Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for February 21, 2025

The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act on February 22, 1766.

Georgia’s first Governor Archibald Bulloch died mysteriously on February 22, 1777.

[Bulloch] became a leader in the state’s Liberty Party and was elected to the Commons House of Assembly in 1768, to the post of speaker of the Georgia Royal Assembly in 1772 and finally to the Continental Congress in 1775.

On June 20, 1776, Bulloch was elected the first president and commander in chief of Georgia’s temporary government, posts he held until February 5, 1777, when Georgia adopted its state constitution. Just over three weeks later, on February 22, 1777, Georgia faced a British invasion, and the state’s new government granted Bulloch executive power to head off the British forces. A few hours later, Bulloch was dead. The cause of his death remains unknown but unsubstantiated rumors of his poisoning persist.

[H]e is also known as the great-great-grandfather of America’s 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt.

On February 20, 1792, President George Washington signed the Postal Service Act, creating the United States Postal Service.

The act allowed for newspapers to be included in mail deliveries and made it illegal for postal officials to open anyone’s mail.

President elect Abraham Lincoln arrived in Washington, DC on February 23, 1861.

The Washington Monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885.

The Cyclorama painting of the Battle of Atlanta went on display on Edgewood Avenue on February 22, 1892.

John Lewis, was born on February 21, 1940 in Pike County Alabama. In 1963, Lewis became President of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, based in Atlanta. In 1981, Lewis was elected to an at-large seat on the Atlanta City Council, and in 1986, he was elected to Congress, defeating Julian Bond in the Democratic Primary.

On February 23, 1945, United States Marines raised the American flag on Mount Suribachi, the highest point on the Pacific island Iwo Jima.

This first flag-raising was photographed by Marine photographer Sgt. Louis R. Lowery. On Lowery’s way down Mt. Suribachi, he ran into AP photographer Joe Rosenthal and two other Marine photographers, PFC Bob Campbell and PFC Bill Genaust, who was shooting movies, informing them that the flag-raising they were looking for had already occurred, but encouraging them to check out the view from the top of the hill. The three men continued up the volcano.

Once atop Mt. Suribachi, Rosenthal attempted but was unable to find the soldiers involved in the first flag-raising, deciding instead to photograph the second flag-raising, which featured a much bigger and more photogenic Stars and Stripes. Lowery’s film was sent back to military headquarters for processing via ordinary army post–and took a month to arrive. Rosenthal’s film was sent by seaplane to Guam, and sent from there via radio-photo to the United States. The photograph so impressed President Roosevelt that he ordered the men pictured in it to return home for a publicity tour. Rosenthal later won a Pulitzer Prize for the photo, but for years was forced to deny erroneous reports that he personally staged the second flag-raising and attempted to pass it off as the original.

Although the famous photograph has long led people to believe that the flag-raising was a turning point in the fight for Iwo Jima, vicious fighting to control the island actually continued for 31 more days.

Today, the first and second flags flown atop Mt. Suribachi are held at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia.

On February 23, 1954, the first children in the U.S. were inoculated against polio using a vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk.

On February 21, 1958, Governor Marvin Griffin signed legislation creating the Stone Mountain Memorial Association to oversee construction and operation of a Confederate memorial and public park at the site.

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.

On February 22, 1976, a series of U.S. Postage stamps commemorating the Bicentennial was issued, featuring the state flags.

On February 21, 1998, Julian Bond was selected as Chairman of the NAACP. Bond was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1965, but the House initially refused to seat him due to his opposition to the war in Vietnam. The United States Supreme Court eventually ruled against the House and Bond was sworn in on January 9, 1967, serving there until his election to the Georgia State Senate. In 1986, Bond left the Senate to run for Congress.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Under the Gold Dome Today

TBD Senate Rules Committee: Upon Adj 450 CAP
8:00 AM HOUSE Approp Sub Genl Govt 406 CLOB
8:00 AM HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION 506 CLOB
8:00 AM HOUSE MOTOR VEHICLES 606 CLOB
8:00 AM HOUSE HUMAN REL & AGING 415 CLOB
8:30 AM HOUSE RULES 341 CAP
9:00 AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD21) House Chamber
9:00 AM Senate Floor Session (LD 21) Senate Chamber
1:00 PM HOUSE EDUCATION 506 CLOB

The Senate Rules Committee set Senate Bill 68, one of two bills in Gov. Kemp’s Tort Reform proposal for a floor vote. A henchman henchperson advisor to Gov. Kemp said the Governor’s political organization will note who votes for and against his Tort Reform Proposal, according to the AJC.

Gov. Brian Kemp has already threatened a special session if lawmakers don’t pass his litigation overhaul. Now he’s turning the screws even tighter ahead of a key Friday vote on his top legislative priority.

Kemp’s adviser Cody Hall said the governor is preparing to use his well-stocked fundraising account to support lawmakers who back his measure and back primary challenges against Republicans who seek to water it down.

“We are going to make darn sure that folks that were with us are supported,” Hall told the “Politically Georgia” podcast Thursday. “But we’re also going to make sure that voters are reminded of those who do not stand with him.”

The extraordinary warning came as opponents prepare an amendment that could strip a provision in Kemp’s overhaul that requires plaintiffs to show jurors actual medical costs instead of initial bills that sometimes have inflated estimates.

It raises the stakes considerably as the Georgia Senate prepares a Friday vote on the measure.

Kemp has often prevailed when he takes sides in Republican primaries. And if he chooses to do so next year, he can tap into more than $4.5 million in contributions stockpiled in his leadership fundraising committee, a powerful tool that can accept unlimited donations.

That could be particularly prickly for ambitious Republicans angling for higher office. State Sens. Brian Strickland of McDonough and Blake Tillery of Vidalia have both raised concerns about the measure, and both are potential GOP statewide candidates next year.

Kemp and his allies, meanwhile, say resolving a decades-long feud over what they call “tort reform” will bring down costs and help curb rising insurance premiums. They often point to other states, such as Florida, as examples of how a rewrite can stabilize rate hikes.

“It’s not going to happen overnight, but all of the measures will put things in play and pressures back to the market so that we have a competitive insurance market in this state,” said Senate President Pro Tem John Kennedy, the bill’s sponsor.

Georgia State Senate Democrats have introduced alternative Tort Reform legislation, according to Atlanta News First via WALB.

Georgia Senate Democrats offered up their own solutions Thursday to the seemingly never-ending issue of tort reform, as political, legal and social concerns continue rising over the state’s controversial premise liability laws.

Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II (D-Augusta) introduced the Pro People, Pro Business Act, which he said is a “real solution to many small business owners’ premises liability concerns.”

On average, Georgia residents pay a tort tax of about $1,370 a year, a cost passed down to consumers when companies are forced to raise prices to afford rising insurance costs because of premises liability lawsuits, insurance experts said.

Jones said his bill addresses three main concerns:

A business cannot be sued solely on the fact that they are in a high crime area.

It protects a business if it has never had a problem on the property before.

It also clarifies what a business needs to do in order to be protected from a lawsuit if someone is injured, such as sufficient lighting and security cameras.

“We want people to be safe.” Jones said. “So we give an incentive for business actually to make people safe. If they do that, then the only way to actually be to file that lawsuit is having a rebuttable presumption against liability. It can be overcome, but it has to be by clear and convincing evidence.”

The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) named Georgia the nation’s number one judicial hellhole for nuclear verdicts.

The ATRA ranking also prompted the Insurance Information Institute to launch a statewide campaign against what it calls “legal system abuse.”

While Georgia ranked the number one state for business by Area Development Magazine in 2024, costs for customers and residents are going up in order for businesses to afford their overhead.

“The unfortunate reality is our current litigation climate has led to increased costs for consumers and a higher barrier to entry for those who want to create jobs in our state,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said during an October 2024 roundtable discussion on civil litigation and its impact on the state.

Kemp’s efforts began with the passage of the Data Analysis for Tort Reform Act (HB 1114) last year which required the state’s Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire (OCI) to collect insurance claims data evaluating the cost of litigation for companies and, ultimately, consumers.

The commissioner’s report, released on Nov. 8, found the majority of claims fell under auto liability, but most payouts more than $500,000 all fell under business liability.

Georgia’s premises liability law states “Where an owner or occupier of land, by express or implied invitation, induces or leads others to come upon his premises for any lawful purpose, he is liable in damages to such persons for injuries caused by his failure to exercise ordinary care in keeping the premises and approaches safe.”

The law is designed to protect people who enter a business or property and are injured by another person who was invited. However, property owners also are responsible for safety measures to keep the uninvited out.

Past rulings since the 1990s have also defined this liability to be founded upon the foreseeability of harm, But those definitions aren’t clear to businessowners.

The law has landed many businesses and their insurance companies in court, paying millions of dollars. Even if a business and its insurance company do not feel they are liable for an injury, many are settling out of court because that cost to settle could be smaller than what a jury might award.

The United States Senate confirmed the nomination of Kelly Loeffler as Administrator of the Small Business Administration, according to USA Today via the Savannah Morning News.

In her new role, Loeffler will direct the only federal-level cabinet agency that provides “counseling, capital, and contracting expertise” to small businesses, according to its website. President Donald Trump wrote in a December statement that she will also focus on ensuring that the agency cracks down on “waste, fraud, and regulatory overreach.”

She was confirmed by a party line vote of 52-46, with a lone Democrat Sen. Jacky Rosen voting in favor of her confirmation.

Loeffler served in the Senate from 2020 to 2021, when she was appointed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp after former Sen. Johnny Isakson stepped aside for health reasons. She voted in line with Trump’s position 80% of the time, according to 538.

Though she ran in the 2020 special election to hold the Georgia Senate seat, she lost to now Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.

From the AJC:

Loeffler was confirmed as administrator of the Small Business Administration on a vote of 52-46 with support from just one Democrat: Nevada’s Jacky Rosen. Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both Democrats, voted against confirming Loeffler.

But it is that close relationship with Trump that led Democrats to oppose Loeffler’s nomination. Ossoff in a statement said he preferred someone less political in the role.

“After carefully reviewing former Sen. Loeffler’s background and qualifications for the job, I believe Georgia’s small businesses would be best served by a nonpartisan, apolitical SBA administrator,” he said. “I wish former Sen. Loeffler well and will continue my work in the Senate to support Georgia’s small businesses.”

Warnock’s office said he worried that Loeffler is the wrong person for the job amid efforts by Trump to reduce the size or eliminate certain federal agencies.

“The Senator will not support any cabinet nominee who will hurt Georgia small businesses by allowing the Trump Administration to dismantle programs that help small businesses hire Georgia workers or recover after natural disasters,” the Warnock statement said.

She could be sworn in as soon as today and immediately start the job.

Governor Brian Kemp was appointed by President Trump to the Council of Governors, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

President Donald Trump announced the appointment of Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp and nine other governors to the Council of Governors.

This council is a group of state leaders focused on strengthening state-federal partnerships. Here’s more about this council.

The group is a “bipartisan group of state leaders tasked with strengthening state-federal partnerships on key national security, disaster response, and military coordination issues,” The White House wrote in an announcement on Wednesday.

The council’s main role is coordinating National Guard policies, budgeting, and providing input to FEMA and on cybersecurity issues. The council shared documents for review and discussion among member offices before final review, according to National Governors Association.

The Council of Governors, established in 2008 and formalized in 2010 by former President Obama, consists of 10 governors, five from each major political party.

Each governor serves a two-year term, appointed by the president.

Senate Resolution 56 by State Sen. Sam Watson (R-Moultrie) passed the Senate and would create a statewide referendum on a Constitutional Amendment, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Moultrie Observer.

Legislation doubling the acreage Georgia farmers can set aside for conservation in exchange for a property tax break easily cleared the state Senate Wednesday.

Senators voted 51-1 in favor of a constitutional amendment that would let Georgia voters decide in a statewide referendum next year whether to let farmers set aside up to 4,000 acres of farmland as conservation property, up from the current limit of 2,000 acres.

Expanding Georgia’s Conservation Use Valuation Assessment (CUVA) program was among the recommendations issued last fall by a Senate study committee that held a series of hearings to consider ways to preserve farmland. Georgia has lost about 2.6 million acres of farmland during the last 50 years to residential and commercial development.

CUVA was launched way back in 1991, Sen. Sam Watson, R-Moultrie, the constitutional amendment’s chief sponsor, said Wednesday on the Senate floor.

“Agriculture has changed,” Watson said. “Our family farms are getting much larger today.”

The Senate also passed a separate “enabling” bill accompanying the constitutional amendment by the same 51-1 margin. The enabling measure sets the voter referendum to coincide with the November 2026 general election and specifies that the measure would take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, if the referendum passes.

Both the constitutional amendment and enabling bill now move to the Georgia House.

Senate Bill 59 by Sen. Watson is the enabling legislation and passed the Senate on a 31-21 vote.

Senate Bill 57 by State Senator Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia) passed the Senate and would address the issue of companies being de-banked, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.

Republican state senators voted Thursday to advance a bill that would expose banking institutions to lawsuits if they deny services to customers because of the way they exercised their rights under the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

The measure applies to the purveyors of essential services, including utilities. But Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, the chief sponsor of Senate Bill 57, said it should be called the “Georgia ban on de-banking act” rather than “The Freedom of Speech and Belief Act,” as it is formally titled.

The bill targets banks with $1 billion or more in assets that drop customers due to “cancel culture,” Tillery said at a hearing on the bill Thursday.

Tillery had the leader of Daniel Defense testifying for the measure alongside him.

The Georgia-based firearms manufacturer became a target of criticism after one of its rifles was used in the 2022 mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Founder and chairman Marty Daniel told the senators that two banks in a row dropped his company, forcing him to spend $1 million each time on lawyers and fees to find a new source of loans.

“This is about banks discriminating against legal businesses,” Daniel said.

Representatives of the banking and credit union industries testified against the measure, saying it would invite costly frivolous lawsuits.

Rhodes McLanahan, CEO of Athens-based First American Bank & Trust, said banks are prohibited by federal law from disclosing why they won’t engage with customers if it’s due to concerns like money laundering.

Thus, they would be unable to explain why they were refusing to do business with someone, opening the door to a lawsuit under SB 57, he said.

“We will get sued,” he said. “There’s no question.”

Tillery responded to the industry’s concerns by saying he is trying to address a clear and growing problem. To illustrate his point, he referred to an exchange last week between U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, and Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve.

During Senate testimony, Kennedy asked Powell about “de-banking” due to reputational risk.

Powell acknowledged a possible trend and said he wanted to learn more about it.

“I, too, am troubled by the quantity of these reports,” he said.

During Thursday’s hearing, Democrats expressed concerns about SB 57, as did Georgia state Sen. John F. Kennedy, a Republican from Macon.

As Senate president pro tem, Kennedy is just below Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the Senate hierarchy. The Senate leadership is backing a push by Gov. Brian Kemp, a fellow Republican, to limit payouts in lawsuits, Kennedy noted, adding that it was difficult to square SB 57 with that goal.

The bill would encourage lawsuits against banks, resulting in an “unfair windfall” for plaintiffs, he said.

Kennedy and at least one other Republican joined Democrats in voting against SB 57, but it still passed out of the committee on a 7-5 vote. It now heads to the Senate Rules Committee, which will decide whether to let it go to the full Senate.

Senate Bill 89 by State Sen. Brian Strickland, (R-McDonough) passed the Senate and would increase the child care tax credit for some working parents, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.

The Georgia Senate unanimously backed a bill Wednesday that would give parents of young children a bigger tax break.

The goal of Senate Bill 89 is to help more parents stay in the workforce, said the chief sponsor, Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough.

Child-care centers charge $11,000 a year on average to watch infants, he said. The cost has been rising and is forcing some parents to quit jobs because it makes more financial sense to stay home with their children, said Strickland, who has two young children.

“It’s more expensive to have a kid than to pay for college,” Strickland said. “Families shouldn’t have to choose between having a career and being a parent.”

Only one of Strickland’s kids, ages 5 and 7, would qualify for the tax credit, which would apply only to children ages 6 and under.

The legislation would increase by a third a state tax credit that is indexed to the federal child and dependent care tax credit.

It also would give a break to child-care facilities, increasing a tax credit against operating costs to 90% from the current 75%.

SB 89 passed 49-0 and heads to the state House of Representatives.

From the AJC:

Senate Bill 89 would create a new child care income-tax credit and expand some existing credits. Supporters say the legislation won’t solve an affordability crisis driven by escalating prices, but it’s a big step in the right direction.

“Working parents have to make difficult decisions about the futures of their families as they face the reality of just how expensive it now is to raise a child,” Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, told senators Wednesday.

Strickland chaired a Senate committee that studied ways to address rising child care costs last year. The committee found costs have skyrocketed in recent years. For example, the average annual price of center-based costs for infants in Georgia was $11,066 in 2023, a recent study found.

Strickland cited a survey that found 35% of low-income families spend more than a third of their income on child care — prompting many parents to conclude it makes more sense to stay at home than work.

Supporters say SB 89 can help address the problem. It would establish a new $250 income tax credit for each child under age 7.

The bill also would increase Georgia’s existing tax credit for child and dependent care expenses, which is tied to the $3,000 federal credit. SB 89 would raise the state credit to 40% of the federal credit, up from 30%. That would give parents up to $300 more for such expenses.

SB 89 also would expand an incentive for employers to offer child care, providing a tax credit for 90% of their operating expenses, up from 75%. The bill would also allow such facilities to host more children of nonemployees.

According to an analysis by Georgia State University’s Fiscal Research Center, SB 89 would cost the state an estimated $179.5 million in lost revenue in fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1. The cost would rise to $188.6 million in fiscal year 2030.

Senate Bill 28 by State Sen. Greg Dolezal (R- ), the “Red Tape Rollback Act of 2025,” passed out of the Senate Economic Development & Tourism Committee with a “Do Pass” recommendation, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.

The implementation of new state laws could be delayed under new legislation working its way through the Georgia Senate.

State agencies interpret new laws by adopting rules that implement them. The “Red Tape Rollback” would require the state to produce an analysis of any rule that could cost the public or local governments at least $1 million to comply with during the first five years.

Lawmakers then could call for a review of the rule. The state agency that wrote the rule would be unable to implement it without legislative approval.

Senate Bill 28 would also empower lawmakers to call for a review of the impact of any proposed legislation on businesses with 300 or fewer employees. And the bill calls for periodic reviews of existing rules.

“We’re trying to get agencies and rule makers to think about the cost of complying with the rules and finding ways when possible to minimize that cost,” Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, the chief sponsor of the bill, told members of a Senate committee Wednesday.

Democrats said the proposal was a vastly expanded version of a similar bill they supported last year. Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, said it basically says Republicans don’t trust state agencies. If the measure were to become law, it would undermine regulatory oversight, he said.

“One person’s red tape is another person’s due process,” McLaurin said.

Sen. Sheikh Rahman, D-Lawrenceville, noted that Republicans have largely been in control of state government for two decades, so this bill seeks to roll back their own rules.

Dolezal agreed, saying “administrative state” growth has occurred under both GOP and Democratic rule.

The bill passed the GOP-controlled Senate committee in a 7-4 vote Wednesday and now heads to the Senate Rules Committee and then possibly to the full Senate.

Senate Bill 102 by State Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Cataula) passed the Senate and aims to reconcile differences between federal and state law in prosecuting people who hold fights among dogs or chickens, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.

The Georgia Senate moved to make cockfighting illegal in Georgia in a near unanimous vote on Thursday.

Senate Bill 102 seeks to align state and federal law, said Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, the chief sponsor of the measure.

Intentionally making birds fight is a federal crime, but local police are not empowered to enforce it, he said.

The legislation adds “game cock” to a section of Georgia code that already bans dogfighting. It would make cockfighting “for amusement or gain” − charging admission for or wagering money on such spectacles − a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. It would also be illegal to own, possess, train, transport or sell a rooster with the intent to engage it in a fight with other fowl.

The presentation offered a window into the arcane world of cockfighting, with information about the weaponry, such as gaffs, spurs and knives, used to kit out the fighting birds.

Sen. Frank Ginn, R-Danielsville, said he would vote against SB 102 because of his family “heritage” − his great grandfather bred fighting roosters.

Ginn and fellow Republican Colton Moore from Trenton voted against the bill, along with Sen. Nan Orrock, an Atlanta Democrat.

It was a rare cross-party alliance, noted Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Republican.

“That’s worth voting again just to see these three voting together,” he quipped, after the bill passed 49-3.

Robertson noted that a similar bill passed the Senate last year but did not get through the House of Representatives, the next stop for SB 102.

For whatever it’s worth, my “family heritage” includes a reliable Republican Primary voter in Senate District 47. That said, Finster is an enthusiastic supporter of ad hoc dog fights, which means that he hates all other dogs when he’s on-leash and wants to assault them all. He also identifies as a 150-pound bear dog rather than the 28-pound Chiweenie he actually is.

House Bill 85 by State Rep. Rob Leverett (R-Elberton) passed the State House and would restructure pay for Superior Court Judges, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Moultrie Observer.

Legislation reforming the salary structure for superior court and statewide judges in Georgia overwhelmingly cleared the state House of Representatives Thursday.

House Bill 85, which the House passed 163-7, is aimed at superior court judges, who currently are paid both a state salary and optional county subsidies.

Those local subsidies vary significantly, Rep. Rob Leverett, R-Elberton, the bill’s chief sponsor, told his House colleagues.

“That has led to a lot of disparities in pay throughout the state,” he said.

Leverett’s bill would cap local supplements paid to most superior court judges at 10% of their state salary or $20,106. The measure also includes provisions ensuring that no judge’s salary would be cut by the measure.

House Bill 86, another Leverette bill that passed 167-6, would reform the salary structure for statewide judges, including justices of the Georgia Supreme Court and state Court of Appeals as well as the judge who presides over the Statewide Business Court.

Under the bill, state Supreme Court justices would receive 100% of the salary paid to federal judges in the Northern District of Georgia. Judges on the Court of Appeals would get 99% of the federal judges’ salary, and the Statewide Business Court judge would be paid 95% of that salary.

The judge presiding over a new statewide tax court the General Assembly created last year also would get 95% of a federal judge’s salary in the Northern District.

Both bills now head to the Georgia Senate.

House Bill 322 by Dr. Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville) passed out of the House Health Committee with a “Do Pass” recommendation, and addresses the problem of too few dental school faculty in Georgia, according to the Savannah Morning News.

A bill aimed at helping dental schools in Augusta and Savannah recruit new faculty members passed unanimously out of the House Health Committee Wednesday. HB 322, which was authored by state Rep. Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville), would allow dentists from other states, countries and territories to apply for an instructor’s license that would allow them to teach at accredited dental programs in Georgia.

In 2024, the state legislature allocated $178 million in the amended state budget for the construction of a new dental school at Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong Campus in Savannah. The campus will be the first dental school to open in Georgia since 1969.

However, dental school administrators say they face barriers to hiring enough faculty members to ensure that students receive quality instruction. Allowing dentists who attended programs that were not accredited by the American Dental Association to obtain a faculty license, proponents of the bill say, will allow students to receive supervised clinical experience before joining the workforce.

“Considering the competition with private practice and the limits on faculty pay, it creates an additional recruitment tool for us,” said Nancy Young, who serves as the Dean of the Dental College of Georgia. “Currently, other states allow dentists and dental schools this option, so this gives those schools and states an advantage in providing clinical coverage from highly trained individuals in educating their students. This will provide an additional opportunity for faculty recruitment where we need it.”

Notably, the license would not allow faculty members to practice dentistry outside the scope of the university, and mandates that all applicants meet a series of requirements, including a recommendation from the dean or director of their educational institution, before applying for a faculty license.

“We want [students] to have that real patient experience,” Young said. “I’m sure all of you who go to the dentist would much rather have your dentist have practiced on somebody else before they come to you instead of just a mannequin.”

House Bill 123 by State Rep. Bill Werkhiser (R-Glennville) passed out of the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee with a “Do Pass” recommendation, and would lower the bar for criminal defendants claiming an intellectual disability in death penalty cases, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.

Legislation that would make it easier for defendants in death penalty cases to establish intellectual disability as a defense cleared a Georgia House committee Wednesday.

“Georgia is the only state in our nation that is executing those with intellectual disabilities,” Rep. Bill Werkheiser, R-Glennville, chief sponsor of House Bill 123, told members of the House Judiciary Committee (Non-Civil).

Werkheiser’s bill would make two changes to the state law governing death penalty cases involving defendants claiming they suffer from an intellectual disability, defined as having an IQ below 70.

First, the burden of proof to establish such a claim would be eased from proving an intellectual disability “beyond a reasonable doubt” to proving it “by a preponderance of the evidence.”

“That is an impossible hurdle,” Werkheiser said of the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard.

Second, the legislation would remove the determination of whether a defendant in a capital case has an intellectual disability from the guilt phase of the trial. Instead, that determination would take place following a pre-trial hearing.

Werkheiser said having those two phases of a death penalty case considered at the same time – including details surrounding the crime – could inflame a jury against a defendant.

“The facts of a crime and the question of intellectual disability are completely separate questions,” added Michael Admirand, a staff attorney with the Southern Center for Human Rights. “(If) you separate those two decisions, you lower the risk that someone with an intellectual disability will be executed.”

Charlotte Dunsmore, director of public policy for the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, said the bill wouldn’t affect many death penalty cases because less than 1% of the population has been diagnosed with an intellectual disability.

However, there have been instances where Georgia has executed someone with an intellectual disability. Last year, the state put to death Willie Pye, convicted in the 1996 kid­nap­ping, rob­bery, rape, and mur­der of his ex-girl­friend in Spalding County. Pye had an IQ of 68.

“(House Bill 123) will bring Georgia in line with other state’s standards of evidence for determining that an individual has an intellectual disability,” Dunsmore said.

Randy McGinley, district attorney for the Alcovy Judicial Circuit – which includes Newton and Walton counties – told the committee he opposes the bill because the Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the current law.

“The Georgia law is constitutional,” he said. “It works fine. It works well.”

McGinley went on to specify that he does not oppose changing the standard of proof to establish a defendant in a capital case has an intellectual disability. However, he argued that changing the process by allowing pre-trial hearings in such cases would make the death penalty very difficult for prosecutors to seek.

Under the bill, which now heads to the House Rules Committee to schedule a floor vote, motions to hold a pre-trial hearing to determine whether a defendant has an intellectual disability would be subject to the court.

Senate Bill 79 by State Sen. Russ Goodman (R-Homerville) , the “Fentanyl Eradication and Removal Act” would increase penalties for trafficking the drug, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Augusta Chronicle.

Legislation that would enhance the criminal penalties for trafficking fentanyl cleared a state Senate committee Thursday.

People who manufacture, deliver, possess or sell traditional drugs, such as morphine, opium or heroin can be sentenced to between five and 25 years in prison depending upon the quantity.

Senate Bill 79 would lift the penalties for fentanyl to 10 to 35 years, with longer sentences for smaller quantities than with traditional drugs.

Fentanyl needs to be targeted due to its enhanced potency and resulting lethality, said Sen. Russ Goodman, R-Cogdell, the chief sponsor of SB 79.

The sentence for four grams of a traditional drug is a minimum of five years in prison, but SB 79 seeks to double that for fentanyl.

Goodman said at a hearing on his bill that just 250 milligrams can kill 120 people.

Maj. Walter Jones, in charge of drug enforcement for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, expanded on that, saying 1.3 pounds would kill everyone in his county, and 48 pounds would kill everyone in Georgia.

“I don’t call them drug dealers,” Jones said. “I call them death dealers.”

A woman testified about how her brother died after taking what he thought was Xanex, an anti-depressant. It was fentanyl.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to send  the measure to the Senate Rules Committee, which could then put it before the full Senate for a vote.

Senate Bill 105 by State Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R-Paulding County) would allow veterinary telemedicine in limited circumstances, according to the AJC.

Millions of Americans started seeing their doctors over the phone during and after the coronavirus pandemic. Now, Georgia lawmakers want to set rules governing those iPhone visits for pets.

The details are tricky. Veterinarians want to provide telemedicine visits. But they don’t want to make it easy for out-of-state vets to scoop up their clients.

Senate Bill 105 is aiming for that balance. It would let licensed veterinarians and their associates practice telemedicine only if they have an existing relationship with a client — meaning they’ve seen the pet for in-animal visits.

But what if it’s the weekend and it’s an emergency? The bill would let vets see clients virtually without an existing relationship, but only if no licensed veterinarian or veterinarian technician is available within 50 miles.

“It’s a very physical practice. You’ve got to be able to understand those animals, having touched them and having felt them,” said Keri Riddick, executive director of the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association. “We also recognize that the public wants telemedicine. It’s a service we should be providing.”

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, cleared the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee this week.

Senate Bill 165 by State Sen. Nikki Merritt (D-Grayson) would prohibit minors under 14 from having social media accounts, according to the AJC.

Senate Bill 165, authored by Sen. Nikki Merritt, a Grayson Democrat, would require social media platforms to terminate the accounts of anyone who is or is suspected to be younger than 14 years old.

Parents, guardians or the account holders themselves could request companies terminate the accounts.

“Social media for young people right now has just become more harmful. They are exposed to predatory behavior. They’ve been experiencing more negative mental health outcomes, and it is a result of social media exposure,” Merritt said.

If the bill were to pass, social media companies could face a $50,000 fine per violation.

The bill also would require 14- and 15-years-olds to have parental consent before opening a social media account. Children in that age range are in a critical and impressionable time, Merritt said, adding she would rather have teenagers focus on school than their online presence.

“They (social media companies) don’t really care how many kids are using it and for how long because it’s about the dollar for them,” she said. “They get more people, more users, and they make more money.”

House Bill 561, the “Okefenokee Protection Act,” and HB 562 by State Rep. Darlene Taylor (R-Thomasville) would enhance legal protections for Georgia’s Okefenokee swamp. From the Georgia Recorder:

A bipartisan contingent of several dozen Georgia lawmakers signed onto a pair of bills filed Thursday that are designed to protect the Okefenokee Swamp from future mining threats.

Thomasville Republican Rep. Darlene Taylor is the lead sponsor of the House Bill 561, so-called Okefenokee Protection Act that would prohibit future mining along the refuge’s Trail Ridge. Taylor and several dozen other Republican and Democratic legislators are also backing a “compromise” mining plan known as House Bill 562, which would place a five-year moratorium on surface mining permits along the Okefenokee Swamp’s Trail Ridge while experts evaluate its potential to lower water levels around the the largest blackwater swamp in North America.

The fight over surface mining near the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge has intensified since 2019 when an Alabama-based company, Twin Pines Minerals LLC, went public with its plan to mine for titanium oxide and zirconium just outside the current refuge’s boundaries.

The swamp is near the Florida line near Waycross.

Rena Ann Peck, executive director of Georgia Rivers, said she’s optimistic about the chances of a five-year moratorium “compromise” gaining traction during this year’s session after attempts to place a temporary ban on issuing mining permits and to permanently ban future mining faltered last year in the Legislature.

“Twin Pines may get a state permit that gives them the physical license to mine 584 acres of Okefenokee Trail Ridge – but they will never receive the social license to operate at scale the thousands of acres across the rest of their mining site which lies at lower elevations closer to the swamp water level,” Peck said.

Last year’s Okefenokee Protection Act failed to get a hearing in the House’s Natural Resources and Environment Committee, while another bill that would have placed a three-year moratorium on requesting Trail Ridge surface mining permits through Georgia Environmental Protection Division, did not get a floor vote in the Senate.

Peck said that the General Assembly and Gov. Brian Kemp have another opportunity this year to protect the Okefenokee Swamp from mining. The five-year ban on EPD accepting surface mining applications and issuing permits would likely be in place during the five years that Twin Pines is seeking to mine Trail Ridge and its post-mining recovery efforts.

“Five years is justified as the time period for the demonstration mine to show some effects, but certainly not all effects, which could take 10 years or more to see what’s really happened,” Peck said. “The other piece gives time for the conservation buyer community to assemble funds to acquire those lands that are susceptible to mining on Trail Ridge or acquire conservation easements retiring mining.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which recommended a 10-year freeze on mining due to potential harm to the swamp, proposed last year to expand the Okefenokee refuge boundary by 22,000 acres if landowners choose to sell. The area added would include land owned by Twin Pines.

Twin Pines president Steve Ingle said Thursday’s legislation would not affect the company’s plans for its “demonstration mining-to-land-reclamation project.” An EPD spokesperson confirmed Thursday that the Twin Pines project is in the final permitting stage.

“We oppose any moratorium, and the people who will be working for us — who would have to be let go — should oppose it too,” Ingle said in a statement. “We have every right to mine our property so long as the mining can be done safely without hurting the swamp. EPD will not issue a permit if it is not safe. Our opponents’ resorting to legislation, rather than attempting to substantiate the talking points they have used to oppose our project, speaks volumes about the merits of their position.”

The Okefenokee mining bills’ most influential sponsors include several Republicans who represent Georgia’s coastal areas, including Savannah Rep. Ron Stephens, who chairs the Economic Development and Tourism Committee, and St. Marys Rep. Steven Sainz. The bills also have the support of dozens of Democratic legislators, including House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley of Columbus.

State Senator Sally Harrell (D-Atlanta) wants to expand Medicaid eligibility to adult caretakers of elderly parents, according to the AJC.

Kemp announced in January that he would seek federal approval to allow parents and legal guardians of children 6 and younger to qualify for Medicaid. State Sen. Sally Harrell, D-Atlanta, said caregivers of older adults should also be included.

“When you’re a caretaker of somebody who’s chronically ill or elderly, maybe with dementia or disabled, it’s a full-time job, and oftentimes, you can’t even go to the grocery store without hiring somebody to come in and watch the person,” she said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Because their time is dedicated to a loved one, Harrell said caregivers are in a vulnerable position when it comes to their health.

“They’re tired, and their health always comes second. If they’re uninsured, that’s even worse,” she said. “To deny caretakers access to health care because they’re not working, it just makes no sense to me. In fact, it just seems wrong.”

I personally would advocate for expanding Medicare and Medicaid to adults caretakers of spouses with some diseases.

The City of Brunswick says it hasn’t decided whether to opt out of the HB 581 Homestead Exemption, but will hold three meetings as thought they might, according to The Brunswick News.

City Manager Regina McDuffie said the city has not made its decision as to whether it will opt out of the exemption. It is holding the three public hearings as informational sessions so that it meets the requirements set forth by the state should it decide to opt out of the adopting the exemption, McDuffie said.

The city commission can then make a decision on adopting the exemption or opting out after the hearings.

The city will host public hearings at 6 p.m. on Feb. 26 and at noon and 6 p.m. on Feb. 27. All three public hearings will be at Old City Hall in downtown Brunswick.

Tift County local governments have mostly decided whether to opt out of HB 581, according to the Tifton Gazette.

Members of the board of education met with their chief financial officer and deputy superintendent for business and operations, Renee and Klinton Guess, during their Feb. 13 meeting to weigh the options of staying in and opting out, where Klinton Guess warned the tax relief from the homestead exemption would only shift the tax burden to non-homestead properties, creating significant financial implications for farmers, businesses, and industries.

He believed it would have been devastating to the school system had the tax relief been implemented a year prior, and theorized that Tift County Schools would need to up the millage rate in the future to be able to increase revenues.

The school board heard from a handful of community members in the subsequent public hearing opposing an opt-out, including Keith Norris, who asked the board to consider how their decision would affect local families, and Tom Kramer, who believed shrinking the tax burden would in turn decrease disposable income and criticized the board members for having a shortsighted view of the situation.

However, the members of the board unanimously moved in favor of opting out.

The Tift County Board of Commissioners was initially uncertain of which road to take, with county manager Jim Carter stating at their meetings earlier in February that alternative options like sunsetting the bill would only leave them in the same place in five years that they were currently at and confirming that a tax break would only shift the tax burden to non-homestead properties.

During a called meeting to decide on the matter, Carter noted that he believed all of the cities planned on staying on board with the bill, and reminded board members that a majority of their constituents had voted in support of the exemption during the Nov. 5 election last year.

County commissioners unanimously moved to vote in favor of implementing the homestead exemption, authorizing Carter to take necessary actions in implementing all policies of the state bill.

Carter additionally noted that he had received reports that state legislators on both sides of the General Assembly were in full support of the bill, believing that there would be a push to reformat the handling of taxation around structures similar to HB581.

The City of Tifton also elected to continue with the homestead exemption policy, voting unanimously at their Feb. 17 meeting to continue opting in.

For many city council members, this decision was motivated by a desire to properly represent the interests and values of their constituents. Councilman Josh Reynolds stressed before making the vote that the city should not go against the wishes of their constituents, who had voted in favor of the homestead exemption.

Tift County Commissioners are discussing a performance review for the tax assessor’s office, according to the Tifton Gazette.

Following immense pushback and protest from residents over the conduct of the county’s property tax revaluation process, the County Board of Commissioners approved a request for a performance review of the tax assessors office and their associated staff and branches.

County manager Jim Carter explained that the evaluation would be conducted by the state Department of Revenue, who would investigate the tax assessors office, county appraisal staff, and the board of assessors via an independent committee, then submit a report with their evaluation and recommendation for action moving forward.

This committee will be composed of two field agents from the Department of Revenue and at least two chief appraisers from counties sized similarly to Tift.

Carter noted that as soon as the resolution was signed, the state department would be notified, and would have 30 days to assemble the investigation committee.

He estimated that the review would cost the county anywhere from $4,000 to $6,000. Both he and Hayward Becton, county chief appraiser, asserted that the board of assessors and tax assessors office were fully aware and prepared for the review, but were unsure of how long the process would take.

United States Senators Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta) and Raphael Warnock (D-Atlanta) spoke in favor of expanded hurricane relief for Georgia, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

Georgia was recently denied an extension from FEMA, but two state leaders are working on another funding source to help Hurricane Helene victims.

On Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins asking her to quickly distribute federal disaster assistance to Georgia farmers. This comes from a bipartisan disaster relief package passed in December which includes $21 billion in agriculture disaster funding.

“After Hurricane Michael devastated Georgia in 2018, it took Congress eight months to pass a disaster assistance package,” Ossoff and Warnock wrote in their letter. “Then, it took more than a year for USDA to begin making funds available to farmers in dire need. In contrast, Congress passed last year’s disaster assistance package in less than 90 days after Hurricane Helene. We urge you to work with the Georgia Department of Agriculture in a similarly expeditious manner to ensure that disaster assistance is made available rapidly to help Georgia farmers recover. Georgia’s farmers, who are the backbone of Georgia’s rural communities and our State’s economy, cannot afford further delay.”

Hurricane Helene killed 34 people and damaged more than 200,000 homes across Georgia, according to previous USA TODAY Network reporting. The University of Georgia’s preliminary report from November said Helene’s cost to the state’s economy is at least $5.5 billion in agricultural and timber losses. Georgia Power’s September report said the storm damaged more than 5,000 power poles and 9,000 spans of wire.

Georgia Pecan Growers Association reported 48,000 acres of pecan orchards were damaged with a loss of nearly 400,000 trees, and the Georgia Poultry Federation reported that 495 poultry houses took significant damage, including 295 that were completely lost.

The Senators also spoke about the possibility of Medicaid cuts, according to WRDW.

Georgia Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are addressing the impact of proposed Republican cuts to Medicaid on ordinary Georgians.

Ossoff held a virtual news conference at 11 a.m. Thursday, while Warnock spoke at one Wednesday afternoon.

Warnock’s news conference came hours after President Donald Trump endorsed the House Republican budget plan, which includes cuts to Medicaid and other programs.

“This is backward,” Warnock said. “It’s not only immoral; it’s impractical,. We’re making the American workforce sicker and weaker.”

Right now, more than 80 million adults and children are enrolled in the program.

Warnock said the proposed plans potentially set up deep cuts to Medicaid, threatening to shut down more rural hospitals.

Ossoff says more than 10% of Georgia adults, and two in five children would not be able to afford health care without Medicaid.

“So, I am sounding the alarm that these proposed drastic cuts to Medicaid will fundamentally damage the health and safety of my constituents in Georgia, will put kids at risk, pregnant women and nursing mothers at risk, seniors at nursing homes at risk, and hospitals across our state into dire financial jeopardy,” said Ossoff.

According to a report by The Atlanta Journal Constitution last year, 18 out of 30 rural hospitals in Georgia are at risk of closure and 12 hospitals in both rural and metro areas have closed in the state since 2013.

United States Representative Rich McCormick (R-Duluth) was booed at a public town hall meeting, according to the AJC.

U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick was peppered with boos and catcalls throughout a town hall meeting in Roswell late Thursday, as hundreds of critics jeered the Republican for backing President Donald Trump’s agenda during his first month in office.

The Suwanee Republican’s staff expected a robust turnout for his first town hall since Trump took office. But they seemed caught off guard by the massive crowd of hundreds that gathered outside Roswell City Hall.

Attendees set the tone early, with one accusing McCormick of “doing us a disservice” for supporting the budget-slashing initiatives by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency that have torn through all corners of federal government.

“You don’t think I’m going to stand up for you?” asked McCormick, as the crowd responded with loud boos.

Pressed on what he’ll do to “rein in the megalomaniac in the White House,” McCormick brought up President Joe Biden’s tenure.

“When you talk about tyranny, when you talk about presidential power, I remember having the same discussion with Republicans when Biden was elected.”

At another point, McCormick was asked about remarks he made to CNN suggesting that teens on school lunch programs should work during the summer to help pay for their meals.

“I think that a teenager sitting home during high school who could go to work and had the ability and had the opportunity, should,” McCormick said.

One of the sharpest exchanges came after one attendee questioned McCormick on the DOGE-backed cuts of roughly 1,000 workers at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

McCormick said he has been in “close contact” with the CDC and that “a lot of the work they do is duplicitous with AI” as some of in the audience groaned.

“I happen to be a doctor, I know a few things,” said McCormick, who went on to say he believes the CDC and other federal agencies “can do more with less, just like the Marine Corps and everyone else does when you have to do more with less to survive.”

He’s now considered a potential Republican challenger to U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., in 2026.

The rowdy town hall was one of the first examples in Georgia of Trump-driven backlash trickling down to the grassroots. So many people showed up that some were turned away by local authorities. Others filed into overflow rooms to watch the back-and-forth.

Rep. McCormick is not the only Georgia Republican supporting President Trump’s budget initiatives. From the AJC:

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a likely candidate for governor, called it the “most successful start to a presidency in history.” Attorney General Chris Carr, who launched his gubernatorial bid last year, said Trump is “doing exactly what he said he would do.”

Insurance Commissioner John King, who could challenge U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., pointed to Trump’s immigration crackdowns and his executive order banning transgender girls from competing in women’s sports.
“If that’s not success,” King said, “they should rewrite the definition.”

And Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a potential Senate candidate with a history of run-ins with Trump, offered praise for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting initiative.

“Every elected official in America should start every day remembering that they are stewards of the tax dollars of hard-working Americans,” he said, “and I’m glad we finally have an administration that takes this responsibility seriously.”

Several have taken extra steps to show their loyalty. Jones traveled to the White House twice during Trump’s first month to promote his agenda. Carr filed court briefs backing the administration’s buyout program and DOGE-sponsored spending cuts.

Their stances follow Gov. Brian Kemp’s remarks after more than 1,000 employees were laid off at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Government can stand a little rightsizing.”

The Georgia Supreme Court remanded to the trial court a lawsuit challenging Georgia’s “Heartbeat Bill” abortion legislation, according to the AJC.

The Georgia Supreme Court was scheduled to hear arguments next month in a lawsuit filed by SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective and other abortion rights advocates and providers challenging the state’s abortion ban, but on Thursday the state’s highest court sent the case back to a lower court judge.

Justices cited a ruling they made earlier this year about allowing entities to sue on behalf of someone else. By a 6-1 vote, the justices decided Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney will have to reevaluate the lawsuit and decide if the abortion rights advocates and providers have the right to sue.

Last fall, McBurney ruled that the state’s law, which took effect July 2022, was unconstitutional because it violated a woman’s right to liberty by taking away her ability to decide what to do with her body. But the Georgia Supreme Court put a hold on his ruling and scheduled arguments in the case to issue its own ruling.

SisterSong sued the state in 2022, saying the law violated a woman’s right to privacy under the state’s constitution shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which had granted a constitutional right to abortion for nearly 50 years.