On January 31, 1733, six boats carried Georgia’s first colonists to Trench’s Island, now called Hilton Head Island, where they spent the night before continuing on to land in Georgia at Yamacraw Bluff on February 1, 1733.
On January 31, 1865, Robert E. Lee began service as Commander-in-Chief of the Confederate armies.
On January 31, 1865, Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, outlawing slavery.
General William Tecumseh Sherman visited Kimball Opera House in Atlanta on January 31, 1879, which was then serving as State Capitol, fifteen years after burning the city.
On January 31, 1893, the trademark for “Coca-Cola” was filed.
Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker was suspended on January 31, 2000 for remarks made to ESPN.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Governor Nathan Deal has appointed Benjamin A. Land to the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit. The Chattahoochee Circuit comprises Chattahoochee, Harris, Marion, Muscogee, Talbot, and Taylor Counties.
The Senate and House convene at 10 AM for Legislative Day #13
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS
7:00 AM HOUSE APPROP GEN’L GOV’T 341 CAP
7:10 AM HOUSE APPROP HIGHER ED 341 CAP
7:20 AM HOUSE APPROP EDUCATION 341 CAP
7:30 AM HOUSE APPROP HUMAN RES
7:40 AM HOUSE APPROP PUBLIC SAFETY 341 CAP
7:50 AM HOUSE APPROP TRANSPORTATION 341 CAP
8:00 AM House Insurance (Life & Health) Sub 606 CLOB
8:00 AM HOUSE APPROP HEALTH 341 CAP
8:10 AM HOUSE APPROP ECON. DEV. 341 CAP
8:30 AM HOUSE APPRO FULL 341 CAP
9:30 AM HOUSE RULES 341 CAP
UPON ADJOURNMENT SENATE RULES 450 CAP
1:00 PM House Local Gov’t Sub Gov’tal Affairs 406 CLOB
1:00 PM SENATE INSURANCE & LABOR 310 CLOB
1:00 PM SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY MEZZ 1
1:30 PM House Ways & Means Income Tax Sub 133 CAP
2:00 PM SENATE TRANSPORTATION310 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE RETIREMENT 515 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE MILITARY AFFAIRS WORKING GROUP 415 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE GOV’TAL AFFAIRS 406 CLOB
2:00 PM House Kelley Subc Judiciary (Civil) 132 CAP
3:00 PM SENATE EDUCATION & YOUTH 450 CAP
3:00 PM SENATE FINANCE MEZZ 1
3:00 PM HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION 403 CAP
4:00 PM SENATE JUDICIARY 307 CLOB
Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, former Georgia Commissioner of Public Health, has resigned as Director of the CDC, based in Atlanta.
The Trump administration’s top public health official bought shares in a tobacco company one month into her leadership of the agency charged with reducing tobacco use — the leading cause of preventable disease and death and an issue she had long championed.
The stock was one of about a dozen new investments that Brenda Fitzgerald, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, made after she took over the agency’s top job, according to documents obtained by POLITICO.
State Senator Renee Unterman introduced Senate Bill 352, aimed at curbing opioid abuse.
Unterman joined Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Sen. Dean Burke, R-Bainbridge, on Monday to unveil a group of new bills designed to address health issues in the state. One of those pieces of legislation, Senate Bill 352, targets addiction issues in the state through various means.
“Senate Bill 352 is not my legislation, it is not my colleague’s legislation, this is for the thousands of people who have reached out about the opioid addiction crisis in our state to let us know what they need and what the State of Georgia needs,” Unterman said in a statement. “Although we have worked hard in the past to address those issues, this legislation takes our efforts significantly further.”
One of the bill’s intended steps to fight opioid addiction is to create a way for communities and recovery treatment providers to work together to expand access to treatment. It also sets up a K-12 education strategy designed to encourage students to not abuse household medications or use drugs such as heroin.
“This holistic approach will turn the tide in Georgia’s fight against substance abuse and addiction,” Cagle said in a statement. “By improving education, treatment and recovery, we can save countless lives and defeat the opioid epidemic.”
Herman West, Jr. kicked off his campaign for the Second Congressional District seat held by Democrat Sanford Bishop.
Republican Herman West Jr. officially kicked off his campaign Monday to unseat veteran U.S. Rep .Sanford Bishop Jr., D-Albany, in Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District.
“I’m not a politician and that’s what gives me a chance against him,” West, a native of Cuthbert who now lives in Albany, said. “This a not a career change for me, I’m not looking for a new career.
“I’m running to make a difference in the lives of the people in this district. I want to bring jobs and economic opportunities to the district, and to increase the availability of our healthcare system along with educational opportunities.”
West is the elder brother of retired Lt. Col. Allen West, a former Florida congressman, and Arlan West.
Columbus newscaster Mallory Hagan is considering running for an Alabama congressional seat.
Mallory Hagan, Miss America 2013, is considering running for the congressional seat for Alabama’s 3rd District. Hagan would be running as a Democrat, challenging Republican U.S. Rep Mike Rogers.
“My whole life I have been standing up for others. From defending grade school friends on the playground when I was a little girl to lobbying nationally for children in our Child Advocacy Centers as an adult, I have always been a strong and passionate voice for others. It is second nature to me” Hagan said in a statement.
Hagan, who currently is an evening co-anchor at NBC affiliate WLTZ in Columbus, Georgia, stated her campaign platforms include better education, jobs, fair wages, gender equality, access to affordable healthcare and a focus on environmental issues.
The candidate filing deadline in Alabama is Feb. 9. All 435 seats in Congress will be up for election on Nov. 6.
Karín Sandiford will run as a Democrat against Republican State Rep. John Carson (Marietta).
Nelson, Georgia will hold a special election on May 22, 2018 to fill a city council vacancy.
“Notice is hereby given that on May 22, 2018, the municipal special election for a city council seat shall be held at the established voting precinct for the City of Nelson to fill the unexpired term of the Honorable Mike Haviland,” the notice said.
Qualifying for the May election will be held at the Pickens County Board of Elections and Registration office at 83 Pioneer Road in Jasper from March 5-7 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, with an hour break at noon for lunch. The qualifying fee for any prospective candidate is $25.
Haviland vacated his council seat, in accordance with state law, to qualify for a mayoral run after former Mayor Larry Ray decided he would not run for re-election at the end of his four-year term, which expired on Dec. 31, 2017. Haviland’s qualifying for the mayoral candidacy in the middle of his own council term meant he was required to immediately vacate his seat.
Georgia Power announced it will lower the rates charged to ratepayers to finance construction of the two new reactors at Plant Vogtle.
Georgia Power announced Tuesday it will charge customers $139 million less this year to finance two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle just days before the Georgia Public Service Commission is to hold a hearing on its decision in December to allow those projects to proceed.
The company said it had filed an update to the Nuclear Construction Cost Recovery tariff with the PSC that showed it will ask for less this year for Vogtle construction. In a cover letter to the PSC, a Georgia Power official explained that its original $89 million increase will actually be a $50 million decrease due to the impact of the corporate tax cut and a $1.7 billion payment last year from Toshiba, the parent company of the expansion project’s original main contractor Westinghouse, which declared bankruptcy last March. The amount charged to the customer’s base bill will decline from 9.7 percent to 8.4 percent but the impact on the total bill will remain at around 5 percent, according to Georgia Power spokesman Jacob Hawkins.
Beginning in April, that would mean about $2.70 less from a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours a month, the company said in a news release, or about $24 less for the remainder of the year. The company was also ordered by the PSC to pay each customer $75 in rebates for Vogtle construction, spread over three months this year, but the timing for that rebate has not been announced.
Because it earned too much in return on equity in 2016, the PSC has also ordered the company to rebate $43.6 million to customers this year but the timing and the amount per customer have not been announced.
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