Earlier this week the Atlanta City Council passed legislationthat would roll back Atlanta ethics laws by allowing city employees and elected officials to receive free meals and tickets to entertainment events from lobbyist. The bill also would not have required that these gifts be disclosed. The moment we heard of this bill we spoke out against it in the press, and contacted Mayor Franklin to urge her to veto the bill.

The Mayor has since vetoed the bill and the council has backed down. Clearly the Council underestimated the public's outrage over this, and now the 10 members who voted for the bill are in the awkward position of being forced to explain why they think it is okay to accept freebies from lobbyists. It's not okay and they should know better.

As week 1 of the General Assembly came to a close Common Cause Georgia found itself  unable to support the latest legislation on Georgia Voter ID (House substitute for SB-84).  

The bill was introduced on the first day of the session and passed the House by a 110-64 vote on Thursday.  After passage in the House, Senate leaders decided to hold off voting on the bill until the week of January 23rd.  As it currently stands, all signs point to the bill's passage in the Senate in much the same fashion as it did in the House.  

Even though SB 84 improves on current law by making the photo ID card a no-cost item and increases accessibility for those who would need to get it, we cannot endorse the bill as it currently stands. There are two main problems.  The first problem is  that it would go into effect immediately upon signing by the Governor - which would require all affected Georgia voters to react quickly if they were to re-register prior to the July 2006 primaries.  The other key problem we have is that the law would require a photo ID to vote in person, but does nothing to address voter fraud in absentee voting which is where fraud is most likely to occur.

As we have been saying all along, we want to work with the leadership in the General Assembly to craft a bill that satisfies the need for protection against voter fraud but does not disenfranchise any of Georgia's voters.  However, the manner in which this bill proceeded through the House didn't allow for any such discussion.

Our board has decided that we cannot support the new Voter ID bill.  As a non-partisan organization we have conscientiously tried to give this bill a fair assessment. If there is still a chance of slowing this bill down, we would welcome a chance to work with leaders to address the reforms in a more comprehensive manner.

What do you think of the new Voter ID bill?  If you don't support this bill what do you think would be a good compromise solution to prevent voter fraud without disenfranchising voters?  If you do support this bill, tell us why. We welcome an open dialog.

When we were asked last month to comment on a news story regarding Senator Casey Cagle, candidate for Lieutenant Governor (click here to see story), it got us to thinking on the question of how and when we need to guide the behavior of our part-time politicians. The vast majority of elected offices in Georgia are part time jobs. We have ingrained in our culture the concept that we are better off being governed by people who are not professional politicians, but citizens like ourselves who take time out of their lives to serve the people while continuing to pursue their own professions and business interests.

In a perfect world, these two lives would be separate, but of course they never are. Farmers help determine state policy on agriculture, insurance people determine insurance legislation, and so on. Georgia law tells state legislators to recuse themselves when they are too close to a situation. But in reality, those who are knowledgeable on certain aspects are often key players in determining policy that influences their lives outside the legislature. The same thing occurs in City Councils and County Commissions throughout the state.

In Cagle's case, the reporter told us that Cagle had owned a tuxedo rental business when he first came to the Legislature in 1991. In 1999, the same year he became a member of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, Cagle helped found a community bank in Hall County which later merged with a larger bank. As a result, Cagle is a much wealthier man today than he was when he entered public office. He continues to sit on key banking committees in the Georgia Senate.

Cagle's story is not that unusual. Public service has no doubt helped many individuals improve their chances at success in life. Is there anything wrong with this? To what extent was Cagle's success in his private life tied to his role as a public servant?

While not begrudging anyone's rise to prosperity, we ask the question as to what limits should be in place to insure that public service is not improperly exploited for private gain?