How well do you know your legislators?
Who gives them campaign contributions? Do you know how much?
Maybe you would like to know how good they are at turning bills into law.
This is the third year that The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will be providing that kind of information, and more, on the Georgia Legislative Navigator at http://legislativenavigator.ajc.com/.
The Navigator serves several purposes:
- It's a handy guide for constituents, giving basic information about their legislators: what they do for a living, where they went to school, how to reach them by phone or email.
- It supplies lots of information about each of the 180 districts that make up the state House, as well as the 56 districts in the state Senate: What is its median income? How does it break down racially or ethnically? What's the percentage of its residents who hold a college degree or who are natives of Georgia?
- It offers an in-depth picture of each legislator: Who is giving him money? What's her "batting average," the ratio of bills passed to bills proposed? What bills has he proposed? What are her most recent votes? What committees is he on? Does she hold any leadership positions?
- It allows you to check on the state of a bill, even read it. Is it in committee? Has it gotten a floor vote? Heck, the Navigator will tell you the odds of it becoming law.
Here’s a sample of the kind of information you could find on the Navigator:
- The wealthiest district in the state House is District 25, covering parts of Forsyth and Fulton counties, with a median income of $117,226. House District 135, representing part of Muscogee County, has the lowest median income in the House at $25,114.
- The most powerful man in the House, Speaker David Ralston, has a batting average of 0.577. The most powerful man in the other chamber, Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller, has a batting average of 0.607. Any Atlanta Brave would take that.
- The oldest House district, with a median age of 50.1, is District 8, representing Rabun, Towns, Union and White counties. The youngest is House District 160, covering Bryan and Bulloch counties, with a median age of 24.8.
- In House District 54, representing a section of Fulton County, 73.2 percent of its residents hold a college degree, the highest percentage of any House district. It also has a median income of $81,682, way ahead of the median for House districts of $47,302.50. So, kids, stay in school.
Browse AJC Legislative Navigator
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