Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for February 28, 2023

On February 29, 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts, arrest warrants were issued for Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, accusing the three women of witchcraft.

On February 28, 1784, John Wesley executed a document titled “The Rev. John Wesley’s Declaration and Establishment of the Conference of the People called Methodists.”

On February 28, 1827, the first American railroad organized to transport people and freight commercially, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, was chartered. At the time, Baltimore was the second largest city in the nation.

On February 28, 1854, 30 anti-slavery opponents of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which would repeal the 1820 Missouri Compromise, met in Ripon, Wisconsin and called for the creation of the Republican Party.

On February 28, 1885, the American Telephone and Telegraph company was incorporated, though some accounts says March 3d.

On February 29, 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed the first Panama Canal Commission.

On February 29, 1936, a board appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt recommended constructing a dam on the Savannah River at Clarks Hill, north of Augusta.

On February 29, 1940, Gone With the Wind received eight Oscars, including Best Supporting Actress for Hattie Mcdaniel, the first African-American winner.

On February 28, 1991, the First Gulf War ended, as President George H.W. Bush declared a ceasefire and that Kuwait was liberated.

Three years ago, Georgia Department of Public Health officials warned of the likelihood of a coronavirus outbreak.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson and Lowndes County Commission Chairman Bill Slaughter are hosting a paddle on the Withlacoochee River on March 4, 2023, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

Matheson and Slaughter will embark on an 11-mile river paddle, past the future site of Troupville River Camp and Nature Park, along the Suwannee River Basin, past Valdosta’s outfall of its Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant and down to Spook Bridge.

Matheson started the tradition in 2020 and has partnered with the WWALS Watershed Coalition ever since as a way for the community to appreciate its surroundings.

“I am excited to partner once again with WWALS, plus this time with Lowndes County, to show people our fabulous blackwater rivers, only a few miles from City Hall and VSU. After the largest infrastructure project and single largest financial commitment in the history of our city was made toward a completely modern sewer system, we are now exploring the next phase toward beautifying our area’s waterways,” he said.

Under the Gold Dome Today – Legislative Day 25

Tuesday – February 28, 2023

TBD                  Senate Rules Committee; Upon Adjournment – 450 CAP

7:00 AM          Cancelled – Senate Health & Human Services – 450 CAP

8:00 AM          HOUSE MOTOR VEHICLES – 606 CLOB

8:00 AM          CANCELED HOUSE JUVENILE JUSTICE – 506 CLOB

8:00 AM          HOUSE Ways & Means Income Tax Sub – 403 CAP

8:00 AM          HOUSE INSURANCE – 406 CLOB

8:00 AM          Senate Insurance & Labor – 450 CAP

8:00 AM         Senate Economic Development & Tourism – 310 CLOB

8:15 AM          HOUSE Ways & Means Ad Valorem Sub – 403 CAP

9:00 AM          HOUSE RULES – 341 CAP

9:00 AM         HOUSE CREATIVE ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT – 406 CLOB

10:00 AM        HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD 25) – House Chamber

10:00 AM        Senate Floor Session (LD 25) – Senate Chamber

1:00 PM          HOUSE Ways & Means Tax Revision Sub – 403 CAP

1:00 PM          HOUSE PUBLIC HEALTH – 606 CLOB

1:00 PM          HOUSE INTRAGOVTAL COORD – 406 CLOB

1:00 PM          HOUSE Govtal Affairs Elections Sub – 415 CLOB

1:00 PM          Senate Children & Families – 307 CLOB

1:00 PM          Senate Banking & Financial Institutions – 450 CAP

1:30 PM          HOUSE JUDICIARY – 132 CAP

2:00 PM          HOUSE Govtal Affairs State & Local Govt – 415 CLOB

2:00 PM          Senate Reapportionment & Redistricting – 450 CAP

2:30 PM          Senate Education & Youth – 450 CAP

3:00 PM          HOUSE REGULATED INDUSTRIES – 606 CLOB

3:00 PM          HOUSE JUVENILE JUSTICE – 515 CLOB

3:00 PM          HOUSE Education Curriculum Sub – 415 CLOB

3:00 PM          HOUSE Appropriations Gen Govt Sub – 341 CAP

3:00 PM          CANCELED HOUSE ENERGY, UTILITIES & TELECOM – 403 CAP

3:00 PM         Senate Retirement – Mezz 1 CAP

4:00 PM          Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities – 450 CAP

5:00 PM          Senate Judiciary – 307 CLOB

6:00 PM          Senate Ethics – 450 CAP

7:00 PM          Senate Higher Education – 307 CLOB

House Bill 147, the “Safe Schools Act,” by State Rep. Will Wade (R-Dawsonville) passed the State House, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.

The “Safe Schools Act,” which has the strong support of Gov. Brian Kemp, passed on a 148-20 vote.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Will Wade, R-Dawsonville, one of Kemp’s floor leaders in the House, would require schools to conduct an intruder or active-shooter drill by Oct. 1 each year.

The legislation would create a mechanism for school employees to earn a “school safety and anti-gang endorsement” after completing a special training program. And it encourages colleges and universities to include training for future teachers in best practices for safe schools and deterring gangs.

“Unfortunately, there is no evidence to indicate this bill is going to make our schools safer,” said freshman Rep. Anne Allen Westbrook, D-Savannah. “It’s just one more burden this body is putting on teachers and students in Georgia’s public schools.”

Westbrook cited a study conducted by researchers at Georgia Tech showing increases in anxiety and depression among students for 90 days after active-shooter drills.

“If we want to truly increase school safety, there are some proactive measures we could consider,” she said.

Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Atlanta, voted for the bill but also urged lawmakers to consider passing gun-control measures.

“We have so many options at our disposal to not make this a reality for our babies and their teachers,” Evans said.

Democratic state legislators are pushing measures to increase police accountability, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

“We cannot continue to watch our loved ones be abused or killed by law enforcement officers because of the color of their skin,” Ga. Rep. Sandra Scott of Rex said earlier this month. “The time is now to pass common sense accountability legislation. In the wake of Tyre Nichols, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many more, it is time for common sense police accountability, ethical policing and anti-racial profiling legislation.”

As part of a police accountability package, Scott, alongside Atlanta Rep. Kim Schofield and Rep. Viola Davis of Stone Mountain, introduced a bill that would require law enforcement agencies to provide a body-worn camera to every officer and require such body cameras be turned on during interactions with the public.

HB 1017 also includes standards for how police officers should respond to protests or demonstrations and would remove qualified immunity for officers.

“We will no longer allow the lack of oversight, accountability and transparency to be the norm in law enforcement,” Schofield said. “No one gets a pass when lives continue to be intentionally taken. Georgians deserve better.”

The Ethical Policing Act, or HB 112, would authorize local municipalities to create and operate citizen review boards, which would have the authority to examine complaint and disciplinary records to identify best practices and resolutions, the overall policing culture, initiate independent investigations into any law enforcement officer and publish its findings and recommendations.

Another proposal, HB 113, would require police departments to provide de-escalation training to law enforcement officers to minimize the need for the use of force. Law enforcement agencies, if the bill is approved, would be required to teach awareness, recognition and crisis intervention strategies for mental health and substance abuse issues, as well as distance, cover and time techniques for approaching and managing critical incidents.

Some Georgia prosecutors criticized legislation aimed at providing oversight of prosecutors, according to the Associated Press via AccessWDUN.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday passed Senate Bill 92 on a 5-3 vote, sending it to the full Senate for more debate. On Monday, a House subcommittee passed House Bill 231. Both measures would create a commission to oversee prosecutors, which supporters say would provide a needed corrective for district attorneys who engage in misconduct. Opponents say the measures could unfairly void the will of voters and force prosecutors into pursuing undesirable criminal charges.

The bills are engulfed in racial and partisan conflict, with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis telling the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that white Republican lawmakers are targeting Black and Hispanic Democratic prosecutors. Willis is investigating former President Donald Trump and prosecuting rapper Young Thug.

“This bill was never deemed necessary until an historic thing happened in 2020, and let’s just talk about it and tell the truth…,” Willis said. “In 2020, we went from having five district attorneys that are minorities to 14 that are minorities.”

The commission could investigate complaints and recommend to the state Supreme Court that a prosecutor be disciplined or removed. It would cover not only Georgia’s 50 district attorneys, but also solicitors general elected in some counties to prosecute cases in lower courts. The governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the House, as well as the Senate and House would all get at least one appointment. Most of the members would be required to be current or former prosecutors.

The bills says a prosecutor can be disciplined or removed if they “categorically (refuse) to prosecute any offense or offenses of which he or she is required by law to prosecute.”

That provision appears aimed at some who are declining to bring any charges for low-level marijuana possession. Among them are Deborah Gonzalez, district attorney for Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties, who has also been attacked as incompetent.

But Jonathan Adams, the district attorney for Butts, Lamar and Monroe counties, said looking at every case would mean he’d have to consider prosecuting sodomy, fornication and adultery cases. Laws barring those behaviors are still on the books but unenforced. Adams said a woman recently wanted to swear out a warrant against her husband for adultery. Right now, Adams says he has a standing policy that no warrants should be issued for such charges.

“If not for our stated policy, the husband would have been arrested, gone to jail, and perhaps lost his job,” Adams said.

The Senate State & Local Government Operations Committee (pronounced “Slow-go”) passed two bills that would allow incorporation of a new “City of Buckhead City,” according to the Associated Press via AccessWDUN.

The Senate State and Local Government Operations Committee’s Republican majority pushed Senate Bills 113 and 114 through on 4-3 votes Monday, sending them to the full Senate for more debate.

Despite the step forward, prospects remain uncertain for the measures, which are bitterly opposed by Atlanta’s business community and the city’s overwhelmingly Democratic lawmakers. If they succeed, residents would vote on forming a new city in a referendum.

In a statement, city spokesperson Michael Smith said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens “is disappointed by the committee’s vote to advance this short-sighted legislation,” saying it would have “disastrous consequences” and that the city is making progress on reducing crime and improving services.

“What is happening today is my constituents are being forced to eat a half-baked pie,” Sen. Jason Esteves, an Atlanta Democrat, said Monday.

But Sen. Randy Robertson, a Cataula Republican sponsoring the bills, says he’s championing the rights of citizens unfairly being ignored. He’s pointedly called on Dickens to meet with leaders of the Buckhead City Committee.

“Too many times inside this building and especially outside this building in local communities, elected officials forget who they work for. So when movements happen that remind elected officials who the real bosses are, then I have to support that,” Robertson said.

“Credit ratings and the municipal bond markets would be severely harmed in the state of Georgia,” Ruchi Patel, a lobbyist for the Georgia Municipal Association, said Feb. 16.

From the AJC:

“These bills will choke off economic development because there are significant, practical questions about de-annexation for which we have no answers,” said Eric Tanenblatt, a well-connected Republican operative who chairs the pro-unity Buckhead Coalition.

“What happens to the existing water and sewer infrastructure, whose systems won’t change with political whims? And what about the state’s bond markets?” Tanenblatt added. “These are questions that businesses will consider in their due diligence in considering relocation.”`

From the AJC Political Insider:

[U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor] Greene urged state senators to pass the measures and said in a Twitter post: “A vote against Buckhead city is a vote FOR crime. A vote for Buckhead city is a vote FOR freedom.”

She also said the process would allow Buckhead to separate from the “dangerous Democrat controlled city of Atlanta and be its own city,” although she did not mention that Buckhead, too, recently elected an all-Democratic slate of state lawmakers.

I’m kind of surprised the “divorce” metaphor wasn’t used here.

Senate Bill 145, the “Landscape Equipment and Agricultural Fairness (LEAF) Act” by Sen. Shawn Still (R-North Fulton) passed the Senate, according to the AJC.

A bill that would prevent Georgia cities and counties from banning gas-powered leaf blowers passed the state Senate on Monday with bipartisan support after the proposal was amended to include a sunset clause.

Prior to the 37-16 vote, the bill’s lead sponsor, state Sen. Shawn Still, R-Johns Creek, said the bill was needed to protect gas-powered blowers because battery-powered electric blowers do not last long enough to meet the needs of landscape professionals and residents.

He also pushed back on criticism that Senate Bill 145 would preempt local control, saying schools, hospitals, businesses and homeowners associations would still be free to choose gas- or battery-powered blowers.

“What this bill does do, it prevents entire cities and counties from banning gas-powered units because the technology between gas and electric are not equal,” Still said. “This bill exactly gives local control to each individual homeowner to decide what they’re going to do in their own yard.”

The bill includes a June 30, 2031, sunset clause introduced by Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, who still voted against the bill.

House and Senate Appropriators will work to harmonize the different version of the state budget each chamber passed, according to the Center Square.

Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, proposed an amended fiscal 2023 budget of nearly $32.6 billion, roughly 7.8% higher than the approved $30.2 billion budget. That number represents total state funds, and when including additional sources, such as federal funds, the budget totals more than $56.7 billion in public funds.

The state House passed House Bill 18, which included about $954,485 in additional total public funds. The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a budget nearly $3.3 million higher than the governor’s proposal.

On Monday, the House disagreed with the Senate’s substitute version of the budget, while the state senate won’t budge on its version. A conference committee to weigh the various versions of the budget could be appointed as soon as Tuesday.

The governor proposed a separate fiscal 2024 budget of more than $32.4 billion, slightly less than his proposed fiscal 2023 adjustment.

Last week, the state House also passed House Bill 162, which would send $1 billion in tax refunds to Georgia residents.

The first “Latino Day” at the Georgia State Capitol was held this week, according to Atlanta News First via WRDW.

“Georgia is such a diverse place and it’s only increasing in its diversity as the years go by we want everyone to know that this is their Capitol, no matter where you came from, this Capitol represents you, your values, your perspective, and we want to hear directly from you,” said Representative Saira Draper with House District 90.

According to the 2020 census, over one million Georgians are Hispanic, that’s ten percent of the state’s population.

“The legislators in the capitol should be a reflection of the people in Georgia and we are trending more in that direction, I think we do have some more work to do but I’m so proud of the strides we’ve made,” said Draper.

The 2023 legislative body is the most diverse in the state’s history, with 83 non-white members out of a total of 236. And this session will be the first to have a Hispanic caucus that will include lawmakers from both chambers and parties.

McIntosh County Commissioners are seeking changes to the composition of their Board of Elections, according to The Brunswick News.

A resolution has been passed by the McIntosh County Commission that would give each county commissioner one appointment to the board of elections to serve a four-year term.

Currently there are three Republican appointees and two Democrat appointees on the board.

McIntosh County Elections Supervisor Eleanore Gale said the resolution was passed after commissioners heard complaints and concerns about the composition of the board of elections. She said there was nobody from District 2 serving on the elections board. The other three districts had at least one representative.

“This way there is a representative from every county commission district,” Gale said. “You’ve got to be neutral and represent all the people, not just one certain group.”

Camden and Ware counties are among other counties in the state where county commissioners make the appointments to the board of elections.

In Glynn County, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party each appoint two to the five-member board. The Glynn County Commission picks the fifth member.

Dougherty County Police want to install a network of Flock cameras, according to the Albany Herald.

“In the last three or four weeks the city (Albany) has recovered over 10 (stolen) vehicles” with the assistance of cameras mounted in the city, Dougherty Police Chief Kenneth Johnson told Dougherty County Commission members during a Monday work session. “They have also solved two murders by using Flock.”

Flock Safety is the name of the company selected to install and provide data through its system.

The Atlanta-based company would install the cameras on poles at 10 locations in unincorporated Dougherty County.

The cost of the system, which would be paid over two years, is $58,500 and includes the cameras, set-up, testing and license plate readers with data retrieval capabilities.

The commission is scheduled to vote on the proposal at its next regular meeting.

Savannah has more than $5 million dollars in unpaid parking fines, according to WTOC.

During the pandemic, the city stopped booting and towing cars but they started back.

The director of Mobility and Parking Services said the city is owed more than $5 million in parking tickets right now. He said this year they are back in full swing with booting and towing cars with several outstanding tickets and issuing tickets in general.

Director Sean Brandon says a good portion of the money owed to the city is by a few drivers that have accumulated a big tab. He says the city places a boot on your car when you have four or more outstanding tickets.

While [they’re] ramping up efforts this year, Georgia State Senator Josh McLaurin introduced legislation last week that would ban booting cars.

Brandon says it’s already illegal for private businesses to boot cars. He says he won’t know if the law would prohibit the public entities like the city from putting boots on cars until the bill’s final text is ready. If it does, he also doesn’t know if that would be a good thing for his office and for drivers.

“I don’t completely know the lawmaker’s intent but I do know that booting is a substitute for towing for us. It’s also lower costs. In the event of a tow, which we would authorize, the person would incur storage fees and towing fees on top of what they owe to us,” said Brandon.

Statesboro Mayor Jonathan McCollar will deliver his State of the City tonight at 7 PM, according to the Statesboro Herald.

As his major topics, the mayor intends to talk about infrastructure and youth engagement, as well as affordable housing and the housing supply in general. He plans to discuss these in relation to the unprecedented growth coming to the community and region, said city Public Information Officer Layne Phillips.

Garden City has restructured fire fees, according to WTOC.

Garden City residents should see a new fire fee on their bill soon. The hope, the city says, is to put more of the fee on industrial and commercial businesses.

The city manager said during their city council meeting close to 70% of the restructured fire fee will fall on industrial businesses.

“The price of apparatus, when you talk about fire trucks you’re talking about over half a million dollars for a fire truck. You’re talking about almost $1 half to $2 million for a ladder truck. You talk about staffing, the amount of calls you have to, the amount of staffing you have to have to make the calls, make the times to meet the standards. It’s just gotten to a point where we have to do something else,” said Garden City fire chief Michael Dick.

The chief described how more commercial and industrial structures are coming to Garden City, so they need to be able to have the resources to handle calls on a bigger scale.

“A basic residential structure fire, you have to have 15 fire fighters on scene per the NFPA standard. But a commercial structure 28 to 43 fire fighters on the scene to handle that type of incident.”

“The cost of doing business for us is just like everybody else…it’s growing. We don’t want to raise tax bases, millage rates, but we have to be able to afford our job.”

Todd Rhodes announced he will run for Savannah City Council District 3, currently held by Linda Wilder-Bryan, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Rhodes ran unsuccessfully for president of the Savannah-Chatham School Board in 2022.

Rhodes says the opportunities for youth in the city are “slim to none” and says the lack thereof gives kids idle time, which can lead to trouble. He said, if elected, he’ll be an advocate for providing more activities for Savannah’s younger community.

He hopes to push for more community policing through increasing staffing at Savannah Police Department, allowing officers more the chance to spend more time in the communities they serve.

“A lot of people don’t know who a lot of politicians are, or who people in government are because, until election season, you don’t hear from them. Once you’re consistent, and you’re out there enough, I’ve worked with kids long enough to know that when they trust you, when you’re consistent with them, they’ll open up to talk to you, they trust you,” Rhodes said. “And so, building that bridging that gap between the community and the government is something I definitely want to do.”