South Cobb Representatives Want Reform

South Cobb state representatives Alisha Morgan (D-Austell) and David Wilkerson (D-Austell) discussed reform of various state systems and processes, including the criminal justice system and higher education access for undocumented students, with nearly 30 stakeholders at their town hall meeting on Thursday.

Criminal Justice Commission

Morgan spoke about the push for a Criminal Justice Commission, which would help provide new solutions to reform Georgia’s criminal justice system.

These solutions include more drug courts, which would provide services to individuals with drug and substance abuse issues, instead of throwing them in jail, which proves ineffective and the individuals’ rehabilitation and costly for the state.

“Reserve prison beds for the people who are criminals,” Morgan said.

Drug-Testing for State Assistance

Morgan said one set of proposed bills that she is “irritated by quite frankly” would require drug testing for recipients of state assistance, such as unemployment benefits or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF.)

That the set of bills is backed by people, such as Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock),  “makes me believe that it does have some teeth,” Morgan said.

Wilkerson said the bill “is a good election year bill for them,” but also something that its supporters truly believe in because they are unaware of its impact on people who have different experiences than they have had.

“There’s a bigger world out there,” Wilkerson said, later adding that because the legislators are from various parts of the state and thus, various walks of life, “you bring that experience to a different part of the state.”

“Until you have the experience yourself, I think you are less likely to understand the experiences of someone else,” Morgan agreed.

To order drug testing of people who have been laid off and are struggling to pay a mortgage or put food on the table “sends the wrong message,” Morgan told South Cobb Patch on Tuesday.

According to Morgan, 31 states have introduced a similar bill in their legislatures.

Private College Student IDs as Approved Form of Voter Verification

Morgan has already filed House Bill 707, which will allow students attending private colleges to use their student IDs to vote. Currently, students attending public colleges and universities can use their student IDs as form of verification when voting.

“This bill provides some parity, I think,” Morgan said.

College Access for Undocumented Immigrant Students

Morgan plans to craft a bill to allow undocumented immigrant students access to all state colleges and universities.

In 2011, Morgan sat with the students , which is now the Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011. Students were also dismayed about an October 2010 ruling from the state Board of Regents, which barred undocumented students from attending to the state’s top five colleges or universities. The students can attend if they pay out-of-state tuition.

 “The worst thing you can do to a child is limit their opportunities because of something that their parents did,” Morgan said.

When asked for a show of hands of people who would support such a bill, several people in the audience of about 25 raised their hands. Morgan asked for a show of hands from anyone who would oppose it, and not one hand went up.

“If I was ever wondering if I should do something about it, I think I just got some confirmation,” Morgan said.

Although Wilkerson does not plan to propose any such bill, he supports finding a solution that would allow undocumented students to have attainable higher education options once they graduate from high school.

“What we did was definitely not the answer,” Wilkerson said about the Board of Regents’ decision.

“Once a child gets to ninth grade and realizes he cannot go on to college…These kids are going to do something else and get involved in crime. They’re going to need to get food somehow. We need to provide hope and opportunity for those who are working for it,” Wilkerson said.

Morgan said she had struggled with the decision of introducing such a bill and is fully aware of the adverse reaction she will receive, but with the support of her constituents, she feels better about moving forward with the cause.

Morgan, who is married to Cobb Board of Education member David Morgan, champions education causes, and she is helping organizing the new charter school, .

“I just see this as an education issue,” Morgan said. “I’m a public servant, not a politician. I’m not going to look at another child and tell them ‘No, I’m not going to do anything.’ I need to speak for them when they can’t speak for themselves.”

Tax Changes

For Wilkerson, the biggest focus is on tax bills.

“When you start messing around with tax laws, it has a lot of unintended consequences…We don’t necessarily have a spending problem, we have an income problem,” he said.

Sales tax collection is a flawed system, Wilkerson explained. Until the state can identify better ways to collect sales taxes, they should “find another way to pay for it (costs.)”

“Our job is to see how they want to pay for that energy tax,” Wilkerson said, referring to the sales tax that manufacturers pay on energy.

Gov. Nathan Deal supports removing that tax because it places the state at a competitive disadvantage when attracting new businesses.

However, the state must develop a way to bring in the dollars that would be lost once that tax is cut, Wilkerson explained.

TIA/TSPLOST

When it comes to the both Wilkerson and Morgan steered clear of expressing their own opinions.

“I think some of my colleagues are upset because they wanted more roads,” Wilkerson said.

Although keeping his own opinion to himself, Wilkerson told South Cobb Patch, “You do have to have some sort of mass transit.”

Robin Meyer, a member of the South Cobb Redevelopment Authority and board member for the Mableton Improvement Coalition, said, “It’s important that we look not just at the list for Cobb County.”
John Sell, a South Cobb businessman, agreed.

“The I-20 at 285 is a Fulton County project, but it will benefit South Cobb and Douglas County,” Sell said.

Tax Breaks for Doctors and Dentists

Attendees of the town hall meeting asked about everything from Pre-K cuts to tax breaks for overworked healthcare providers.

A female dentist from Powder Springs, who did not provide her name, suggested a tax break on instruments and supplies in order to continue running her business.

Both Wilkerson and Morgan expressed interest in developing a solution for her and other healthcare providers.

“No one wants to hear more tax breaks for anyone,” Morgan said. “But if you all go out of business, there won’t be any provider for Medicare patients.”

Wilkerson said that the problem is acute for children as well, who cannot concentrate at school with a toothache and lose confidence when their teeth rot out.

Speak Up, Get Involved

In their closing remarks, the representatives told the attendees how important it was to help deliver information to their spheres of influence in the community and to also be engaged.

With the , the , the and much more at work in South Cobb to improve the area, Morgan emphasized the significance of being involved.

“You can be a part of creating those changes,” she said.

Each year, of her 56,000 constituents, Morgan said she receives about 100 emails, phone calls or faxes from the people she represents.

She wants to see more communication from her constituents.

“We’re not the boss, you are,” she said.