New Member to Join Milton Review Panel

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: J.D. Easley
Thursday, September 17, 2009
(404) 656-0311
john.easley@house.ga.gov

ATLANTA - House Majority Whip Jan Jones (R-Milton) today named Roswell attorney Jeff Hamling to a state advisory panel on the re-creation ofMilton County.

Hamling will replace Fulton Superior Court Judge Tom Campbell, who resigned the Milton County Legislators' Advisory Committee this week due to a heavy caseload in the Fulton courts.

"Judge Campbell provided us with important knowledge on how the Fulton courts operate," said Speaker Pro Temp Mark Burkhalter (R-Johns Creek),who has also led the effort to re-create Milton County

."I can't say enough about how grateful I am to have Jeff Hamling volunteer his time to examine such an important issue for ourcommunity," Rep. Jones said. "His legal skills will be vital to thecommittee's task ahead."

Jones said the eight-member committee is continuing its work to look at the issues surrounding the re-creation of the former county, which dissolved in 1932 when it merged with Fulton County. Milton County existed for 75 years and was largely an agricultural community along the Chattahoochee River. If re-created, Milton County would become Georgia's 160th county.

The Milton County Legislators' Advisory Committee is charged with determining the issues surrounding the re-creation of Milton County.Rep. Jones and Rep. Burkhalter authored legislation earlier this year which would allow voters to amend the Georgia Constitution to allow historically merged counties to be re-created.

The committee includes representatives from the legal and education communities as well as the cities of North Fulton and the county government.

Hamling, the newest member of the panel, practices law in Fulton County and is on the board of North Fulton Community Charities."We are moving ahead and there is much to be done between now and January," said Jones. "Jeff Hamling will be a great addition to the team."