripts referencing the issue in the Bush era. Still it doesn’t compare to the recent coverage of the Clinton email flap.

Williams’ statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.

We rated it Mostly False.

Mitch McConnell on Sunday, March 15th, 2015 in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union:

Says Secretary of State John Kerry, “when he was a senator, flew to Managua and met with a communist dictator there, Daniel Ortega, and accused the Reagan administration of engaging in terrorism.”

The controversy over a letter to Iran’s leaders signed by 47 Republican senators prompted a sudden surge of interest in past efforts by lawmakers to meet with foreign leaders.

In an appearance on CNN on March 15, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said John Kerry, when he was a senator, flew to Managua and met with a communist dictator Daniel Ortega, and accused the Reagan administration of engaging in terrorism.

His point: “Members of Congress expressing themselves about important matters, not only at home, but around the world, is not unprecedented.”

Is he correct about Kerry?

We found McConnell got it mostly right, with two imperfections on the margins, regarding both the timeline and the exact phrasing of Kerry’s charge against the Reagan administration.

The statement is accurate but needs clarification.

We rated it Mostly True.

Joe Biden on Monday, March 9th, 2015 in a statement released to the media:

The vast majority of our international commitments take effect without congressional approval.”

That letter penned by 47 Republican senators to Iranian leaders raised eyebrows, particularly among Democrats. Vice President Joe Biden responded with a toughly worded statement that, in part said: “the vast majority of our international commitments take effect without congressional approval.”

We found that, when it comes to binding agreements — the only types of agreements for which we have good data — Biden is likely off base. He may be on safer ground once you add in non-binding agreements. The claim that agreements negotiated without congressional input represent “the vast majority of our international commitments” is essentially informed speculation.

We rated the claim Half True.