Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Georgia Archives Closed to the Public: Blame it on HB87 Sez Sec. of State Brian Kemp


Georgia Law Requiring Proof of Legal Residency Creates Licensing Backlog.  (The New York Times, 10/8/2012)

Anyone applying for or renewing a professional license must now show a secure and verifiable [ID] document.  No-can-do online anymore.

Excerpt: Even a call to ask about how to get a license or why things are taking so long has become a problem. State licensing workers can answer only about three-quarters of the nearly 459,000 calls that come into the call center in a year because the new requirements are bringing more questions and arrived during a period of recession-driven staff cuts, Mr. Kemp said. 

The licensing division has shrunk to 87 employees, down 30 percent since 2008. Mr. Kemp, who has to cut his budget by 3 percent this year, will not reduce staffing at the division any further. The workload is too heavy, plus the division brings in $24 million a year. Instead, he is laying off staff at the state archives and eliminating public hours there.

Brian Kemp links Georgia Archives closing to illegal immigration bill. (Atlanta Journal Constitution, 10/4/2012)

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