Closeup of the Georgia State Capitol. Photo by Connor Carey. Source: Wikimedia Commons

This story has been updated.

The state Senate passed bills Wednesday allowing for the proposed cities of LaVista Hills and Tucker to move forward, according to a report from the AJC.

Now HB 520 and 515 return to the state House. The measures had previously passed there, but the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations (SLOGO) Committee made changes to the map, shifting 2,000 people in the Livsey precinct from Tucker into LaVista Hills, despite protests from Tucker cityhood representatives.

Before last week’s committee vote, State Senator Fran Millar, SD-40, told Decaturish, “The Livsey precinct will be in LaVista Hills. It will not be in Tucker. 2,000 people. I represent them. 80% of them want to be in LaVista Hills. That’s where I put them.”

Sen. Millar said on his Facebook page Wednesday, “Tucker and LaVista Hills passed in the Senate in a landslide–Hopefully the House will agree. The Senate has had enough of DeKalb County Government.”

State Rep. Buzz Brockway, R-Lawrenceville, was one of five appointed members who created a compromise map last year. After last week’s change, he released a statement saying, “I gave my word to the people of both city hood groups that I would not support changes to that line and I will be true to my word. The Legislative process is far from over but in their present form, I stand now opposed to both the LaVista Hills and Tucker bills.”

Tucker 2015 released a statement Wednesday afternoon that said, “Our bill passed the Senate floor with Sen. Millar’s boundary change amendment. We are still hopeful the House of Representatives will enforce the agreed to boundary when the cityhood bills go back to them later this week.”

LaVista Hills YES updated its Facebook page, asking supporters of HB 520 to email House members to ask them to support the measure. Last week, the group said of the SLOGO decision, “LaVista Hills YES did not request the map changes, but we respect the efforts by members of the General Assembly to make adjustments in response to their constituents.”

If the bills make it through the General Assembly, voters would decide on incorporation in a November referendum.

This story has been updated with the addition of Sen. Millar’s statement and the Tucker 2015 statement.