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Conservative group to honor Newton legislators for voting with it in 2021
Gold Dome
The Georgia State Capitol building in Atlanta. - photo by Tom Spigolon

Three Republican legislators representing parts of Newton County were among Georgia General Assembly members to be recognized for their 2021 voting records at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) later this month.

District 110 State Rep. Clint Crowe, R-Jackson, scored 95%; District 112 State Rep. Dave Belton, R-Buckhead, scored 94%; and District 17 State Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, scored 87% on voting with the American Conservative Union (ACU) position on legislation.

The ratings were based on a recently released analysis of votes on some specific legislation during the 2021 Georgia General Assembly session.

Lawmakers who earned a score of 80% or above on the ACU “scorecard” were invited to a CPAC special award reception on Feb. 26.

Belton, Crowe and Strickland voted for such favored legislation as changes to the state's voting laws; preventing local governments from "defunding the police"; expansion of school choice; removal of some regulations on businesses, and other initiatives traditionally favored by conservatives.

However, all three voted against the ACU's position on one bill: House Bill 757, which was signed into law.

The bill amended the Atlanta Urban Enterprise Zone Act of 1988 in an effort to redevelop certain areas of the city and offers special tax abatements allowed to the city of Atlanta within specially designated urban enterprise zones. 

Qualifying businesses and service enterprises within the zones are exempt from county and municipal property taxes as long as the enterprise upholds the agreed-upon minimum standards. The zones must have conditions such as pervasive poverty, unemployment is at least 10% higher than the state average, or other evidence of adverse economic conditions, according to the legislation.

The ACU said in its description of the bill that it "enriches select developers within the Atlanta region by providing subsidies for development of 'affordable' housing. 

"Additionally, the bill provides government-favored businesses in certain regions with tax exemptions worth as much as 100% of their tax liabilities.

The Senate passed the bill 48-1 and the House 137-11 and was signed into law.

The highest scoring Democrat in the Newton delegation was District 113 State Rep. Sharon Henderson, D-Covington, who scored 38% on ACU’s selected bills. 

Among Henderson’s 2021 votes were an ACU-favored bill, SB 153, which the ACU said would “strengthen school choice” by allowing “alternative charter schools” to be eligible for state funding. The General Assembly approved the bill in 2021 and it was signed into law.

CPAC is "the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world," according to its website. Its 2022 session is set for Feb. 24-27 in Orlando, Florida, with former President Donald Trump as keynote speaker.