Gwinnett Co. announces legal action to block new law for Mulberry to take over public services
Gwinnett County vowed on Thursday to take legal action after it said a new state law unfairly shifts costs to taxpayers.
Senate Bill 138 outlines how services are to be transferred to the new City of Mulberry.
County leaders, though, say that SB 138 strips away legal protections and forces Gwinnett County to cover some stormwater repairs, police costs and even some of the city's election expenses.
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In a statement issued by the county, officials said they oppose the bill, which became state law on Thursday.
'I am committed to building a stronger, more prosperous future for all residents of Gwinnett County,' said Gwinnett County Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson. 'This commitment includes a responsibility to ensure that all of Gwinnett County's residents and taxpayers, including those who live in Mulberry, are not unfairly burdened with costly, unworkable mandates."
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Additionally, the county said SB 138 removes the county's sovereign immunity benefits from all of their taxpayers and sets 'a dangerous precedent for other counties across the state of Georgia.'
As far as the actual issues with the legislation, Gwinnett County officials said they had four major concerns, which are:
Loss of sovereign immunity
Unfunded stormwater mandates
Unequal police funding obligations
Elimination of election cost reimbursement
After urging Gov. Brian Kemp to veto SB 138, which he did not do, commissioners said the county will pursue legal action to challenge what it calls the legislation's unconstitutional elements.
The Association County Commissioners of Georgia also pushed back on SB 138.
In a letter from the organization to Kemp, ACCG said despite its specificity to Gwinnett County, the bill "is nevertheless a general bill and could apply in the future to any county meeting its criteria, and to other counties if certain provisions of the bill are subsequently changed."
The group said they were particularly concerned by the policy implications of SB 138's provision about a county that fails to meet obligations to a new municipality, saying that "if a new municipality obtains a court ruling that the county has violated any obligation under these new requirements, 'the sovereign immunity of such county and the governmental immunity of all local officials of such local governing body is waived in all matters arising during a period of one year from the date of such judicial finding.'"
Put more plainly, ACCG said the sovereign immunity portion of SB 138 could make it so counties would be exposed to legal threats and liability for issues unrelated to disputes between governments, due to claims of violated agreements, for up to a year from a judicial finding saying as much.
Gwinnett County says, should this policy proceed, it could end up with "much higher costs to provide county services and higher taxes for all Gwinnett taxpayers."
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