Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for February 4, 2025

John and Charles Wesley arrived at Tybee Roads, at the mouth of the Savannah River on February 5, 1736, along with James Oglethorpe and 254 other colonists.

On February 4, 1789, George Washington was unanimously elected by the Electoral College as the first President of the United States; Washington’s runner-up John Adams served as Vice President. Washington would repeat the feat four years later on February 4, 1793.

On February 4, 1801, John Marshall took office as Chief Justice of the United States. Marshall continued to hold the post of Secretary of State until March 4th. In one of American history’s rich ironies, Marshall, who served at the same time in the judicial and legislative branches of the federal government, would write the Court’s opinion in Marbury v. Madison, establishing the supremacy of the Supreme Court in matters of applying the Constitution through judicial review and establishing the doctrine of separation of powers. Marshall would serve during the terms of six Presidents.

On February 4, 1861, the Provisional Confederate Congress convened in Montgomery, Alabama, where it would draft a Constitution for the Confederate States of America, beginning with a near-verbatim copy of the United States Constitution.

On February 4, 1976, the Georgia Senate approved a resolution previously passed by the State House proposing a Constitutional Amendment to allow Governors of Georgia to serve two consecutive terms and voters approved in November 1976. Then-Governor George Busbee won reelection in November 1978, and since then Democrat Roy Barnes is the only Georgia Governor to not win reelection.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Waffle House announced they will add a 50-cent per egg surcharge due to rising prices caused by shortages, according to Atlanta News First and the Associated Press via WRDW.

“The continuing egg shortage caused by HPAI (bird flu) has caused a dramatic increase in egg prices,” Waffle House said in the statement. “Customers and restaurants are being forced to make difficult decisions. We are continuously monitoring egg prices and will adjust or remove the surcharge as market conditions allow.”

The average price per dozen of eggs nationwide hit $4.15 in December. That’s not quite as high as the $4.82 record set two years ago, but the Agriculture Department predicts prices are going to soar another 20% this year.

Shoppers in some parts of the country are already paying more than double the average price, or worse, finding empty shelves in their local grocery stores. Organic and cage-free varieties are even more expensive.

The bird flu outbreak that started in 2022 is the main reason egg prices are up so much.

Anytime the virus is found on a poultry farm, the entire flock is slaughtered to help limit the virus’ spread. And with massive egg farms routinely housing more than 1 million chickens, just a few infections can cause a supply crunch.

The problem tends to linger because it takes months to dispose of all the carcasses, disinfect barns and bring in new birds.

More than 145 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have been slaughtered since the current outbreak began, with the vast majority of them being egg-laying chickens.

From WRDW:

As bird flu forces farmers nationwide to kill millions of birds a month, the shortage of birds is raising the demand and prices for eggs, South Carolina farmers say.

Lowcountry farmers said bird flu is one of the biggest contributors to high egg costs. It’s causing U.S. farmers to have to kill millions of chickens, raising the demand and making it harder for local farmers to get healthy birds to produce those eggs.

“The supply of eggs is down throughout the country and I’m afraid they are going to continue to go down as more and more farms are hit by bird flu,” Legare Farms co-owner Thomas Legare said.

The United States Department of Agriculture predicts prices are going to soar another 20% this year.

Under the Gold Dome Today

TBD Senate Rules: Upon Adjournment 450 CAP

8 AM HOUSE MOTOR VEHICLES 606 CLOB

8 AM HOUSE AG & CONS AFF 506 CLOB

10AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD11) House Chamber

10AM Senate Floor Session (LD 11) Senate Chamber

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1PM HOUSE Govtal Aff Sub State & Local Govt 415 CLOB

1PM Senate Children & Families 307 CLOB

2PM HOUSE RURAL DEV 403 CAP

2PM HOUSE INTRAGOVTAL COORD 341 CAP

2PM CANCELED: HOUSE Govtal Affairs Sub Elections 415 CLOB

2PM Senate Retirement  307 CLOB

2PM Senate Education & Youth  450 CAP

3PM HOUSE JUDICIARY NON-CIVIL 132 CAP

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3PM Cancelled – Senate Higher Ed 307 CLOB

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Senate Bill 16 by State Senate Rules Committee Chair Matt Brass (R-Newnan) became the first legislation to pass a chamber in the 2025 Session, according to the AJC.

The Georgia Senate on Monday voted to let bail bondsmen hold local elected office, a measure aimed at making it easier to recruit candidates in rural counties that sometimes have a dearth of prospective politicians.

This bill concerns an obscure section of law about who can hold elected office. When people get arrested and can’t afford bail, they often hire a bail bond company to pay it for them. The defendants pay these companies a fee, typically about 10% of the total bail.

Local officials, including county commissioners, control the budgets for sheriffs’ departments and local jails. That’s why Georgia law bans them from holding elected office, for fear that they could use the budget to pressure local law enforcement authorities to steer business to their companies.

Most people don’t know about the bail bond ban, including the voters of Heard County. In November, they elected the owner of a local bail bond company to the county commission. But before Angie Stephens McCullough could take office, she learned about the law disqualifying her. Instead of giving up her company, she opted not to take office.

State Sen. Matt Brass, R-Newnan, heard about this and wanted to change the law. He introduced Senate Bill 16, which would make it OK for bail bond business owners to be elected to a city council or a county commission. (There is already an exception for school board members.) The law would still ban these officials from issuing bail bonds within the county or city they represent, which isn’t the case for McCullough because her bond business is in neighboring Coweta County.

Brass said it’s hard sometimes to find people willing to run for office in some sparsely populated places. Heard County has about 12,000 people in it. Stephens did not face opposition in November, but she defeated two other people during the Republican primary, which attracted less than 300 votes.

“When you get into rural areas … you just don’t have the population of folks that necessarily would want to run,” Brass said. “Anything we can do to help deepen that bench, that’s what we’re looking to do.”

But the bill came too late to help McCullough. The District 1 seat on the Heard County Commission is vacant for now, and the local election commission has scheduled a special election for March 18. If the legislature passes the bill in time, McCullough said she plans to run again.

Georgia State House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) introduced legislation to bolster school safety, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.

Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns introduced school-safety legislation Monday stemming from last year’s school shooting in Barrow County that killed two teachers and two students.

The comprehensive proposal calls for improvements in information sharing among schools through a new anonymous app, increases penalties for those who make terroristic threats, and provides tax incentives to encourage gun owners to purchase firearm safety storage devices.

“The Georgia House is committed to taking strong action to ensure no parent, student or teacher ever has to fear for their safety when they drop their children off at school, go to class or go to work,” Burns, R-Newington, said during a news conference at the state Capitol. “This school safety plan is a comprehensive approach to securing our school buildings, prioritizing the mental health of our children and keeping Georgia’s students safe.”

A 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School, Colt Gray, was arrested at the scene of the shooting last September and charged with the murders. Gray had just transferred from another school, leading to a provision in the House bill requiring the establishment of a statewide student information sharing database to allow the timely transfer of pertinent student data between school systems, law enforcement officials, and mental health-care professionals.

The legislation also would require schools to use an anonymous reporting app where tips could be evaluated quickly and provided to law enforcement and the necessary personnel across the state as needed.

The measure would provide for the mandatory suspension of students who make threats until law enforcement and school personnel determine the student is cleared to return to school.

And the legislation would offer tax incentives for the purchase of safe gun storage equipment including firearm safes and trigger locks.

Apart from the school safety bill, the House mid-year budget would include funding to establish the student database as well as an additional $50 million for one-time school safety grants, which Gov. Brian Kemp announced last month. Every public school in Georgia would get $68,000 to spend as local school officials see fit.

“Each school system has unique needs and challenges,” said House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, R-Dacula.

Burns and Efstration were joined at Monday’s news conference by Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith, Barrow County School System Superintendent Dallas LeDuff, and the parents of Coach Richard Aspinwall, one of the victims of the Apalachee High shooting.

From the AJC:

“Every child deserves the option to learn in a safe environment,” Burns said, in a news conference Monday, where he unveiled a suite of legislation aimed at boosting school safety, including technological efforts and increases in mental health funding.

Colt Gray, the 14-year-old boy who Barrow County prosecutors charged with murdering four people at Apalachee, had a history of mental health strife, his grandmother has reported, but she said she was unable to get him the care he needed. This package of bills would be designed to identify those students at risk of causing violence and intervene to provide them support, Burns said. He did not specify what kind of data would be shared.

None of the measures Burns proposed involve stricter gun control, which many Democrats argue is needed to curb school shootings. But the speaker indicated that he would be open to additional gun safety measures.

Senate Democrats have also pushed for a statewide database that would share student information as a way to prevent future deadly shootings like the one in Barrow County.

The Republican legislation announced Monday would also encourage students and staff to anonymously report suspicious and concerning behavior to an app. Each public school would be required to produce a threat management plan to both assess potential safety concerns as well as compile resources for students who may be struggling with mental health issues. Burns also said $50 million would be allocated in the state for school safety grants.

“There’s no doubt that the pressures of adolescents are becoming increasingly difficult for our children, leading to a significant increase in mental health issues concerns,” he said.

State Rep. Katie Dempsey, who oversees the behavioral health portion of the budget, said some funding for youth mental health would be proposed in the midyear budget amendment, which will be released Thursday. A larger lift for school guidance counselors and other mental health needs will be pushed for the state budget that starts July 1.

Jeff Breedlove, the chief of communications and policy for the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse, said advocates should not fear misuse of student information.

“We have to get past the stigma of addiction and mental health concerns so we can use data and technology to save lives,” he said.

In addition to mental health concerns, Burns has also renewed his interest in passing legislation that would encourage firearm safety.

Last year, the House passed House Bill 972, sponsored by state Rep. Mark Newton, which would have provided a tax credit to gun owners to purchase safe storage equipment and lock away their weapons. However, it failed to gain traction in the Senate.

From Georgia Recorder:

The legislation would also offer tax incentives for the purchase of firearm safes and other safety equipment and strengthen criminal penalties for students and other individuals who target schools with terroristic threats.

Burns stressed the seriousness of copycat threats that often follow tragedies like the Apalachee High School mass shooting on Sept. 4 that killed two students and two teachers and injured several others.

The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency would help develop the system tracking student mental health history and reported threats that would be investigated by school personnel, mental health professionals and law enforcement agencies to determine the seriousness. Burns said the plan would also create mandatory suspensions of students from school while the extent of their threats are investigated.

Burns said the school safety plan is intended to ensure the safety of young people, teachers and other school staff.

“That’s why the House is taking the following measures to ensure a tragedy like what we witnessed in Apalachee never happens again in this state,” he said. “We know that failure to transfer and share information regarding the student who is accused of these horrific acts played a role in the deaths that unfolded that day. Our school safety plan will mandate participation in a statewide student information sharing and tracking database that will allow for timely transfer of relevant student data between school systems, law enforcement and mental health care professionals.”

“I think school safety is something we’re going to come to the table on because we have to do everything we can to make sure that our students are safe at schools,” House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley, a Columbus Democrat, said in an interview last week with the Georgia Recorder. “That’s going to require us to look at internal threats as well as external threats.”

Senate Bill 63 by State Senator Clint Dixon would grant homeschool students access to local standardized testing, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savanah Morning News.

Homeschool students would have guaranteed access to college admission testing at their local public school under legislation backed by prominent Republican state senators.

School districts that offer the SAT, ACT, PSAT/NMSQT, PreACT, or an AP exam would have to post testing dates on their websites and allow students zoned for the school to participate like enrolled students.

Senate Bill 63 says homeschool students starting in middle school would not have to pay any testing fee or meet any qualifications that aren’t required of enrolled students.

“They’re not allowing these students into the schools,” said Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, the bill’s author. “They’re saying it’s a security issue, saying they don’t have room. So then, they’ll set up a testing site that they have to pay for. It could be an hour away.”

Dixon said he wrote the bill because homeschool parents are paying taxes, and he thinks their neighborhood schools should serve them even if their children aren’t enrolled.

The state is expecting to see more students in this situation after the establishment of a new private education voucher program during last year’s legislative session.

Starting next fall, any student who lives in a lower-performing school attendance zone will be eligible for $6,500 toward a private education, which can include costs for homeschooling. Officials estimated the vouchers would cost the state about $140 million the first school year, enough for about 21,000 students.

SB 63, which was introduced this week, is backed by several leading Republicans, including Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, the majority leader, and Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, the majority whip. It will likely be assigned to the Senate Education and Youth Committee led by Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro, who is also backing the bill.

House Bill 118 by State Rep. Rick Townsend (R-SSI) would revise the requirements for childcare providers, according to WSAV.

This bill would require CPR training and devices to assist children who are choking in childcare settings.

It has been nearly a year since one year old Jamal Bryant Jr. died from choking on a piece of watermelon at a daycare center in Brunswick. Georgia leaders had their first and second reading [of the proposed legislation] this week, which would require daycare centers to have at least one portable airway clearance device.

Townsend is also proposing that daycare employees complete CPR training within their first 45-days of employment, rather than the first 90 days.

If passed, all childcare centers licensed under the Georgia Department of Early Care Learning’ will have to obtain a portable airway device.

State legislators discussed the film tax credit, according to WSAV.

As new bills get introduced into the legislature, state lawmakers in Atlanta are reviewing at tax incentives for projects.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development approves projects that meet the qualifications for the film tax incentive. Last session, there were talks of putting a cap on how many projects could actually receive those tax incentives in Georgia.

“The moment you start putting a cap you scare away your productions,” said State Representative Long Tran. “No one wants to start filming and then realize we may not get the tax credit.”

Some lawmakers said restrictions would drive film and TV productions to other states who offer similar incentives like Georgia and hurt the state’s economy.

“We have studios that need their spaces to be booked out because we have smaller studio spaces,” said Tran. “We have had studios open in Valdosta, Gainesville. My priority is to get productions to film back in Georgia.”

“Georgia is a beautiful place, with a beautiful coastline that can match any beach, a great skyline with the city of Atlanta, said Tran. “We have got great farmland that is more countryside. We have it all in Georgia so why not film here in Georgia?”

Lawmakers said the entertainment industry in Georgia has created thousands of jobs and investments, but opponents fear it’s grown too fast, and the state is giving out more than $1 billion dollars in tax credits that could be utilized in other areas like healthcare or education.

The Georgia Department of Revenue oversees the earning and reimbursement of the tax credits.

Former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson was acquitted of one charge in the case involving the aftermath of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, according to The Brunswick News.

The state’s case against former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson took a hit Monday when Johnson was acquitted via directed verdict of one of the criminal charges for which she is on trial.

Senior Judge John R. Turner ruled shortly after the prosecution rested its case Monday afternoon on a motion by Johnson’s lead defense attorney, Brian Steel. The motion sought a directed verdict on both charges against Johnson.

Turner tossed the obstruction of law enforcement charges Johnson faced related to the February 2020 shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery.

“I think Count 2 fails,” Turner said as he made the ruling outside the presence of the jury, which had been removed from the courtroom as Steel and Deputy Attorney General John Fowler argued the directed verdict motion. “There is not one scintilla of evidence that I have heard. So I will grant his motion as to Count 2.”

Evidence will continue to be presented on Count 1, violation of oath office. Johnson’s defense team will begin to call witnesses and present evidence on Tuesday.

A directed verdict is a ruling that directs a jury to reach a specific verdict when there is insufficient evidence to reach a different conclusion.

Johnson is charged in a 2021 indictment with allegedly attempting to protect a former investigator for her office, Greg McMichael, by colluding to divert the case to a neighboring district attorney who she knew would not prosecute it.

No Bulloch County local government has opted-out of the HB 581 homestead exemption yet, according to the Statesboro Herald.

So far, no local governing boards in Bulloch County have opted out of the special new “floating” homestead property tax exemption set in motion by 2024’s Georgia House Bill 581.

So the county also remains eligible to create a new “Flexible” Local Option Sales Tax.

Unless local governments opt out by March 1, one of the law’s provisions – enabled by a state constitutional amendment approved last fall by 62.9% of voters statewide, including 61.7% of Bulloch County voters – will create the offsetting exemption, rolling back increases in the taxable value of owner-occupied homes to the national inflation rate when local real estate markets soar higher.

Calhoun County Commissioners voted to opt out of the HB 581 homestead exemption, according to the Albany Herald.

Calhoun County leaders voted to opt out of the exemption during a special called meeting. In order to opt out, cities, counties and school boards must advertise the intent to opt out one week in advance of hosting three required public hearings on the matter. This process had to begin Jan. 1 and must be completed by March 1, giving local governments a short window to make the decision.

The Floating Homestead Tax Exemption, created by House Bill 581 went into effect Jan. 1. It essentially places a “freeze” on a homestead’s valued assessment, leading to some tax relief for homeowners. However, it could create challenges in small, rural cities and counties with stagnant tax bases, forcing them to raise millage rates in order to offset revenue loss from the exemption.

Calhoun County Chief Appraiser Adriane Ashley said county residents have to look at the holistic impact of this exemption. She said that while it might help homeowners with their homesteads, it’ll hurt them elsewhere.

“If we have to go up on the millage rate, you’re going to hurt yourself on the other properties you can’t get an exemption on,” she said.

City and school board leaders from Calhoun agreed to opt out of HB 581, Tuesday. Morgan and Edison officials had already voted on the issue and were scheduled to advertise their three public hearings. Officials with Arlington, Leary and the Calhoun County School Board said they planned to opt out and had meetings to discuss the matter scheduled for this week.

HB 581 appeared as Amendment 1, House Resolution No. 1022 on ballots in November.

It passed widely across Georgia’s 159 counties, 120 of them considered rural by a study from the University of Georgia. Calhoun County Vice Chairman and District 5 Commissioner Charlie Williams said he believes the text on the ballot was misleading for voters. He said the county and its cities will have to work together to communicate to residents that opting out will not hurt them but most likely be better for their wallets.

Mark Strickland, a Calhoun County resident and the county’s former chief appraiser, said Calhoun County and its municipalities, like many smaller governments, have tight budgets and most of the areas where these types of exemptions work have other things – businesses, industries – to balance tax revenue.

“We don’t have any of that,” he said. “There is no such thing as property tax relief. There’s only a shifting of the burden. Who would we shift it to?”

Former Talbot County Sheriff Justin Johnson was arrested in connection with a house fire, according to WTVM.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has arrested two Manchester men on arson charges and sources tell News Leader 9 that former Talbot County Sheriff Justin Johnson has also been arrested in connection with the case, though his charges have not been specified.

On Friday, the GBI arrested 70-year-old Jimmy Buchanan and 62-year-old Wallace Copeland. They are charged with arson and conspiracy to commit arson.

GBI said its agency worked with the Office of Commissioner of Insurance Safety Fire, Manchester police and the sheriff’s offices in Meriwether and Harris counties to make the arrests.

Officials stated that Johnson was arrested by the state fire marshal as part of an active and ongoing investigation. We are working to gather more details about his charges.

Former State Rep. Mike Coan has been announced as the new Executive Director for the Barrow Braselton Joint Economic Development Authority, according to AccessWDUN.

The Barrow Braselton Joint Economic Development Authority (BBJEDA) has selected the executive director for the Georgia State Election Board to lead economic development in Barrow County.

“I am very excited to join the BBJEDA team,” Coan said. “I look forward to working with Barrow County, its municipalities, and other partners to create a strong and economically centered community.”

Coan previously served as the deputy commissioner for the Georgia Department of Labor and has a bachelor’s degree in management from the University of West Georgia.

He also serves on the chairman’s advisory council for workers compensation and is a former Georgia House of Representatives member.

Coan will begin in his role on Wednesday.

Ocilla has extended the warning period for new speed cameras, according to WALB.

The winter storm that caused in-person classes to be canceled for four days led to the extension, according to the Ocilla Police Department.

The warning period has now been extended through Feb. 7.

“Redspeed has also taken additional steps to enhance school zone safety by installing flashers on Brushy Creek Road and installing new signage in both school zones,” said the police department.

Redspeed has issued 337 warnings since the beginning of the warning period[.]`

Redspeed will start issuing violation-citations on Feb. 10, according to the police department.

Gainesville City Council Member Danny Dunagan will run for reelection to his seat representing Ward I, according to AccessWDUN.

Dunagan has served on the Council for nineteen years, including as the Mayor of Gainesville for ten years. Prior to his Council Service, he served nine years on the Planning Commission.