ATLANTA (October 26, 2018) | Sen. Larry Walker (R – Perry) presented and spoke to REACH (Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen) Georgia scholarship recipients on Wednesday, October 24, at Bleckley County Middle School. The five students were each presented with a check for $10,000, to be used when they graduate from high school and enroll in a post-secondary institution. Continue reading “Sen. Larry Walker Presents REACH Scholarships”
Update from the Capitol: November Ballot Constitutional Amendments
By: Sen. Larry Walker (R – Perry)
November is right around the corner, and with that come a myriad of election and ballot commercials, mail outs and information. I know that many of you have contacted my office about the five constitutional amendments that will be on the state-wide ballot in November and have asked me what exactly these amendments will do. My job as a state Senator is not only to represent you at the capitol, but to ensure that you are as informed as possible when it comes to the ballot questions. In this column, we will explore the questions you will be seeing on your ballot on November 6th.
- Amendment One would establish the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund. If passed, upwards of 80% of state sales tax revenue collected from sporting goods would be dedicated to land conservation throughout the state. This would lead to more than $20 million annually spent on conservation projects such as improving Georgia’s lakes, maintaining and creating hunting and fishing areas, and constructing additional outdoor recreational facilities for the public to enjoy.
- Amendment Two would create a statewide business court designed to handle cases specifically related to business matters. If passed, the statewide business court would remove complex business cases from the general docket of traditional courtrooms. This would increase the efficiency of Georgia’s judicial process, and lead to a uniform system for dealing with commercial disputes.
- Amendment Three is also referred to as the Forest Land Conservation and Timberland Properties Amendment. If passed, the legislature would create a new class of property, known as timberland property, through which a singular valuation process on timberland would be used to calculate property tax throughout the state as opposed to 159 different county tax assessments.
- Amendment Four, also known as Marsy’s Law, would require the judicial system to provide crime victims and their families timely notices of criminal court proceedings, release dates, and the opportunity to appear before the court at any scheduled proceedings dealing with the case of which they or their family member was a victim.
- Amendment Five would authorize fair allocation of sales tax proceeds to local school districts. Impacting counties with independent school districts, Amendment 5 would allow for E-SPLOSTS to be called where the systems representing a majority of the students have a revenue sharing agreement or the proposed E-SPLOST outlines revenue distribution proportional to the number of students in each system. The funds generated from this sales tax would be used exclusively for education purposes and will be distributed on a per student basis among all school systems within the county. However, if the school systems come to an agreement on an alternative distribution method, that provision in this resolution would not take effect.
In addition to this, you can find details on where and when you can vote, look at a sample ballot before you vote, and see information on your elected officials on the Secretary of State’s website: https://www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do
If you have any further questions about these amendments, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office. As always, it is a pleasure to serve you!
Bleckley and Laurens Counties Awarded GDOT Projects
ATLANTA (August 22, 2018) | The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) recently announced that a project contract to renovate several bridges along I-16 in Bleckley and Laurens Counties has been awarded. The project, worth $1.59 million, has an estimated completion date of January 31, 2020. Continue reading “Bleckley and Laurens Counties Awarded GDOT Projects”
Sen. Larry Walker Appointed to Senate Study Committees and Georgia Joint Defense Commission
ATLANTA (August 17, 2018) | Sen. Larry Walker (R – Perry) was recently appointed by Lt. Governor Casey Cagle to serve on the Senate Study Committee on Continual Audit Exceptions on Local School Systems, the Senate Study Committee on the Excessive and Duplicative Regulatory Oversight of Community Based Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD), and on the Georgia Joint Defense Commission. Continue reading “Sen. Larry Walker Appointed to Senate Study Committees and Georgia Joint Defense Commission”
Update from the Capitol: The Water Wars
By: Sen. Larry Walker (R – Perry)
Now that we are in the full-swing of summer, I thought it would be a good time to discuss in further detail some of the things that are happening around our state and nation that will have a direct effect on both our community and potential legislation that could be introduced next year. As you have probably heard, one of the branches of our federal government that has been especially busy over the past several weeks is the Supreme Court of the United States.
As farmers and those with knowledge of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin know, the issue of who owns and has the rights to river water usage is not a new topic of debate. Rather, it has been something Georgia, Florida and Alabama have been “fighting” about since the 1980s. The “water wars” civil suit started when a dispute over the rights of the ACF water basin progressed into Florida suing Georgia for “equitable apportionment” in 2013. The inability to come to an intergovernmental agreement, or settle, meant that the “water wars” case reached as high as the Supreme Court of the United States heard Florida v. Georgia.
The Supreme Court of the United States reached the end of their court session on June 27, 2018 and handed out several landmark decisions. One of the decisions that was decided at the 11th hour was the judgement on whether to send the Florida v. Georgia case back to a special master (a person appointed by the Supreme Court to settle historic or geographic disputes between states) or whether they should rule on the rights of the ACF basin. In a close 5-4 decision, the court decided to send the case back to the special master.
Because of this, the rights of our water and whether or not Georgia’s usage should be regulated more is a decision that is yet to be made. And while we tried to come to an agreement between the states, we could not reach a solid consensus on what to do. The reason this affects us in Middle Georgia especially is because the Flint River, which runs just west of our district, combines with the Chattahoochee (which is partially located in Alabama, which is why they are also involved in the “water wars”) to create the Apalachicola River in Florida. This empties into the Apalachicola Bay and sustains a diverse fishing and oyster industry. The state of Florida is claiming that the usage of water from the Flint by both the city of Atlanta and farmers along the upper and lower Flint is having a negative, detrimental effect on the oyster industry. However, Georgia argues that we are using a sustainable amount of water and that the decline in oysters is not a direct impact of the water usage of farmers and citizens.
Senate Bill 451 is a bill I introduced this session that will help us to more accurately monitor the amount of water used by farms across the Flint River Basin. This bill, which was signed by Gov. Nathan Deal and went into effect on July 1, 2018, removes the permit fee associated with an application for farm water use and codifies the 2016 transfer of metering responsibilities from State Soil and Water Conservation Commission (SWCC) to the GA Environmental Protection Division (EPD), consolidating all agricultural water metering tasks in one State agency. It also requires EPD to contract out installations of new meters, maintenance, repairs and replacements of all existing meters and the reading and reporting of all meters. I think that this bill is a good step forward to allow us to continue monitoring water usage to prove our farmers are good stewards of water.
I look forward to the implementation of all of this bill and hope that you do too. New laws can help keep Georgians safe, educated and connected, making Georgia a place everyone wants to call home, and this new law could help us end a decades long dispute. If I can be of service to you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact my office.
# # # #
Sen. Larry Walker serves as an Administration Floor Leader. He represents the 20th Senate District, which includes Bleckley, Laurens, Pulaski Counties and most of Houston County. He may be reached at his Atlanta office at 404.656.7454 or by email at larry.walker@senate.ga.gov.