Q: I read that the new digital Georgia license plates cost less to produce, but I find the mural design with seven-digit tag numbers cluttered and difficult to read. Why did the state remove the blank space between the standard tag letter/number groupings?
— Anna Coppedge, Lawrenceville
A: Georgians chose that license plate design from eight semifinalists through online voting in July 2011, though that didn't settle things. All eight semifinalists featured peaches as part of the design. An initial vote was scrapped over confusion caused by the phrase "In God We Trust," which was included in some designs, and the winning design was then selected from three finalists through another online vote. Monroe County's Linda Sosebee, an artist and champion sporting clays shooter, designed the winning plate, which received more than 34,000 online votes in the final vote, more than twice the number of the runner-up, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in August 2011.
Q: What is the number of employees at the Georgia Archives in Morrow? Additionally, I’d like to know the total police/security positions and whether they’re secretary of state employees or contract personnel.
— Scott MacLean, Forest Park
A: The Georgia Archives has had 10 full-time employees, including one facility maintenance employee, Jared Thomas, a spokesman for Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, told Q&A on the News in an email. On the days that the facility is open to the public, a security guard is contracted through Clayton State University and paid from the secretary of state's budget. However, with budget cuts taking effect Nov. 1, the secretary of state laid off five of the Georgia Archives' employees. The funding issue is likely to come up after the Legislature convenes in January.
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