ZACHARY: General Assembly just plays whack-a-mole

Published 6:00 am Saturday, April 9, 2022

The Georgia General Assembly has devolved into a game of partisan whack-a-mole.

The political gamesmanship has run amuck and, frankly, just a disservice to all the people of Georgia, regardless of ideology or party affiliation. 

Discussion, debate and deliberation are superfluous when lawmakers tack defeated pieces of legislation on to other bills at the 11th hour, not even giving fellow legislators time and opportunity to read the revised bill, much less consider it on its merits, prior to voting. 

The process is sneaky and underhanded. 

It does not matter that both parties do it. 

It is equally wrong. 

Regardless of who does it and what the issue is, the process is — in and of itself — nefarious. 

Lawmakers should be informed and thoughtful not sneaky and tactical. 

Rules need to change.

Allowing bills that have been fully vetted by committees and voted on in the respective chambers to be altered in the final hour, or even on the last day of the legislative session for that matter, reduces the entire legislative process to a cheap political game. 

It also makes no sense whatsoever that the Georgia General Assembly exempts itself from the open government law compliance it requires of local jurisdictions. 

The General Assembly should be just as transparent and accessible, as any county commission, board of education or city council in the state of Georgia. 

All deliberations of the public’s business should be out in the open, in front of the public, and that includes any considerations of any amendment to any pieces of legislation. 

Georgia most move beyond back room deals brokered by good ol’ boys in the dark of the night, but this session of the Georgia General Assembly has clearly demonstrated that is exactly where we are and how our lawmakers conduct public business in our state. 

This year Republicans did it — with last-minute tack-ons to other bills sailing to passage, authorizing the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to police local elections and authorizing the Georgia High School Association to police transgender participation in school sports — because Republicans happen to control both the House and the Senate. 

However, it begs the question: What will happen when Democrats are the party in power? 

Regardless of how anyone feels about either of those issues, once again it exposes what is broken in the legislative process and illuminates how easily that process can be manipulated by whichever party happens to be in power at the moment. 

Jim Zachary is the editor of The Valdosta Daily Times, CNHI’s director of newsroom training and development and president emeritus of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation.