Augusta Commissioner Sammie Sias continues to receive his county salary despite being suspended from the commission by Gov. Brian Kemp on Aug. 30, 2021.
As a commissioner, Sias is paid $17,258.08 a year. He also receives $6,000 annually for an auto allowance.
He has received six paychecks, Sept. 10 through Nov. 19 since he was suspended from office. Each check is $663.77 in salary and $230.77 for the auto allowance, for a total of $5,367.24.
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Attorneys requested and were granted additional time to file pre-trial motions to review evidence against him in documents and computer files provided by the prosecutors.
The new deadline was set for Jan. 18, 2022.
Continuing to pay an elected official, even after the individual has been suspended, is a requirement of the Georgia Constitution. Article 2 says:
“While a public official is suspended under this Paragraph and until initial conviction by the trial court, the officer shall continue to receive the compensation from his office. After initial conviction by the trial court, the officer shall not be entitled to receive the compensation from his office. If the officer is reinstated to office, he shall be entitled to receive any compensation withheld under the provisions of this Paragraph.”
That may change if voters approve an amendment that is expected to appear on the general election ballot in Nov. 2022.
Senate resolution 134 reads:
“Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Georgia so as to provide for the suspension of compensation for certain public officers who are suspended because of indictment for a felony.”
The measure, sponsored by Sen. Larry Walker (R-Perry) and signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, was approved on a unanimous vote in the House and nearly unanimous vote in the Senate. Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens) voted against it.
However, SR 134 is limited to only statewide office holders, such as the governor, secretary of state and insurance commissioner.
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The measure was prompted when it was discovered former Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck was still receiving a paycheck, despite being indicted on a 38-county felony indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in May 2019. The indictment alleges he stole more than $2 million from his former employer, the Georgia Underwriting Association.
Beck was convicted in July 2021 and sentenced to seven years in federal prison beginning Dec. 2, three years of supervised release and pay $2.6 million in restitution.
After his indictment and prior to his conviction Beck received more than $340,000 in salary from Georgia, while the state was also paying Beck’s replacement, John King, who was appointed to the office by Gov. Kemp in July 2019.
Walker then proposed SB 218, which would cover all elected officials in the state, including county commissioners.
That measure stalled when the House offered a substitute on March 24 that was rejected by the Senate on March 31. Walker said he will revive SB 218 when the new session begins in January.
Walker also anticipates introducing the substitution offered by the House as a stand-alone bill. It deals specifically with district attorneys and solicitor-generals of state courts.
It would create the Prosecuting Attorneys Oversight Commission, an eight-member commission with the power to discipline, remove or cause the involuntary retirement of a district attorney or solicitor-general.
The bill lists several reasons for the commission to take action including mental or physical incapacity that interferes with performance of duties, willful misconduct in office and conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude.
The 2022 session of the General Assembly opens on Jan. 10.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
