Senate Bill 573, introduced by Acworth Republican Sen. Ed Setzler, would have created nonpartisan district attorney elections in all counties that appoint a medical examiner rather than having an elected coroner. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
In a surprise twist, the Georgia Senate voted down a measure that would have made district attorneys in five metro Atlanta counties nonpartisan offices.
The bill failed on the floor Friday in a 24-29 vote, with several prominent Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte and Sen. Matt Brass, who chairs the gatekeeping Senate Rules Committee, joining the Democrats to vote against it.
Senate Bill 573, introduced by Acworth Republican Sen. Ed Setzler, would create nonpartisan district attorney elections in all counties that appoint a medical examiner rather than having an elected coroner. The bill, Setzler said, would apply to Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb and Clayton counties, and he argued the change was needed to combat “selective enforcement of laws by politicized DA offices.”
The bill passed the Senate Ethics Committee earlier this week, though both Democratic and Republican district attorneys opposed the idea of making district attorney offices nonpartisan in only some counties.
Sen. Elena Parent, an Atlanta Democrat, spoke out against the bill, arguing that it unnecessarily targeted metro Atlanta district attorneys.
“All five are Democrats, and all five are Black women,” she said of the district attorneys who would be impacted by the bill, adding that as constitutional officers, any change to the process of electing district attorneys would likely require a constitutional amendment.
“If we want to make sure law enforcement can do its work in these five counties, we need to support all the district attorneys around this state, not target some and play games with their dedication to their jobs,” she said.
A vote to reconsider the bill is set to happen Friday evening, which is the last day for a bill to pass out of at least one chamber . The Legislature adjourns April 2.
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