Including this post, the full DIS “Chuck Payne” file here.
From the Office of Lt. Governor, Geoff Duncan:
Senate Announces New Committee Chairs
Today, Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan and the Senate Committee on Assignments announced new standing committee chairs for the first session of the 156th Georgia General Assembly.
“These committee chairs are uniquely qualified to develop real and lasting solutions aimed at building a better Georgia,” said Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan. “The Senate will continue to prioritize diligent committee work and sound public policy, and I look forward to working closely with each one of our chairs, and their committee members, as we work to enact policies that advance both the lives and livelihoods of all Georgians.”
The following members were named to chair standing committees:
Sen. Larry Walker (R – 20) will serve as chair of the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee.
Sen. Blake Tillery (R – 19) will serve as chair of the Appropriations Committee.
Sen. Matt Brass (R – 28) will serve as chair of the Banking and Financial Institutions Committee.
Sen. Bruce Thompson (R – 14) will serve as chair of the Economic Development and Tourism Committee.
–>Sen. Chuck Payne (R – 54) will serve as chair of the Education and Youth Committee.
Sen. Max Burns (R – 23) will serve as chair of the Ethics Committee.
Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R – 52) will serve as chair of the Finance Committee.
Sen. Marty Harbin (R – 16) will serve as chair of the Government Oversight Committee.
Sen. Ben Watson (R – 1) will serve as chair of the Health and Human Services Committee.
Sen. Lindsey Tippins (R – 37) will serve as chair of the Higher Education Committee.
Sen. Dean Burke (R – 11) will serve as chair of the Insurance and Labor Committee.
Sen. Donzella James (D – 35) will serve as chair of the Interstate Cooperation Committee.
Sen. Brian Strickland (R – 17) will serve as chair of the Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Tyler Harper (R – 7) will serve as chair of the Natural Resources and the Environment Committee.
Sen. John Albers (R – 56) will serve as chair of the Public Safety Committee.
Sen. John F. Kennedy (R – 18) will serve as chair of the Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee.
Sen. Bill Cowsert (R – 46) will serve as chair of the Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee.
Sen. Randy Robertson (R – 29) will serve as chair of the Retirement Committee.
Sen. Jeff Mullis (R – 53) will serve as chair of the Rules Committee.
Sen. Greg Dolezal (R – 27) will serve as chair of the Science and Technology Committee.
Sen. Jennifer Jordan (D – 6) will serve as chair of the Special Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Lee Anderson (R – 24) will serve as chair of the State and Local Governmental Operations Committee.
Sen. Ed Harbison (D – 15) will serve as chair of the State Institutions and Property Committee.
Sen. Frank Ginn (R – 47) will serve as chair of the Transportation Committee.
Sen. Lester Jackson (D – 2) will serve as chair of the Urban Affairs Committee.
Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick (R – 32) will serve as chair of the Veterans, Military, and Homeland Security Committee.
A comprehensive list of committee appointments can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1U2QQpTlfaf1NvGpKoHNEGK6eYnWgrgWARBPqVqmctfA/edit?usp=sharing
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Press Contact:
Macy McFall
Deputy Chief of Staff &
Director of Communications
Office: 404-463-1380
Republicans’ Georgia election troubles went deep down the ballot last month, including losing two sheriff’s jobs that flipped to Democrats, both of whom have promised to end cooperative agreements with ICE.
Craig Owens, the winner in Cobb County, has said he wants to suspend all dealings with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Keybo Taylor, in Gwinnett County, hasn’t gone that far but is planning to cancel the 287(g) agreement that effectively deputizes the county’s officers to begin the deportation process for deportable migrants booked into local jails.
The results could be devastating to ICE.
Gwinnett this year ranks third of all U.S. counties in migrants flagged for deportation, with the vast majority of those coming out of the 287(g) program.
In Athens-Clarke County doesn’t take part in 287(g), but the incoming sheriff, who unseated a fellow Democrat in a primary this year, campaigned on a promise of refusing other forms of cooperation with ICE, effectively creating a sanctuary.
Named after the section of immigration law that created it, the 287(g) program allows ICE to sign partnership agreements with state and local law enforcement. Officers and deputies go through ICE training and can then begin the deportation process for migrants who come through their prisons or jails and are removable under the law.
There used to be another side to 287(g). The task force model trained officers and deputies who went out on patrol, but the Obama administration canceled those agreements.
The Obama team did, though, see value in the jail model. It argued that immigrants with rap sheets were worthy targets for deportation.
Immigrant rights activists disagree. They say too many migrants are being snared for what they consider to be relatively low-level offenses.
Activists have pressured some of the country’s largest jurisdictions to withdraw from the program and, in many cases, to refuse cooperation at all.
Prince William County in Virginia allowed its 287(g) program to lapse this summer. Los Angeles County’s sheriff canceled all cooperation in August.
All told, 28 jurisdictions have ended 287(g) deals, according to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.
Still, more jurisdictions are enrolled now than were at the start off the Trump administration, thanks to strenuous efforts by ICE and sheriffs who see value in cooperating.
In Gwinnett, Sheriff Butch Conway decided to step down after 24 years and didn’t run this year. He said the 287(g) program cut his jail population over the past decade, even as the county grew by more than 300,000 residents.
He said working with ICE helped keep the deportation agency’s own efforts focused on criminals while protecting illegal immigrants who managed to keep clean rap sheets.
“I had been with ICE prior to implementing the program when they attempted to apprehend subjects and took anyone at the location they found without documentation into custody to be deported. Under 287(g), this didn’t occur,” Sheriff Conway told The Washington Times.
Neither Mr. Taylor nor Mr. Owens responded to multiple requests for comment from The Washington Times, but both confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this month that they will follow through on their promises to curtail cooperation.
The Times reached out to a number of Georgia-based migrant rights groups, but none replied for this article.
Not all will go free if Mr. Taylor holds to his promise to cooperate with ICE detainer requests. But without deputies on duty 24/7, some will be released without ICE having a chance to pick them up.
ICE is still holding out hope for some cooperation…