Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for May 9, 2023

On May 9, 1862, a Union general, David Hunter, ordered the freedom of all slaves held in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, but President Lincoln issued a counter-order.

In Georgia on May 9, 1864, Union troops under General Sherman took Snake Creek Gap. In Atlanta, a notice was published,

“ATTENTION MILITIA! All persons between the ages of 16 and 60, not in the service of the Confederate States, in the second ward, are hereby notified to be and appear at the City Hall today, at 2 o’clock P.M., for the purpose of being armed and equipped for local defense. Herein fail not under penalty.”

On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first official “Mother’s Day.”

On May 9, 1974, the United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary opened hearing on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon.

On May 9, 2005, Governor Sonny Perdue signed legislation recognizing the Green Tree Frog as the official state amphibian.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Governor Brian Kemp’s office announced that April Net State Tax Revenues were down 16.5% over the previous year, according to a press release.

The State of Georgia’s net tax collections for April totaled $4.19 billion for a decrease of $829.5 million, or -16.5 percent, compared to April 2022, when net tax collections totaled $5.01 billion. Year-to-date, net tax collections totaled $27.79 billion for an increase of $256.9 million, or 0.9 percent, compared to the previous fiscal year, when net tax revenues totaled $27.54 billion at the end of April 2022.

The changes within the following tax categories help further explain April’s overall net tax revenue decrease:

Individual Income Tax: Individual Income Tax (IIT) collections decreased by roughly $1.02 billion, or -32.4 percent, to a total of $2.14 billion compared to last year, when Income Tax collections totaled $3.16 billion.

The sharp year-over-year decline in IIT revenues is due in large part to the first-year implementation of HB 149, passed in 2021, that permits certain pass-through entities such as S-Corporation and partnerships to make entity-level tax elections on behalf of their individual partners, beginning with tax year 2022 returns filed in 2023. In addition, the impact of HB 149 is reflected in the significant year-to-date increases in corporate income tax revenue throughout the current fiscal year.

The following notable components within Individual Income Tax combine for the net decrease:

• Individual Income Tax refunds issued (net of voided checks) were down $379.7 million, or -37.9 percent.
• Individual Withholding payments increased by $84.2 million, or 7.2 percent, compared to FY 2022.
• Individual Income Tax Return payments were down roughly $1.21 billion, or -49.4 percent, from last year.
• All other Individual Tax categories, including Non-Resident payments, were down a combined $281.3 million.

Sales and Use Tax: Gross Sales and Use Tax collections for the month totaled almost $1.59 billion, for an increase of $47.1 million, or 3.1 percent, over FY 2022. Net Sales and Use Tax increased by $19 million, or 2.4 percent, from April 2022, when net sales tax totaled $804.4 million. The adjusted Sales Tax distribution to local governments totaled $756.4 million for an increase of $26.7 million, or 3.7 percent, over last year, while sales tax refunds increased by $1.4 million, or 34.5 percent, compared to April 2022.

Corporate Income Tax: Corporate Income Tax collections increased by $33.2 million, or 4.7 percent, compared to the previous year, when Corporate Tax collections totaled $711.2 million for the month.

The following notable components within Corporate Income Tax make up the net increase:

• Corporate Income Tax refunds issued (net of voided checks) were up $40.4 million, or 254.8 percent.
• Corporate Income Tax Return payments increased by $66 million, or 27.4 percent, over April 2022.
• Corporate Income Tax Estimated payments decreased by $68.4 million, or -15.3 percent, from last year.
• All other Corporate Tax types, including S-Corp and Partnership payments, were up a combined $76 million.

Motor Fuel Taxes: Motor Fuel Tax collections increased by $87.5 million, or 83.5 percent, over FY 2022.

Motor Vehicle – Tag & Title Fees: Motor Vehicle Tag & Title Fees increased by nearly $1.4 million, or 4.1 percent, while Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) collections increased by $2.3 million, or 3 percent, compared to last year, when TAVT collections totaled almost $77 million.

From the AJC:

State tax collections were way down in April, as Gov. Brian Kemp’s economic team predicted, making it less likely Georgians will see the kind of tax rebates next spring they’ve gotten the past two years.

April marked the second consecutive month tax collections, which pay for K-12 schools, universities, public health care, law enforcement, roads and parks, have been down from 2022.

For the first 10 months of fiscal 2023, which ends June 30, collections are less than 1% ahead of last year, by far the worst performance for the state since the beginning of the pandemic. That means the state won’t finish the fiscal year with the kind of massive surpluses that paid for tax rebates.

Four Democratic state legislators are calling for a special legislative session to pass gun control laws, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

State Sen. Nabilah Islam and state Reps. Pedro Marin, Gregg Kennard and Ruwa Romman, all Democrats, signed the letter, which was sent to the governor on Monday. The call for a special session comes on the heels of the shooting at a Northside Hospital facility in midtown as well as another incident in Moultrie last week, and a shooting at mall in Texas over the weekend.

“For many years, the Georgia General Assembly has passed legislation that has made it easier for dangerous individuals and individuals experiencing mental health crises to acquire and possess firearms,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “This legislation has been signed into law by you and your predecessors. At the same time, our communities have been forced to endure mass casualty events that have become more frequent and more deadly because of these laws.”

Additional Democrats in the General Assembly came out in support of the call for a special session after news about the letter emerged on Monday. The Georgia House Democratic Caucus announced legislators will hold a press conference at the state Capitol on Wednesday morning to reiterate the call for a special session.

“But we believe that this crisis can no longer be ignored,” they wrote. “Therefore, we request that, under the authority granted to you by the Georgia State Constitution, you immediately and without delay call a special session of the Georgia General Assembly to specifically address firearm related public safety.”

Georgia’s Republican National Committeewoman Ginger Howard spoke to the Golden Isles Republican Women meeting, according to The Brunswick News.

“The 2022 elections did not work out,” she said. “Everybody wants someone to blame. So many factors go into a campaign and there are many reasons things fall apart.”

She said consultants hired to help with campaigns don’t care who wins or loses — they get paid regardless of the outcome.

“A lot of time you don’t know what you are getting into,” Howard said. “Anyone who puts their name on a ballot, God bless you.”

“United we win, divided we lose,” she said. “We are a circular firing squad. The Democrats are beating us up with younger people.”

Howard said voters between the ages of 18 and 30 are voting 2-1 in favor of Democrats.

The way to reach younger voters and convince them to vote Republican can be achieved with the help of “influencers” who will reach out via social media.

“We’ve got to reach younger people,” she said.

The state party is planning to launch a campaign called “Unite the Right.” The campaign is still in the developmental stage, including a youth advisory board to create a social media campaign.

Statesboro and Bulloch County have agreed upon a new location for a voting place, according to the Statesboro Herald.

After a 3-0 vote Monday by the Bulloch County Board of Elections and Registration, the county and city are both proposing to make the community building at Luetta Moore Park the new voting place for their precincts that formerly voted in the cafeteria at the William James Educational Complex.

Last week the city clerk placed a new notice in the Statesboro Herald for a hearing during the 5:30 p.m.  May 16 City Council meeting, again citing the “Luetta Moore Building,” formally the Jones-Love Cultural Center at Luetta Moore Park on Martin Luther King Jr.  Drive, as the proposed voting place.

The county Board of Elections and Registration’s decision is separate, affecting what is called simply the “Statesboro” precinct for county, state and federal elections. But officials have expressed a desire to keep them in the same voting place to avoid confusing voters.

Dougherty County Commissioners are considering a surcharge to cover jail costs, according to the Albany Herald.

The Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office is asking county commissioners to help it establish a rainy day fund to pay for maintenance and save for the day when a new jail complex is needed.

On Monday, Sheriff’s Col. Jon Ostrander requested that Dougherty County commissioners approve a 10% surcharge that would be added to bonds and court fines earmarked for those purposes.

“A jail facility, that’s hard use,” said the colonel, who is in charge of jail operations. “We’re the only facility in the county where people are trying to destroy the facility 24 hours a day.

The current jail cost $32 million, and replacing it today would be about double that amount, Ostrander said. Georgia law allows for the imposition of fees on bonds and court fines to help fund jail construction, operational costs and staffing.

“SPLOST (special-purpose local-option sales tax) won’t cover that,” Ostrander said of the construction costs. “There is just not enough money there to build a new facility. The only possible way we could do this is to have a funding source separate from the general fund, separate from SPLOST.”

Two commissioners brought up the issue of the possible extra burden the additional fees would have on individuals who are struggling to afford bail.

“Can you ask people who are presumably innocent, ‘well, you have to pay an extra 10% to get out of jail?’” Commissioner Gloria Gaines said. “It’s a double-edged sword. You have people in jail who cannot afford a bond, plus they’re costing us money.”

Watkinsville Police Chief Shannon Brock resigned for health reasons, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

Deputy Chief Todd Tetterton has been appointed as interim chief. City officials said they have not decided when they will begin the process of hiring a new chief. Tetterton, an employee since January 2020, has 35 years of experience in law enforcement, according to the city.

City officials, in the news release, touted Brock’s tenure as chief. They noted he has upgraded technology, provided body cameras for officer, and overseen the patrol fleet. He hired the first female officer for the department and worked on improving relationships with other law enforcement agencies and participating in community events with seniors and children-related endeavors.

Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams is under investigation, according to WRDW.

[T]he Georgia Bureau of Investigation has announced it will be conducting a limited preliminary inquiry into allegations and concerns regarding Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams and the sheriff’s office.

The I-TEAM recently uncovered the sheriff is under fire for missing funds, $53,000, and a separate GBI investigation regarding training records.

Burke County says they presented a lot of evidence to the GBI, they took the evidence to the District Attorney Jared Williams.

According to the GBI, the investigation is active and ongoing.

From WJBF:

Sheriff Williams’ office responded to our question about the nature of the investigation, stating:

“The GBI was asked by the District Attorney [Jared Williams] conduct a non-criminal preliminary inquiry to look at travel and reimbursement expenses related to my work, both as sheriff of Burke County and as an instructor with a private company, LHLN.  My role as sheriff is very unique. I believe a thorough sifting of the duties and role of sheriff, combined with servant leadership influence and taking ownership of our profession, I am confident the GBI will find I acted within the scope of the office of sheriff and within the confines of my constitutional authority. I respect the DA’s decision to have this non-criminal preliminary inquiry reviewed and I value the role of the GBI and the integrity they bring. Again, I remain confident that a thorough sifting of the facts of the inquiry will prove there is no criminal wrongdoing. My office has fully cooperated with the investigation.”

Alfonzo Williams, Burke County Sheriff