Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for December 2, 2024

On November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II called for the first Crusade.

At the Council of Clermont, in France, at which several hundred clerics and noblemen gathered, Urban delivered a rousing speech summoning rich and poor alike to stop their in-fighting and embark on a righteous war to help their fellow Christians in the East and take back Jerusalem. Urban denigrated the Muslims, exaggerating stories of their anti-Christian acts, and promised absolution and remission of sins for all who died in the service of Christ.

Urban’s war cry caught fire, mobilizing clerics to drum up support throughout Europe for the crusade against the Muslims. All told, between 60,000 and 100,000 people responded to Urban’s call to march on Jerusalem. Not all who responded did so out of piety: European nobles were tempted by the prospect of increased land holdings and riches to be gained from the conquest. These nobles were responsible for the death of a great many innocents both on the way to and in the Holy Land, absorbing the riches and estates of those they conveniently deemed opponents to their cause. Adding to the death toll was the inexperience and lack of discipline of the Christian peasants against the trained, professional armies of the Muslims. As a result, the Christians were initially beaten back, and only through sheer force of numbers were they eventually able to triumph.

Urban died in 1099, two weeks after the fall of Jerusalem but before news of the Christian victory made it back to Europe. His was the first of seven major military campaigns fought over the next two centuries known as the Crusades, the bloody repercussions of which are still felt today. Urban was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church in 1881.

On November 28, 1520, Ferdinand Magellan became the first European to navigate from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

John Wesley left Savannah on December 2, 1737.

John Wesley’s strict discipline as rector of Christ Church in Savannah irritated his parishioners. More trouble followed when he fell in love with Sophia Hopkey, the niece of Georgia’s chief magistrate. When she married another man, Wesley banned her from Holy Communion, damaging her reputation in the community.

His successful romantic rival sued him; but Wesley refused to recognize the authority of the court, and the man who would eventually found a major Protestant denomination in America left Georgia in disgrace on December 2, 1737.

Touro Synagogue, the oldest existing synagogue in the United States, was dedicated on December 2, 1763 in Newport, Rhode Island.

On November 28, 1777, Congress appointed John Adams as commissioner to France, replacing Silas Deane.

On November 30, 1782, British and American signed a preliminary treaty in Paris to end the American Revolution, which included withdrawal of British troops and recognition of American independence.

President George Washington declared November 26, 1789 the first “public day of thanksgiving and prayer.”

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and—Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favor, able interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other trangressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go. Washington

Georgia ratified the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution on November 29, 1794, which reads,

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state.

On November 30, 1819, the SS Savannah returned to Savannah, GA from its trip as the first steamship to cross the Atlantic.

On November 27, 1864, Sherman ordered the courthouse in Sandersville, Georgia burned.

The Skirmish at Rocky Creek Church took place near Waynesboro, Georgia on December 2, 1864.

The Grand Ole Opry began live radio broadcasts from Nashville, Tennessee on November 28, 1925.

On November 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Fourth Thursday in November as the modern Thanksgiving celebration.

[I]t was not until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to fall on the last Thursday of November, that the modern holiday was celebrated nationally.

With a few deviations, Lincoln’s precedent was followed annually by every subsequent president–until 1939. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt departed from tradition by declaring November 23, the next to last Thursday that year, as Thanksgiving Day. Considerable controversy surrounded this deviation, and some Americans refused to honor Roosevelt’s declaration. For the next two years, Roosevelt repeated the unpopular proclamation, but on November 26, 1941, he admitted his mistake and signed a bill into law officially making the fourth Thursday in November the national holiday of Thanksgiving Day.

On the same day, a Japanese navy fleet left port headed toward Pearl Harbor.

On November 29, 1942, coffee rationing began in the United States.

On November 29, 1947, the United Nations passed a resolution to partition Palestine and allow the creation of a Jewish state of Israel.

On November 29, 1963, President Lyndon Johnson appointed the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, referred to as the Warren Commission. Senator Richard B. Russell, Jr. of Georgia was appointed to the Commission.

On November 27, 1978, San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were murdered at City Hall.

[Suspect Dan] White, who was caught soon after the murders, pleaded a “diminished capacity” defense, claiming that copious amounts of junk food, combined with distress over the loss of his job, caused him to suffer mental problems. The so-called “Twinkie Defense” appeared to be successful, and, in 1979, White was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter rather than murder. Public outrage was so widespread that California revoked the diminished capacity defense in subsequent cases.

In 2009, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Milk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and California declared his birthday, May 22, Harvey Milk Day. On the 50th anniversary of Stonewall in 2019, Milk was an inaugural inductee onto the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor.

The Tawana Brawley case began on November 28, 1987; the greatest lasting impact would be the rise to celebrity of community activist the Rev. Al Sharpton.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

An audit of the November 5, 2024 General Election ballots by optical character recognition (OCR) , according to the Savannah Morning News.

Georgia’s voting machines became the focus of several conspiracy theories following the 2020 election, with some arguing that Dominion Voting System technology couldn’t be trusted. Georgia election officials have long disputed that theory, arguing that the machines were more reliable than paper ballots.

Thanks to a first-of-its-kind audit, election officials now have hard evidence to back that up.

The audit used Optical Character Recognition technology to read the text on all 5.3 million ballots cast in Georgia during the 2024 election, revealing just 87 discrepancies between the original count and the audit. All were due to human-error.

86 of the errors were attributable to absentee voters who filled out paper ballots incorrectly, such as leaving a faint checkmark instead of bubbling their choice in. The other was traced back to a mistake made at the county level with a write-in vote.

The audit then checked against the totals from Dominion’s scanning machines, which tabulated votes on Election Night via QR codes printed on ballots.

In this case, the audit concluded: “There were zero differences found between the tabulation based on the human-readable text and the tabulation based on the QR codes generated by the Dominion ImageCast X ballot marking devices. In every instance, the human-readable text on the paper ballots matched the votes represented in the QR code on that ballot.”

The audit confirmed the election results – and the winner – of all 1,955 local, state, and federal races across Georgia.

From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Macon Telegraph:

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has long contended that the Dominion Voting System machines the state uses are more accurate than paper ballots. Now, he has evidence to demonstrate that point.

A first-of-its-kind ballot-image audit conducted in all 159 counties after this month’s elections found discrepancies on only 87 of the nearly 5.3 million ballots cast across Georgia on Nov. 5. All but one of those discrepancies occurred on hand-marked paper ballots.

“The ballot-image audit shows again that the votes in Georgia were counted accurately, securely, and quickly,” Raffensperger said. “Our system works accurately and can be trusted.”

The audit examined all 1,955 races in every county in Georgia, including 295 state or federal contests and 1,660 local races.

The lone machine ballot found with a discrepancy occurred with a write-in vote in a local contest that was awarded incorrectly to a candidate on the ballot.

The audit found that the QR codes on paper backups to machine ballots were 100% accurate.

The use of QR codes has been criticized as confusing to voters. The General Assembly passed legislation this year eliminating the QR codes in time for the next election cycle.

Republican candidate for State House District 128 Tracy Wheeler is appealing her apparent loss in the General Election, according to the AJC.

The closest election for the Georgia House of Representatives — decided by 48 votes — is being contested in court by a Republican candidate whose lawsuit calls the results “highly unusual.”

Tracy Wheeler, a Republican activist and businessperson, challenged the election Wednesday following her loss to Democratic state Rep. Mack Jackson, a pastor.

Wheeler’s lawsuit alleges the election should be invalidated because ineligible voters who live outside House District 128 were allowed to participate while eligible voters weren’t allowed to cast ballots. The suit also claims ballots were wrongfully rejected, among other irregularities.

Jackson defeated Wheeler 13,926 to 13,878, a 0.2 percentage point margin, according to official results certified last week.

The Georgia Republican Party announced support for Wheeler, saying it is concerned that redistricting mistakes allowed voters living outside the area to participate in the race.

House District 128 includes the cities of Sandersville, Sparta and Thomson in the eastern part of Georgia. The district covers all of Glascock, Hancock, Warren and Washington counties, and parts of Baldwin and McDuffie counties.

After this month’s election, Democrats gained two seats in the Georgia House, but Republicans still hold a 100-80 majority.

The AJC’s Greg Bluestein reports on the funeral for the late Georgia Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson:

The friends and family who gathered Saturday in Thompson’s hometown of Cartersville, where he died this week at 59 of complications of pancreatic cancer, celebrated the legacy of a leader known for his devout Christian faith and pugnacious political style.

Thompson’s wife Becky liked to call him the human version of a bulldozer, someone who didn’t take “no” for an answer when he asked her on a date after a Bible study class and, after years of marriage, couldn’t turn down a chance to open their house to those in need.
To his kids, Thompson was both a doting father and a devoted teacher who pushed his daughter Faith to stand up for herself and left his son Max with one of his most valuable lessons after he took his final breath.

And to Gov. Brian Kemp and other friends, Thompson was a “fighter” who battled for conservative causes in the Legislature and later took on a devastating form of cancer, determined to stay in office and work to meet his pledge to overhaul a troubled agency.

“Saying ‘you can’t’ was not an option for Bruce,” said John Mroczko, a longtime Thompson friend. “It was always, ‘find a way.’”

As he plunged deeper into local politics, an opportunity sprang up. Barry Loudermilk stepped down early from the state Senate to focus on his U.S. House bid, and Thompson won a 2013 special election for the Cartersville-based seat.

Over four terms in the Senate, he was a key ally of Kemp and other GOP leaders as he backed anti-abortion legislation and supported measures that expanded services for adoption and foster care.

In 2021, he made a gutsy decision to challenge Labor Commissioner Mark Butler, a fellow Republican who faced criticism during the pandemic as staffers struggled to process an unprecedented crush of claims for jobless benefits and manage new federal initiatives.

Butler later announced he wouldn’t seek a fourth term, leaving Thompson with a clearer path to the GOP nomination. He easily defeated Democrat William Boddie and Libertarian Emily Anderson in 2022 to capture the statewide office.

In office, Thompson made waves when he announced in 2023 that an audit found more than $105 million in Georgia Department of Labor accounts that he said had been withheld from the state treasury by his predecessor.

Thompson disclosed his growing illness in May as the advanced-stage pancreatic cancer spread to his liver. But the commissioner added that he wouldn’t step down from office, saying his life has been full of “what seem like insurmountable challenges.”

His close friends said Thompson was at peace as the cancer spread, forcing him into hospice care. A few days ago, Max made a last visit to his father’s bedside and tearfully asked for a final lesson.

By then, Thompson was too sick to talk. But shortly after he died, Max scanned his text messages and saw that he missed one from his father. It said, simply: “I love you.”

“That’s the final lesson,” Max said. “He always made time for his family.”

I admired Bruce Thompson.

President Elect Donald Trump was said to be likely to nominate Georgia’s Kelly Loeffler for Secretary of Agriculture, according to the Capitol Beat News Service.

President-elect Donald Trump is turning to Georgia again in his pick to head the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Eight years after choosing former Gov. Sonny Perdue as secretary of agriculture, Trump is expected to nominate former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., to the post, multiple media outlets reported Friday.

Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Loeffler to the Senate in January 2020 to fill the unexpired term of retired Sen. Johnny Isakson, who died late the following year. She ran for a full term later in 2020 but lost to Democrat Raphael Warnock in a runoff at the beginning of 2021.

Loeffler, a wealthy Atlanta businesswoman, is married to Jeff Sprecher, chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange. She also was CEO of Atlanta-based Bakkt, a Bitcoin-focused subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange, and was formerly a co-owner of the women’s pro basketball team the Atlanta Dream.

Loeffler has been a staunch loyalist to Trump, backing his unsuccessful legal efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results that saw Trump lose to Democrat Joe Biden and calling for the resignation of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger at that time amid unproven Republican claims of election fraud in Georgia.

After the dust settled from the 2020 election cycle, Loeffler founded the organization Greater Georgia to recruit Republican candidates and register GOP voters.

After Trump turned the tables on the Democrats this month to win a second term in the White House, Loeffler signed on as co-chair of the president-elect’s inauguration committee.

While Loeffler’s business career has not touched on agriculture, she grew up on a farm in southern Illinois. Her nomination will be subject to confirmation by her former colleagues in the Senate.

From MSN.com:

Loeffler is currently the co-chair of Trump’s second inaugural committee, ahead of his January 2025 swearing in, along with real estate mogul Steve Witkoff.

Loeffler briefly represented Georgia in the Senate after being appointed in 2019 following the resignation of former Sen. Johnny Isakson (R). She lost her bid for the seat in the 2020 special election to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.

The agriculture industry is closely watching Trump’s transition, as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vowed to crack down on unhealthy foods if he’s confirmed to run the Department of Health and Human Resources. Trump made gains among rural voters in pivotal battleground states such as Georgia and North Carolina, which helped fuel his victory in the 2024 race.

But today, Trump announced the upcoming appointment of Brooke Rollins for Ag, according to Poultry World.

US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Brooke Rollins, now president of the America First Policy Institute. The nomination must still be approved by the Senate.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a huge organisation with offices in every county in the country, employing 100,000 people. The federal ministry’s budget this year is US$437 billion, according to Reuters.

The USDA is not only concerned about agriculture, but also food policy and food education. The production and blending of biofuels is also an important item in the US. Trump calls the agricultural sector the “backbone” of the country and wants Rollins to make it stronger.

From Politico:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent weeks lobbying Donald Trump to nominate an Agriculture secretary who would be his ally in a war with the sugar, soybean, corn and other farm commodity interests he argues are poisoning Americans.

Working largely from his home in California, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services even meticulously vetted and put forward his own list of candidates to run the massive agency responsible for the country’s farm and food policy, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

But Trump went a different direction. Instead, the president-elect made a wild-card pick — a former White House aide with little formal experience in agriculture policy and no record on the public health concerns driving Kennedy’s agenda.

In Trump’s first term, Rollins worked as acting director of the White House’s domestic policy council. After his defeat in 2020, she helped form and lead the America First Policy Institute, a nonprofit group that has served as a shadow Trump transition team, preparing reams of policy plans and staffing suggestions in the event he won a second term. The organization’s only work on agriculture policy, however, has been to warn against Chinese nationals buying up U.S. farmland.

Hurricane Helene will damage Georgia’s economy with a $5.5 billion dollar hit to the agriculture and forestry sector, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

Hurricane Helene ripped through Georgia at the end of September, killing 34 people and damaging over 200,000 homes across the state. It was the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland United States since Hurricane Katrina nearly two decades ago.

Now, two months later, the extent of the losses to Georgia’s economy is coming into focus.

Based on a preliminary analysis, Hurricane Helene will cost Georgia’s economy at least $5.5 billion in agricultural and timber losses.

This includes decreased revenue from crop production, as well as losses to workers and agricultural and forestry-related businesses. The sum also tallies the cost of recovery and restoration efforts, like replanting crops and replacing damaged equipment and facilities.

The analysis – a joint effort between the University of Georgia, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s office, the Georgia Department of Agriculture, and the Georgia Forestry Commission – stressed that the findings are only an initial estimate. The true extent of the damage isn’t fully known yet.

Hurricane Helene affected every crop that Georgia farmers produce, according to the Georgia Department of Agriculture. Cotton, vegetables, and nursery plants – the crops that bring in the most revenue for the state – were hit the hardest.

The analysis estimates that nearly 33% of Georgia’s cotton was lost to the hurricane. Likewise, it’s estimated that up to 30% of vegetables, including fall staples zucchini and squash, were destroyed by Helene. The hurricane also caused significant damage to Georgia’s nursery industry, destroying critical irrigation systems, infrastructure, and greenhouses.

Production of blueberries, citrus, peanuts, pecans, tobacco, and soybeans also sustained major damage.

The poultry industry, the leading agricultural commodity in Georgia, also suffered major losses. Helene destroyed or damaged hundreds of chicken houses, resulting in a significant loss of animal life. The $5.5 billion total figure includes reduced revenue due to the unavailability of chicken houses.

The path of Hurricane Helene covered over 8 million acres of Georgia’s forestland, with roughly 1.5 million acres receiving most of the timber damage. The cost of the timber destruction is estimated to be $1.28 billion.

U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta) testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee about Hurricane Helene’s impact on farmers, according to WTOC.

He told the committee, “The numbers are staggering, but this isn’t about numbers. It’s about families and rural communities, and without our help, the simple fact is that many of these family farms will fold, and they may fold soon. They’re staring at devastated farmland and orchards, deep in the red, and under immense stress. If they go under, our rural communities go under. The local tax base funding schools and infrastructure is destroyed. And the rural way of life in Georgia risks disappearing altogether,” Sen. Ossoff testified.

Sen. Ossoff continued, “We must refuse the temptation to delay or to get dragged into politics. We must swiftly pass disaster assistance by the end of the year. My constituents and Americans in every state hit by this terrible storm and hit by natural disasters for the last several years are counting on all of us.”

According to his office, In September, in the days after Hurricane Helene, Sen. Ossoff and Congressman Austin Scott (GA-08), alongside Georgia’s entire Congressional Delegation– led a bipartisan, bicameral group of 34 lawmakers from Southeastern states urging Congressional Leadership to ensure disaster relief resources are made available to agricultural producers following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene.

Senator Ossoff wrapped up that important testimony in front of the committee with the following: “If they go under, our rural communities go under. The local tax base funding schools and infrastructure is destroyed and the rural way of life in Georgia risks disappearing altogether. We know what we need to do, and the fact that my colleague, Senator Tillis, and I are here before you, a Democrat and a Republican, urging speed to achieve this essential goal, I hope, is testimony to the urgency of bipartisan action before the end of the year. We must refuse the temptation to delay or to get dragged into politics. We must swiftly pass disaster assistance by the end of the year. My constituents and Americans in every state hit by this terrible storm and hit by natural disasters for the last several years are counting on all of us.”

Damage from Helene could also drive higher rates from Georgia Power, according to WRDW.

In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Georgia Power noted to its shareholders that Hurricane Helene cost the company $1.1 billion.

The company has called the storm the most destructive it’s ever faced, causing significant damage to transmission and distribution facilities.

In the end of the note, the company said “the rate of storm damage recovery is expected to be adjusted as part of the next base rate case.”

Every three years, Georgia Power makes what’s known as a base rate case to the Georgia Public Service Commission, which regulates the company.

As part of a base rate case, the company may ask to raise their customers’ rates for a variety of reasons.

The next scheduled base rate case is in 2025. You may remember the 2022 base rate case, in which the PSC approved a 12% rate increase for Georgia Power customers.

When asked if the company is planning on asking to raise rates again, this time due to damage from Hurricane Helene, company leaders responded that they maintain a storm recovery account, and that a portion of each customer’s bill is used to cover restoration costs after storms.

The PSC sets the rate that customers are charged for the account.

In the same SEC filing, Georgia Power noted its storm recovery account balance was $1.2 billion as of Sept. 30. The money in that account would have to cover damages from all storms from the year, not just Hurricane Helene.

The Georgia State Senate Study Committee on the Preservation of Georgia’s Farmlands adopted recommendations for the coming legislative session, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Ledger-Enquirer.

The state Senate Study Committee on the Preservation of Georgia’s Farmlands unanimously approved 11 recommendations Nov. 25 aimed at slowing the conversion of prime farmland across the state to development.

“It’s not a simple solution,” Will Bentley, president of the Georgia Agribusiness Council, said after the study committee adopted its report. “It’s going to take a multi-faceted approach.”

Georgia has lost about 2.6 million acres of farmland during the last 50 years to residential and commercial development.

Along with losing farmland, the state also is losing farmers to retirement without a ready supply of replacements. There are more farmers in Georgia over the age of 65 than under.

Higher costs for farm inputs including seed and equipment coupled with foreign competition driving down crop prices are discouraging young Georgians from taking up farming.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to get young people back into farming,” said Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, a member of the study committee. “It’s almost impossible for a young person to break into the business.”

The General Assembly has taken several steps in recent years aimed at addressing the issue. Lawmakers passed the Freedom to Farm Act in 2022, making it harder to file nuisance lawsuits against farmers.

Last year, the legislature passed a bill raising the legal weight limits on commercial trucks hauling certain types of cargo in certain parts of Georgia as well as a second measure – the Georgia Farmland Conservation Act – establishing a $2 million state fund to pay farmers willing to guarantee preserving their properties as farmland.

This year, the General Assembly enacted legislation prohibiting foreign adversaries from buying farmland in Georgia.

The study committee’s 21-page report includes several recommendations aimed at easing the tax burden for farmers. Broadly, it calls for the legislature to continue providing the state income tax breaks Gov. Brian Kemp and lawmakers have been offering to all Georgia taxpayers, and for increasing the $2 million Georgia Farmland Conservation Fund.

Specifically, the report supports expanding the state’s Conservation Use Valuation Assessment (CUVA) program, which allows farmers who pledge not to develop their land to receive property tax assessments based on the land’s productivity value instead of its fair market value.

The study committee is recommending doubling the maximum acreage individual farmers may set aside for conservation from 2,000 to 4,000 acres.

The panel also suggested extending tax relief to farmers and timberland owners who suffered losses from Hurricane Helene by expanding state tax credits to recipients of state and federal disaster relief aid.

The 2023 truck weights measure raised the weight limit for commercial trucks from 80,000 pounds to 88,000 pounds but limited the higher weights to trucks hauling agricultural products – including livestock – and logs. The committee is calling for increasing the weight limit again and allowing that higher weight limit to apply to trucks hauling a wider variety of products.

The report also supports removing the sunset provision in the law, which calls for the measure to expire next July 1.

The study committee also is recommending amending Georgia’s Gratuities Clause, which supporters say discourages corruption in state government. Any individual Georgian or Georgia business that receives a gift from the state – such as a tax break – must demonstrate a benefit to the state in return.

Bentley said a case can be made that farmers generate a benefit for the state from tax breaks that allow them to stay in business.

“Producing food and fiber for the world is of the utmost public good,” he said.

But Bentley said his group is not calling for the Gratuities Clause to be eliminated because it has served the state well.

“We were more in the camp of looking at adjustments that can be made … a very narrow exception to a rule to keep farms operational,” he said.

The committee also is recommending an inventory of the growing acreage solar farms are taking up across Georgia.

While the acreage solar farms are eating up has become a concern, the main culprit behind the loss of farmland in Georgia is unplanned growth. The committee is suggesting that cities, counties, school systems, and local development authorities look to incentivize development along existing infrastructure patterns and look to redevelop existing properties rather than letting development sprawl across undeveloped land that could be saved for farming.

“We can’t just conserve ourselves out of this threat,” said Katherine Moore, president of the nonprofit Georgia Conservancy. “We need to be very intentional in how our communities grow.”

The study committee’s report now moves to the full Senate for consideration during the legislative session starting in January.

Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro, the committee’s chairman, said several farmland preservation bills could emerge as lawmakers look to bolster an ag industry that generates one of every seven jobs in Georgia and produces an annual economic impact of $83.6 billion.

“Agriculture is the No.-1 business in Georgia,” Hickman said. “We’ve got to protect it.”

Some solar advocates may push to allow property owners to purchase power from third-parties, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.

Solar power advocates in Georgia are renewing a push for legislation that would let Georgia Power customers buy electricity from third-party providers of solar energy.

A bill that would open the door to so-called “community” solar projects in the Peach State failed to gain traction in the General Assembly during this year’s legislative session. However, the state House of Representatives created an ad hoc committee to consider the proposal this summer and fall.

Community solar projects are smaller than utility-scale solar projects but larger than rooftop solar panels installed by individual property owners. Community solar allows residential and business property owners who might not be able to afford rooftop solar to participate in solar energy development.

“We are confident a market-based community solar program under the regulation of the (Georgia) Public Service Commission (PSC) would be a benefit to Georgia,” Bob Sherrier, a staff attorney with the Atlanta-based Southern Environmental Law Center, told members of the committee during a hearing Nov. 19.

“What I see here is an opportunity for free-market principles to operate,” added state Rep. Brad Thomas, R-Holly Springs, a member of the committee.

Under this year’s House Bill 1152, customers could subscribe with community solar providers for projects producing no more than six megawatts of power and receive a credit in return. The fees subscribers pay would go toward building community solar projects.

Sherrier cited a recent study conducted by the Coalition for Community Solar Access, a national solar power advocacy group, that found solar projects create 16 jobs and $2 million in economic impact for every solar megawatt produced.

“The community solar model works … because community solar adds significant value to the whole grid,” he said.

But Georgia Power opposes third-party community solar projects for several reasons.

Wilson Mallard, the Atlanta-based utility’s director of renewable development, said Georgia Power already offers a robust community solar program with about 2,000 customers.

“We’ve got a vibrant renewable market,” he said. “Putting that at risk for the benefits this bill would provide is not in Georgians’ best interests.”

Since the PSC would regulate community solar providers under this year’s bill, the measure would not have applied to Georgia’s electric membership cooperatives (EMCs).

But Chris Stephens, president and CEO of Coweta-Fayette EMC, told the committee he’s concerned that any legislation introduced in 2025 might be extended to cover EMCs. He questioned the need for third parties to build community solar projects in Georgia when the state already ranks seventh in the nation for solar.

“For solar developers, House Bill 1152 is a dream piece of legislation,” Stephens said. “It allows any independent solar developer to set up as many 30- to 35-acre solar installations as they like across the state.”

Mallard also argued that allowing Georgia Power customers to buy electricity from third-party community solar providers would force customers who don’t sign up for community solar to shoulder some of the program’s costs.

“The customers who participate in community solar no longer pay to Georgia Power but to a third-party provider,” he said. “That causes a shortfall … a shift in the cost recovery from participants to non-participants.”

But Sherrier isn’t buying the cost-shifting argument.

“The utilities oppose customer-driven third-party owned projects like community solar because they threaten to supplant utility investments and take away from shareholder profits,” he said.

Rep. Ruwa Romman, D-Duluth, another member of the ad hoc committee, said the status quo doesn’t seem to be working when so few Georgia Power customers are participating in the utility’s in-house community solar program.

“If you’re only able to provide community solar to 2,000 out of 2.7 million customers, doesn’t it show something is not working here?” she asked Mallard. “Maybe we should be allowed to try something new.”

Mallard said Georgia Power is working to improve all of its solar programs.

“We need to add solar,” he said. “We just need to add it in a way that produces the best value for our customers.”

Note that HB 1154, cited in that story, will not be eligible for passage in the next Session; it or another bill would have to be introuced, since it’s a new 2-year term for legislators.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will continue their support Georgia fisheries with $1 million dollars per year through FY2027, according to AccessWDUN.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday that it, along with the Tennessee Valley Authority, will continue to provide $1 million annually to fund federal fish hatcheries that stock waters in both Georgia and Tennessee.

“By working together, we strengthen the economy, promote clean water, and enhance recreation in the Tennessee Valley,” Mike Oetker, regional director for the fish and wildlife service said. “Recreational fishing brings people together, creates lasting memories, and teaches the value of conservation.”

The announcement was made by the fish and wildlife service along with the TVA, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency at a celebration downstream of Blue Ridge Dam Monday. The celebration included the release of fish beside Sugar Creek near Blue Ridge.

The new agreement extends the annual funding through fiscal year 2027.Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division Director Ted Will said the funding will continue to keep trout fishing alive in North Georgia waterways.

“Maintaining this partnership and working together gives us the ability to meet angler needs and additionally add economic value to communities in these mountain areas.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the hatcheries provide 500,000 trout to TVA waters annually. They added that more than 256,000 fishers are expected to trout fish in Georgia and Tennessee each yer, spending around $75 to every dollar invested in the hatchery program, producing an estimated economic impact of around $50 million.

The Dougherty County Coroner and EMS Director say opioid overdoses are trending down, according to the Albany Herald.

After the number of drug overdose deaths spiked at nearly 40 in Dougherty County in 2021, the numbers have shown a gradual decline, and with one month left in 2024 the number of potential overdose deaths are at about half that number.

Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler and Emergency Medical Services Director Sam Allen started seeing an upward trend in opioid deaths in 2017, but it was during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that numbers soared.

After that, though, numbers started declining.

In 2022 there were 34 overdose deaths, Fowler said, and last year there were 32.

“This year we’ve got, so far, 10 confirmed and 10 waiting for the (toxicology) to confirm,” the coroner said. “So we’ve got 20 if those are confirmed.”

After noticing the increase in overdoses in 2017, Fowler and Allen became proactive in trying to prevent deaths. One of those efforts was a dramatic program presented in the Albany Civic Center, complete with ambulances and police cars entering to respond to the overdose scene aimed at young people.

“I think that kind of helped by people being aware of what’s going on,” Fowler said.

The coroner said he doesn’t know of any direct correlation between the pandemic and drug overdoses, but “it makes sense” that people who were confined for a long period of time were reacting to the situation.

Columbus City Councilors may consider outsourcing some tax functions, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Columbus officials are considering outsourcing the city’s occupational tax department to solve longstanding problems with the government’s ability to process business and alcohol licenses. A follow-up audit looking into the backlog of processing business and alcohol licenses showed continued concerns despite the department making some progress, officials learned at a Nov. 19 city council meeting.

Problems with revenue collection in the city began last summer when the council requested a finance department audit brought on by reports of a backlog in processing business and alcohol licenses.

The initial audit found that the office space for the occupational tax department, which handles business and alcohol licenses, was unorganized. Unattended stacks and boxes of license applications and returned mail were piling up.

“I don’t have confidence that (Columbus Consolidated Government) can handle the finance department and the incoming business licenses to a point where we can get ahead and become a functioning government and be a place where businesses want to come in and do business in Columbus, Georgia,” councilor Joanne Cogle said during the meeting.

On Tuesday, Bulloch County Commissioners will consider a proposed contract to hire Assistant County Manager Cindy Steinmann as interim County Administrator, according to the Statesboro Herald.

The Bulloch County commissioners are poised to adopt a contract Tuesday, Dec. 3, for Assistant County Manager Cindy Steinmann to step into the role of interim county manager, since longtime County Manager Tom Couch’s resignation formally took effect Friday.

With a new Board of Commissioners chair and one district commissioner-elect who defeated incumbents set to take office at the beginning of 2025 and another already seated, Couch handed in his resignation in mid-October, timing it to take effect Nov. 29. He is now starting his new job as an assistant county manager for York County, South Carolina.

In late October when Couch’s resignation became public, Steinmann said she had not yet accepted the interim manager appointment but was seriously considering it. However, she added that she would not apply for the permanent role.

“I don’t have any intent of taking the role permanently,” Steinmann said then. “So, my intent is to keep the ship afloat until such time as the commissioners have recruited and hired a replacement county manager. … I’ll be a resource for commissioners and happy to assist in any recruitment.”

Under its terms, when a new permanent county manager is successfully recruited, Steinmann “shall resume duties” as assistant county manager “at a salary equal to the amount previously earned in that role.” That would also be the case if she were to resign as the manager or be terminated from the position by the county without cause.

If the commissioners were to terminate the agreement without cause before hiring a permanent manager and not retain Steinmann as assistant county manager, she would be entitled to three months severance pay at the manager’s salary, under the terms of the contract.

Bryan County Democratic Committee Chair Keith McCants will not seek reelection, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Aside from other opportunities that have come up, McCants pointed to his concern as to where the Democratic party stands right now.

“I am a Democrat at heart myself but I am a crossroads right now,” said McCants. “I am tired of the same old same old. The problems within the Democratic party are not new. They have been going on for 15-20 years.”

McCants said there is a lack of unity within the party and while not all of his frustration comes from Kamala Harris’ loss in the 2024 Presidential Race, he wanted to see her show more support for rural Americans, such as farmers.

“I am from Macon County – we are still an agricultural state,” said McCants. “I don’t hear Democrats talk about agriculture at all. Hurricane Helene devastated a lot of farmland – Kamala missed an opportunity to connect with farmers.”

He also questions some of the Democratic party’s ideologies when it comes to firearms. McCants is a member of the National Rifle Association of America.

“I’m a gun owner,” said McCants. “You can develop all these laws but the bad guys will still find a way to get their hands on these guns.”

“I could run for office again or I could go the independent route or the first time,” said McCants. “I am starting to look at the Republican side. All options are on the table.”