ATLANTA (February 19, 2015) | Sens. Elena Parent (D – Atlanta) and Gloria Butler (D – Stone Mountain) on Tuesday dropped Senate Bills 118, 120 and 121, three pieces of legislation that will work together to increase transparency in DeKalb governmental operations.
“Sen. Butler and I worked together to draft a legislative package aimed at providing greater transparency between the DeKalb County government and the citizens they govern,” said Sen. Parent. “We must maintain an open door policy to ensure our local government is held to the highest ethical and moral standards when making decisions that impact the county as a whole.”
“It is very clear that the people are sick and tired of the status quo of today’s governmental operations,” said Sen. Butler. “This is why we are working to ensure the citizens of DeKalb have an ethical and transparent government.”
SB 118, sponsored by Sen. Butler, strengthens DeKalb County’s code of ethics by, among many things, establishing the full-time salaried position of an Ethics Officer, increasing the Board of Ethics’ ability to investigate complaints and establishing new language that clearly defines what constitutes conflicts-of-interest.
SB 120, sponsored by Sen. Parent, establishes procedures and limitations for purchases made by DeKalb County including requiring formal sealed bids from all purchases exceeding $50,000.00, the County Commission must approve all purchases and contracts exceeding $100,000.00, with the exception of employment contracts, and any vendor requiring more than one contract within one Fiscal Year requires approval by the commission.
SB 121, sponsored by Sen. Parent, will allow the DeKalb County government to conduct independent internal audits to provide objective information on the operations of government programs, assist managers in carrying out their responsibilities, and help to ensure transparency and accountability to the public. The audits will determine whether government funds are being handled properly and in compliance with current laws and regulations.
All three bills have been read and referred to the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee.
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For Information Contact:
Jennifer Yarber, Director
Brittany Wagner, Communications Specialist
brittany.wagner@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028