With the start of the 2010 Legislative session tomorrow, many groups have been putting out their legislative agendas over the past few weeks. Today, SWGAPolitics.com takes its turn. The list below should not be considered an exclusive one, as there are a variety of bills that we like, and there are sure to be more introduced that we will also like. We feel that if these issues are addressed, all other issues that are normally identified as “top” issues will be worked out in due course.
1) Equal Ballot Access: A basic issue of fairness such as allowing everyone an equal opportunity to get on the ballot under the Party of their choice (or no Party at all) should not be ignored for so long, as it has been in the Gold Dome. If individuals could run for office without having to get the approval of the Republican Party of Georgia or Democratic Party of Georgia or face significant hurdles that Democrats and Republicans do not face, we would have a wider range of solutions being proposed for our various ills, and therefore a wider range for the voters themselves to choose from in a free marketplace of ideas. We are open to all proposals to ensure this basic fairness, and we are willing to work with any legislator who is willing to work with us on this goal, regardless of Party or district location. With equal ballot access, all other issues in this State will eventually be worked out, as voters themselves will have the opportunity to choose from a wider range of proposed solutions.
2) Zero Based Budgeting: State Senator David Shafer and State Rep Tom Graves both introduced variants of a concept called zero-based budgeting in the 2009 session, and both proposals passed the chamber they were introduced in. Essentially, zero-based budgeting says that at least every four years, every program run by the State will have to create its budget from scratch, justifying every single penny it spends in the process. We see this as a very good method to both increase transparency in State programs as well as to eliminate wasteful spending. This will help solve our budget crisis by helping to lower State expenditures and eventually will hopefully reduce the tax burden as well.
3) Transparency in Local Government Initiative: We propose that local governing boards – including Planning, Zoning, City Council, County Commission, and all others at or below the County level – be mandated to meet no earlier than 6pm during the work week. This will enable the majority of citizens who work during the day to at least be able to attend the meetings where their local decisions are made. Thus, the citizens will have the opportunity to both know about these decisions and voice their opinions on them. We also propose that called meetings should be required to be announced at least once in the legal organ of the county -even if that legal organ is only published once per week – as well as for a period of at least 72 hours on the primary public exterior door of the place where meetings are held. Finally, we also propose a $10 per registered voter affected per occurrence mandatory fine for any violations of these Open Meetings laws. These proposals will increase the opportunity for citizens to be actively involved in their local government and thereby make local government more responsive to all of its citizenry.
4) Albany/Dougherty Consolidation Vote: We support the right of the citizens of Albany and Dougherty County to vote for themselves to determine whether their governments should be consolidated into one. We do not endorse any particular plan as an organization, nor do we explicitly endorse consolidation at this time, only that a plan be put before the voters for them to decide this November.
5) Gun Rights: As just one example of a specific way to limit government involvement in our lives, we support the comprehensive revision of Georgia’s gun laws in order to protect both the right of the individual to keep and bear arms as he or she sees fit as well as the right of property owners to decide what happens on their property. This does not mean that we explicitly endorse HB 615, though we do support many of the ideas it contains, specifically in being more explicit about where a gun may be carried and eliminating the “public gatherings” prohibition.
By Jeff Sexton and Tim Knighton.
