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Tobacco tax hike could raise half the $1 billion needed for transportation: Health care advocates

by David Pendered

Six health care organizations are calling for an increase in the tobacco tax to help pay for statewide transportation improvements.
Raising the tax to the national average would bring in about $500 million a year, one lobbyist said. That represents about half of the $1 billion Georgia lawmakers intend to raise through the current proposal to raise money to improve the state’s transportation infrastructure.

Posted inDavid Pendered, Latest News, Main Slider, Topics

Good news on Atlanta’s water debt may raise support for bond referendum

by David Pendered

Atlanta’s upcoming $250 million bond referendum could get a political lift from positive credit rating actions on the city’s water bonds.
Moody’s Investors Service assigned a top investment grade rating to $1.25 billion in water bonds the city intends to sell Feb. 24. Atlanta will use the money to refinance existing debt at a lower cost.

Posted inColumns, David Pendered, Main Slider

Transit funding proposals offer hope, warrant scrutiny

by David Pendered

Transit may be entering a golden era of funding in Georgia and across the nation.

The Republican-sponsored transportation proposal in Georgia would provide transit with its first-ever significant state support. President Obama’s proposed budget, released Monday, would provide $478 billion over six years for transportation infrastructure, including transit.

Posted inDavid Pendered

As auto sales rebound in Ga., new cars pay fewer taxes to build roads

by David Pendered

An uptick in the sale of new vehicles that’s been linked to lower gas prices spells more trouble for state road funding.

Georgia’s collection of motor fuel taxes fell by 2 percent in the last three months of 2014. Revenues from tag, title, and fees rose by 2.7 percent during that period, according to a tabulation of monthly reports from the Georgia Department of Revenue.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Tech’s analysis of Memorial Drive gains political boost via attention from two Atlanta councilmembers

by David Pendered

Reducing the speed limit on Memorial Drive from 35 mph to 25 mph could improve safety, cut tailpipe emissions, boost the roadway’s capacity, and even reduce trip times because traffic would flow more smoothly.

Another startling discovery associated with the analysis of Memorial Drive, being conducted this autumn by Georgia Tech graduate students, is the high degree of buy-in from Atlanta city councilmembers who represent the area.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Mayor Reed’s success over next four years may hinge on who did, and didn’t, vote in November election

by David Pendered

Former Mayor Andrew Young said with apparent pride at Monday’s inauguration ceremony that Mayor Kasim Reed was “overwhelmingly reelected” to his second term of office.

While the scope of Reed’s victory is accurate – Reed won 84 percent of the votes – the turnout was the lowest it’s been since at least 2001. Fewer than one in five registered voters cast ballots in Fulton County, home to most of Atlanta’s voters, according to county records.

Two political observers said Tuesday the sparse turnout probably won’t hurt Reed’s ability to implement his agenda. According to political strategist Howard Franklin and political scientist Charles Bullock, a win is a win – for the mayor as well as for two new councilmembers who won citywide posts by some 2,600-plus votes each – in a city with almost 250,000 registered voters just in Fulton County.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Atlanta’s inaugural ceremony raises hopes for 2014 and beyond

by David Pendered

Atlanta will continue to serve humanity as a “city on a hill,” one that nurtures prosperity as it cares for the humble.

This is the aspiration for the coming four years as proclaimed by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell in their separate inaugural addresses Monday.

Reed vowed specific programs regarding public education, and college funding for all deserving students; construction of affordable housing at Turner Field and Fort McPherson; stronger criminal justice for repeat offenders and a jail-to-freedom transition. Mitchell cited some of the same goals and said they could be achieved through better collaboration among local governments.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Unlike New York, Atlanta’s mayoral inauguration expected to be mild

by David Pendered

Unlike New York City’s mayoral inauguration last week, little controversy is expected to surround Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed as he takes the oath of office Monday.

Atlanta has a history of low-key mayoral inaugurations. It’s just not the Atlanta way for politicians to swing for the fences at these rites of passage. That wasn’t the case in New York on Jan. 1, when a pastor speaking from the inaugural podium referred to “the plantation called New York.”

Likewise, Gov. Nathan Deal and other politicians may offer new insights but probably won’t stir the hornet’s nest in speeches at the Eggs and Issues breakfast to be hosted Jan. 15 by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

Posted inDavid Pendered

New report on school funding tees up 2014 gubernatorial campaigns

by David Pendered

A new report that calls for overhauling Georgia’s method of paying for K-12 education has landed near the starting gate of a potentially contentious gubernatorial campaign.

State Sen. Jason Carter (D-Decatur) has put education reform at the front and center of his new platform. Gov. Nathan Deal responded immediately that he has increased the state’s contribution to school funding despite the recession.

The timing couldn’t be better for a report from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute that calls for the creation of a funding program to replace the state’s existing school funding formula, known as QBE (Quality Basic Education).

Posted inDavid Pendered

Mayor Reed departs Monday for tour of Panama Canal with Biden, Isakson

by David Pendered

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is to leave Monday to meet with Panama President Ricardo Martelli and tour the Panama Canal expansion with Sen. Johnny Isakson and Vice President Joe Biden.

The mayor’s participation in the economic development trip was announced Friday, as discussion continues over the decision by the Atlanta Braves to move to Cobb County.

The trip comes right after Gov. Nathan Deal announced his plans to provide an additional $35 million in state funding for the proposed deepening of the Savannah port. The deepening is needed to handle the larger vessels expected to transit the bigger Panama Canal.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Gov. Deal’s trade trip to Asia: Chinese phosphate plant to open near Savannah; tourism pitch on agenda

by David Pendered

Gov. Nathan Deal announced Thursday, on the first day of his trade mission to Asia, that a leading Chinese phosphates producer will open its U.S. headquarters and a manufacturing plant in Effingham County.

The agreement continues Georgia’s traditional efforts to secure foreign direct investment. This trip also intends to foster China’s tourism to Georgia, and nurture the relationship with Georgia’s second-largest export market.

The trip represents Georgia’s attention to China, the world’s largest travel spender and soon-to-be top oil importer. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed led a trade mission to China in March 2012, aiming to focus the country’s importers on metro Atlanta’s offerings such as bio-tech products and engineering services.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Prayers for rain, Senate takes on Supreme Court ruling – all part of Georgia’s water policy issues

by David Pendered

Editor’s Note: This is the second of three stories this week that will look at water issues that affect metro Atlanta.

Metro Atlanta probably celebrated too swiftly after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year the region may continue to draw drinking water from Lake Lanier.

Though the ruling was rightly portrayed, by Georgians, as a major victory, the battle is far from over. The U.S. Senate toyed with the court’s ruling last month before it adopted omnibus water legislation. Water proposals abound in Georgia – where lakes are full six years after a governor led prayers for rain.

All of this results in water supply remaining one of the region’s major policy questions. Not to be overlooked are neighboring communities, and creatures, who rely on the same sources of water.

Posted inDavid Pendered

A relation between stadium deal and stalled MARTA bill? Who’s to say

by David Pendered

There may be no relation whatsoever, but the plan to build a new Falcons stadium is moving forward and the proposed legislation to restructure MARTA and privatize some of its operations appears to be fading for the 2013 session.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s administration delivered a final deal within two months after receiving a troubled proposal from Gov. Nathan Deal. Reed’s team provided the $200 million in construction financing, plus somewhere around $100 million in public/private funds to fix up the area around the future stadium.

Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Brookhaven) indicated Tuesday that he’s done about all he can to sweeten his team’s proposal to reorganize MARTA. Jacobs has offered to eliminate the privatization provision in House Bill 264 and to resolve in MARTA’s favor all but one concern MARTA has raised. Still, the bill is stalled in the Senate.

Posted inGuest Column

Georgia’s Gov. Nathan Deal being left behind as other Republican governors endorse Medicaid expansion

by Teresa Johnston

By Guest Columnist TIMOTHY SWEENEY, director of health policy at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

A rule of thumb holds that when something happens three times in short order, it’s a trend. So it’s fair to say that the melting resistance to Medicaid expansion among Republican governors just changed from anecdotal to a full-blown trend.

Last week, two more Republican governors came out in support for taking advantage of new federal funding to ensure health coverage for more of their state’s residents.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder bring to six the number of GOP governors who have announced they will move forward to expand Medicaid through the national health care law known as the Affordable Care Act.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Comedy or tragedy? Fulton legislative meeting heralds new era in county politics, government, civic theater

by David Pendered

The latest act in the civic theater that is Fulton County began Thursday in a crowded room on the fourth floor of Georgia’s Capitol.

Republican lawmakers sat quietly while an hour’s worth of speakers protested Republican proposals to change what has been the natural order of the county – at least, it was the natural order before Republicans took effective control of the county’s legislative delegation this year.

The chorus in this case could do little to relieve tension, but the 75 who gathered certainly helped establish the mood. There were few smiles among the crowd of lawyers and lobbyists, community advocates and union reps, preachers and seniors – many of whom are familiar faces at meetings of the county commission and Atlanta City Council.

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Georgia lawmakers refloat plan to take part of Tennessee River

by David Pendered

Georgia has resumed its offer to Tennessee to take a piece of the Tennessee River in order to resolve a border dispute, but this year’s proposal is far more modest than a plan offered in 2008.

The current proposal appears to seek just a small bite of Tennessee, a smidgeon just big enough to give Georgia a shoreline along the Tennessee River. Just enough shoreline to do provide a footing for, say, a new pipe to be sunk into the river to draw water into Georgia.

Posted inTom Baxter

Saxby Chambliss and the rural-Republican arc

Avatar photo by Tom Baxter

When Saxby Chambliss was elected to Congress in 1994, he was the first Republican to represent a rural Deep South district since Reconstruction, which made him stand out in the big freshman GOP class that came to Washington that tumultuous year.

He could have been described then as a pioneer, which is hardly the way he seemed last week when Chambliss announced he’d decided not to seek a third U.S. Senate term next year. The two-decade arc of that Washington career spans much of the story of what’s happened in American politics since the year when the Democrats lost control of Congress for the first time in decades, and Newt Gingrich declared Year One of the new Republican Era.

Posted inSaba Long

Open U.S. Senate seat could have a domino effect on Georgia politics

by Saba Long

For a few politicians and political advisors, the past few days have been filled with rapid fire text messages and battery-draining cell phone calls about the biggest news to impact metro Atlanta in quite a while — the 2014 election to replace retiring U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss.

The first — and only to date — polls released jointly by political consulting firms H.E.G. and Apache just hours after the announcement already has Georgia Republicans and Democrats strategizing on how to ensure their party secures the open seat.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Governor reduces bond package; Metro Atlanta avoids slowdown

by David Pendered

The depth of the recession in Georgia is evident in the dwindling amount of money the state plans to borrow to improve its infrastructure.

The bond sum proposed in 2007 was $914 million. The current bond proposal is almost 22 percent lower, at just over $713 million, in the budget recommendation for 2014 presented by Gov. Nathan Deal. Metro Atlanta’s slice of the pie increased by 16 percent in snapshots of the years 2007 and 2014.

The comparison of two budget years hardly represents a comprehensive analysis of state investment. It does provide a glimpse of the state’s investment dashboard and outlook during the lingering downturn that officially started in late 2007.

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