Sunday Solutions — Feb. 25, 2024
Good morning! The shortest month ends this week, and so you can expect the early winds of March to blow in new state legislation for us to quickly consider. We’re also talking housing today and testing you on what you really think. Don’t breeze through it, because there’s a lot to see here.
Bumpy road for title-pawn legislation
Lawmakers in both chambers of the Georgia legislature have introduced bills focused on the homegrown billion-dollar title loan industry, financial companies whose products are deemed predatory in 30 states but have found a lucrative niche in the Peach State.
Some readers may remember The Current’s yearlong series, along with ProPublica, about the state’s lack of oversight for title lending and the tens of thousands of consumers trapped into debt through the controversial business practices of industry leader TitleMax.
According to a statewide poll conducted by the University of Georgia in 2023, 71% of Georgians believe that the state should regulate car title lenders. Most Georgians also support a 61% rate cap on car title loans, a rate that matches the state’s usury law.
Editor-in-chief Margaret Coker updates what’s happening with the two bills submitted this year and what’s ahead. Spoiler alert: One bill’s dead, another is on life support despite clear direction from citizens.
Also under the Dome
The elected elves at the General Assembly have a busy few days as they scurry to Crossover Day on Thursday, when legislation should pass one body to survive. Votes on Monday in the House may include House Bill 1172 to clarify fishing rights in Georgia’s rivers and tributaries. The Senate is set to vote on Senate Bill 235 , which would set up Innovation and Economic Prosperity Planning Districts for areas around Savannah State University and other Historic Black Colleges and Universities, both public and private. Each district would be part of an 11-member commission that could accept funding, property and other donations. The commission members are appointed by the governor, political and legislative officers. Advisory committees for each district would include university presidents and neighborhood leaders. The plan is designed to improve the economic health of neighborhoods surrounding the campuses. From last week:
- State Senate panel passes book banning bill: Senate Bill 394 creates a council appointed by the governor and legislative officers to create a grading system to review and rate books for public school libraries. This measure heads for a floor vote. Coastal Georgia Sen. Billy Hickman is a sponsor.
- ‘Religious liberty’ legislation emerges from eight-year slumber at the Georgia Capitol: A bill designed to protect people against government overreach also raises concerns that employers or businesses could cite faith to discriminate against employees or customers. Coastal Georgia senators Ben Watson and Billy Hickman signed on as sponsors for the bill.
- Coastal Georgia governments jockey to influence how opioid settlement money will be spent: The state process for dividing the $191.6 million for regional use has sparked a number of moves to ensure local governments and organizations get a say in how funds are spent.
- PSC to resume hearings on Georgia Power request for more generating capacity: Utility says state’s unprecedented growth means it’ll need more production capability to serve; critics say there’s plenty of reserves.
- Georgia schools chief, state lawmakers at odds over proposed performance rating system: What’s the best way to rate schools, districts? Lawmaker wants to set scale from 0-100, while State School Superintendent Richard Woods says there’s a better way.
Quiz competition heats up
Peaches has returned to the top of the leaderboard for the Sunday News Quiz — but there’s a tie with Nbc. Want to join them? Test your news knowledge with a few short questions related to stories we published earlier in the week.
Leaderboard 2/18/24:
First Place (8/10): Nbc, Peaches
Second Place (7/10): SG Mark
Third Place (6/10): Liz, Mikey
Overall Leaderboard:
First Place – Peaches
Second Place – SG Mark
Third Place – Sandy B
Want your chance to be featured in next week’s leaderboard? Just take the quiz. And like in school, we’ll track your average scores over time, so make sure to include your name or nickname on your quiz. Click here to take this week’s quiz. (No. 2 pencil not required.)
Regional challenges: Housing
As Coastal Georgia draws more business, it’s going to need more people and they have to live somewhere. Housing that’s affordable is short particularly for young households building wealth or struggling with debt. It’s hard to find a place to live close to available jobs. Rent prices continue to rise, with no real peak in sight. Last week, 200 people — developers, engineers, government officials, first-time home buyers, homeless advocates, Realtors and more — gathered to gain a baseline knowledge of the opportunities, gaps, the expenses involved and challenges for creating new affordable and attainable places to live. The Attainable Housing Summit, assembled by Housing Savannah, took a regional approach to finding solutions for short- and long-term needs.
Quick takeaways:
- Accept more density in the form of accessory dwellings next to single-family housing, more multifamily buildings;
- Manage bureaucracy and set consistent paths for zoning, permitting, and land use.
- Acknowledge that housing, transportation and utilities are critical community infrastructure;
- Understand that diverse housing and supporting infrastructure like sidewalks, green space and retail space feed community wellness. A recent Government Accounting Office survey found that every $100 rent hike increases homelessness by 9%.
There’s more to come on this topic, but here’s something from the summit handouts to start your conversations: In Georgia, fair market rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is $1,287. To afford this and utilities — without paying more than 30% of income — a family must earn $4,290 monthly or $51,479 a year. Assuming a 40-hour work week, you’d need to make $24.75 an hour. And, 35% of Georgians are renters with an average wage of $21.94.
Your second cup: Tell us what you really think
Today, we’re taking a break from serving up a final piece to ponder. Instead, we’re asking you for a favor. So here’s the thing: We figured out a long time ago that to do our best work for you, we have to know what information you need to make informed decisions for your family and community. Your answers help us understand what’s important to you and informs how we prioritize our work and our approaches to it. So, we’re going to ask you a lot of questions over time — we hope you’ll feel comfortable answering them. We promise to value your time; the form takes about 3 minutes, and it’s a sure-fire way for you to tell us what you need and want to know.
We want to meet your friends! If you like this newsletter be sure to share it.
Title-pawn legislation hits bumpy road
By Margaret Coker
Senate bill loses close vote after language brought some regulation but failed to address high interest rates charged to consumers.
A series: The title-pawn trap
By The Current
This series, in partnership with ProPublica, focuses on title pawn contracts, the lenders and the lack of regulation in a system that traps many borrowers who already need help to rise out of debt.
State Senate panel passes book banning bill
By Dave Williams/Capitol Beat
Legislation that would create a state council to set standards for books that could be banned from public school libraries as obscene cleared a Georgia Senate committee late Wednesday.
‘Religious liberty’ legislation emerges from eight-year slumber at the Georgia Capitol
By Stanley Dunlap/Georgia Recorder
Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act would allow the state to plug a gap in a federal law by adding projections that put the First Amendment right to exercise religion on the same level as the right to freedom of speech, assembly and the press.
Coastal Georgia governments jockey to influence how opioid settlement money will be spent
By Robin Kemp
This spring, some local governments in Coastal Georgia are competing to place local dignitaries on the regional boards that will be deciding how to divvy up the millions of dollars expected to flow into Georgia each year for the next decade.
PSC to resume hearings on Georgia Power request for more generating capacity
By Dave Williams/Capitol Beat
Georgia Power executives attribute the anticipated huge increase in demand for electricity to unprecedented economic growth in the Peach State.
Georgia schools chief, state lawmakers at odds over proposed performance rating system
By Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
House Bill 1186 aims to require the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement to calculate a single score for districts and schools and the state Department of Education and local school districts to publish them on their websites.
Georgia Senate panel approves referendum on sports betting, casinos
By Dave Williams/Capitol Beat
The state Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee approved a proposed constitutional amendment late Thursday calling for Georgia voters to decide whether to legalize not only sports betting but casino gambling.
Georgia House panel debates proposed public school trans bathroom bill, prompting sharp criticism
By Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Measure stipulates that schools should make ‘reasonable accommodations’ for students who are uncomfortable with traditional options.
GOP lawmakers ready to ease limits on hospital construction, set aside Medicaid expansion for now
By Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
A new commission that would be tasked with advising the governor, lawmakers and the state agency that administers Georgia’s Medicaid program on issues related to the access and quality of health care available for the state’s high number of uninsured residents.
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