A proposal on the November ballot to make changes in the way ethics complaints are handled in DeKalb County will be the subject of the next meeting of PRISM (Pride Rings In Stone Mountain).
The meeting will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. this Thursday, October 10, in Fellowship Hall, St. Timothy United Methodist Church, 5365 Memorial Dr., Stone Mountain.
The meeting will feature three citizens who are concerned about Senate Bill 7, a measure passed during the 2019 General Assembly that would make changes to the DeKalb County Board of Ethics, if approved by voters. Mary Hinkel, Joel Edwards and Roslyn Allison will discuss the bill at Thursday evening's meeting.
Hinkel chairs a group of concerned citizens called the DeKalb Citizens Advocacy Council, which is warning voters that the measure on the November ballot "guts the ethics board."
"SB7 strips authority from the ethics administrator to conduct preliminary investigations of or file complaints based upon personal observation or anonymous claims via the hotline, or to report suspected criminal violations to state or federal law enforcement agencies," the group says.
A PDF of the legislation, which Gov. Brian Kemp allowed to become law without his signature, can be found at http://bit.ly/2MhQsyC .
The DeKalb County ethics board has not met for more than one year because of a successful court challenge to the board's composition.
For voters in unincorporated DeKalb, the ethics referendum will be the only item on the November ballot. Voter turnout is expected to be higher in cities having elections for municipal offices.
PRISM's Oct. 10 forum will be one of the few opportunities to learn about and ask questions about the ethics law. We invite you to learn about this proposal so that you can make an informed decision when you vote on Nov. 5.
