Local lawmakers say ballot question votes could influence Legislature

Published 9:00 am Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Georgia voters overwhelming voted “yes” on a pair of non-binding ballot questions on ethics reform, and local lawmakers say they believe the General Assembly will act on those results when it meets again in January.

On the July 31 Republican primary ballot, voters were asked, “Do you support ending the current practice of unlimited gifts from lobbyists to state legislators by imposing a $100 cap on such gifts?” Statewide, 87.22 percent of Republican voters approved such a cap.

The Democratic ballot asked, “Do you support ending the current practice permitting unlimited gifts from lobbyists to state legislators?” Statewide, 72.56 percent of Democrats voted to limit gifts from lobbyists to legislators.

Each party controls its own ballot, so the questions they asked were different.

Dalton pharmacist Bruce Broadrick, who won the Republican primary for state House of Representatives District 4 (no Democrat qualified), says there’s only one way to interpret the large number supporting a limit on gifts to lobbyists.

“That’s a mandate from the voters that it needs to be addressed,” he said.

Locally, 82.26 percent of Republican voters in Murray County and 86.93 percent of Republicans in Whitfield County supported capping gifts by lobbyists. On the Democratic side, 73.66 percent of Democrats in Murray County supported limiting gifts from lobbyists, while 75.27 percent of Democrats in Whitfield County supported limiting gifts from lobbyists.

State Sen. Charlie Bethel, R-Dalton, said these numbers “will definitely push this issue to the front of the agenda.”

“The voters have certainly sent a message that this is something they are in favor of,” he said.

State Rep. Tom Dickson, R-Cohutta, said he expects legislation will be introduced in both the House and Senate to limit lawmakers’ gifts.

“There’s a decent chance it will pass. That depends on how it is worded,” Dickson said.

But some lawmakers said the measure might be included in a larger bill to reform state ethics laws and not as a single-issue bill.

Both the state Senate and the state House are controlled by the Republican Party, and GOP members may be looking at the results of other questions on the July 31 Republican primary ballot.

“I think legislators are going to be looking not just at the statewide vote but on how the vote went in their districts,” Dickson said.

For instance, 65.67 percent of GOP voters voted yes when asked, “Should the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide that the paramount right to life is vested in each innocent human being from his or her earliest biological beginning without regard to age, race, sex, health, function, or condition of dependency?” Local lawmakers say they expect a “right to life” constitutional amendment will be introduced in the next session. But they say it isn’t clear that supporters of such an amendment have enough votes to pass it.

“It would be an unusual session if there was no legislation introduced dealing with that issue,” Dickson said.

It requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers to put an amendment to the state constitution on the ballot. The GOP currently controls 116 seats, or 64 percent, in the state House and 34 seats, or 64 percent, in the state Senate.

“If you want to pass a constitutional amendment, you need support from both parties,” Dickson said.

Democrats did not include that question on their ballot.

Republican voters also gave a slight thumbs up to casino gambling.

Statewide, 50.23 percent of GOP voters said yes when asked “Should Georgia have casino gambling with funds going to education?” In Murray County, 57.9 percent of Republicans said yes to that question, but in Whitfield County, just 47.59 percent of Republicans supported casino gambling.

“The Democrats didn’t poll that question, so we don’t know how that part of the electorate feels. But to make that amendment to the constitution, you are going to need a two-thirds vote in the Legislature, so I don’t think that vote is a strong indication that in this upcoming session you will see that issue move,” Bethel said. “But it certainly extends an ongoing debate.”