Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for April 25, 2023

James Oglethorpe won reelection to the British Parliament while in America on April 25, 1734.

The United States declared war on Spain on April 25, 1898.

On April 25, 1996, Georgia Governor Zell Miller signed Senate Bill 519 designating English the official language of Georgia.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) is fanning the embers of outrage calling for enhanced security, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has asked county law enforcement to prepare for her impending plans to announce indictments this summer regarding interference in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election.

In a letter to Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat, Willis said she plans to announce a charging decision sometime between July 11 to Sept. 1.

“I am providing this letter to bring to your attention the need for heightened security and preparedness in coming months due to this pending announcement,” Willis wrote.

Willis implied, though not referencing a specific event, in the letter to Labat that acts of violence have occurred in the past that go “outside of public expressions of opinion.” Most notably, Trump’s claims of election fraud ultimately resulted in his supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021 as Congress was preparing to certify the results of the 2020 election.

“Open-source intelligence indicated the announcement of decisions in this case may provoke a significant public reaction,” she said.

The letter, Willis said, was intended to provide sufficient time for the sheriff’s office to coordinate with local, state and federal agencies to ensure law enforcement is ready to protect the public when her charging decisions are announced.

From Atlanta News First via WTOC:

Willis addressed the letter to Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat, in which she wrote, “I will be announcing charging decisions resulting from this investigation during Fulton County Superior Court’s fourth term of court, which will begin on July 11, 2023, and conclude on September 1, 2023. Please accept this correspondence as notice to allow you sufficient time to prepare the Sheriff’s Office and coordinate with local, state, and federal agencies to ensure that our law enforcement community is ready to protect the public.”

Last year, Willis opened a criminal investigation “into attempts to influence the administration of the 2020 Georgia General Election.” Willis continues alleging Trump attempted to interfere in Georgia’s election, a contest that saw Joe Biden become the first Democrat to win Georgia since Bill Clinton in 1992.

Metro Atlanta defense attorney Joshua Schiffer said the letter implies that Willis plans to bring charges against Trump.

“If this was going to be indictments against lesser-known individuals, I don’t think she would go about the consumption of public resources by announcing this,” Schiffer said. “It wouldn’t be as newsworthy. There’s not going to be throngs of people in the streets over local Georgia politicians or even some of the cabinet or other high advisors to the former president.”

Cumberland Island’s horses have filed a lawsuit against the federal government, according to The Brunswick News.

The horses on Cumberland Island have been named plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court.

Athens lawyer Hal Wright filed the lawsuit in the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division after notifying the National Park Service of his intent to sue if nothing was done to manage the horses on the barrier island.

Wright asked park service officials to start providing medical care, food and water for the estimated 140 to 170 horses on Cumberland. The horses are in poor health because of a limited food supply and the park service’s policy not to interfere with the horses.

“The horses of Cumberland’s life expectancy is believed to be but eight to nine years, well below that of a domestic horse, which is expected to live between 25 to 30 years,” Wright argues. “This discrepancy is due to the harsh and inhumane living conditions these horses must endure.”

The Georgia Equine Rescue League and the Georgia Horse Council are plaintiffs in the case, along with Will Harlan, a senior scientist and southeast director at the Center for Biological Diversity, and Carol Ruckdeschel, a longtime Cumberland Island resident and biologist.

Defendants in the case are Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, as well as Mark Foust, director of the National Park Service South Atlantic-Gulf region. Also named as defendants are Gary Ingram, superintendent of Cumberland Island National Seashore, Mark Williams, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and Tyler Harper Black, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

The solution proposed in the lawsuit is for the park service and state to “take all steps necessary to assess the health and well-being of the horse herd on Cumberland Island and provide the needed additional water, food, and care.”

Liberal groups are suing Georgia over the ban on providing food and drink to voters in line, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Augusta Chronicle.

Groups including the Southern Poverty Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia are seeking a preliminary injunction as part of a broader lawsuit that challenges changes to state election law Gov. Brian Kemp and Republican legislative leaders pushed through the General Assembly along party lines.

Senate Bill 202 requires voters seeking to cast absentee ballots to show a photo ID, a provision that already applied to in-person voting. The law also limits the number of absentee ballot drop boxes and prohibits non-poll workers from handing out food and drinks within 150 feet of voters standing in line.

“There can be no reason for denying food or water to people in long polling lines, other than trying to prevent them from exercising their freedom to vote,” said Poy Winichakul, senior staff attorney for voting rights with the Southern Poverty Law Center. “These barriers to voting must be removed so all Georgians can have a voice to advocate for their communities in the crucial 2024 elections.”

“Our clients used to be able to offer a bottle of water or a snack to voters waiting in long lines at the polls,” added Rahul Garabadu, senior voting rights staff attorney at the ACLU of Georgia. “We’re now asking the court to strike down the unlawful provisions of the ban so that our clients can provide crucial support to voters across our state.”

The bill’s supporters justified banning non-poll workers from handing out food and drinks to voters in line at polling locations as a way to prevent campaign volunteers from seeking to influence voters within an area that is legally off limits to campaigning.

Governor Brian Kemp held a bill-signing in Augusta, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

During his visit on Monday to Augusta’s downtown municipal building, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed HB 230, creating a special sales tax to fund an arena rebuilding project contingent on voters approving it in a fall election.

“That facility, well over four decades old, helps bring major events, tourism, economic development opportunities to the city and the surrounding area,” Kemp said. ”It is a valued asset to this region and it will be the people’s right to decide how to best take care of it.”

The bill asks voters to support a sales tax of up to 0.5% for up to five years for the purpose of funding “coliseum capital outlay projects and project costs” and not to exceed the project’s guaranteed maximum price.

If approved, the tax would only fund up to the amount needed to finance the project. The bill does not allow the tax to be renewed under any circumstances and limits the principal amount of general obligation bonds issued to up to $250 million.

While he was in Augusta, Kemp also signed HB 128 and SB 213. The House bill looks to support minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses by streamlining and expanding access to state certifications during the procurement process. The state Senate bill allows property owners to replace old or damaged manufactured homes with new ones without restriction from local governments.

Augusta will likely vote on two referenda in November, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

In this past week, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed new legislation calling on Augusta voters to determine if the mayor should get an equal vote to city commissioners and to approve a special sales tax to fund a new James Brown Arena.

Richmond County Board of Elections Executive Director Travis Doss confirmed that the earliest date for these votes is during the Nov. 7 election. There are only two dates available to propose a question on the ballot and the last one was in March. Both issues will be listed on the ballot with voters choosing “Yes” or “No” on the respective topics.

Senate Bill 231 calls for the mayoral vote. Currently, Augusta’s mayor is only allowed to break ties. Mayor Garnett Johnson detailed in February that he would not seek to be a voting member of committees and this is not a power grab.

House Bill 230 calls for the arena tax vote. The bill asks voters to support a sales tax of up to 0.5% for up to five years for the purpose of funding “coliseum capital outlay projects and project costs” and not to exceed the project’s guaranteed maximum price. If approved, the tax would only fund up to the amount needed to finance the project. The bill does not allow the tax to be renewed under any circumstances and limits the principal amount of general obligation bonds issued to up to $250 million.

Dying Georgians may soon be able to purchase medical cannabis oil more than eight years after Governor Nathan Deal signed the “Haleigh’s Hope” legislation, according to WABE.

Two in-state producers are expected to have product available by this summer, if not earlier.

The next major step for the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission is to grant dispensing licenses for the two current in-state producers of low-THC oil. Those would be used to open up to 12 stores across the state.

Those two producers are Botanical Sciences, which has a facility in Southeast Georgia in Glenville, and Trulieve Georgia, which has a South Georgia facility in Adel.

Commission Executive Director Andrew Turnage explains how they expect the two current producers to use the data.

“When they apply to the commission for their dispensing license, we’ve asked them to articulate how they’re going to serve the patient population in the area that they choose,” he said. “So we really wanted them to get access to that data so that they can show us how their plan is going to reach patients in the area that they chose.”

Four Atlanta counties have between 1,000 to 3,000 registered patients each. Those are Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett. The next tier of counties have 500 to 1,000 patients each and include Cherokee, Clayton, Forsyth, Henry and Spalding.

Overall, there are about 27,000 Georgia patients on the low-THC oil registry. Turnage expects that number to grow.

“On the commission’s part, our expectation is to see that number, really to grow very close to 100,000,” he said. “That’s what we anticipate. That’s just based on similar states with registries that started at similar size with medical-only programs somewhat like Georgia’s, you know, it’s our expectation that it could grow beyond that, but that’s what we anticipate in I think the timeframe for that will happen within 12 to 18 months.”

To get on the low-THC oil registry, a doctor has to confirm your eligibility based on a list of conditions written into law including severe ALS, autism, MS and Parkinson’s.

State legislators will begin to review the efficacy of tax breaks, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Athens Banner Herald.

The chairmen of the two legislative committees responsible for tax policy will co-chair an upcoming review of all of Georgia’s tax credits.

The initiative, announced last month, is intended to make sure the various tax credits on the books in Georgia aimed at boosting economic development and job creation are giving taxpayers a good return on that investment.

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who presides over the state Senate, announced Monday he is appointing Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, to co-chair the review. House Speaker Jon Burns named House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire, to serve as the other co-chair.

Other appointees announced Monday include Sens. John Albers, R–Roswell; Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming; Bill Cowsert, R-Athens; and Michael “Doc” Rhett, D- Marietta; state Reps. Debbie Buckner, D-Junction City; Kasey Carpenter, R-Dalton; Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta; and Bruce Williamson, R-Monroe. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Matt Hatchett, R-Dublin, will serve as an ex-officio member.

“My appointees are experts on tax policy and have been implementing and analyzing tax policy supporting economic development and Georgia’s ranking as the number one state in which to do business for over a decade,” Jones said Monday.

“I have called on some of the House’s most experienced leaders on tax policy to work on this important review,” Burns added. “I know they will work on behalf of all Georgians to support job growth and maintain a fair, competitive tax structure.”

From the AJC:

In the Senate, some leaders say they’d like to use any savings to further reduce income taxes on Georgians.

But Blackmon said lawmakers need to be careful not to eliminate incentives for businesses to create jobs.

The House and Senate passed legislation in 2021 that was a first step toward greater accountability: allowing the chairmen of the tax-writing committees to request reviews of a limited number of tax breaks each year.

Liquor stores are coming to Tifton, according to WALB.

Tift County’s dry county days will soon be over for its county seat.

Four new liquor stores are headed to Tifton. Leaving some for and against it since the city decided to allow liquor stores over a year ago. The liquor stores are expected to open this summer. And some Tifton residents said it’ll save them money on gas.

Former Chatham County Assistant District Attorney Skye Musson is asking a court to sanction District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones in a lawsuit alleging gender discrimination by the DA’s office, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Musson is requesting for her counsel fees and costs to be covered by Jones.

According to Musson’s motion, “Defendant Jones violated this Court’s order to appear on April 11, 2023, citing a ‘conflict’ of her own creation and invention after she failed to properly manage her concurrent obligations to this case and as a trial attorney in a criminal matter in Superior Court.”

Based on court records, Musson attempted to depose Jones multiple times since December 2022. From Feb. 15 through March 31, 2023, Musson asked Jones for her deposition five times, and Jones never offered a single date. On March 28, Jones requested rescheduling her deposition to April 11.

After Brunswick City Commission ordered a 65-day closure of homeless shelter The Well, a “pop-up” homeless shelter has opened, according to The Brunswick News.

Organizers of a homeless shelter that opened in a vacant Brunswick church building over the weekend after The Well closed have until 3 p.m. today to get the building up to code and permitted for use.

The Brunswick City Commission voted Wednesday to impose a 65-day closure on The Well after it became a target of the ire of some residents and business owners following five violent incidents police have attributed to homeless individuals since Feb. 27.

Small said the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act protects his right to use the church through his ministry and allows him to open the church to homeless people seeking shelter.

“We’re going to help them eat,” Small told Jones. “We’re going to help them wash and maybe go to the bathroom inside instead of in someone’s backyard.”

Small said it is his duty as a Christian and a pastor to help people in their time of need. He also said it is in the city’s best interest to provide shelter for people who don’t have it.

“It is much more desirable to have them someplace rather than to have them wandering,” Small said. “It is less reasonable to put them out.”

Jones said the issue was with how the building is being used and what the city ordinances say about needing the proper inspection and permitting.

Jones first said the options were to allow inspectors inside to sign off on the building and approve it for occupancy or to vacate the building and allow code enforcement to post it as uninhabitable. Jones said he is a Christian too and that he respects what Small is trying to do.

“Unfortunately today I am the enforcer of the city’s ordinances, which would include loitering and camping,” Jones said.

The City Commission passed a new ordinance Wednesday requiring homeless shelters, day shelters or service providers to get a conditional use permit approved by the commission. Those permits must be reviewed by the city’s Planning and Appeals Commission first and are subject to a public hearing. The ordinance lays out other restrictions on camping and loitering at shelters.

At a city commission meeting earlier in April, Mayor Cosby Johnson said the police department was taking a zero-tolerance policy toward enforcing the city’s ordinances.

Brunswick’s proposed FY 2024 budget is 7.5% higher than the current year, according to The Brunswick News.

In total, the city’s budget is tentatively set at $24.3 million, City Manager Regina McDuffie told Brunswick’s finance committee on Monday. Just over $4.1 million of that is remaining ARPA funding. Minus the ARPA funding, the budget is $20.2 million, a 7.48% increase over this fiscal year’s $18.7 million budget.

Property taxes are expected to account for $5.4 million of the city’s revenue in the next fiscal year; sales tax, $9 million; and other taxes, $3.8 million. Other taxes include the insurance premium tax and a franchise tax on utilities, McDuffie explained.

Valdosta City Council named Richard Hardy as sole finalist for City Manager, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

As city manager for Valdosta, Hardy will oversee the city’s 10 departments, 600-plus employees and the city budget. Hardy has been with the City of Valdosta since 2014, first serving as the director of public works before being named deputy city manager of operations in late 2020.

As deputy city manager of operations, he led the public works and utilities departments, including 17 divisions.

“I am ecstatic to serve the citizens as city manager. My vision is to collaborate and strengthen community relationships,” Hardy said in a statement. “I am honored to have the support and trust of the mayor and council who saw fit to select me as the sole finalist.”

Johns Creek Mayor John Bradberry will deliver a “State of the City” address this Thursday at 7 PM, according to the AJC.