Ginn co-signs development secrecy bill

Sen. Ginn said Wednesday that he signed on the bill after being asked to support it by people in the economic development community.

“I had several people in economic development, such as Barrow County’s Linda Moore, call and ask me to support it,” Sen. Ginn said. “If it will help get jobs back into the community, I support it.”

But Sen. Ginn also indicated he was open to changes in the bill from those who have problems with it.

The bill does not define what constitutes an “economic development project” and allows local governments to designate what those would be.

The legislation would also allow the business to decide the timetable of announcing to the public its plans. Only after that would government records related to the project be open to the public.

Those who support more secrecy in economic development talks say it’s needed to keep other states from knowing what incentives Georgia gives to prospective industries.

Critics of more secrecy say allowing governments to negotiate deals in secret would permit local cities and counties to give away thousands of dollars in tax breaks and infrastructure projects to a private business without any public input before the deal was done.