Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for February 1, 2017

The United States Supreme Court held its first session in New York City, Chief Justice John Jay presiding, on February 1, 1790.

On February 1, 1861, Texas seceded from the Union.

On February 1, 1871, Jefferson Franklin Long of Macon, Georgia became the first black Member of Congress to speak on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. Long was born into slavery and taught himself to read and write. Long was a prominent member of the Republican Party, speaking on its behalf in Georgia and other Southern states. He helped elect 37 African-American members to the 1867 Georgia Constitutional Convention and 32 members of the state legislature; Long continued after his term in Congress as a delegate to Republican National Conventions through 1880. In 1880, Long’s support of Governor Alfred Colquitt showed that African-Americans could be an electoral force in Georgia politics.

On February 1, 1965, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. arrived in Selma, Alabama, where he was arrested.

Richard M. Nixon announced his candidacy for President of the United States on Feburary 1, 1968.

On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded while re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Legislative Day 11 Committee Meetings

8:00 AM HOUSE APPROP GEN’L GOV’T 506 CLOB

8:00 AM HOUSE APPROP ED 515 CLOB

8:00 AM HOUSE AG & CONSUMER AFF 403 CAP

8:00 AM HOUSE INSURANCE 606 CLOB

9:00 AM HOUSE RULES 341 CAP

10:00 AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD 11) HOUSE CHAMBER

11:30 AM SENATE RULES – UPON ADJOURNMENT 450 CAP

1:00 PM SENATE INSURANCE & LABOR – CANCELED 310 CLOB

1:00 PM SENATE NAT’L RES & ENV’T 450 CAP

1:00 PM< HOUSE APPROP ECON DEV 341 CAP

1:00 PM House Ways & Means Sub Public Fin & Policy 133 CAP

1:00 PM HOUSE MILITARY AFFAIRS WORK GRP 415 CLOB

1:30 PM Fleming Sub House Judicary (Civil) 403 CAP

2:00 PM SENATE FINANCE – CANCELED 125 CAP

2:00 PM SENATE EDUCATION & YOUTH 307 CLOB

2:00 PM HOUSE SMALL BUSINESS DEV 606 CLOB

2:00 PM HOUSE BANKS & BANKING 406 CLOB

2:00 PM HOUSE RETIREMENT-CANCELED 515 CLOB

2:30 PM SENATE HEALTH & HS – Pharmacology Sub 310 CLOB

3:00 PM SENATE BANKING & FIN INST – CANCELED 310 CLOB

3:00 PM SENATE AG & CONSUMER AFF 450 CAP

3:00 PM SENATE STATE & LOCAL GOV’TAL OPS – CANCELED MEZZ 1

3:00 PM HOUSE MEDICAL CANNABIS WORK GRP 406 CLOB

3:00 PM HOUSE APPROP PUB SAFETY 606 CLOB

3:00 PM HOUSE INDUSTRY & LABOR 506 CLOB

3:00 PM HOUSE HIGHER ED 403 CAP

3:00 PM HOUSE SPECIAL RULES 515 CLOB

4:00 PM SENATE JUDICIARY – Sub A 307 CLOB

4:00 PM HOUSE APPROP HIGHER ED 403 CAP

 

Craft beer legislation could be ready for a Senate floor vote as early as Thursday.

“It eliminates a stranglehold some of the wholesalers have had. I think it’s a good, free market solution,” said state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome.

Hufstetler is one of the co-sponsors of Senate Bill 85, which was passed out of committee Monday. It ends the requirement that breweries must give tours in order to retail their product — and raises the cap on beer sales to 288 ounces per person per day, equal to a case.

There’s an annual sales limit of 3,000 barrels, Hufstetler said, but that shouldn’t affect operations such as Rome City Brewing Co., which is based in the Brewhouse Music & Grill on Broad Street.

The Georgia House Committee on Health and Human Services, chaired by Rep. Sharon Cooper, recommended passage of House Bill 154, which expands the scope of practice for dental hygienists.

Under the legislation, a dentist could agree to allow up to four hygienists to go into underserved areas, including nursing homes, to provide cleanings and other basic services.

The measure was aimed at providing care in areas of the state where there are few dentists. The hygienists could also provide cleanings at a dentist’s office without the dentist being present.

Georgia has one of the lowest rates of dentists per capita in the country, and most don’t accept patients on Medicaid, the state and federal health care program for the poor and disabled.

Senate Bill 79, the Destination Resort Act, would legalize casino gambling in two locations in Georgia.

“Casino style gaming is a large tourism and revenue building market that Georgia is missing out on,” said Sen. Beach. “The two proposed destination resorts will not only bring tourism to our great state, they will bring more than 5,000 jobs and unparalleled capital that will go directly towards funding the HOPE Scholarship and other education programs in Georgia. This is a win-win situation and I’m eager to get the ball rolling on its passage.”

The Destination Resort Act would create the Georgia Gaming Commission, modeled after Nevada’s Gaming Commission. The commission would be made up of five members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the house.

The entity would have the ability to award two destination resort licenses to qualified applicants and will be responsible for governing over the operation of such resorts.

“My children earned a full ride to college with the HOPE Scholarship,” Rep. Stephens added. “I want my grandchildren to have the same opportunity, and S.B. 79 gives them that chance.”

Hall County’s library system is seeking $2 million in state funding to supplement local funds for a major renovation.

“We are still in a very early stage with this,” said Mark Pettitt, chairman of the library Board of Trustees. “At this point, the most important item for us regarding the construction project is securing the state funding during the legislative session so that we can move forward and hopefully break ground in 2018.”

When voters approved SPLOST VII in March 2015, $2.5 million was allocated to renovate the library.

And it was always anticipated that the state would provide a relative match of that amount to cover the full costs.

Sen. Butch Miller, R-Gainesville, said it was too early to tell how much lawmakers in Atlanta would approve for the renovation in the next state budget.

“These types of items are not in the amended budget (for the current fiscal year),” he added. “It will have to be in the big budget (that runs) July 1 to December 31 (of this year).”

Northeast Georgia Health System is in discussion with Habersham Medical Center over a possible agreement to share resources and service.

Tanner Health System in Villa Rica has begun work on a $37 million expansion.

Cobb County Commissioner Bob Weatherford is proposing changes in the county’s nepotism policy that he says impede hiring of firefighters.

Augusta Commissioners rejected a proposal to allow Community Improvement Districts.

“To me, it (sounds) like another mechanism of putting another fee on the citizens; it’s a tax,” Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle said.

Emory University President Claire Sterk writes that the institution will not become a “sanctuary campus.”

In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday, Sterk explained the university’s decision not to declare itself a sanctuary campus.

“What I think we’re all learning is that being a sanctuary is symbolically important, but it doesn’t really provide cover or protection in any way,” Sterk said. “We’re not going to make an ideological statement, but we’re going to focus on the practical issues.”

Sterk has four priorities for the school, which serves 15,000 students and is the second-largest private employer in the Atlanta area. She wants deeper engagement with Atlanta, to strengthen academic excellence and global health innovation and to enhance the impact of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center.

Deepening ties to Atlanta may include connecting a MARTA line to Emory.

“I believe it could have tremendous advantages,” she said. “If there were a MARTA line, it would allow for many people (to have) easier access to an area where so many of the employment opportunities are. It also means people will have access to the care that takes place.”

Mary Pat Hector, a 19-year old Spelman College student running for the first City Council in the new City of Stonecrest, is having her qualification for office challenged because of her age.

Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques announced he will run for reelection.

His current term expires Dec. 31, 2017. Woodstock’s municipal election will be held Nov. 7. Along with the office of mayor, Wards 1, 3 and 5 are all up for re-election. Those seats are held by Warren Johnson, Bob Mueller and Bud Leonard, respectively.

Qualifying dates and times will be announced later in the year.

Atlanta’s Mayor wants to raise taxes to fund arts and culture.

Reed said Tuesday the city will ask the Georgia General Assembly to authorize a referendum to raise the sales tax by one-tenth of a penny to provide a permanent source of arts funding.

Reed said Atlanta’s arts organizations – particularly the smaller nonprofits – perennially struggle to stay afloat because they don’t have a steady source of funding. He described some of them as being on “life support” and in need of public funding.

“What Atlanta needs to become the city we want to become is a source of funding for the arts that comes every year no matter what,” Reed said. “Everybody has been talking about arts funding for at least 15 years.”

Westinghouse, a division of Toshiba, will pull out of the nuclear power plant market after finishing current commitments, which include the two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle.

Georgia Power, the managing partner and largest owner of the Plant Vogtle project, said it is monitoring the matter but expects Toshiba’s subsidiary involved in the project, Westinghouse Electric Co., to be able to complete the project.

“Under this agreement, Westinghouse has taken the actions required in connection with Toshiba’s financial condition,” Georgia Power spokesman Jacob Hawkins said.

He said Georgia Power’s agreement with Westinghouse requires the company to maintain a financial buffer in the form of $920 million in letters of credit.

“While we cannot speculate on what may happen in the future with Toshiba or Westinghouse and their overall business, we will always hold them, as the contractor, accountable for their responsibilities under our agreement,” Hawkins said.