Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for March 30, 2022

On March 30, 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was formally adopted after sufficient number of the states ratified it.

With the adoption of the 15th Amendment in 1870, a politically mobilized African-American community joined with white allies in the Southern states to elect the Republican Party to power, which brought about radical changes across the South. By late 1870, all the former Confederate states had been readmitted to the Union, and most were controlled by the Republican Party, thanks to the support of African-American voters.

In the same year, Hiram Rhoades Revels, a Republican from Natchez, Mississippi, became the first African American ever to sit in Congress. Although African-American Republicans never obtained political office in proportion to their overwhelming electoral majority, Revels and a dozen other African-American men served in Congress during Reconstruction, more than 600 served in state legislatures, and many more held local offices. However, in the late 1870s, the Southern Republican Party vanished with the end of Reconstruction, and Southern state governments effectively nullified the 14th and 15th Amendments, stripping Southern African Americans of the right to vote. It would be nearly a century before the nation would again attempt to establish equal rights for African Americans in the South.

Robert E. Lee arrived in Augusta on March 30, 1870.

On March 30, 1937, Georgia Governor E.D. Rivers signed legislation authorizing non-profit Electric Membership Corporations to electrify rural Georgia.

On March 30, 1945, President F.D. Roosevelt arrived for his final visit to Warm Spring, Georgia.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Under the Gold Dome Today – Legislative Day 38

8:00 AM HOUSE Judiciary Non-Civil Smith Subcommittee 132 CAP HYBRID

8:00 AM HOUSE AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 406 CLOB HYBRID

8:00 AM Senate Government Oversight Committee 307 CLOB

8:00 AM Senate Rules Committee 450 CAP

9:00 AM HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE 341 CAP

10:00 AM Senate Floor Session LD 38 Senate Chamber

11:00 AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD 38) House Chamber

1:00 PM HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE 341 CAP HYBRID

1:00 PM HOUSE Judiciary Non-Civil Setzler Subcommittee 132 CAP HYBRID

1:00 PM Senate Health and Human Services Committee- canceled 450 CAP

1:00 PM Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee 307 CLOB

1:30 PM HOUSE Ways & Means Tax Revision Subcommittee 403 CAP HYBRID

2:00 PM HOUSE ENERGY, UTILITIES & TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE 506 CLOB HYBRID

2:00 PM Senate Retirement Committee – canceled 310 CLOB

2:00 PM Senate Education and Youth Committee 307 CLOB

3:00 PM HOUSE JUDICIARY NON-CIVIL COMMITTEE 132 CAP HYBRID

3:00 PM HOUSE Special Committee on Access to Quality Health Care 406 CLOB HYBRID

3:00 PM Senate Finance Committee – canceled 450 CAP

4:00 PM Senate Transportation Committee 450 CAP

Governor Brian Kemp yesterday signed Senate Bill 514, the “Unmask Georgia Students Act,” according to WSAV.

The Unmask Georgia Students Act allows parents to decide whether their child should wear a mask at school instead of leaving it up to school districts.

“This will ensure that parents have the final say when it comes to the health and well-being of their child. Throughout the last 2 years, Georgia led the nation by standing up for our citizens’ right to choose how to best protect themselves and their loved ones,” said Gov. Kemp.

But groups like the Georgia Association of Educators expressed concern saying teachers may leave the profession with this new law.

“The CDC continues to recommend that in our schools and our classrooms and on our buses that we wear masks to protect each other and ourselves. It is very concerning that we are now going to have any mask requirements that school districts might implement to protect the health and safety of students and educators be rendered less effective,” said Lisa Morgan, president of the Georgia Association of Educators.

“We led the way on getting our kids back in the classroom because that’s where the data and science have always said they should be,” explained Kemp.

Senate Bill 514 would prevent schools and teachers from punishing students academically as a result of the parent’s mask decision.

From the AJC:

“This will ensure that parents have the final say when it comes to the health and well-being of their child,” Kemp said before signing the bill. “It is a common sense measure that puts parents in charge — not the government.”

The law takes effect immediately through June 2027. The Georgia Department of Public Health has said the governor could suspend it in a state of emergency.

“The bill is great news for our parents. It’s great news for our students,” said Georgia State Superintendent Richard Woods, who attended the signing. “When it comes to masks, vaccines or other personal health decisions, they have complete say of what needs to be done.”

The State House Committee passed  Senate Resolution 135, which would create a statewide referendum on legalizing gambling, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The House Economic Development and Tourism Committee approved a constitutional amendment Monday asking voters whether to legalize sports betting and “other forms of betting and gambling” in Georgia. Those “other forms” of gambling would include casinos and pari-mutuel betting on horse racing.

Those efforts reached a high-water mark last year when the state Senate passed a constitutional amendment aimed at legalizing online sports betting. While that measure fizzled in the House at the end of last year’s session, it remained alive for consideration this year.

The legislation the House committee passed on Monday resurrects the 2021 constitutional change, with casinos and horse racing added.

A major selling point in the various efforts to legalize gambling in Georgia over the years is that the tax revenue from gambling proceeds would go toward education and other vital services.

Under Senate Resolution 135, all the tax proceeds from sports betting would go toward education. Half of that money would support the HOPE Scholarships program, while the other half would go toward need-based college tuition grants and scholarships.

Half of the proceeds from casinos and horse racing would go toward health care, with 20% going to economic development in “less developed” areas of the state. HOPE and need-based grants and scholarships would split the remaining 30% evenly.

The Capitol Beat story says the Senate resolution was “resurrected,” illustrating how zombie bills can be reanimated, or how “only mostly dead” differs from “all dead.”

The Senate Regulated Industries Committee recommended passage of House Bill 1424, regulating another 20% out of the Coin Operated Amusements industry. From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post:

A Georgia Senate committee approved legislation Tuesday that would raise the state tax on owners of coin-operated amusement machines (COAMs) and retailers where the machines are located.

The committee’s bill would increase the share of revenue from the machines going to the state to support education from 10% to 30%. Machine owners and the convenience stores, restaurants and other businesses that install them would each get 35% of the proceeds, down from the current 45%.

“This is an industry that has grown from $2 billion [annually] in sales just a few years ago to $4.5 billion today and growing,” [Committee Chair Sen. Bill Cowsert] said.

Cowsert said increasing the state’s take from the COAM business could make it possible for every Georgia family that wishes to send their children to pre-kindergarten to do so as well as help narrow the gap between the tuition coverage the HOPE Scholarships program offers and what the state can afford.

The Senate Ethics Committee performed a legislectomy, removing most of the language from House Bill 1464, which began as an election securty bill, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.

A state Senate Committee Tuesday scrapped every part of a controversial Republican-backed election bill, leaving only a provision that would expand Georgians’ ability to vote.

The version of House Bill 1464 the Senate Ethics Committee approved unanimously would require employers to give their workers up to two hours off to cast a ballot during the early voting period prior to an election. That would expand upon legislation the General Assembly enacted last year allowing employees time off from their jobs to vote on Election Day.

“This just broadens the ability to vote,” said state Rep. James Burchett, R-Waycross, the bill’s chief sponsor.

When the bill left the House two weeks ago after passing on a party-line vote, it contained provisions aimed at ensuring ballot security through tighter controls on the transfer and custody of ballots. It also would have authorized the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate complaints of voter fraud without being asked by local authorities, derided by critics as the “election police” provision.

From the AJC:

The Senate Ethics Committee scrapped much of the bill after hearing testimony Monday from several county election officials who opposed strict ballot handling rules and restrictions on outside donations from nonprofit organizations. One elections supervisor called its requirements little more than “security theater.”

Senators shrank the 39-page bill to a two-page measure Tuesday, leaving only a requirement that businesses give workers up to two hours off to vote either on election day or during three weeks of early voting. Under current law, workers are only entitled to time off to vote on election day.

“This issue that we’re taking up is one of the most politicized issues across the country, not just Georgia,” said Burchett, a Republican from Waycross. “I know each and every one of you are being hit by your constituents on both sides.”

County election officials said legislators responded to the public’s concerns after Monday’s three-hour hearing.

“We demand that the full Senate and House accept this bill as amended and not make any additional changes,” 11 Democratic county election board members from across Georgia said in a statement Tuesday. “This is a clear example of the progress that can be made when legislators listen to and take recommendations from local election officials.”

The bill’s future is uncertain.

It could soon receive a vote in the full Senate, and then if the House disagrees with the changes, a conference committee would hash out a final version before this year’s legislative session concludes late Monday night.

The Senate Ethics Committee also took its scalpel to the proposed legislative pay raise, performed a payraisectomy cutting it before recommending passage, according to the AJC.

A bipartisan measure sponsored by state Rep. Wes Cantrell, R-Woodstock, House Resolution 842, would put a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall to take the issue of legislator pay out of the General Assembly’s hands.

Currently, lawmakers are paid $17,342 a year, although that will rise to $22,342 in coming months.

If Cantrell’s resolution passes the General Assembly — it now heads to the Senate — and is OK’d by voters in November, legislators would be paid 50% of the median household income of Georgians, starting in 2025.

That would increase legislators’ base pay to about $30,000.

Cantrell said he originally decided on setting pay at 60% of the median income because a study showed lawmakers do the work equivalent to two-thirds of a full-time job. Some, such as the Legislature’s budget chairmen, work pretty much full time.

The Senate Ethics Commission lowered that to 50% and passed the rewritten bill 7-3 on Tuesday.

The State House passed Senate Bill 345, to prohibit governments from requiring proof of vaccination against COVID, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.

State agencies, local governments and local schools could not require Georgians to get a COVID-19 vaccination to receive government services or access government facilities under legislation that cleared the state House of Representatives Tuesday.

The bill passed the Republican-controlled House 99-67 along party lines.

The bill the House passed Tuesday would not apply to health-care workers or to private businesses, [State Rep. Bonnie] Rich said.

The bill originated in the state Senate, which passed it early this month, also along party lines. Because of changes made by the House, the measure must now return to the Senate before gaining final passage.

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee performed some surgery on House Bill 1013, the “Mental Health Parity Act,” according to the Georgia Recorder.

A Senate panel has scaled back a sweeping mental health proposal following loud opposition from conservative activists.

A revised version of the plan unveiled Monday backed away from changes to the state’s involuntary commitment criteria and softened a proposal to require health insurers to treat behavioral health benefits the same as physical care.

Gone are also references to the World Health Organization and its definitions for mental health conditions, which was a source of contention among the conservative activists.

The bill, led by House Speaker David Ralston, advanced out of a Senate committee with a unanimous vote Monday, just one week before the curtain will fall on this year’s legislative session. It could be ready for a full Senate vote later this week.

Ralston has called the bill his top priority for the year. His spokesman said Monday that the speaker’s office was reviewing the Senate’s work with experts and advocates but was pleased the bill was still on the move.

But changes to the behavioral health parity provision have already sparked concerns among the broad coalition of advocates and others who have rallied behind the bill, particularly the proposed aggressive enforcement of a 14-year-old federal parity law.

The proposal also no longer requires health insurers to provide behavioral health benefits if they do not currently offer them, and Sen. Ben Watson, a Savannah Republican, said it now includes exemptions from the parity mandate for religious, short-term, and direct primary care policies.

More changes are likely once the bill leaves the Senate. Shortly before the new version of the bill was presented in committee, Rep. Sharon Cooper, a Marietta Republican who chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee, rallied supporters of the bill on the state Capitol steps.

“It’s really a shame that some people see ghosts and haints around every corner and have picked out little pieces of the bill and put out a lot of misinformation about the bill,” Cooper said.

“Don’t give up hope,” Cooper told the advocates. “I don’t ever want you to give up about care and about the state doing the right thing for you.”

Remember: the clowns are in the circus to distract you from what the elephants are doing.

Glynn County Commissioners announced William “Bill” Fallon as the sole finalist for County Manager, according to The Brunswick News.