More Time, More Options

This is the motto of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. On Wednesday June 27, 2010 the Senate Natural Resources Committee had a meeting further addressing the water conservation crisis in Georgia.  In this meeting the department, which is also working closely with those in the business community, projected the cost to be between 26 to 39 billion dollars. This is needed within a working time frame from now until at the latest 2020.  The Department of Natural Resources has two options proposed for congress with a time frame of 2015 and 2020. 2015 deadlines would focus more on incentives to conserve water within the state and the transference of water from other sources. The water transfer systems would only be temporary until new construction or other alternatives came to pass. The 2020 options looks for expanding existing reservoirs and building new ones as well as large focus on dredging .It was also discussed to look into possibly transferring water from Lake Burton.

A big idea that is picking up wind in the General Assembly is that of sub-metering, which is used to more accurately measure and charge water consumption in multi-family residential communities. Members of the business community spoke today and developed a strategy of CONSERVE, CAPTURE and CONTROL. They would like to help the environment by promoting conservation through building materials, and turning some of those incentive programs proposed by the Department of Natural Resources into mandates for the general population. They want to focus on capturing as much water as possible through innovative ideas and new sources. From there the plan would be to control the water by transferring it to places that need it. Obviously the road to conserving water in Georgia is not one that will be easy but at least progressive discussions by our legislators, business leaders, and state departments are being made so that Georgians can have more time and more options for better environmental sustainability.

Governor Perdue Wants to Tap Lottery Funds

With every department affected by Georgia’s budget crunch, Governor Perdue is searching for all sorts of ways to fund the state’s needs.
For the first time since the lottery’s inception the cost of lottery-funded programs will surpass the revenue the games produce. As a result, HOPE scholarship will have to access its reserves to operate this year.
Governor Perdue is proposing to use $34M of the reserve funds to fill the budget gas. This could affect the amount of benefits HOPE recipients can count on.

The League of Women Voters National Office Reacts to Campaign Finance Ruling

The following is a statement by Mary G. Wilson, national president of the League of Women Voters on the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC. The League filed an amicus brief in this case:

“The Supreme Court has made a tragic mistake. Their decision announced today in Citizens United v. FEC is constitutionally irresponsible and will surely bring about an anti-democratic revolution in how we finance elections in this country. Today, basic pillars of American democracy have been undermined – that elections should not be corrupted by vast corporate wealth and that the voters should be at the center of our democratic system.

“Justice Stevens had it right when he said, in his dissent, ‘The Court’s ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the Nation. The path it has taken to reach its outcome will, I fear, do damage to this institution.’

“In creating a new constitutional right for corporations to spend unlimited amounts of their shareholder’s money to determine the outcome in candidate elections, the Court has unleashed into our elections tremendous sums of money from for-profit corporations that cannot possibly be matched in quantity by contributions from ordinary citizens. The only possible outcome of this is that big money and special interests will have an even tighter grip on our democracy.

“Congress and the President enacted campaign finance laws over a series of decades for a reason – to protect our democracy from the perverse influence of big money in our elections. In making this decision, the Court has ignored the best interests of the American public and our representative form of government.”

For Further Information Please Visit
www.lwv.org

Why Not Fund Marta Governor?

Governor Perdue is currently seeking approval in the legislature to borrow 300 million dollars to fund new transportation projects statewide. His plan is to fund road improvements statewide with specific regard to major interstates and highways providing commerce for the state of Georgia. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has also voiced his interest in such an endeavor maintaining that more jobs in Georgia are a must. However, where the money will come from to re-pay this debt is unclear.
The Governor’s proposal is to divided the state into twelve regions and put the penny sales tax to a vote. If passed, Perdue has assured that this tax increase will only fund the repairs and improvements needed in that region where the tax was passed. Such a vague proposal makes it difficult to understand where and what will actually be improved. Especially since in terms of road construction, such a large sum of money may only realistically improve three to four interstate or highway projects. Alternatively, these funds could go towards expanding Marta. In which case transportation issues will continue to be solved, a consistent job market will open up, and a greener environment is sure to follow.

Gov. Perdue Pledges to Come to a Water Consenus.

Governor Perdue plans on calling a special legislative session to deal with the ongoing Lake Lanier im-pass between Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. Since the July ruling last year from Judge Paul Magnuson of the United States District Court, Georgia only has three years to find a new and legitimate source of water.
In the meantime, the State Legislature is working on incentives in the form of rebates and tax credits for conservation driven intitiaties. Another suggestion on the table is inter-basin transfers which is opposed by both rural legislators and Georgia’s environmental community.