After legislative redistricting placed Beatty in a district with another incumbent Republican legislator, he decided not to seek re-election in 1992 opting to focus on the small businesses he and his wife owned including a poultry and cattle farm.
He was elected [2] State Senator and proved instrumental in the successful battle to ban video poker in Georgia.
In 2002, he opted not to seek re-election to the Senate and declared his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia.
He was then appointed Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) [4] in 2003 by Governor Sonny Perdue, a post which he held until being replaced by Gretchen Corbin on August 1, 2013.
As DCA Commissioner, Beatty led the launch of several new community-building programs, including:[5] "Team Georgia" which is designed to encourage collaboration between DCA’s divisions;[6] The "Signature Community" which works with communities and helps them implement key portions of their plans;[7] "Opportunity Zones" to encourage the creation of jobs and businesses in communities transitioning from blight to economic growth;[8] Establishing "Winning Water Festivals" to teach Georgia’s young people about the importance of water to the community’s growth and prosperity; and Dream City partnerships in six Georgia cities to encourage homeownership opportunities in the state.