Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan has assigned the Republican-backed Buckhead City legislation to a Senate committee comprised entirely of Democrats.
A spokesperson for Duncan confirmed that this morning he assigned Senate Bill 324, the legislation filed by Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta), to the Senate Urban Affairs committee.
That committee consists of six senators, all Democrats.
The AJC said Thursday that Duncan’s move “effectively bottled up the legislation.”
Sen. Sally Harrell (D-Dunwoody) was more blunt on Twitter, saying the Urban Affairs committee is “where the bill will die.”
However, there is another Buckhead City bill in the House, sponsored by Rep. Todd Jones (R-South Forsyth).
Cityhood leader Bill White, chairman and CEO of the Buckhead Exploratory Committee, said in an email to Reporter Newspapers that he remains positive.
“Despite this, to the contrary, we are very pleased with the forward motion of our various Buckhead City bills,” White said. “We remain grateful to the Georgia legislature for advancing voter rights, which will allow 80,000 voters in Buckhead to vote on Nov. 8, 2022, up or down for cityhood.”
White has spearheaded the effort for Buckhead to break off from Atlanta and form a new city. The cityhood legislation being considered by the Georgia General Assembly aims to put a referendum on the 2022 ballot allowing Buckhead residents to vote on whether to create a new city.