“I feel like this is common sense.”

If the House supports the proposal, it will appear on the 2022 ballot.

Wes Burleson, of the state insurance commissioner’s office, told a Senate committee earlier this month that to date Beck has received $ 343,000 since his suspension in mid-May 2019.

“To put that into perspective, we could have used these funds to hire home inspectors, who earn $ 41,000 a year from (salary), $ 46,000 insurance fraud investigators or home inspectors. arson at $ 52,000, ”he said.

An accompanying piece, Sadopt Bill 218, who also passed 51-1, deals with local officials, such as district attorneys. Paulding County District Attorney Dick Donovan was recently charged with bribery, breach of oath by a public officer and two counts of false oaths. The allegations stem from his relationship with a prominent woman. He denied the charges. Governor Brian Kemp suspended him from his office.

Under state law, the legislature can stop the salaries of indicted local officials without constitutional amendment.

SR 134 would apply to state officials who are charged with charges related to the performance of their duties.

Charged officials who are exonerated would return to their jobs and receive back pay.

Even if SR 134 passed, it would have no impact on Beck’s case. Beck is set to stand trial this year on his charges, which involve activities before he took office. In addition, the law would apply to future cases.

Beck was indicted in May 2019, five months after taking office, and suspended by Kemp.

As he did not resign but was suspended, the state pays two insurance commissioners: Beck and Kemp’s choice to replace him, John King.

Beck won the election in November 2018 and took office the following January. In May, then-US attorney BJay Pak announced the indictment of Beck, a former head of the Georgia Christian Coalition, alleging he had stolen money to pay credit card bills and personal taxes, and injected money into his 2018 campaign for the post of Insurance Commissioner.

Three former employees of the Insurance Department later sued the State and Beck, claiming they were ousted in retaliation because he believed they had provided information about him to state and federal officials and the media.

The post of Insurance Commissioner will return to the ballot in 2022. If Beck is cleared of criminal charges, he has the right to return to the post and stand for re-election. In the meantime, the state will continue to pay two commissioners.

State faces similar situation with State Court of Appeal judge Christian Coomer, who is suspended. The state pays his salary – he earned $ 196,000 in 2020 – and pays another judge to replace him and do his job.

Georgia’s judicial watchdog agency filed ethics charges just after Christmas against Coomer, alleging he violated the judicial code of conduct and campaign finance and loan laws.

The 60-page dossier covers a range of alleged wrongdoing. Some fees involve Jim Filhart’s portrayal of Coomer, 79 when Coomer was a private lawyer in Cartersville. This relationship, according to the accusations, “involved dishonesty, deception and misrepresentation.”

The case accuses Coomer of repeatedly violating state campaign finance law by transferring funds from his campaign account to cover his law firm’s bank account while he was about to be in the open. He also states that Coomer, before qualifying for election to the Court of Appeal seat he held, reported on disclosure forms a $ 50,000 loan to his campaign account which never exist.

Coomer denied the charges.