Georgia's Senate Democrats unveil agenda

A temporary ban on HOT lanes, online and same-day voter registration in Georgia, and revamped ethics oversight for lawmakers top the legislative agenda unveiled Tuesday by Senate Democrats.

With the Republican-controlled chamber out of action to allow for state budget hearings, Democratic leaders said they expect to begin filing bills next week as they move ahead. They will also make a push to unearth Senate Bill 175, creating an independent redistricting panel, that has languished in committee since last year.

Among the proposals:

• A three-year moratorium on new high-occupancy toll lanes. Sen. Curt Thompson, D-Tucker, said the moratorium would allow a long-term study of the state's first HOT lanes, which opened Oct. 1 on nearly 16 miles of I-85 in metro Atlanta. Just a few days into the effort, traffic noticeably worsened in the regular lanes because so few people used the HOT lanes. The HOT lanes charge drivers a varied toll depending on how congested the road is at any given time. Commuters have railed about the lanes' cost and complexity.
• Online voter registration and same-day voter registration. The former would create an online voter application process in addition to the current in-person and by-mail methods. The latter would allow an unregistered voter to cast a provisional ballot on Election Day after he or she registers at a polling place. Voters currently face a registration deadline that can be almost two months before an election.
• An independent ethics commission, along with dedicated state funding. Sen. Doug Stoner, D-Smyrna, would remove control of the state ethics commission from lawmakers and the governor. Instead, the chief justices of both the state Supreme Court and state Appeals Court would appoint the panel's members. Stoner would also create a permanent funding source for the commission, at 0.01 percent of the state budget.

Other proposals include a review of all state tax breaks and subsidies as well as a mandate that fees collected by the state actually be spent on programs for which they were created.

Sen. Jason Carter, D-Decatur, said an independent redistricting committee is needed now more than ever given an expected challenge this year to the state's new political maps. The federal Department of Justice approved in December the state's GOP-drawn redistricting plan for state House, Senate and congressional seats, which Democrats claim violates the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act.