Incumbent Republican Steve Davis announced he is running for his fifth House term in the new District 109, which covers parts of Rockdale, Newton and Henry counties.

“It has been a great honor to represent this district for the last eight years and I am glad that I have been able to deliver on the promises of my original campaign,” Davis said in a written statement. “I have focused much of my attention on education, transportation and public safety.”

He said his experience and committee seats makes him better able to serve voters. “I believe I’m sitting in a place that would be in the best interest of all the voters to keep,” he said. “There’s still a lot of work to do. I believe this is not the time to try and retrain someone and give up the experience and leadership.”

Davis serves as Chairman of the Information and Audits and is a member on the Appropriations, Insurance, Transportation, State Planning and Community Affairs, State Institutions and Properties Committees.

Davis, a real estate developer, counts an education bill as one of his proudest achievements. HB 186, passed in 2011, requires students to map out “career pathways” among other things.

“I think it’s one of the crowning achievements in my eight years – that College and Career Readiness bill. It has so many things,” he said. “That puts more emphasis on workforce skills in high school coursework. We felt as though our job is not just to teach them to read and write but to give them marketable skills when they get out in the workforce.”

He said he supports the referendum to amend the state Constitution on charter school creation by the state.

Transportation has been a focal point of his work in Henry County. “We are still way behind on infrastructure,” regarding high growth areas in metro-Atlanta, said Davis.

On the upcoming referendum for the regional transportation penny sales tax, or TSPLOST, Davis said he has no stance. “It’s up to the voters to decide.” He said he fought to ensure smaller counties such as Rockdale and Henry would have equal representation at the transportation regional roundtable.

Other work he highlights includes a sex offender registry bill and a bill allowing independent contractors and small businesses to pool together for insurance purposes.

The newly drawn House District 109 picks up the Magnet and Barksdale precincts in Rockdale and Downs and Livingston precincts in Newton while shifting out of Henry County on the west. Davis said he was pleased with the redistricting.

Henry County businessman Dale Rutledge recently announced his bid for the Republican nomination for District 109.

Davis said he is no stranger to facing challengers. He faced Republican, Democratic and Libertarian challengers in his first election in 2004 and a primary or general election challenger each term since.

Davis and his wife Melissa have three children and live in Kelleytown area of Henry County.

His campaign will host a fundraising “grill-out” and meet and greet on May 9, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., at JP Mosely Park, 1042 Millers Mill Road, Stockbridge.

For more information, contact repstevedavis@gmail.com or go to http://steve-davis.org.

Yesterday Gov. Nathan Deal signed HB 397 into law. The law is a comprehensive re-write of Georgia’s Open Meetings and Open Records Acts. The bill won sweeping, bipartisan approval by the General Assembly this year. The new law is now in effect.

I appreciate Gov. Deal demonstrating his support of government transparency by signing HB 397, which clarifies and strengthens Georgia’s Open Meetings and Open Records Laws. I am also deeply grateful to the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jay Powell, and all of the stakeholders who worked tirelessly to craft a law that is fair and balanced. The new law does the following:

• Makes clear that final votes must be taken in public, including on real estate transactions;
• Clarifies and streamlines how government officials must respond to a request;
• Lowers the cost of records from 25 cents to 10 cents a page;
• Enables government to act more efficiently by permitting certain meetings by teleconference in emergency situations;
• Requires minutes in closed meetings with review by a court when a challenge is filed;
• Allows the Attorney General to bring civil or criminal actions against violators;
• Increases fines for violations to a maximum of $1000, and up to $2500 for additional violations within a year; (Prior fines were a maximum of $100 for an Open Records violation and a maximum of $500 for an Open Meetings violation)
• Updates language regarding trade secrets and electronic documents to ensure transparency is not compromised by technological advances; and
• Incorporates various court rulings to simplify the law.

I appreciate the many hours Rep. Powell dedicated to perfecting the bill and shepherding it through the legislative process. It was a pleasure to work with all of the dedicated stakeholders, including the Georgia Press Association, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the First Amendment Foundation, ACCG, GMA, and many other key groups. Their tireless efforts ensured that the final product was a fair and balanced law that will serve all Georgians well.

The 2012 session of the Georgia General Assembly saw many additional key and productive bills pass the General Assembly that will be signed into law in the coming months.

HB 237:  Presently, Georgia law only criminalizes fraud during the mortgage process, but specifically does not penalize similar fraud in the foreclosure process. HB 237, sponsored by Rep. Rich Golick, will make foreclosure fraud a crime in Georgia. During the recent housing crisis, foreclosure fraud has been an enormous problem in our state, but we have not had the tools to prosecute abuse. HB 237 will offer new protections to Georgia borrowers during every stage of the lending process and provide the tools necessary prosecute misconduct.

SB 181:  SB 181, sponsored by Senators Charlie Bethel and Tommie Williams, makes clear that prosecutors may not hire private lawyers on a contingency-fee basis to handle civil forfeiture cases.  I issued a letter last year stating that the practice runs contrary to the national standards governing state prosecutors and may constitute a due process violation of the U.S. and Georgia constitutions.  The legislation, which was introduced last year, says that no lawyer hired to prosecute forfeitures can be paid “on a contingent basis from proceeds arising in or resulting from a forfeiture action” or under “an hourly or fixed fee arrangement that is contingent from proceeds” from the case. This ensures that the exercise of prosecutorial authority, even in the civil arena, will remain fully motivated by the interests of justice and not personal financial gain.

I am pleased that the Law Department has had a successful legislative session with the passage of several key pieces of legislation that will better protect or citizens and improve our government. I appreciate the strong support of our legislative priorities by Gov. Nathan Deal and the House and Senate leadership. I am also proud of the great work of the dedicated lawyers of in our office, who contributed much time and effort during the session.

To view press coverage of these bills, please click on links below.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC
AJC – Opinions
Marietta Daily Journal
Athens Daily Banner

It continues to be my honor to serve you as Georgia Attorney General.

Sincerely,

Georgia Attorney General

As you might have heard, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments over the constitutionality of the president’s health care law this week. I was very pleased by the Court’s decision to review this terribly flawed law, and I have followed this week’s events very closely. In June, we will learn the Court’s decision on some of the major components of the law, including whether the mandate requiring all Americans to purchase health insurance is constitutional.

I am hopeful that the Court will see the president’s health care law as I see it: a terribly flawed, unconstitutional law that seeks to put the government in charge of your health care.  I recognize that our health care system is not perfect and that we still have work to do. In the Senate, will continue to work to repeal the law and replace it with market-based solutions to contain the costs of health care and increase patient choice through competition in the private-sector.

No matter the outcome of this ruling, the Obama administration has gone too far. Please help me continue to fight these kinds of government overreaches that limit our freedom by investing $25, $50, $100, $200, $1,000 or $2,000 in my campaign today.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Johnny Isakson

This morning, the Supreme Court heard two hours of argument on the constitutionality of the individual mandate—the requirement that individuals obtain health insurance or face a financial penalty. Georgia, along with fellow plaintiffs, argues that Congress lacks constitutional authority to force individuals who are not participating in the insurance market to enter the market and purchase a government-prescribed insurance product. Click here for a transcript of today’s argument.

Authority that is not expressly granted to the federal government by the Constitution is left to the states. Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government given the jurisdiction to force an individual to participate in commerce. If the individual mandate, the linchpin of the law, is not stricken, there are no conceivable limits on federal power. The idea that the federal government can compel individuals to purchase a product is a radical one and is completely at odds with the Constitution and principle of federalism.

I will be attending the final day of oral arguments in the Supreme Court tomorrow. Tomorrow’s schedule is as follows:

• Wednesday, March 28, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
  • At 10 a.m., the Court will hear 90 minutes on the issue of severability.
  • At 1 p.m., the Court will hear one hour of argument on expansion of Medicaid programs.

The Court is expected to issue a decision by the end of June 2012. For more information on the health care lawsuit, please visit http://www.healthcarelawsuit.us.

It is my honor to serve you as Georgia Attorney General.

Sincerely,

I am pleased to represent Georgia on Monday as the entire nation watches this historic healthcare reform suit reach the highest court of our country. I, along with 25 other attorneys general, the National Federation of Independent Business and four individual plaintiffs will begin oral arguments to defend Americans’ individual liberty before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has allotted an unprecedented six hours of time for oral argument, which will conclude on Wednesday, March 28. Paul Clement, former U.S. Solicitor General, will argue on behalf of the states. I have the honor of being only one of six attorneys general present for Monday’s argument.

This case raises the most consequential Constitutional question of our lifetime: whether or not the Congress has the power to force individuals to purchase a product.  The Constitution clearly places limits on the authority of the federal government, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act flagrantly exceeds that authority.

Today marks the second anniversary of President Obama signing the healthcare bill into law. This case will determine if the federalist system, as envisioned by our Founding Fathers, remains intact or if there is no limit to the power of the federal government to regulate personal decisions of citizens, such as healthcare.

The argument schedule is as follows:

• Monday, March 26, 10 a.m. 
  • The Court will hear 90 minutes of argument on the federal Anti-Injunction Act.
• Tuesday, March 27, 10 a.m.
  • The Court will hear two hours of argument on the constitutionality of the individual mandate.
• Wednesday, March 28, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
  • At 10 a.m., the Court will hear 90 minutes on the issue of severability.
  • At 1 p.m., the Court will hear one hour of argument on expansion of Medicaid programs.

The Court is expected to issue a decision by the end of June 2012. For more information on the health care lawsuit, please visit http://www.healthcarelawsuit.us/.

It is my honor to serve you as Georgia Attorney General.

Sincerely,