bigniorange-blog

[bigniorange-blog]

Local Government. Structure and Powers.

In the city of Atlanta, there exists key officials that are crucial in maintain the great city of Atlanta:

1. Mayor Kim Reed

2. Wyche Fowler: 

3. Ceasar C. Mitchell

4. Kate Wasch 

5. Keisha Lance Bottoms

Powers:

Mayor: can work with unions and sign off on local ordinances

Councilmen from each district: each council member  works in their designated district to better that district through pension plans, ordinances, etc.

City Council President:  works with council members in order to bolster ordinances, initiatives, etc. for the entirety of the city of Atlanta

3 at-large Councilmen

Four year terms in an off-year election

[bigniorange-blog]

-works cited

"10 Thoughts You'll Have When Going Back To School For The New Semester." Gurl.com. N.p., 02 Jan. 2014. Web. 05 May 2017. Administrator. "Board Member Biographies." Board Bios. Atlanta Ethics, n.d. Web. 05 May 2017. "At the DMV without an Appointment." Reaction GIFs. N.p., 20 Feb. 2013. Web. 05 May 2017. "Atlanta City Council." Atlanta City Council. GeorgiaGov, n.d. Web. 05 May 2017. "Atlanta City Council, GA." Atlanta City Council, GA : Ceasar Mitchell. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017. Aued, Blake. "Deal Upbeat about Rising Tax Revenue." Athens Banner-Herald. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017. "Biography." Governor Nathan Deal Office of the Governor. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017. "Biography." Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017. Cluffmeister. "Clueless Driving GIF - Clueless Driving Bimbo - Discover & Share GIFs." Tenor. N.p., 20 Apr. 2016. Web. 05 May 2017. "Elected Officials." GeorgiaGov. GeorgiaGov, n.d. Web. 04 May 2017. "Five Year Financial Plan." City of Atlanta. Department of Finance, n.d. Web. 4 May 2017. "Georgia 2016 Ballot Measures." Ballotpedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017. "Georgia Additional Penalties for Sex Crimes to Fund Services for Sexually Exploited Children, Amendment 2 (2016)." Ballotpedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017. "Georgia Institute of Technology." Prepare a Proposal | Office of Sponsored Programs | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017. "Georgia State Constitution." Georgia Gov. Georgia, n.d. Web. 4 May 2017. "Governor, First Lady Promote Literacy with Read Across Georgia." Governor Nathan Deal Office of the Governor. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017. GPEE:GPEE. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017. "Guide to the Issues: Medical Malpractice." Georgia Public Policy Foundation. N.p., 12 Oct. 2016. Web. 05 May 2017. "Lt Governor Visits Caterpillar | 98.7FM & AM1340 Fox News WGAU." WGAU Radio. N.p., 18 Aug. 2016. Web. 05 May 2017. "Mayor Kasim Reed for Atlanta Magazine." LUCEO. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017. McCauley, Leighanna. "23 Things You Never Knew About 'Gilmore Girls'." Pinterest. N.p., 24 Nov. 2013. Web. 05 May 2017. "Meet The Mayor." City of Atlanta, GA : Mayor's Office. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017. "Popular Annual Financial Report." City of Atlanta. Atlanta Finance Department, n.d. Web. 4 May 2017. "Posts about Parks and Recreation on Head Over Feels." Head Over Feels. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017. "Reasons How T.V. Series The Fosters Depicts Societal Issues." Odyssey. N.p., 05 July 2016. Web. 05 May 2017. "Recall of State Officials." National Conference of State Legislatures. NCSL, 8 Mar. 2016. Web. 5 May 2017. "Recall of State Officials." National Conference of State Legislatures. NCSL, 8 Mar. 2016. Web. 5 May 2017. Rojo, Jaime, and Steve Harrington. "MLK "I Have A Dream": 50 Years Later In The Streets." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 28 Aug. 2013. Web. 04 May 2017. Travel. "Atlanta City in Georgia." Travelling Moods. N.p., 02 July 2015. Web. 05 May 2017. "TSPLOST and MARTA Referenda." City of Atlanta, GA : TSPLOST and MARTA Referenda. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017.

[bigniorange-blog]

-how to pass a bill

One major set back I’ve seen about Atlanta’s progressive funding is the lack of help for failing schools. After the rejection of title one, if I were to propose to fund after school programs recently defunded by the federal government, I would have to follow these steps:

Find Funding

Prepare a written proposal

Route and Submit the proposal

And seek added help from other organization

From there on, it’s up for review from the mayor’s office and it then goes through a city senate and house to determine the outcome of my proposal. Many children relied in programs after school that have been cut because of recent budget changes. These programs keeps kids off the streets and in school which could bolster more positive associations with school and a better opportunity for each child.

[bigniorange-blog]

Together... Shared? State and Local Government in Georgia

The local governments are dependent on the state government; everything that a local government accomplishes is finalized through the state government. Therefore, they enact the power TOGETHER

[bigniorange-blog]

-new ideas

There have been some great initiatives shown in the state and in Atlanta specifically. For example, the Atlanta street car is turning what once was a forgotten means of transportation and offering many services around the inner and outer city are. 

Georgia’s first lady runs Read Across Georgia which provides a large environment for the promotion of reading and extended education within the household.

Both of these programs are state funded and funneled through tax directions in the city/state budget.

A Referendum that brought social change for the city of Atlanta was Amendment two, passed in the past election. This bill adds time and severity to charges of sex offenders, targeting the human traffic scene in Atlanta.

The state of Georgia also passed the TSPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax for transportation) and MARTA expansion. This huge expansion includes the BeltLine expansion, street projects, Bike Sharing, Pedestrian services, and traffic sign updates

Only one recall has been involved in Georgia history, which recalled certain officials during the turnover of presidental administrations. This recall is still pending. As for Atlanta, no recalls have ever been featured in local or district elections. .

[bigniorange-blog]

-special interests

life without medical error

Medical Malpractice is when a patient are operated on and have complications or become injured in the process without compensation. Many of these patients can live painful lives after the operation without any ability to pay for the large bills that follow.

Well what plans are set in place in the state?

A call to eliminate the inefficient and expensive court system that accompanies

cases for medical malpractice

Reliance on a worker’s compensation-type systems

System of voluntary, no-fault contracts where patients or families are compensated

Is there any floor support?

There is not a lot of support for changing medical malpractices because lawmakers

believe that it would be more expensive than less expensive to follow through with cases

This topic is important because as healthy practices continue to develop, more people should be able to access safe procedures that will allow them to continue

[bigniorange-blog]

-funding

Local and State government share most aspects of government. Funding for bills, innovations, and internal improvements. They follow a similar structure, however, Atlanta stated in their annual report that: 

Adopted for the General Fund, Special Revenue Funds, and Debt service Funds

Annual appropriated funds approved by the Mayor and Council

Expendatures controlled by the City Charter

Made up of three sections:

Governmental

Business type

Component units

Two main sources of Revenue: Program and General

Program: main source and is made up for service charges and operating and capital grants

General is primary for governmental funds (prop and sales tax)

Where does the money come from?

Taxes are 80%

Fines and forfeitures make up around 5%

Sales tax are about 20%

[bigniorange-blog]

-services

The state’s government is focused on providing the best possible resources and environments for their citizens. This being said, let’s review some of the actual  services the government of Georgia provides:

Department of Transportation: maintain safety on roadways

Department of Education: oversees public education throughout the state; makes sure money is allocated to schools in need of federal funds

Department of Human Services: promote stronger families

Department of Human Services investigates child and elderly abuse, facilitates adoption and foster parenting, accepts applications for Medicaid, etc.

Department of Driver Services: serves the public by offering commercial and regular passenger vehicle driver’s licenses, driver's permits, and state identification cards

Department of Labor:

[bigniorange-blog]

-state powers

Through the state Constitution, powers are awarded and divided based on funding, importance, and relevance in Georgia’s ever changing society. Here are some highlights on what these powers actually are:

“ The executive branch is headed by the Governor. The judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Court. Besides providing for the organization of these branches, the Constitution carefully outlines which powers each branch may exercise. The current Georgia State Constitution was ratified on November 2, 1982.”- (x)

The General Assembly: State Senate and House of Representatives

General Assembly is organized into different Districts that is organized by info garnered from the decennial census

General Assembly makes state laws.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant Governor: President of the Senate

Court System: District Court, Court of Appeals, Supreme Court

Superior courts have jurisdiction over all proceedings

Taxation is under complete control of the state unless otherwise noted

[bigniorange-blog]

-structure

Georgia’s government operates around the constitution of Georgia, providing a direct outline to procedures, laws, and understandings. Within the State government, five key players work together to create the structure:

1. Governor Nathan Deal, in office since 2011, has helped create over 575,000 private sector jobs and has aided the state to become the number one state for business for the last four years. Small and large business alike have benefited from his workforce initiatives and tax reforms that have elevated the growing appeal of Georgia as a place of business and growth.

2. Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle: As a young man living in a single parent household, Cagle learned the meaning of hard work and determination through his ever determined mother. After a serious injury in highschool, his dreams of pursuing professional football were replaced with a new definition of the American vision and dream. He budded into a successful business owner, founding Southern Heritage Bank in 1999. He later became a successful lawmaker and ascended into the position of Lt. Gov as the first republican to hold the second highest office in Georgia’s government.

3. Attorney General Chris Carr: An esteemed lawyer within business and traditional sectors, Carr is a constitutionalist and is looking to promote expansion of business and job opportunities.

 The two last tiers of the administration involve Secretary of State Brian P. Kemp and State School Superintendent Richard Woods who work towards expanding both education and interstate relations to add prospect and value to the next generations.

[bigniorange-blog]

Spotted in Woodruff Park! Happy Thanksgiving, @ATLStreetcar! 😊🚎 #ATLstreetcar #downtownATL #weloveATL (at Woodruff Park)

[bigniorange-blog]

@rcfatl #RyanCameron Mayor #KasimReed @v103atlanta @cityofatlanta Host of the @atlstreetcar #atlstreetcar #AtlantaStreetcar ceremony #Atlanta (at Atlanta, Georgia)

[bigniorange-blog]

Republicans had hoped Tuesday’s special election in Georgia’s wealthy and sleepy 6th Congressional District would be just like every other House race here since 1978: the mostly painless elevation of a rock-ribbed and polished conservative.

Those hopes have died. 

Now, this suburban swath north of Atlanta resembles the cracked mirror of the GOP’s national identity crisis, with 11 candidates bitterly feuding over what it means to be a Republican in the age of President Trump.

That crowded field is roiled by nerves about Trump and lingering internecine dramas over ideological purity. And with next year’s midterm elections beginning to take shape, the race’s currents could reverberate far beyond the white college-educated professionals along Interstate 285, regardless of which candidate emerges from the scrum Tuesday.

“You’ve got a miniature civil war going on there,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), an ally of House GOP leaders. “We’re all paying attention, since anything can happen in a special.”

The splintered GOP has raised the possibility that the leading Democratic candidate, 30-year-old former congressional staffer Jon Ossoff, could win Tuesday’s election outright with more than 50 percent of the vote, thus claiming an open House seat previously held by Trump’s health and human services secretary, Tom Price.