Amendments a mixed bag

Four proposed constitutional amendments are on Georgia voters’ ballots this year. From our perspective, one is an easy yes, one is OK on balance, and the other two are Trojan horses so transparent they might as well be made of glass.

In order:

Amendment 1, the “Opportunity School District” question, would create a new state agency with a new superintendent appointed by, and answerable only to, the governor. This official would have the authority to take state control of up to 20 schools a year deemed by the state as “failing.” He or she could close a school, fire some or all of the faculty and administration, or perhaps turn it over to a for-profit charter school company to operate. The state would control any “Opportunity” school for a minimum of three years.

What academic or curriculum solutions does the state propose for underperforming schools? The bill doesn’t say. What happens if a school’s performance doesn’t improve under state authority after three, five, seven years? It doesn’t say that, either. But it’s not entirely cynical to suspect that no state-run school will be deemed “failing” after the state starts running it.

Worst of all, this a potential political and financial windfall for private charter companies at taxpayer expense, all at the whim of a single unelected official. The Marietta Daily Journal, in a recent editorial urging rejection of this amendment, wrote: “There is more than $15 billion a year on the table funding public education in Georgia and there are consultants all over the country licking their chops trying to figure out how to get their hands on that tax money.”

Amendment 1 purports to bring more accountability to public education in Georgia; it would do exactly the opposite. No opponent of centralized, top-down government, no professed advocate of local control, can logically support this measure. We strongly urge a No vote on Amendment 1.

Amendment 2 would authorize additional fines for sex-related crimes, including pimping and prostitution, and new taxes and/or fees on “adult entertainment” (primarily strip clubs), to fund services for child victims of sexual exploitation. The money raised by those fines and fees would become the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund, which would, as reported in Georgia Health News, “pay for rehabilitative and social services at Georgia programs that help victims of sexual exploitation.”

There could hardly be any rational or moral objection to making convicted sex criminals pay for this program; charging a lawful and licensed business, whatever one’s personal convictions about it, is a tougher sell. (Most patrons of “exotic dancing” establishments are not sexual predators.) But “sin taxes” on other legal things like tobacco and alcohol sales fund health and safety programs, and this is roughly comparable. On balance, we encourage a Yes vote on this amendment.

The companion to Amendment 1 in this election’s brace of Trojan horses is Amendment 3, which would abolish the state’s Judicial Qualifications Commission, the panel that oversees the conduct of Georgia judges.

We’ve touched on this issue before, including the detail that one of the bill’s sponsors is Rep. Johnnie Caldwell, R-Thomaston, a former judge investigated by the commission for alleged sexually inappropriate behavior toward a female attorney. (Caldwell resigned the bench after the woman gave graphic testimony to the JQC.)

Amendment 3 would replace the Judicial Qualifications Commission with a new panel created by the legislature, effectively turning an independent watchdog agency into a political one.

This is not just a glaring separation-of-powers problem, but also one of public accountability: The new commission’s records would not be open to the public except by General Assembly approval, and all appointments to the new commission would have to be confirmed by the Senate.

This amendment looks like nothing more than a purely political “fix” for something that isn’t broken. A definite thumbs down on Amendment 3.

The last item is the easiest. Amendment 4 would use revenue from existing taxes (not new ones) on fireworks to fund fire services, trauma care and other public safety needs. We urge a Yes vote on Amendment 4.

This story was originally published October 13, 2016 at 6:59 PM with the headline "Amendments a mixed bag."