Government

Government

County to buy detectives gear to record interviews
Equipment purchases approved Monday will allow Colquitt County detectives to record interviews with suspects in criminal cases.

February 21, 2012
City celebrates Arbor Day
February 17, 2012 1 Photo
Legislative update — 2/13/2012
February 13, 2012
Protecting Georgians
After passing the amended FY 2012 budget last week, we returned to the State Capitol on Monday, February 6th to begin our fifth week of the 2012 session. While we continued to work on legislation aimed at creating jobs and reducing bureaucratic red tape, we also took steps to increase safety for Georgia families and children.

February 13, 2012
A Penny for My Thoughts 2/10/2012
The House of Representatives passed the budget and in record time! Representatives passed out the budget on legislative day 13 by a unanimous vote. The estimated net increase to the Amended 2012 budget is $255 million, or 1.39% in total funds. The overall budget totals have allowed the Governor to provide the full 1 % mid-year adjustment for education. Despite the overall increase in state funds, state agencies were still asked to reduce their spending by approximately 2%.

February 13, 2012
HOPE on a Tightrope
The lottery funding model is broken. HOPE Program expenditures outpace lottery revenues and are expected to increase while lottery revenue growth is expected to flatten. The Georgia Student Finance Commission projects that the HOPE Program will run a deficit of $163 million by FY 2016, which may result in HOPE awards that cover less than half of tuition costs by FY 2016. Georgia cannot afford to prolong Lottery Fund reform. Failure to adequately address HOPE's fiscal challenges threatens the future value of both Georgia's Pre-K and HOPE programs.

February 13, 2012
Amended FY 2012 budget passes the House
This was a very busy week at the Capitol. As a member of the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, there were several scheduled agriculture events that I had the privilege of attending. It is always a pleasure to be in the company of those that are friends of agriculture, such as, Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, Jack Spruill, Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall and others. Dr. David Bridges of ABAC and Dr. Joe West of the UGA-Tifton Campus were in town for some of these events, and it is always nice to have homefolk visit me in Atlanta. I was also honored to represent the House on behalf of Speaker David Ralston as Governor Nathan Deal swore in Mark Mobley from Colquitt County as a member of the Department of Natural Resources Board. I am proud to have Mark representing the interests of south Georgia as related to the duties of the DNR.

February 13, 2012
City: Land bank would help with dilapidated buildings
In a short but eventful meeting Tuesday, the Moultrie City Council voted to take another step toward dealing with abandoned properties and, in a separate action, voted to increase the hotel-motel tax to benefit the Colquitt County Arts Center.
Both actions will require the approval of other agencies to take effect.

February 8, 2012
Legislative update — 2/4/2012
February 4, 2012
Community Health in Fiscal Year 2013
February 2, 2012
More Government Headlines