Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for February 17, 2023

On February 17, 1739, Thomas Jones wrote to the Georgia Trustees in London of the appalling conditions in Savannah.

“The profanation of the Lord’s Day. When at church in the time of divine service, can hear continual firing of guns by people that are shooting at some game, others carrying burdens on wheelbarrows by the church door.

“The uncommon lewdness practiced by many and gloried in.”

“The negligence of officers in permitting several in this town to retail rum and strong liquors, unlicensed, who have no other visible way of livelihood, where servants resort and are encouraged to rob their masters….”

“I need not mention profane swearing and drunkenness, which are not so common here as in some other places, and few are notorious therein, besides Mr. Baliff Parker, who I have seen wallow in the mire….”

The Georgia legislature, on February 17, 1783, passed legislation granting land to veterans of Georgia militia who served during the Revolutionary War.

On February 17, 1784, the Georgia legislature passed a bill to increase an earlier formula for settling the state, allotting 200 acres to each head of a family, plus 50 acres for each family member (including up to 10 slaves) up to a maximum of 1000 acres.

Thomas Jefferson was elected Third President of the United States on February 17, 1801. The election was deadlocked for three months between Jefferson and his running-mate Aaron Burr.

On November 4 [1800], the national election was held. When the electoral votes were counted, the Democratic-Federalists emerged with a decisive victory, with Jefferson and Burr each earning 73 votes to Adams’ 65 votes and Pinckney’s 64 votes. John Jay, the governor of New York, received 1 vote.

Because Jefferson and Burr had tied, the election went to the House of Representatives, which began voting on the issue on February 11, 1801. What at first seemed but an electoral technicality–handing Jefferson victory over his running mate–developed into a major constitutional crisis when Federalists in the lame-duck Congress threw their support behind Burr. Jefferson needed a majority of nine states to win, but in the first ballot had only eight states, with Burr winning six states and Maryland and Virginia. Finally, on February 17, a small group of Federalists reasoned that the peaceful transfer of power required that the majority party have its choice as president and voted in Jefferson’s favor. The 35th ballot gave Jefferson victory with 10 votes. Burr received four votes and two states voted blank.

On February 19, 1807, Aaron Burr was arrested in the Mississippi Territory, in what is now Alabama. Burr had served as Vice President during the first term of President Thomas Jefferson, leaving the administration after the 1804 election; later Jefferson issued a warrant accusing Burr of treason.

On February 17, 1820, the United States Senate passed the Missouri Compromise to govern the admission of new states as either slave-holding or not.

On February 17, 1854, Georgia Governor Herschel Johnson signed legislation by the Georgia General Assembly placing on the ballot for the next generation the question of whether to move the state capital from Milledgeville to Atlanta.

Alexander Stephens, who was born in Crawfordville, Taliaferro County, Georgia, was inaugurated as Vice President of the Confederate States of America on February 18, 1861. Stephens graduated from Franklin College, later known as the University of Georgia, and served in the Georgia legislature. Stephens opposed Georgia’s secession. One year later, Georgia’s delegation to the Confederate Congress, numbering ten members, was sworn in.

Ina Dillard was born on February 18, 1868 in Oglethorpe County Georgia. She married Richard Russell, who served on the Georgia Court of Appeals and as Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. Their son, Richard B. Russell, Jr., would be elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, where he served as Speaker and became the youngest Governor of Georgia in the 20th Century. In 1932 he ran for United States Senate and was elected.

In 1936, Russell was elected to his first full term in the Senate over former Governor Eugene Talmadge. In 1952, Russell ran for the Democratic nomination for President and he was an early mentor for Lyndon B. Johnson, who later served as President. Russell served on the Warren Commission that investigated the assassination of President Kennedy.

Russell served as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee for many years. Russell was an acknowledged leader within the Senate, and especially among Southern members, and he led much of the opposition to civil rights legislation and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

On February 19, 1807, Aaron Burr was arrested in the Mississippi Territory, in what is now Alabama. Burr had served as Vice President during the first term of President Thomas Jefferson, leaving the administration after the 1804 election; later Jefferson issued a warrant accusing Burr of treason.

On February 16, 1923, Howard Carter and his archaeology party entered the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen.

The steps led to an ancient sealed doorway bearing the name Tutankhamen. When Carter and Lord Carnarvon entered the tomb’s interior chambers on November 26, they were thrilled to find it virtually intact, with its treasures untouched after more than 3,000 years. The men began exploring the four rooms of the tomb, and on February 16, 1923, under the watchful eyes of a number of important officials, Carter opened the door to the last chamber.

Inside lay a sarcophagus with three coffins nested inside one another. The last coffin, made of solid gold, contained the mummified body of King Tut. Among the riches found in the tomb–golden shrines, jewelry, statues, a chariot, weapons, clothing–the perfectly preserved mummy was the most valuable, as it was the first one ever to be discovered. Despite rumors that a curse would befall anyone who disturbed the tomb, its treasures were carefully catalogued, removed and included in a famous traveling exhibition called the “Treasures of Tutankhamen.”

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, authorizing the military to remove from military areas any people whose exclusion was “necessary or desirable.” By June 1942, more than 110,000 Japanese Americans had been interned in concentration camps in the western United States. On the same day, the United States War Department announced that a new bomber plant would be built in Marietta, Georgia.

On February 16, 1948, the United States Air Force renamed Robins Air Field to Robins Air Force Base. Robins AFB and the City of Warner Robins are named for Air Force General Augustine Warner Robins.

Fidel Castro was sworn-in as Prime Minister of Cuba on February 16, 1959.

On February 16, 1968, Speaker of the Alabama House of Representative Rankin Fite placed the first 911 call from Haleyville City Hall to Congressman Tom Bevill at the Haleyville police station.

On February 20, 1970, Georgia ratified the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote. The Amendment states:

Section 1. The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Seriously. 1970. Luckily ratification occurred when Tennessee approved adoption of the Amendment on April 18, 1920.

Interestingly, the only case in which the United States Supreme Court has addressed the Nineteenth Amendment arose in Georgia. Breedlove v. Suttles was a suit brought in Fulton County Superior Court concerning the poll tax. Here’s an excerpt:

The tax being upon persons, women may be exempted on the basis of special considerations to which they are naturally entitled. In view of burdens necessarily borne by them for the preservation of the race, the state reasonably may exempt them from poll taxes.

The laws of Georgia declare the husband to be the head of the family and the wife to be subject to him. To subject her to the levy would be to add to his burden. Moreover, Georgia poll taxes are laid to raise money for educational purposes, and it is the father’s duty to provide for education of the children. Discrimination in favor of all women being permissible, appellant may not complain because the tax is laid only upon some or object to registration of women without payment of taxes for previous years.

Privilege of voting is not derived from the United States, but is conferred by the state and, save as restrained by the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments and other provisions of the Federal Constitution, the state may condition suffrage as it deems appropriate.

It is fanciful to suggest that the Georgia law is a mere disguise under which to deny or abridge the right of men to vote on account of their sex. The challenged enactment is not repugnant to the Nineteenth Amendment.

Bless their hearts.

On February 20, 1974, Reg Murphy, an editor for The Atlanta Constitution was kidnapped and held until managing editor G. James Minter delivered $700,000 in ransom. I’m not sure if they’d pay 700 cents to get any employee back nowadays.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Moving Georgia’s primary elections could bring more campaign dollars to the state, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

Thomas Smith, professor in the practice of finance at Emory, estimates the move could add $111 million in additional spending in Georgia.

Earlier this year, the Democratic National Convention voted to shake up the traditional primary line up of early-voting states. The rearranging more heavily favors states with larger percentages of Black voters to replace heavily white-voter states currently atop the primary voting calendar. The proposal would move Georgia to fourth in line.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said he would support the move for the presidential primary in 2028, although not 2024.

“Georgia makes a big deal about the Super Bowl coming to town, right; how it’s gonna bring $100 million, or even the Baseball All-Star (game),” Smith said. “Most of those impacts are going to be felt in the Atlanta metro (area). … Unlike that, this has the potential to have a much larger or broader impact.”

To analyze the proposal, Smith looked at publicly available spending data for candidates, political party committees and Political Action Committees, or PACs. Smith estimated the number of candidates for a 2024 race, using a baseline number of 11 Republicans running in the primary and one Democrat (President Joe Biden). Then he looked at the average spending of campaigns on offices, events and rallies, advertising and employee wages, spending that he says will be spread across the state.

“I mean, if you really want to contend in this state you have to squeeze votes from all of these little counties, which means that counties around Augusta, or the counties around Rome, or the counties around Columbus, Georgia, right?” he said. “You’ve got to go into the smaller communities and then you have to say, ‘Look, here’s why I need your vote.’”

“If Georgia became, let’s say, more top of the line, you can imagine that people would be spending more of their money here for a longer period of time,” Smith said. “And then those jobs moved from being, let’s say, transitional and temporary to being much more permanent.”

Legislation described as a copy of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation was introduced in Georgia, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.

A bill to restrict educators from discussing gender identity or sexual orientation was introduced in the Georgia Senate this week.

Georgia’s Parents and Children Protection Act of 2023 is modeled after Florida’s dubbed “Don’t say gay bill.”

Cordell Republican Carden Summers, sponsor of the proposed Parents and Children Protection Act of 2023, said the bill is simply to protect children and keep guardians in the loop.

“We’re trying to limit the exposure that a person would have on a child regarding gender,” Summers said at the Tuesday Senate Education & Youth Committee meeting.

If approved, the bill would prevent any school staff person from providing or obtaining information sensitive in nature from a child younger than age 16 (the age of consent in Georgia). Adult staff of public libraries, social services agencies or similar facilities or programs — all grouped “in loco parentis” along with school staff — would also be subject to the bill’s provisions.

Information sensitive in nature, according to the bill, includes sex education and information regarding a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity other than the child’s biological sex.

Buddy Costley, executive director of Georgia Association of Educational Leaders, said in reviewing the bill, principals and superintendents have expressed concern that including sex education in the bill could cause issues in teaching about health.

Democrat Sen. Sonya Halpern said she would like the bill to embrace a more school-home partnership and a less cynical view of school staff.

“I get it, like I’m a parent, too. I would hate to think that there’s other adults in this world who know things about my child that I don’t because my child is telling them and is not telling me,” Halpern said. “But at the same time, I realize in reality that that’s probably true. … There’s some things children are never going to go to their parents for, but need a trusted adult in the larger village that they can go to.”

The bill in question is Senate Bill 88.

Senate Bill 73 by Senator Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia) would revise the “Do not call” list, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Statesboro Herald.

The bill would allow Georgians to hold companies liable for telemarketing calls made by third-party contractors as well as pursue class-action lawsuits against telemarketers.

“What we’ve seen in Georgia is a proliferation of telemarketing calls,” said Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, the legislation’s chief sponsor. “They interrupt homes at dinnertimes.”

“But our ability to stop them pursuant to the Georgia Do Not Call Act has been limited because we’ve seen those companies go outside and reach to other groups to make the calls for them.”

“[A company] can’t get around Georgia law by contracting with another company out-of-state,” he said. “They actually would be recognized as the entity making the call in the first place, and third-party liability would extend to them.”

The bill also would allow Georgians to bring a class-action lawsuit for such phone calls with damages of up to $1,000 per call.

Senate Bill 47 by Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome) would regulate vaping in the same way the state already regulates smoking, according to the Associated Press via WSAV.

The state Senate voted 51-3 on Wednesday to pass Senate Bill 47, which would regulate vaping in the same way the state already regulates smoking. The measure moves to the House for more debate.

Georgia’s 2005 Smoke-Free Air Act says that people can’t smoke indoors in many public places, although it excludes some places including tobacco stores, bars that only admit patrons older than 18, and privately owned convention rooms.

The state Department of Public Health is supporting the measure. In 2019, the department reported it had identified 42 cases of vaping-associated illness in Georgia, including six deaths.

Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, a Rome Republican, said he was trying to keep the change as simple as possible.

“Some people would say that vaping is safer because of the lack of tar, others would say that the ultrafine particulates in the aerosol make it worse. This isn’t to argue that either way,” Hufstetler said.

House Bill 380 by State Rep. Marcus Wiedower (R-Watkinsville) would legalize online sports betting, according to the Center Square via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

House Bill 380, the “Georgia Lottery Game of Sports Betting Act,” would authorize the Georgia Lottery Corp. to operate and regulate sports betting in the state. Under the proposal, revenue from sports betting would go to educational programs under the Georgia Lottery, including the HOPE Scholarship and Pre-K education.

“HB 380 would allow sports betting to become legal and bring Georgia in line with 36 other states across the country that have already taken this step,” state Rep. Marcus Wiedower, R-Watkinsville, said in an announcement.

“Sports betting is already occurring in our state,” Wiedower added. “Legalizing this activity could generate tens of millions of dollars in additional education funding for our state if properly regulated.”

Wiedower estimates that legalized sports betting could generate roughly $50-75 million in revenue.

“I would be surprised if we did not pass … online sports betting this year,” state Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, said during a recent virtual town hall. “…It’s an industry that continues to grow, and we’re going to continue to hear it until something passes.”

“Sports betting has broad appeal and overwhelming support among Georgia voters on both sides of the aisle,” state Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Atlanta, said in an announcement.

Senate Bill 180, the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” by Sen. Ed Setzler (R-Cobb County) would protect the individual right to exercise one’s religion, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

State Sen. Ed Setzler introduced a bill Wednesday protecting the right of Georgians to “free exercise of religion” from intrusion by the state or local governments.

“Every Georgian should be free to exercise their religious faith,” Setzler, R-Acworth, said during a news conference at the state Capitol. “Without a state RFRA (Religious Freedom Restoration Act), Georgians do not have protection for religious expression.”

The Republican-controlled General Assembly passed a Georgia RFRA bill in 2016. But then-GOP Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed the measure after a storm of protest from civil rights groups that it threatened the rights of LGBTQ+ Georgians.

Under Senate Bill 180, the state and local governments would not be permitted to “substantially burden” an individual’s free exercise of religion unless the government could demonstrate it had a “compelling governmental interest” in doing so and that it was using the “least restrictive means” of intrusion.

Setzler’s bill has picked up support from some influential Senate Republicans. Cosponsors include Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, and Sen. Matt Brass, R-Newnan, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee.

From the Georgia Recorder:

Setzler’s proposal was immediately met with concerns that it would justify discrimination, particularly against members of the LGBTQ community. It also remains to be seen how the business community – which was influential in blocking the 2016 law – will respond.

“While we can all agree that freedom of religion is a cornerstone of our beliefs, it is imperative that in an effort to protect religion that we do not create a license to discriminate,” said Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, which advocates on behalf of the LGBTQ Georgians.

Georgia is one of only three states lacking a comprehensive state civil rights law, Graham said. So, he has offered a counter proposal: Pass statewide nondiscrimination protections for “all Georgians who fear discrimination because of who they are, who they love or how they pray.”

When asked specifically if his proposal would shield a faith-based adoption agency that refused to work with same-sex couples, he said that would be up to the courts to sort out.

Local governments can also pass ordinances that he argued would provide enhanced nondiscrimination protections. So far, 13 cities have passed such ordinances, according to Georgia Equality. But opponents say Setzler’s bill could potentially negate those local protections.

Senate Bill 12, the “Protecting Victims and Dismantling Georgia Street Gangs Act” by Sen. John Albers (R-Roswell), targets street gangs, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Rome News Tribune.

Sponsored by Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, the 10-page bill makes a number of changes to Georgia’s criminal law to address gang violence.

“This is much needed and real criminal justice reform,” Albers said.

The legislation increases the penalty for possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a forcible felony or domestic violence.

The measure also makes a number of procedural changes to Georgia’s gang laws. If passed, it would mandate that Superior Court judges handle all bond hearings for gang crimes. Currently, magistrates sometimes handle these hearings.

Local governments and others would also be able to bring civil, not just criminal, actions against gang members. The bill would also consolidate the venues in which criminal convictions could be pursued.

“Oftentimes, gang members will continue to move around from county to city,” Albers said. “Rather than trying to prosecute that in multiple areas, it allows them to consolidate it in one single venue.”

Certain past crimes could also be used to prove gang membership.

The bill would also require that people convicted of the repeat offense of abuse of children, people with special needs, and elderly people receive the maximum sentence possible in most cases. It also allows prior evidence to be used in prosecuting people charged with those crimes.

The state Senate approved the bill by a 44 to 8 vote.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R-Cobb County) is also advocating for higher mandatory minimum sentences targeting gang activity, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is pushing for the state legislature to pass new mandatory minimum sentencing requirements for those who are convicted of recruiting people into gangs.

Senate Bill 44 passed the Georgia Senate Monday, Feb. 13, 31-22.

The bill would require judges to impose prison sentences of at least five years on those convicted of recruiting gang members. It would prevent those sentenced with the crime from having their sentences suspended or serving them through probation.

The legislation would require tougher penalties for those who recruit someone under age 17 or someone with a disability to a gang, requiring at least a 10-year sentence.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has made cracking down on gangs central to his legislative agenda this session.

“And so what we have said is … If you are an adult that’s going to recruit a child into a gang, we fundamentally as a state disagree with that and abhor that, and you are going to have a minimum amount of time that you’re going to spend in prison. … It is destroying a child’s life. If you bring a child into a gang, you’re going to end up in jail, or worse, you could end up dead,” Carr said.

Senate Democrats opposed SB 44. Sen. Harold Jones II, D-Augusta, a former solicitor general in Richmond County, argued it could have the unintended consequence of reducing sentences for those guilty of serious crimes and putting tough penalties on those convicted of relatively minor crimes.

Senate Bill 198, by Sen. Sally Harrell (D-DeKalb County) would create the “Georgians with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Innovation Commission,” according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Rome News Tribune.

Harrell’s proposal has drawn bipartisan support, including from Republican Senate co-sponsors John Albers of Roswell, Mike Dugan of Carrollton, Chuck Hufstetler of Rome, and Ben Watson of Savannah.

The 22-member commission would include members appointed by the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the House of Representatives. Appointees would include, among others, people with intellectual or developmental disabilities and their family members and caregivers.

The commission would be required to focus on proposed changes to state laws and regulations around providing services to people with disabilities.

The Senate Health and Human Services committee will need to approve Harrell’s bill before it can move to the Senate floor for a vote.

Georgia provides funding slots for people with disabilities to receive home and community-based services so they are not segregated in institutions. Those slots are jointly funded by the state and the federal governments, with the state paying about one-third of the cost and the federal government picking up the rest.

Advocates contend the state should dramatically increase the number of slots to meet the needs of Georgians with disabilities. There are currently 7,155 people on the waiting list.

A state Senate study committee co-chaired by Harrell and Albers that met last fall recommended the state increase the number of slots by about 2,400 this year. However, the governor’s budget proposal only includes sufficient funding for an increase of around 250 slots, which follows an increase of about 500 slots from last year’s legislative session.

The State House Ways & Means Committee voted to recommend passage of two bills pushed by Gov. Brian Kemp, according to the AJC.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted Thursday to pass bills that would give income tax filers another $1 billion in tax refunds and to ratify the Republican governor’s decision to waive tax collection on gasoline and diesel fuel for months.

Kemp also plans a $1 billion property tax rebate that is moving forward as part of the amended budget for this year. Both the income tax and property tax givebacks were key Kemp pledges in his successful reelection campaign last year.

House Bill 162 calls for a second year in a row of income tax refunds. It would give give a refund of up to $250 to single filers, up to $375 to single adults who head a household with dependents and up to $500 to married couples filing jointly. The refund would only be paid to people who filed tax returns for both the 2021 and 2022 tax years, and no one can get back more than they paid in state income taxes in 2021.

Rebates or credits would be issued in the spring if the bill passes. They would be automatic for anyone who files a 2021 and 2022 return, with no further action required. People who don’t owe state income taxes, including many retirees, wouldn’t get any money.

“The governor is committed to the citizens of Georgia, and this is one way he’s going to give their money back to them,” said Rep. Lauren McDonald, a Cumming Republican.

The committee also approved House Resolution 66, which ratified Kemp’s decision to keep extending what had originally been legislated as a six-week holiday on gasoline and diesel taxes last spring. Through a series of executive orders, Kemp pushed that extension past his reelection date into early January. Such a move is legal as long as lawmakers approve it the next time they meet.

Senate Bill 110, the “Back the Blue Act” by Sen. Larry Walker, III (R-Perry) to allow auto insurance customers to donate to , according to 13WMAZ.

Folks would make voluntary $3 donations through their auto insurance bills.

Insurance companies would collect those donations and send them to the state insurance commissioner, who’d split the money among Georgia’s 159 counties.

“[Their] jobs are very difficult and dangerous they’re putting their lives on the line every day,” says Walker.

He doesn’t know how much each county would get, it depends on your $3 donation.

“I hope that Georgia citizen’s would take advantage of this very easy way to support law enforcement,” says Walker.

Senate Bill 114 by Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Cataula) would allow Buckhead residents to vote to leave Atlanta and incorporate a new municipality, according to the AJC.

A group of lawmakers renewed the push to create the “City of Buckhead City” that, if approved by the legislature, would let Buckhead residents within the proposed boundaries vote on whether to form the new city through a ballot referendum in November 2024.

Republican State Sen. Randy Robertson, Cataula, and all of the other eighth co-sponsors on the legislation live outside the city of Atlanta.

When pressed on why all the lawmakers pushing the bill represent areas outside of the metro Atlanta area, the Cataula Republican argued that state lawmakers should work for Georgians even if they live outside of their districts.

“Every decision we make in this building each and every day with rare exception impacts everyone in this state,” he said. “So I don’t think we are regulated from just the 200,000 people we are elected to represent primarily or out of the pool we’re elected by. I think our responsibilities expand much farther than that.”

One big question created by the bill filed this year on the issue is the staggering size of the proposed salaries for Buckhead City mayor and council members.

The mayor of the proposed city would make an annual salary of $225,000 — more than Gov. Brian Kemp. Part-time Buckhead City council members would make $72,000.

Every speaker who signed up during public comment — from Buckhead residents to Atlanta Public Schools officials — opposed the bill.

Even if students within the proposed city’s boundaries are removed from Atlanta Public Schools, they are still on the hook for district debt, said Erica Long, senior policy advisor for APS.

“We’re talking easily over $100 million when you add the bond indebtedness and then also the additional pension liabilities and costs and that is just to the school system,” she said.

About 60% of students who live in Buckhead attend Atlanta Public Schools and are students who would be left in limbo since the state constitution prohibits cities from creating their own school district.

The Georgia Republican Party paid more than $200,000 to defend alleged “fake electors,” according to the AJC.

Newly released campaign disclosures show that at least $220,000 went to law firms that represented many of the GOP electors. In all, the records show the party spent at least overall $290,000 in legal expenses in 2022, compared to about $90,000 in 2021.

The financial arrangement came into clearer focus last week when Georgia GOP chair David Shafer, one of the 16 fake electors, announced he wouldn’t seek another term and praised the party’s executive committee for agreeing to float the legal fees in his farewell dispatch.

“I have raised the money to honor that commitment,” he wrote in a note to activists, “so that none of them have had to pay a penny out of pocket.”

Former DeKalb County Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton (D) avoided jail time for her ethics convictions, according to the AJC.

U.S. District Court Judge Mark H. Cohen on Tuesday sentenced Barnes Sutton to three years of probation, with nine months to be served on house arrest.

The sentencing came about three months after a weeklong trial that ended with Barnes Sutton being found guilty of two counts of extortion. She was acquitted on a separate charge of bribery.

Barnes Sutton was indicted in 2019, three years after she left office following an unsuccessful reelection bid. But the allegations against her dated back to 2014.

U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta) wrote a letter opposing mining near the Okefenokee Swamp, according to The Brunswick News.

In a letter to Richard Dunn, director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, Ossoff urged that the application submitted by Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals be rejected.

Ossoff citied studies by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and a leading hydrologist at the University of Georgia, saying they “produced clear and convincing evidence” the mining plan does not meet the standards necessary to get a mining permit.

He said the analysis “calls directly into question” Twin Pines’ statement that “proposed mining activities will have an insignificant impact [on] the groundwater and stream flow to the Okefenokee Swamp.”

The proposed reclamation activities from mining will result in a loss of wetland areas and reduced the reclaimed area’s ability to maintain wetland properties, reducing the available habitat for wetland species, he said.

“These conclusions underscore that the mining plan does not meet the standard outlined in EPD’s notice,” Ossoff said.

Savannah municipal leaders discussed the potential effects of SB 62 concerning homeless camps, according to WTOC.

“I’m glad to hear that the general assembly was discussing issues of homelessness. I’m concerned about the approach by which they’re doing it.”

The Senate bill concerning Savannah Mayor Van Johnson is SB 62 which would designate areas for homeless camps in counties and cities. It’s sponsored by Senator Carden Summers who spoke about the bill on Tuesday.

“I know one thing. When somebody can sleep safe at night, that’s what this is about. There’s a lot of vacant property in every city, doesn’t matter where you go,” said Senator Summers.

“Most of our homeless neighbors are not doing anything but just being and we’re not going to criminalize people for doing that. So I’m very concerned about what this proposed bill might do to help criminalize homelessness,” said Mayor Johnson.

According to the Savannah Chatham Authority for the Homeless, Chatham County has the second highest homeless rate in Georgia. In October, the City of Savannah evicted about 40 people from a long time homeless camp under Truman Parkway.

Former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan (R-2.0) took a $100k European junket as his term of office closed, according to the AJC.

Legislative lawyers rejected requests from the AJC to disclose how much state money was spent on the trip, citing the fact that the General Assembly exempted itself from the Open Records Act that other government officials must follow.

But the AJC has pieced together more than $100,000 in taxpayer spending on the trip through open records requests to agencies and state sources investigating the trip.

That doesn’t include what the state paid for two officers on Duncan’s executive security team to go on the trip. A Georgia Department of Public Safety lawyer said the agency would provide “any available, releasable records within two weeks.”

Duncan didn’t run for reelection and Miller lost in May’s Republican primary for lieutenant governor. By the time the mid-November trip took place, voters had already selected their replacements.

The group made the trip from Nov. 12 to 19 to the German cities of Munich and Stuttgart and then London as part of a Senate Study Committee on Economic Development and International Relations. The legislation creating the committee was filed and passed by the Georgia Senate at the end of the 2022 session, and the panel was chaired by Miller.

Big Brother is headed to Macon in the form of a surveillance camera network. From the Macon Telegraph:

The Macon-Bibb County Commission is a vote away from approving the rollout of an expansive camera surveillance network in the city’s downtown core.

At their last meeting, commission members saw a presentation about the system being spearheaded by Mayor Lester Miller.

It would mean an almost $700,000 price tag for the system made by a company called Verkada. The system would blanket about 60 cloud-connected cameras across downtown, which is in the midst of a real estate boom but was the site of recent late-night shooting.

“We’re looking for places where we have a large accumulation of people,” Miller said. “Along the river walk, we’ve had some challenges there with some aggressive behaviors and things. I want to make sure people understand it’s safe and we need to protect that as well.”

“These cameras are not going into residential neighborhoods where people can have some issues of violating their privacy,” he said. “There’s no reasonable expectation of privacy when you’re walking down a public street or if you’re in a park or when you’re along the river walk.”

The nearly $700,000 cost would essentially lease to the county for 10 years what is promised to be a turnkey system. At the end of 10 years, the county would need a new contract to keep the system running.

Brunswick City Commission voted heard a proposed new alcohol ordinance, according to The Brunswick News.

Among other things, the ordinance would allow home delivery, drinking on the sidewalks in the downtown commercial district and hold businesses responsible for violations by employees.

The discussion at Wednesday’s meeting was preliminary. The commission may discuss a revised version as early as next month.

In 2018, the city repealed and replaced the entirety of the alcohol ordinance because of changes in state law and new businesses, City Attorney Brian Corry told the commission. Since then, the state has continued to update its laws.

The COVID-19 pandemic drove several changes in the alcohol sales arena by shifting the focus of the food service industry generally to delivery and curb-side across the nation.

In some ways, the most recent draft of the ordinance mirrors the rules in Glynn County. It refines the definitions of breweries, distilleries and package goods retailers to resemble the way they’re defined in state law.

But much of the ordinance is brand new, including a section on home delivery. The draft would allow it generally, but each category of business has some different rules. Package stores can deliver sealed drinks to customers, but restaurants can’t sell only mixed drinks for delivery.

One of the more substantial additions is the allowance of public drinking on sidewalks from 12:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. in a small portion of the city bounded by G Street to the north, Howe to the south, Bay Street to the west and Union to the east.

Brunswick Commissioners declined to join an effort to designate the Okefenokee Swamp a UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to the Brunswick News.

Mayor Cosby Johnson led most of the discussion, saying that he wanted to weigh evidence from both environmental advocates and Twin Pines Minerals as to whether a plan to mine titanium at the periphery of the swamp would harm the ecosystem.

Johnson also wanted to avoid stepping on the toes of local legislators in whose jurisdiction the swamp resides and to consider the economic benefits of a mine on communities in the area.

State legislators and members of Georgia’s delegation to the U.S. Congress have issued calls in recent weeks for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to grant the designation to the Okefenokee in response to an application from an Alabama company, Twin Pines Minerals, to mine an area outside the swamp for minerals. Environmental groups and a state hydrologist claim the extraction process would be harmful to the swamp.

“A UNESCO World Heritage Site designation for the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge would encourage environmental protection and economic prosperity for the region,” states a letter from U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-1. “It would support efforts to protect and preserve the refuge’s natural and cultural resources, and further important scientific exploration and analysis.”

The designation would have no effect on the current mining application.

State Rep. Darlene Taylor, R-Thomasville, also recently introduced House Bill 71, which would prohibit mining near the swamp in the future. It, too, would have no impact on Twin Pines’ application.

Albany City Commissioners are considering adding $5 million dollars to their pension fund, according to the Albany Herald.

That is the amount the Albany City Commission is considering pumping into the defined-benefit plan for retirees to ensure it remains in compliance with state regulations.

The last time the city was required to submit a biennial report, in 2021, it was in compliance, but a dip in the stocks contained in the plan last year have put it on the threshold of falling short, Albany CFO Derrick Brown said.

“The war (in Ukraine), that impacted it,” he said. “There was a huge impact as a result of that.”

Losses in the plan totaled 14% in 2022, the CFO said.

“The expectation is a plan will net a return of 7% (annually),” Brown said. “Seven percent is the amount you expect, so when it drops 14% like it did last year, that’s a lot. When you have a 21% swing in a single year, that’s a lot.”

“Right now the plan is 64.2% funded. The state requires our plan to be funded over a period of 30 years.”

“What I introduced was a one-time, $5 million infusion,” he said. “That would ensure we stay within the 30 years.”

The bottom line for retirees is that they are in no danger of the city reneging on its obligation to provide for them, Brown said.

Savannah Alderman Detric Leggett announced he will run for reelection, according to WTOC.

Savannah Alderwoman Kesha Gibson-Carter was fined after violating a settlement agreement, according to WTOC.

A judge ruled there were two instances where Kesha Gibson-Carter violated the agreement and will have to pay $1,000 in damages per violation.

In 2018, Gibson-Carter stepped back from her role as the executive director of the Rape Crisis Center, now known as Mary’s Place.

The next year she filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the center. Later that year she was elected to city council.

Then on Jan. 28, 2022, she signed a confidentiality agreement with the center, settling the lawsuit.

The Cumberland Island National Seashore will expand by more than 173 additional acres, according to WABE via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Georgia’s Cumberland Island National Seashore will soon expand when the National Park Service (NPS) acquires an additional 173.7 acres of the island. Congress allocated $8.7 million for the land acquisition in the omnibus appropriations bill that passed in December.

“This will transfer to the National Park Service ownership of one of the last remaining significant privately held lots on Cumberland,” said Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, who led a bipartisan effort to acquire the land for NPS. “And that will protect this precious ecosystem for recreation, for conservation, for tourism, and as scenic open space.”

Ossoff and Republican U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who represents the coast, requested the funding in the appropriations package.

Cumberland is Georgia’s largest barrier island, and it’s largely undeveloped wilderness. Most of the island is a protected national seashore managed by the NPS. It’s mainly accessible by ferry and a popular destination for camping and hiking.

But when Congress designated the national seashore in 1972, some private land was carved out – mostly belonging to descendants of the Carnegie and Candler families. Some of that land remains in private hands, and will even after this sale.

The land being added to the national seashore currently belongs to the Nature Conservancy, which bought it in 1999 as part of a larger purchase of 1,108 acres. Most of that land – 934 acres – was already transferred to the Park Service. The remaining land was managed by the Park Service while TNC retained ownership.

“This land on Cumberland Island is one of the last undeveloped and unprotected beachfront tracts in Georgia,” TNC leaders Monica Thornton and Nancy-Clair Laird McInaney wrote in a Feb. 6 letter to Ossoff. “Integrating this land into the Cumberland Island National Seashore will ensure its long-term protection and will provide many benefits for coastal resiliency, the local economy, public recreation, and military readiness.”