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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JULY 6. 2023 - PAGE 7A
U.S. Supreme Court
overturns affirmative
action in college admissions
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News
Service
The conservative
majority on the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled
Thursday that colleges
and universities can no
longer use race in admis
sions decisions.
The 6-3 decision in
lawsuits brought by the
conservative group Stu
dents for Fair Admis
sions against Harvard
University and the Uni
versity of North Caroli
na, overturned affirma
tive action policies that
have been in effect for
decades.
The majority opinion,
written by Chief Justice
John Roberts, sides with
the plaintiff’s argument
that using affirmative
action in college admis
sions violates the Equal
Protection Clause of the
Reconstruction-era 14th
Amendment to the Con
stitution.
“Eliminating racial
discrimination means
eliminating all of it,”
Roberts wrote.
In a concurring opin
ion, Justice Clarence
Thomas of Georgia, the
second Black to serve on
the high court, criticized
the affirmative action
policies colleges and
universities have been
using as “rudderless,
race-based preferences
designed to ensure a par
ticular racial mix in their
entering classes.”
“While I am painfully
aware of the social and
economic ravages which
have befallen my race
and all who suffer dis
crimination, I hold out
enduring hope that this
country will live up to
its principles so clearly
enunciated in the Decla
ration of Independence
and the Constitution of
the United States: that all
men are created equal,
are equal citizens, and
must be treated equally
before the law,” Thomas
wrote.
But Justice Sonia So-
tomayor argued in a dis
senting opinion that af
firmative action has been
used as an effective tool
for promoting diversity
and inclusion in higher
education.
“This limited use of
race has helped equal
ize educational oppor
tunities for all students
of every race and back
ground and has im
proved racial diversity
on college campuses,”
Sotomayor wrote. “Al
though progress has
been slow and imper
fect, race-conscious col
lege admissions policies
have advanced the Con
stitution’s guarantee of
equality.”
Lower courts had
agreed to that interpre
tation, ruling in favor of
the two schools because
they were using race in
a limited way to achieve
the goal of ensuring di
versity in university stu
dent bodies.
Kendra Cotton, execu
tive director of the civil
and voting rights group
New Georgia Project
and a member of the
Black Southern Wom
en’s Collaborative, said
the decision denies the
reality that more work
needs to be done to end
racism in America.
“While Black Amer
icans and other Ameri
cans of color have made
huge strides, especially
in education and college
admissions, no one can
deny the fact that affir
mative action has been a
critical safeguard in en
suring Black and brown
students, who already
face so many system
barriers, do not contin
ue to get left behind,”
Cotton wrote in a news
release.
“So-called colorblind
practices exist solely
to ease the guilt of the
more privileged and pay
lip service to the fanta
sy of a post-racial soci
ety that, unfortunately,
too many people in this
country wrongly believe
is reality.”
Joining Roberts and
Thomas in the majority
were justices Brett Ka-
vanaugh, Neil Gorsuch,
Amy Coney Barrett and
Samuel Alito. Justices
siding with Sotomayor
in the minority were jus
tices Elena Kagan and
Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Lawsuit looking to block
gender-affirming care for
Georgia transgender youth
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News
Service
A group of parents has
filed a federal lawsuit
challenging Georgia leg
islation limiting medical
care for transgender chil
dren.
Senate Bill 140, which
prevents Georgians under
18 from obtaining gen
der-affirming hormone re
placement therapy or sur
gery, is scheduled to take
effect Saturday. The law
suit, filed late Thursday,
is seeking a preliminary
injunction in U.S. District
Court for the Northern
District of Georgia to stop
that from happening.
The plaintiffs, repre
sented by the ACLU’s
Georgia chapter, the
Southern Poverty Law
Center and the Human
Rights Campaign, argue
the law is unconstitution
al.
“The ban infringes par
ents’ fundamental right
to make medical deci
sions in the best interests
of their children, and it
singles out transgender
minors for the denial of
essential medical care,
contrary to the Due Pro
cess and Equal Protection
Clauses of the Fourteenth
Amendment,” the plain
tiffs wrote in their motion
to block the law.
The Republican-con-
trolled General Assembly
passed Senate Bill 140 in
March, voting along party
lines. Supporters framed
the law as a measure to
protect children from irre
versible physical changes.
“As Georgians, parents,
and elected leaders, it is
our highest responsibility
to safeguard the bright,
promising futures of our
kids - and SB 140 takes
an important step in ful
filling that mission,” GOP
Gov. Brian Kemp wrote
at the time in a statement
on Twitter.
During the debate that
led up to passage of the
bill, legislative Demo
crats, parents of trans
gender youth, and major
medical societies argued
it would harm vulnera
ble transgender youths’
mental health. Opponents
cited higher-than-average
suicide rates among trans
gender teens.
At least 18 Republi
can-led states have adopt
ed limits to medical care
for transgender minors.
NOTICE OF PROPOSED 2024 BUDGET
AND PUBLIC HEARING
For Madison County Board of Commissioners
The Madison County Board of Commissioners has submitted its pro
posed 2024 budget. Copies of the proposed budget are available in the
county clerk’s office located in the Madison County Government Annex,
91 Albany Avenue, Danielsville.
A public hearing will be held on July 17th, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. to receive
public comments on the 2024 proposed budget. The public hearing will
be held in the public meeting room in the Madison County Government
Annex, 91 Albany Avenue, Danielsville.
SRTA approves
two major highway projects
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News
Service
The State Road and
Tollway Authority
(SRTA) signed off
Monday on two major
highway improvement
projects.
Board members
unanimously approved
resolutions authorizing
agreements between
SRTA and the Georgia
Department of Trans
portation (DOT) to
split oversight of up
grades to intersections
along Georgia 316
and an overhaul of the
heavily congested In
terstate 285/1-20 West
interchange.
The 316 project calls
for building seven
grade-separated in
tersections along the
busy highway connect
ing Athens with 1-85
in Lawrenceville both
to improve traffic flow
and safety. The inter
sections involved in
the project are in Bar-
row and Oconee coun
ties.
The work will be done
through three contracts
worth about $350 mil
lion in total. The first
of the three contracts
will involve two Geor
gia 316 intersections in
Barrow County.
The DOT plans to is
sue a request for propos
als from interested road
builders for the $100
million contract next
month and announce the
apparent winner of the
bidding in December.
Construction is due to
start during the fall of
next year.
The second project
calls for redesigning the
I-285/I-20 West inter
change west of Atlanta,
ranked the fifth-worst
bottleneck in the nation
by the American Trans
portation Research In
stitute.
The nearly $1 billion
project will involve re
moving the left-hand
entrance and exit ramps
and building a west
bound collector-distrib
utor system from the
interchange to Fulton
Industrial Boulevard.
Lanes will be added
along 1-20 from Factory
Shoals Road to Ham
ilton E. Holmes Drive
and along 1-285 from
Donald E. Hollowell
Parkway to MLK Jr.
Drive. Several bridges
also will be replaced.
In April, the DOT
chose two finalists for
the work. The agen
cy plans to announce a
“best value proposer”
during the second quar
ter of next year.
Under the agreements
between SRTA and the
DOT, SRTA will finance
the projects and pay the
contractors, while the
DOT will manage the
construction. The State
Transportation Board
already has approved
both agreements.
Several state department
agencies getting new heads
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News
Service
There’s been some
major shuffling of
posts inside the Kemp
administration.
Gov. Brian Kemp
Friday named Rick
Dunn, currently di
rector of the Georgia
Environmental Protec
tion Division (EPD)
to take the reins at
the Governor’s Office
of Planning and Bud
get (OPB). Dunn will
succeed OPB Direc
tor Kelly Farr, who is
leaving state govern
ment for the private
sector.
“I’m grateful for
Rick’s continued will
ingness to serve his
fellow Georgians as he
returns to OPB, where
he made valued contri
butions as the deputy
director prior to his cur
rent role,” Kemp said.
To replace Dunn at the
EPD, the state Board of
Natural Resources vot
ed Friday to appoint
David Dove, the gover
nor’s executive counsel,
as interim director of
the EPD. Dove also will
continue serving as ex
ecutive counsel.
The natural resources
board also named Wal
ter Rabon, currently
deputy commissioner of
the Georgia Department
of Natural Resourc
es (DNR), to move up
into the commission
er’s post. Current DNR
Commissioner Mark
Williams is about to be
come executive director
of the Jekyll Island Au
thority.
In other moves, Kemp
appointed Russell Carl
son, currently chief
health policy officer for
the state Department of
Community Health, to
step up to commission
er of the health agency.
He will succeed Caylee
Noggle, who is leaving
for the private sector.
The new positions for
Dunn, Dove, and Rabon
took effect July 1. Carl
son’s new job with the
DCH starts Aug. 1.
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