Governor Deal Announces creation of 9-1-1 Authority 

The Governor issued an Executive Order creating the Local Government 9-1-1 Authority that will go into effect July 1,2017.  The Authority will have its first meeting in late July or early August.  One of the primary goals for the Authority will be to recommend legislation for next year.  More information can be found here. 

Georgia Secure Deposit Program

The passing of SB 283 established a multi bank contingent liability pledging pool to protect public deposits. This program beginning July 1 will be overseen by the Georgia State Treasurer. The goal of the Georgia Secure Deposit Program is to ensure that certain banks are required to fully protect all public deposits in excess of FDIC insurance limits. Banks that are not mandated will continue providing coverage under the direct-pledging method or the single-bank Georgia State Pledging Pool Program. Find out if your bank is obligated to follow this new program. Click here to read the full article provided by the Georgia Bankers Association.

Ethics Commission Seeking Comment on Proposed Rule

The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission (GGTCFC), commonly known as the Ethics Commission, has proposed a new rule requiring local election superintendents to report to the state whether a candidate has filed all required documents/reports by the required date (see attached New Rule 189-7-.03).  This is to facilitate the GGTCFC’s ability to enforce the state’s ethics laws and collection of fines.   
  Additionally, the GGTCFC is:

• Seeking guidance as to what accounting periods and principles are to be used by public officers and candidates for public office on their Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report (CCDR) (see attached AO 2017-01);
  
• Advising that a public officer who is term barred from seeking reelection should follow the non-election year filing schedule for filing their CCDR (see attached AO 2017-02); and
  
• Advising that the payment of a qualifying fee by a candidate with the candidate’s personal funds is not a campaign contribution that has to be filed, but the payment of a qualifying fee by someone other than the candidate is a reportable campaign contribution (see attached AO 2017-03). 

While the GGTCFC’s comment period closed on June 13, 2017, please continue to share any comments or concerns you may have with the proposed rule and advisements with ACCG Deputy Legislative Director, Todd Edwards, at tedwards@accg.org.