Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for August 9, 2024

On August 10, 1774, a group calling itself the “Sons of Liberty” met at Tondee’s Tavern in Savannah, the first move in Georgia toward what would become the Revolutionary War. The Sons of Liberty adopted eight resolutions, among those one that reads,

Resolved, nemine contradicente, That we apprehend the Parliament of Great Britain hath not, nor ever had, any right to tax his Majesty’s American subjects; for it is evident beyond contradiction, the constitution admits of no taxation without representation; that they are coeval and inseparable; and every demand for the support of government should be by requisition made to the several houses of representatives.

Resolved, nemine contradicente, That we concur with our sister colonies in every constitutional measure to obtain redress of American grievances, and will by every lawful means in our power, maintain those inestimable blessings for which we are indebted to God and the Constitution of our country–a Constitution founded upon reason and justice, and the indelible rights of mankind.

The first copy in Georgia of the Declaration of Independence was read publicly in Savannah on August 10, 1776.

On August 10, 1787, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.”

Missouri was admitted as the 24th State, and the first entirely west of the Mississippi River, on August 10, 1821.

On August 11, 1862, Confederate General Braxton Bragg declared martial law in Atlanta.

On August 10, 1864, the bombardment of Atlanta by Union force continued, with Sherman writing, “Let us destroy Atlanta and make it a desolation.”

Herman E. Talmadge was born on August 9, 1913, son of Eugene Talmadge, who later served as Governor. Herman Talmadge himself served as Governor and United States Senator from Georgia.

The first Georgia state Motor Fuel Tax was enacted on August 10, 1921, when Governor Thomas Hardwick signed legislation imposing a one-cent per gallon tax.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered the summer commencement address at the University of Georgia on August 11, 1938. Later that day, Roosevelt endorsed Lawrence Camp over incumbent Governor Walter F. George, saying George had not been sufficiently supportive of the New Deal.

Japan accepted unconditional surrender on August 10, 1945, one day after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

The Atlanta Braves signed legendary Negro League pitcher Satchel Paige on August 11, 1968. Here’s a story on what the Braves signing meant to Paige:

In 1968, the right-hander was 158 days shy of the five years’ playing time needed to qualify for the major league pension. He would reach out to 29 teams and 29 teams would turn him down.

The problem was, he was 62.

But Braves president Bill Bartholomay saw an opportunity. While it would help at the box office for a franchise that was in its third season in Atlanta, it was also about something more.

“I jumped all over it, because I just thought it was the right thing to do,” said Bartholomay, currently the team’s chairman emeritus. “I didn’t think of it so much from the standpoint of diversity, I thought it was just the right thing to do.”

After reaching his 158 required days, Paige left the Braves and less than three years later, began drawing that pension. He received $250 a month.

“It was momentous and he did quality for his pension,” Bartholomay said, “but more importantly, the slight recognition for one of the great athletes, maybe one of the .. certainly short list of greatest pitchers of all time.”

From the AJC:

“Baseball would have been guilty of negligence should it not assure this legendary figure a place in the pension plan,” the [Braves] owner said at the signing in 1968. Looking back 40 years on, Bartholomay says Satchel justified his faith by performing sensationally as a goodwill ambassador.

“He came to us four months after the King funeral in Atlanta,” says Bartholomay. “Those were pretty tough times for African-Americans and the country in its entirety. Satchel understood that. He helped in a way that went way beyond baseball.”

On August 9, 1974, Gerald Ford was sworn in as President of the United States after the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Ford, the first president who came to the office through appointment rather than election, had replaced Spiro Agnew as vice president only eight months before. In a political scandal independent of the Nixon administration’s wrongdoings in the Watergate affair, Agnew had been forced to resign in disgrace after he was charged with income tax evasion and political corruption.

In September 1974, Ford pardoned Nixon for any crimes he may have committed while in office, explaining that he wanted to end the national divisions created by the Watergate scandal.

Red Dawn, the first movie rated PG-13 was released on August 10, 1984.

On August 11, 1984, Ronald Reagan jokingly announced that he had “signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever…we begin bombing in five minutes,” without knowing he was speaking into a live microphone.

On August 9, 1988, President Ronald Reagan announced his nomination of Dr. Lauro Cavazos as Secretary of Education, succeeding William Bennett. Cavazos was the first Hispanic to serve in a Presidential Cabinet position. Interestingly, he was born on the King Ranch.

On August 9, 1990, voters in the City of Athens and Clarke County chose to unify the two governments into Athens-Clarke County government.

On August 9, 1995, Jerry Garcia died of a heart attack while at a residential drug treatment facility. I remember where I was when I heard.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

The Cook Political Report moved Georgia from “leans Republican” to “toss-up” for the Presidential election, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.

The Cook Political Report has moved the presidential race in Georgia, Arizona and Nevada from “leans Republican” to “toss-up,” reflecting a surge in support for Vice President Kamala Harris in battleground states.

With those moves, the independent non-partisan newsletter now rates 235 electoral votes of leaning, likely, or solid Republican and 226 electoral voted leaning, likely, or solid Democrat. There are now 77 electoral votes rated as toss-up. It takes 270 electoral votes to win.

The changing political landscape is a result of Harris’ entry into the race last month after President Biden decided not to seek re-election amid questions about his age. The Harris campaign has energized Democrats and brought in a huge influx of donations.

Before Biden dropped out of the race, former President Trump was leading in The Cook Political Report’s nationwide polling by about 2.5%.

“Things look a lot better for Democrats today than they did a few weeks ago, but Trump is looking stronger now than he did in 2020,” Amy Walter, Cook’s publisher and editor-in-chief, said. “This is a toss-up.”

Trump also re-opened his feud with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp during a 90-minute rally last weekend in downtown Atlanta. Kemp refused to participate in then-President Trump’s ultimately unsuccessful bid to overturn the 2020 Georgia election results.

Still, Trump is polling stronger than he did at this point in the campaign four years ago, when Biden went on to defeat the incumbent president.

Governor Brian Kemp said he will continue advocating for tort reform legislation, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Tifton Gazette.

Kemp made his announcement at the annual Congressional Luncheon in Athens sponsored by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the same venue he used a year ago to promise that comprehensive tort reform would be a major priority during the 2024 session.

However, in that session’s early days last January, the governor said getting tort reform done would require more than one year. As a result, lawmakers settled for passing legislation limiting the ability of plaintiffs in lawsuits against commercial truckers to file suit directly against a trucking company’s insurance carrier.

“We took the first meaningful steps on this issue this past session by creating a mechanism to gather needed information that will guide the next steps,” Kemp told a roomful of political and business leaders Wednesday. “And as we gather that data, I’m ensuring we listen to all stakeholders.”

Kemp announced he will hold a listening tour to hear from subject matter experts and industry leaders, including three roundtables that will inform his tort reform agenda for 2025.

Republican governors and GOP legislative leaders have worked for years to pass significant tort reform legislation. The most significant step in that direction came nearly 20 years ago with a bill that placed a $350,000 cap on non-economic damage awards in medical malpractice and product liability lawsuits. But the state Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional in 2010.

Since then, legislative Democrats and their allies in the legal industry have joined forces to sink efforts to enact tort reform, arguing it would take away victims’ rights to their day in court.

Kemp is backing tort reform as a pro-business measure that would stop frivolous lawsuits from driving up insurance premiums to the point that the costs prevent Georgia businesses from creating jobs.

From WABE:

Georgia business leaders say strengthening the state’s rural economy, extending expiring business tax breaks and investing in defense should be major priorities for its economic success in the future.

President and CEO Chris Clark said lawmakers should prioritize extending the state’s small business tax credits.

“If Congress doesn’t act, then you’re gonna see mom-and-pop small businesses in every little town in Georgia have federal tax rates will be higher than the big international companies that are operating in Georgia,” Clark said.

Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr., who represents Southwest Georgia, would like to see a legislative measure that protects the rural agricultural industry.

“Farm producers are very, very stressed because of inflation, input cost and natural disasters,” Bishop said.

Representing the neighboring district, Republican Rep. Austin Scott spoke about supporting military bases and defending the state.

“Cyberspace and things that were not missions a few years ago are going to become a bigger part of the mission set going forward,” Scott said.

These issues will all be major considerations going into the upcoming legislative cycle, according to Clark. In the meantime, he added, Georgia is well-positioned to weather a potential economic downturn or recession in the near future.

Governor Kemp issued Executive Order #08.07.24.01, extending the State of Emergency for Hurricane Debby through Thursday, August 15, 2024 at 11:59 PM.

Some residents of Effingham County were ordered to evacuate due to damage from Hurricane Debby, according to WSAV.

The Effingham County Emergency Management Agency (EEMA) has placed residents of Oak Drive, Riverbranch Road and the Steal Bridge Boatlanding (Hwy 119 South at the Ogeechee River) under mandatory evacuation orders.

According to the EEMA, the nearby Ogeechee River is still rising with a projected high of 19.3 feet by Monday. Officials say this level of flooding has not happened since the 1920s.

Some Screven County residents were urged to evacuate due to concerns about a possible dam breach after Hurricane Debby, according to WRDW.

The Eureka Road dam was heavily damaged in Debby’s deluge Tuesday and Wednesday, and crews worked throughout Wednesday and into the night to repair it.

Despite that, officials feared it would fail, and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and Homeland Security issued an evacuation alert around 5:30 a.m. Thursday.

The alert warned of potentially life-threatening flooding with large amounts of fast-moving water.

The Screven County Sheriff’s Office said deputies evacuated everyone who wanted to go.

Then repairs kicked into high gear all day Thursday. Truck after truck brought in dirt to fill the gaps in the dam.

At least four Georgia dams were breached due to Hurricane Debby, according to the New York Times.

At least four dams in Georgia were breached, releasing water as Tropical Storm Debby soaked the state this week. But only one of the dams posed any danger to people and property, according to information released on Thursday by the Department of Natural Resources.

Water began flowing over the top of the Oglesby Pond Dam in Bulloch County, about 70 miles northwest of Savannah, on Wednesday. The area around it is mostly rural and sparsely populated, but the overflow inundated creeks that flooded neighborhoods miles away, said Capt. Todd Hutchens, a spokesman for the county sheriff’s office.

The other three dams that breached were on ponds on small, private farms, said Sara Lips, a spokeswoman for the natural resources department. They were exempt from state regulation because they were not expected to cause fatalities or damage.

All four were in the southeast corner of the state, where emergency officials had previously said that dam failures were a concern as Debby dropped more than a foot of rain in some areas. Local officials reported that some residents were evacuated in the vicinity of several dams this week as floodwaters rose and roadways failed.

Officials were surveying Bulloch county by air on Thursday to determine the damage, Captain Hutchens said. But he estimated that about a third of the county’s population of 83,000 people had been affected by water damage to their property.

Chatham County officials continue to monitor the water level of the Ogeechee River, according to WSAV.

Chatham County officials held a press conference in Bloomingdale regarding the aftermath of Tropical Storm Debby and the rising waters in the Ogeechee River.

The Chatham County Fire Department (CFD) reported two rescue operations in two locations off of Shell Road and Middle Landing Road involving five children, two adults and a canine needing water rescue.

The CFD was also involved in the high-water rescue of two vehicles, including five children and two adults.

There have been 17 rescues off of Shad Road and others are underway.

The Ogeechee River’s current water levels continue to rise and are expected to crest around 2:00 a.m. The river is at 15.31 feet, which is near to the 16.09 feet that occurred in 2020 (the highest peak in recent years). The river is expected to rise to 19.5 feet, which is just under three feet below the all-time record of 22 feet.

Twin Pines Minerals, the company that applied for a permit to mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, allegedly owes $365,000 in taxes to Charlton County, according to the AJC.

Twin Pines Minerals owes Charlton County $365,000 in taxes, including $55,000 in penalties and interest, county records show. To pay off the $650,000 tax bill, originally due in January, the company has entered into a payment plan with the county.

The company has made two payments, one in May and another in July, for a total of $300,000, according to the Charlton County Tax Commissioner’s Office. The one year of assessed taxes covers the equipment on the property, records show.

Trail Ridge Land LLC, an affiliated company that owns the roughly 600 acres of land that the mine would be built on, was also late to pay roughly $30,000 in property taxes, county tax records show. Charlton County placed four liens on the properties in April that were eventually paid in June. Trail Ridge Land was registered in Georgia in 2018 to Steven Ingle, president of Twin Pines.

“When our taxes came due, I contacted the Charlton County Tax Assessor and made arrangements to fulfill Twin Pines’ obligations via payments, which is standard operating procedure in Charlton County. We have made payments and will continue to do so moving forward,” Ingle said in an emailed statement.

In an email, Charlton County Commissioner Drew Jones declined to comment on Twin Pines’ finances while reaffirming the need for economic development in the county, adding the environmentalists “contribute little to nothing” to his community.

“We have no hospital in our County, we have broken roads and sidewalks, every child in our school system gets free lunch. We are in desperate need of a catalyst to increase the quality of lives of our citizens,” Jones said.

The Candler County Sheriff’s Office is asking residents to stay home due to continuing concerns raised by Hurricane Debby, according to WTOC.

In a social media post the Candler County Sheriff’s office stresses the current situation in the area.

They say that rising fast-moving water has affected many in the area.

They urge residents to, “Stay home unless it’s an emergency. Don’t compound the situation. Stay safe, stay smart, and let us do our job.”

The Georgia State Election Board wants to post signs at polling locations that say “US. CITIZENS ONLY,” according to the AJC.

Republican board member Janice Johnston unveiled a sample sign Wednesday at a meeting of the board.

“This is the sign, and I think it’s an easy visual for people to understand — anything to help noncitizens from unwittingly violating election law,” she said.

The board voted 3-1 to email the sign to all 159 counties, encouraging election officials to post the sign at polling locations and election offices. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office had already proposed a similar sign prior to the board’s vote, a spokesperson said.

The three board members voting in favor of the sign are closely aligned with former President Donald Trump, who thanked them each by name during his rally last weekend in Atlanta. Board Chairman John Fervier, an appointee of Gov. Brian Kemp, did not vote, saying he didn’t “care either way.”

Fervier said the board has heard no cases involving noncitizen voters since Kemp appointed him.

The lone Democratic board member, Tindall Ghazall, voted against the idea.

Georgia State House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) announced the reappointment of Statesboro attorney Joey Cowart to the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission, according to the Statesboro Herald.

Created by legislation passed during the 2023 General Assembly, the Commission serves as an oversight mechanism for district attorneys and solicitors-general across Georgia, ensuring the officials fulfill their constitutional and statutory duties.

“District attorneys have a duty to prioritize the safety of Georgia families by prosecuting dangerous criminals to the fullest extent of the law,” Burns said. “I’m grateful to Joey and the members of the Commission for their continued willingness to serve our state and hold rogue prosecutors who refuse to do their jobs accountable.”

The eight-member Commission is able to investigate allegations of misconduct by district attorneys and solicitors-general and discipline, remove or cause the involuntary retirement of those who meet the conditions for removal.

Georgia State Schools Superintendent Richard Woods announced that the controversial AP African-American Studies course will be added to the course catalog, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Superintendent Richard Woods’ turnaround on the nationally debated course comes two weeks after he faced backlash over his decision not to place it on the state catalog, citing H.B. 1084, which prohibits teaching on “divisive” racial concepts. Woods said the state attorney general recently clarified that the law did not restrict local school systems from adopting college-level classes, including AP African American Studies.

“As I have said, I will follow the law,” Woods said. “In compliance with this opinion, the AP African American Studies course will be added to the state-funded course catalog effective immediately.”

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s letter cited by Woods and obtained by USA TODAY was sent to state Rep. William Wade – who sponsored H.B. 1084 – in response to the Georgia Republican’s inquiry about whether the law applies to college-level courses.

AP African American Studies has been at the center of a nationwide political tug-of-war over teaching race in schools since its pilot in 2022. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blocked the course in the Sunshine State in 2023, and officials in Arkansas said last August that students wouldn’t receive high school credit for the class.

Brunswick City Commissioners discussed a proposed additional tax on “blighted” properties, according to The Brunswick News.

The tax is part of a larger 94-page package of proposed ordinances called the Redevelopment Incentive Ordinance, City Attorney Brian Corry told commissioners at their regular meeting. A draft presented Wednesday was only for discussion and revision purposes, Corry said.

“It’s going to include a blight tax, and I’m calling it that because we’re talking about blighted properties,” Corry said, adding that it essentially is a whole new ordinance chapter.

Most of the section related to derelict properties is copied from a template prepared by the Georgia Municipal Association and is compliant with state law. Parts of it also come from the city of Augusta’s code.

It will significantly streamline the legal and court processes for declaring derelict and nuisance properties and seeking demolitions, he continued. It also provides a system for complaints, setting a limit of five before the city investigates a property.

It lays out a series of standards that must be met before a property is considered blighted.

Properties may be classified as such if uninhabitable, unsafe or abandoned; inadequately lighted, ventilated or lacking in sanitation; pose imminent harm to the public. Others include superfund sites; sites where illegal activity occurs of which the owner is or should be aware; and property is not brought up to code for more than a year after receiving written notice from City Hall.

A property can’t be considered blighted “solely because of aesthetic conditions,” the draft ordinance reads.

“If it were determined to be a blighted property the city is able to apply a factor of seven to the millage rate applied to your property. We take our current millage and multiply it by seven,” Corry said. “I hope that would get the attention of these property (owners).”

They are afforded due process, Corry said. A hearing would be held in municipal court before the tax is implemented and the blight tax can be delayed if the owner makes an effort to improve a property.

Dougherty County Commissioners will consider raising the property tax millage rate, according to WALB.

Dougherty County has announced its planned 2024 millage rate, or tax rate, which includes an increase.

The new millage rate would increase countywide property tax by 0.15%, according to a statement released Thursday.

The planned increase means the new millage rate would increase by 0.28 mills to an overall rate of 19.069. Without the increase, the rate would be 19.041. According to the Georgia Department of Revenue, the average county millage rate in the state is 30 mills.

An example the county gave of the increase said, “The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of 125,000 is approximately $1.34 and the proposed tax increase for non-homestead property with a fair market value of 125,000 is approximately $1.40.”

The proposed 0.15% increase would also go to the Special Services District. If passed, the millage rate would cap at 9.173 mills; an increase of .014 mills. Without the increase, the rate would be 9.159 mills.

The county also gave an example of the services district increase: ”The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $150,000 is approximately $0.81 and the proposed tax increase for non-homestead property with a fair market value of $125,000 is approximately $0.70.”

SuwaneeCity Council plans to keep the same millage rate as the previous twelve years, but rising property tax assessments mean it will yield more revenue and must be advertised as a property tax increase, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The city’s proposed millage rate for this fall is 4.93 mills. That’s the same rate that has been used to calculate city property taxes in Suwanee for the last 12 years, but the city council will first hold three meetings this month — one on Aug. 15 and two on Aug. 27 — to get residents input on the matter before a vote is taken.

Although the millage rate would stay the same under the proposal, it would result in a 7.13% increase in property taxes in the city because of higher property values.

Gwinnett County Senior Judge Richard Winegarden dismissed a lawsuit by losing Macon-Bibb County Mayor candidate Shekita Maxwell that sought to throw out the May 21, 2024 Primary Election results, according to the Macon Telegraph.

Gwinnett County Senior Judge Richard Winegarden first addressed Noland’s request to throw the case out, which was filed on Monday. Winegarden explained that he must first hear that part of the case to proceed with the hearing, according to the law.

“I want you to dismiss the motion to dismiss,” said Maxwell. “If you go against my wish and (allow) the motion, I won’t even get a hearing, sir, so that’s not fair to me.”

Maxwell called herself to the witness stand first and said she knew the procedures and policies that take place in the elections as a poll manager for Precinct Godfrey 4 and Noland’s request to dismiss did not address her true concerns.

“It’s not about me, it’s about the citizens they represent,” Maxwell said. “Seven out of nine districts, mostly that are African Americans, had incorrect ballots. Tom Gillon, the board of election, all agree that there were so many errors during the process of election that they couldn’t get it corrected, but they certified the election against our will and our testimony just to get it in into the state.”

Most of her testimony was criticism toward Miller, accusing him of using an SD card with the votes from 2020 in this year’s primary election as well as allegedly going in and out of the elections office on Election Day with a key.

“The integrity of the election and the judicial system relies upon the people,” Maxwell said. “We’re not a country of kings and queens, we are an elective government body because of democracy. Where was democracy during early voting? What was democracy doing on Election Day?”

Ballots given to the candidates did not include their names or were placed in the incorrect district, which they contend was a mistake that suppressed their right to vote as well as the people of Macon-Bibb County. Bryant said it may have been an issue revolving around the county’s redistricting from last year, but lamented that the mistake was never corrected.

Based on the testimony from Maxwell’s witnesses, Winegarden agreed that the Board of Elections made basic mistakes. He advised that the elections board should take the appropriate action to ensure that it does not make the same mistakes in the upcoming elections.

“The Board of Elections has got a problem,” said Winegarden. “If people can’t do the job competently, they should be replaced.”

Even so, he said, “All the testimony that I’ve heard today does not change the fact that this is not the appropriate way to rectify the problem.”

Because of that, he said he had no option but to dismiss the case as per Noland’s request.

Hall County and Solicitor General Stephanie Woodard moved to dismiss a lawsuit alleging workplace infractions, according to AccessWDUN.

Hall County Superior Court documents show the filing was made Wednesday and seeks to dismiss all Georgia Whistleblower Act (GWA) complaints against the county and all of the complaints against Woodard in her “individual capacity” as an elected official.

“As matters of black letter law, GWA claims may be asserted only against ’employers,’ and elected officials are not county employees or subject to county control,” the filing said. “The Court should dismiss all GWA claims to the extent that they are asserted against Ms. Woodard in her individual capacity because the law is clear that the GWA does not provide for individual liability.”

Woodard also recently filed to quash several of the charges against her in the ongoing criminal case. A committee appointed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is also due to report back to Kemp Friday with a recommendation on whether or not to suspend Woodard from office based on those criminal charges.

The Fort Valley Police Department will dismiss all speeding tickets issued from January through July 2024, according to 13WMAZ.

The Fort Valley Police Department will be dismissing all traffic stops via radar device from Jan. 1, 2024 through July, according to Fort Valley Police Chief DJ Flores.

Flores says he issued the decision after realizing the certification for the radars expired on Dec. 31, 2023.

All current radar devices are unusable, according to Flores. As such, all personal police vehicles have been instructed to remove their radars.

Flores says they will not be using any speed traffic devices until recertification is complete.

Radar certification must be completed every three years. Flores says the recertification is in process, and is being reviewed by the Georgia Department of Transportation. It’s unclear what the timeline is for GDOT to recertify the cameras.

If anyone has received a ticket from the past seven months, Flores says they should contact the Fort Valley Police Department.

Gainesville City Council members voted to change the municipal alcohol ordinance, according to AccessWDUN.

“We just want to be sure that we keep our alcohol ordinance updated and fresh,” [Assistant City Manager Angela] Sheppard said. “Some of the things were just as simple as addressing and simplifying some definitions that were in there. Some of it was addressing notifications for people if there were violations. Some of it is clarifying that in order to get an alcohol license, you don’t just need a certificate of occupancy, you also need a business license. So some of it is, you know, clarifying some of the administrative aspects of the alcohol license, but also some of it is, you know, simplifying some of the regulations and peeling some of those back.”

Sheppard added they eliminated restrictions on walk-up service windows and will allow restaurants to charge corkage fees.

“We are allowing for corkage fees so that restaurants that are allowed to sell bottles of wine can allow patrons to bring in a bottle of wine themselves,” Sheppard said. “The restaurant can charge them a corkage fee to open that bottle of wine and enjoy it with their meal.”

The city modified the ordinance as it pertains to drink promotions.

“We are softening some of the restrictions so it would allow for things like bottomless mimosas, whereas before those had been restricted. We are doing things like allowing you to sell more than one drink for a set price,” Sheppard said. “We are doing some things that we think are beneficial to both our businesses and the patrons.”

Sheppard said businesses can also offer all-you-can-drink for a set price for a set time before 10 p.m., serve pitchers to two or more people at one time and offer reduced-price drinks, no less than half the price regularly charged from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Sheppard further explained the updated ordinance will allow restaurants to offer buckets of drinks to patrons.