Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for April 2, 2015

On April 2, 1513, Spanish Explorer Juan Ponce de Leon discovered Florida, claiming it for the Spanish crown. Today he is best-known in Georgia for giving his name to be mispronounced daily on a sketchy street in Atlanta. It is not known if he was wearing jean shorts, or if those were developed later. Georgians began mispronouncing his name immediately.

On April 2, 1917, Jeanette Rankin took office as the first woman elected to Congress, representing Montana.

Born on a ranch near Missoula, Montana Territory, in 1880, Rankin was a social worker in the states of Montana and Washington before joining the women’s suffrage movement in 1910. Working with various suffrage groups, she campaigned for the women’s vote on a national level and in 1914 was instrumental in the passage of suffrage legislation in Montana. Two years later, she successfully ran for Congress in Montana on a progressive Republican platform calling for total women’s suffrage, legislation protecting children, and U.S. neutrality in the European war. Following her election as a representative, Rankin’s entrance into Congress was delayed for a month as congressmen discussed whether a woman should be admitted into the House of Representatives.

Finally, on April 2, 1917, she was introduced in Congress as its first female member. The same day, President Woodrow Wilson addressed a joint session of Congress and urged a declaration of war against Germany.

On April 2, 1985, Governor Joe Frank Harris signed legislation recognizing the Right Whale as the official state marine mammal. Yesterday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tested a drone aircraft for use in conducting surveys of the aquatic population off the East Coast.

Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary could use it in a variety of ways, including sea turtle and right whale counts, he said. It could even give managers a better idea of how many boats are out in the sanctuary.

“It’s much cheaper than putting an aircraft or a boat out,” Sedberry said.

Under the Gold Dome Today

Senate Bill 127 is an abomination

At some point between the House passage of Senate Bill 127, and the issuance of a new version of the legislation by the House Rules Committee, the bill grew from seven sections to 21 sections – a tripling of the language in the bill.

Here’s what Virginia Galloway of the Faith & Freedom Coalition (and formerly Americans for Prosperity – Georgia) says about the new version of the bill:

Snuck in at the end of the bill is a provision that redefines communication for groups like ours, NRA, AFP, Tea Parties, etc. which would make us report our donors. The paperwork alone will put small groups out of commission – groups made for folks like you, who can’t hire your own lobbyist.This is a Nancy Pelosi-type bill, now in the GA Legislature.

It has passed both chambers in different forms, so it will go to conference tomorrow. We need to stop this now! Please take action on Thursday morning and share on FB now! Please post any questions below. The part of the bill I’m referring to is in Section 19, to save you non-essential reading.

Erick Erickson also has spoken about the new version of SB 127.

According to the legislation, any organization that engages in “election targeted issue advocacy” within 180 days of an election is subject to regulation by the state. What is “election targeted issue advocacy”? If any person or group writes about a candidate, uses the image of an elected official or candidate, or discusses a ballot initiative, the person or group doing that can be regulated.

Voter education, in other words, is going to be regulated by the State of Georgia. But there is also another wrinkle in this.

Outside groups that do engage in elections will be forced into a regime of restrictions on contributions and expenditures. The very same legislation restricting voter education will, by its own language “not include contributions or expenditures made by a political party or party caucus of the House of Representatives or the Senate in support of a party ticket or a group of named candidates.”

In other words, the legislation will restrict voter education efforts and free up incumbent protection schemes. It will come at the expense of not just campaign groups, but churches and non-profits seeking to educate their members on ballot measures and candidates.

I think it’s an infringement of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. It might cause me to discontinue publishing GaPundit for the 180 days before an election, the very time period in which free political speech is most valuable and most important.

The 180 day period is the very definition of not “narrowly tailored to meet a compelling governmental interest,” the level of scrutiny to which legislation that violates the First Amendment protection of political speech will be subject to.

Under the current election calendar for 2015, the blackout period for free political speech that the legislature considers to be “election targeted issue advocacy” could begin as early as September 2015 in advance of the March 2016 Presidential Preference Primary.

Section 19 of the bill includes in the definition of “communications,”

paid placement of content on the Internet or other electronic communication networks

No more “Stop Hillary” or “Ready for Hillary” if you pay to communicate your views. I pay hosting fees and email service fees to bring you GaPundit, which might bring me under this regulatory scheme. If you’re posting on Facebook, you might be okay, as long as you don’t promote your view with money. But do it on a blog for which you pay hosting fees, and you’re brought under the campaign finance commission’s reguatory scheme.

Please contact your State Representative and State Senator today and ask them to oppose Senate Bill 127 if it includes the added sections that infringe on Georgians’ right to free political speech.

1.   Look up your State Representative here and enter your address.

2.   Find his or her contact information here.

3.   Make a phone call or send an email to Representatives!

When you contact your legislators, I ask that you be courteous and brief but forceful.

When my friend, Bruce Thompson, ran for State Senate in a special election, I advocated for his election because my personal political opinion is that he is the kind of person we want serving our state. Bruce never asked me to do so, and has never paid me a thin dime.  But if SB 127 passes in it’s current form, I will not feel like I am free to express my personal political opinion in this way. Because I pay for website hosting and email service, my expression of my personal opinion will not be allowed unless I am willing to submit to the state’s scheme for regulating the political speech of people who are not candidates nor paid advocates.

Last year, I advocated for my personal belief that Constitutional Amendment 1, the David Shafer Income Tax Cap is a good measure. If HB 127 passes, I probably won’t feel free to do so in the future.

I hope you’ll join me today in taking a few minutes to express your personal political views by contacting your State Representative and State Senator and asking them to oppose Senate Bill 127 as it currently exists.

Will the Transportation Tax Cost Me?

Yesterday, a GaPundit reader asked me, “bottom line – will I pay more taxes?”

Depends on your situation, but here’s a quick take.

1. Most drivers will see a gas tax increase at the pump in the range of 5 to 8 cents per gallon
2. Future EV buyers will not receive a state income tax credit
3. Alternative fuel vehicle owners will see a $200-$300 car tag increase
4. Trucker will pay more in diesel tax and for heavy vehicles
5. If you stay in a Ga Hotel or Motel you’ll pay an extra $5/night

Legislative Response of the Decade

Senate Rules Calendar

HB 20 – State income tax; certain allocations to owners of certain entities shall be governed by Georgia law; clarify (FIN-32nd) Carson-46th
ENGROSSED

HB 71 – Pardons and paroles; provide input and transparency relative to granting a parole or commutation of a death sentence to a life sentence; provisions (Substitute) (JUDYNC-51st) Tanner-9th

HB 84 – Insurance; denial of an aircraft claim unless the insured’s action or failure to act had a direct causal connection to loss upon which claim is based; prohibit (I&L-54th) Cheokas-138th

HB 89 – Drug-free commercial zones; date of incorporation of local ordinances by reference; change (JUDYNC-35th) Bruce-61st

HB 95 – Local government investment pool; trust fund managed by state treasurer; provide (SLGO(G)-56th) Tanner-9th

HB 104 – State Properties Code; applicability of public bidding processes for certain conveyances; clarify (SI&P-17th) Dunahoo-30th

HB 114 – Drivers’ licenses; provide for use of paper eye charts for testing of noncommercialdriver’s vision; provisions (Substitute) (PUB SAF-7th) Tanner-9th

HB 152 – Alcoholic beverages; holders of certain alcohol licenses and those who issue such licenses; impose certain requirements (Substitute)
(RI&U-46th) Duncan-26th

HB 180 – War Veterans’ Home; residency requirements to qualify for admission; revise (VM&HS-25th) Kidd-145th

HB 206 – Uniform rules of the road; procedure for passing sanitation vehicles; provide (Substitute) (PUB SAF-56th) Harrell-106th

HB 210 – Drivers’ licenses; provide for dissemination of certain information by the Department of Driver Services; provisions (PUB SAF-1st) Rogers-10th

HB 217 – Investments; public retirement systems to invest in mutual funds, commingled funds, collective investment funds, common trusts, and group trusts; authorize (RET-8th) Maxwell-17th

HB 221 – Ad valorem tax; property; change certain definitions (Substitute) (FIN-14th) Powell-171st ENGROSSED

HB 232 – State Board of Hearing Aid Dealers and Dispensers; change certain provisions (RI&U-11th) Carter-175th

HB 245 – Condominiums; amount permissible as a special assessment fee; change (JUDY-9th) Dollar-45th

HB 261 – Alcoholic beverages; sale during certain times on Sunday in commercial service airports owned or operated by a municipal governing authority; provide (RI&U-15th) Harrell-106th

HB 266 – Retirement and pensions; investment authority of local retirement systems; correct certain provisions (Substitute) (RET-8th) Battles-15th

HB 268 – Child abuse; mandatory reporters; change provisions (Substitute) (JUDYNC-50th) Ballinger-23rd

HB 275 – Income tax; claimant agency; revise definition (FIN-6th) Strickland-111th ENGROSSED

HB 288 – Behavioral Health Coordinating Council; two additional members to serve on council; provide (H&HS-45th) Dempsey-13th

HB 316 – Professional corporations; practice of medicine and surgery and optometry shall be considered the practice of only one profession; provide (H&HS-14th) Reeves-34th

HB 341 – Buildings and housing; certain qualified inspectors may be certified by Building Officials’ Association of Georgia; provide (Substitute)
(RI&U-17th) Maxwell-17th

HB 352 – Criminal procedure; change provisions relating to discovery in misdemeanor cases; provisions (JUDYNC-54th) Strickland-111th

HB 361 – Juvenile Code; enact reforms as recommended by Georgia Council on Criminal Justice reforms; provisions (JUDYNC-18th) Welch-110th

HB 374 – Ad valorem tax; certain farm equipment held for sale in dealer inventory; exempt (Substitute) (FIN-7th) Nix-69th ENGROSSED

HB 375 – Motor vehicles; driving with suspended, canceled, or revoked registration; change provisions relating to plea of nolo contendre (PUB SAF-7th) Powell-171st

HB 401 – Early care and learning; revise terminology relating to restrictions on persons with criminal records with regard to child, family or group-care facilities; provisions (ED&Y-50th) Efstration-104th

HB 408 – Excise tax; rooms, lodging and accommodations; clarify application of certain provisions to certain municipalities (FIN-56th) Willard-51st ENGROSSED

HB 409 – Insurance; reimbursement for treatment of burns for skin substitutes utilizing cadaver derived skin tissue or nonhuman xenographic derived skin tissue; provide (I&L-11th) Taylor-173rd

HB 416 – Consumer Information and Awareness Act; enact (H&HS-40th) Rogers-29th

HB 426 – Sales and use tax; provide new exemption only for limited period of time regarding tangible personal property to certain nonprofit health centers; provisions (Substitute) (FIN-6th) Taylor-173rd ENGROSSED

HB 436 – Georgia HIV/Syphilis Pregnancy Screening Act of 2015; enact (Amendment 1) (Substitute) (H&HS-45th) Clark-101st

HB 474 – Charter schools; enrollment priorities for educationally disadvantaged students and military students; provide (Substitute) (ED&Y-42nd) Kaiser-59th

HB 476 – Fulton County Industrial District; repeal amendment; provisions (SLGO) Fludd-64th

HB 514 – South Fulton, City of; Fulton County; incorporate (Substitute) (SLGO) Bruce-61st

HB 524 – Trade names; require registration with clerk of superior court; provisions (Substitute) (JUDY-19th) Fleming-121st

HB 567 – Alimony and child support; jurisdiction of courts that hear contempt proceedings; expand (JUDY-54th) Dempsey-13th

HB 568 – Paternity; testing in certain cases; revise provisions (Substitute) (JUDY-11th) Dempsey-13th

HB 640 – Gwinnett Judicial Circuit; salary supplements for judges; change provisions (SLGO) Chandler-105th

HB 662 – Avondale Estates, City of; change corporate limits (SLGO) Drenner-85th

House Rules Calendar

Modified Open Rule

HR 810 House Study Committee on Short-Term Rental Providers; create (SBD-Burns-159th)

Modified Structured Rule

SB 59 – “Partnership for Public Facilities and Infrastructure Act” (Substitute) (GAff-Hamilton-24th) Hill-6th (AM 28 1425)

SB 156 – State Charter Schools Commission; authorize to establish a nonprofit foundation (Ed-Belton-112th) Tippins-37th

SB 203 – Georgia World War I Centennial Commission; create; membership, powers, and duties (Substitute)(D&VA-Yates-73rd) Hill-6th

SR 126 – Bill T. Hardman Hospitality Highway; Dawson and Lumpkin counties; dedicate (Substitute)(Trans-Roberts-155th) Gooch-51st

I’d expect the possibility of the House taking up more bills today than are currently on the calendar.