A state senate bill asking Augusta voters whether to give the city mayor a full-time vote on the commission passed the senate Monday.
Georgia Senate Bill 231, introduced by Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania, passed 32-22, passed along strict party lines with all 22 Democrats present voting against it.
The bill passed at 7:49 p.m. in a daylong senate floor session that lasted until nearly 11 p.m.
Burns said the bill would allow Augusta voters to determine through a referendum whether to give the mayor a vote. The 1996 Consolidation Act, which has never been amended, gives the mayor a vote only in the event of a 5-5 tie on the commission, which commissioners strategically block by abstaining.
If voters approve, the bill “would update the charter to allow the Augusta-Richmond County Commission to be a more functioning governing body,” Burns said.
Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson garnered support for the bill behind the scenes, gaining support from five of the 10 commission members in a resolution requesting it.
Speaking against the bill, Sen. Harold Jones, D-Augusta, said the bill would bypass a larger conversation about changing the charter.
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“There’s just a split on the community, on the commission about whether he should have a vote, shouldn’t have a vote. It’s not even an ideological split, it’s not even a racial split, but basically… the split, it now comes here to us, and has actually put myself and the senator from the 23rd (Burns) in a bad position,” said Jones, who serves as Democratic whip.
“So what I’m actually asking is that you vote ‘no’ so they can actually have a process to look at their charter and determine what changes they want to make,” he said.
Jones said Augusta had been having additional “ongoing conversations” about giving the city administrator more authority or increasing or decreasing the number of commissioners that might be addressed in a broader examination of the Consolidation Act. He said his opposition was “process-oriented” and geared toward taking a larger look.
“Let them have the opportunity to have those conversations, without not necessarily having this over their heads,” Jones said.
The bill now moves to the state house, where Rep. Mark Newton, R-Augusta, supports it. If the Republican majority similarly favors it, it will go to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature.
Susan McCord is a staff writer with The Augusta Press. Reach her at susan@theaugustapress.com
