On February 24, 1803, the United States Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall decided the case of Marbury v. Madison, enunciating the principle of judicial review under which the Court has authority to review Congressional action and hold them unconstitutional.
In writing the decision, John Marshall argued that acts of Congress in conflict with the Constitution are not law and therefore are non-binding to the courts, and that the judiciary’s first responsibility is always to uphold the Constitution. If two laws conflict, Marshall wrote, the court bears responsibility for deciding which law applies in any given case.
Union troops under General George Thomas attacked Confederates led by General Joseph Johnston near Dalton, Georgia on February 24, 1864.
Casualties were light. Thomas suffered fewer than 300 men killed, wounded, or captured, while Johnston lost around 140 troops. The Union generals did learn a valuable lesson, however; a direct attack against Rocky Face Ridge was foolish. Three months later, Sherman, in command after Grant was promoted to commander of all forces, sent part of his army further south to another gap that was undefended by the Confederates. The intelligence garnered from the Battle of Dalton helped pave the way for a Union victory that summer.
The first prisoners of war were moved to Andersonville on February 24, 1864.
The Atlanta Journal was first published on February 24, 1883.
On February 24, 1988, the United States Supreme Court held in the case of Hustler Magazine v. Falwell, that the First Amendment protects publishers against claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress where the plaintiff is a public figure being parodied by the publication.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Under the Gold Dome – Legislative Day 22
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS
8:00 AM Senate Economic Development and Tourism – 307 CLOB
8:00 AM Senate Insurance and Labor – 450 CAP
8:00 AM HOUSE DEFENSE AND VETERANS AFFAIRS – 506 CLOB
8:00 AM HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ELECTION INTEGRITY – 132 CAP
8:00 AM HOUSE AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS – 406 CLOB
8:00 AM HOUSE INSURANCE – 606 CLOB
9:00 AM HOUSE RULES – 341 CAP
10:00 AM Senate Floor Session (LD 22) – Senate Chamber
10:00 AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD22) – House Chamber
Noonish Senate Rules Upon Adjournment – 450 CAP
12:30 PM HOUSE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES – 406 CLOB
1:00 PM Senate Natural Resources and Environment – 307 CLOB
1:00 PM Senate Health and Human Services – 450 CAP
1:00 PM HOUSE Ways and Means Tax Revision Subcommittee – 403 CAP
1:00 PM HOUSE Public Safety and Homeland Security Subcommittee A – 506 CLOB
1:00 PM HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION – 606 CLOB
1:15 PM HOUSE Ways and Means Ad Valorem Subcommittee – 403 CAP
1:30 PM HOUSE Ways and Means Income Tax Subcommittee – 403 CAP
1:40 PM HOUSE Judiciary Scoggins Subcommittee – 132 CAP
2:00 PM Senate Georgia Department of Transportation Board Election for 4th Congressional District – Senate Chamber
2:00 PM HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTH CARE – 515 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE HUMAN RELATIONS AND AGING – 341 CAP
2:00 PM HOUSE BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS OVERSIGHT – 506 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS – 406 CLOB
2:15 PM Senate Ethics – 450 CAP
3:00 PM Senate Georgia Department of Transportation Board Election for 11th Congressional District – Senate Chamber
3:00 PM HOUSE Judiciary Gunter Subcommittee – 132 CAP
3:00 PM HOUSE INDUSTRY AND LABOR – 506 CLOB
3:30 PM Senate State Institutions and Property – Mezz 1
3:30 PM Senate Finance – 450 CAP
4:45 PM Senate Judiciary – 307 CLOB
SENATE RULES CALENDAR
SB 119 – Permit Required for Burning Woods, Lands, and Marshes or Other Flammable Vegetation; except certain yard waste from permitting(Substitute)(NR&E-7th)
SB 100 – State Government; this state shall observe standard time year round; provide (Substitute)(GvtO-1st)
HB 265 – Revenue and taxation; Internal Revenue Code and Internal Revenue Code of 1986; define terms and incorporate certain provisions of federal law into Georgia law (FIN-4th) Knight-130th
SB 89 – Elections and Primaries; chief elections assistance officer; qualifications, appointment, supervision, and duties; provide (Substitute)(ETHICS-49th)
SB 157 – “Fair Business Practices Act of 1975”; deceptive practice of musical performance groups advertising; prohibit (AG&CA-46th)
SB 148 – 2021 Special Council on Tax Reform and Fairness for Georgians and the Special Joint Committee on Georgia Revenue Structure; create(Substitute)(FIN-52nd)
SB 51 – “Dexter Mosely Act”; enact(ED&Y-14th)
HOUSE RULES CALENDAR
Modified Open Rule
HR 142 – Property; conveyance of certain state owned property; authorize (SProp-Greene-151st)
HR 143 – Property; granting of non-exclusive easements; authorize (Substitute)(SProp-Greene-151st)
Modified Structured Rule
HB 179 – Special license plates; support breast cancer related programs; amend logo design (Substitute)(MotV-Camp-131st)(Rules Committee Substitute LC 39 2933S)
HB 306 – Corporations, partnership, and associations; corporations may hold shareholders’ meetings by means of remote communication; provide (B&B-Gunter-8th)
HB 455 – Education; student transportation; revise a provision (Substitute)(Ed-Barr-103rd)
Structured Rule
HB 292 – Ad valorem tax; property; remove certain training requirements for members of county boards of equalization following their initial training for their first term (W&M-Williams-148th)
Oconee County voters are going to the polls in early voting on a new Local Option Sales Tax for Educations (E-LOST) scheduled for March 16, 2021, according to the Athens Banner Herald.
Early voting began Monday for the Education Local Option Sales Tax. The referendum would continue the 1% sales tax that has been in place for Oconee schools since 1998.
The ELOST runs on a five-year cycle, and this will be the fifth referendum from Oconee County Schools, with the vote taking place March 16.
Officials have outlined projects that would be funded by the ELOST, including the construction of Dove Creek Middle School. In 2018, Dove Creek Elementary School was opened after being funded by the fifth version of the ELOST.
Funds from the ELOST can be used toward capital projects such as construction, infrastructure, technology and bus purchases. The tax, however, cannot be used for items such as salaries.
The passage of the referendum would allow the school system to issue up to $42,950,000 in general obligation bonds, but it would be capped at $48.5 million in its collection.
The district is seeking a bond in order to take advantage of low interest rates and avoid inflation, according to documents from the school system.
Note: the Oconee County Elections & Registration website refers to the referendum as an E-SPLOST, or Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Education. In-Person Early Voting takes place from 8 AM to 5 PM at the Oconee County Civic Center through March 12th. Infuriatingly, neither the local newspaper nor the county voting website mention that it appears that in-person advance voting is only available Monday through Friday. If you live in Oconee County, I suggest calling before you go to vote.
Also up for a vote on March 16, 2021 is an open City Council seat in Bogart.
Early voting for the Bogart election will be held at the Agricultural Center, 125 E. Thompson Street, Feb. 22 through March 12 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.
The town of Bogart is the only municipality in Oconee whose elections are not managed by the Oconee Elections Office.
Governor Brian Kemp is expected to announce new rules for vaccine eligibility, according to WSB-TV.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Justin Gray confirmed through his sources on Tuesday that teachers and other school employees will be included in the expansion.
Gray’s sources said Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to make an official announcement in the coming days, and the expansion will go beyond the current 65-year-old age limit to include more vulnerable Georgians.
The specifics of when and exactly who will be included in the new phase, as well as what it will be called are still being worked out.
But along with educators, we expect other more vulnerable Georgians to be included beyond the current 65 and older range.
In a letter to Atlanta Public Schools earlier this month, Kemp promised “as soon as we can expand the current vaccination criteria to include educators and school staff, we absolutely will.”
Former United States Senator David Perdue (R-Glynn County) announced he will not run next year against Senator Raphael Warnock. From the Valdosta Daily Times:
“After much prayer and reflection, Bonnie and I have decided that we will not enter the race for the United States Senate in Georgia in 2022,” Perdue said in a statement. “This is a personal decision, not a political one. I am confident that whoever wins the Republican primary next year will defeat the Democrat candidate in the general election for this seat, and I will do everything I can to make that happen.”
Ossoff’s term will last the full six years, but Warnock — who ran in the special election to fill the remainder of former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson’s term upon his retirement — is up for reelection in 2022.
Gainesville resident and former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins is one possibility. A top defender of former President Donald Trump and popular candidate in rural Georgia, Collins told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he is considering either a bid for the Senate or against Gov. Brian Kemp.
“We’ve got a good background. People in the state know us,” Collins said in an interview with the AJC. “Am I open to considering a run for the Senate or governor? Yes.”
Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler is also weighing a run, reported by the AJC, after she lost her runoff to Warnock.
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan is also on the list of GOP figures. In an interview with CNHI, Duncan said he is focused on the legislative session but will reevaluate when it ends.
“We’ll look up after the end of session and just look at all the opportunities that are out there,” he said.
The Georgia State Senate passed changes to voting procedures, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Augusta Chronicle.
Stricter identification rules for voting by mail in Georgia inched closer to law with the state Senate’s passage of a controversial bill on Tuesday.
Sponsored by state Sen. Larry Walker III, R-Perry, the bill would require absentee voters to provide the number of their driver’s license or official state ID card, or photocopies of a passport, employee ID card, utility bill or bank statement.
It was among three bills that passed the Senate on Tuesday, marking the first election-focused measures to clear a General Assembly chamber in the 2021 legislative session.
The four bills that passed Tuesday are among a legislative package backed by Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who presides over the Senate. Gov. Brian Kemp, state House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also support tightening absentee voter ID rules.
Democratic leaders and voting-rights groups oppose the measure, framing it as an attempt at voter suppression to halt Democrats’ momentum after flipping both of the state’s U.S. Senate seats and carrying Georgia for Democrat Joe Biden over Trump in the November presidential election by 11,779 votes.
The bill passed by 35-18 nearly along party lines, with state Sen. Michael “Doc” Rhett, D-Marietta, voting in favor. All four bills now head to the Georgia House of Representatives.
Duncan, who backed the four-bill package, hailed the measures as “common-sense election reforms” that aim to “modernize our election procedures.”
“I am focused on maintaining confidence in our electoral process and making it easy to vote and difficult to cheat,” Duncan said in a statement.
From the Associated Press via AccessWDUN:
The most important measure passed was Senate Bill 67, which carried on a largely party-line 35-18 vote. It would require that a voter include their driver’s license number, other state identification number or a photocopy of an approved ID when applying for an absentee ballot. That would replace the current process of signature verification, one of the key elements former President Donald Trump and others attacked following Trump’s November loss in Georgia.
“It’s not about disenfranchising voters. It’s not about overly burdening the electorate. It’s about efficiency, integrity, allowing the Georgia public to have confidence in the vote,” said Sen. Larry Walker, a Perry Republican who sponsored Senate Bill 67.
Senators also approved Senate Bill 188 by a vote of 34-18. It would require polling officials to total how many total ballots were cast by method, before any results could be reported. If passed, the measure could delay results being released by several days.
Sen. Bill Cowsert, an Athens Republican who sponsored the measure, denied the measure would cause delays. He said he was responding to concerns that Republicans were leading on election night in some instances, but that Democrats overtook them as additional absentee ballots were tallied. He referred specifically to a video from a Fulton County counting center that showed ballots being moved around. Trump partisans decried the video but investigators said there was no wrongdoing.
“Give people the totals. Let people have the piece of mind that nothing’s being done in the dark of night” Cowsert said, saying he wanted to avoid a “moving target.”
Senators approved Senate Bill 184, which would require counties to report more quickly the names of who voted in an election. Cowsert said the measure would alleviate concerns that some voters have voiced that their votes might not be counted or that someone else might vote in their name.
State House Republicans are looking at cutting state income taxes, according to the AJC.
House Ways and Means Chairman Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire, filed legislation this week to increase the standard deduction Georgians can take when they do their income taxes. By reducing the amount of income taxed, House Bill 593 would cut what’s owed by millions of Georgians who use the standard deduction when they fill out their returns.
“It’s the fairest way to help the most people keep more of their money,” Blackmon said. “If we are able to afford it, we ought to let people keep some more of their money.”
While the tax cut would be relatively small — less than $100 for a married couple filing jointly — Blackmon said it would cost the state about $120 million a year. And, particularly if Congress passes a massive new $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package — which would include more state aid — a much larger state tax cut may be on the way.
Under Blackmon’s bill, the standard deduction for a single taxpayer would increase by $800, for a married couple filing a joint return $1,100. Georgians over 65 or blind would get an additional $1,300 deduction.
Blackmon’s committee considers tax legislation, so it should have no trouble making it to the House floor for a vote. It also has the backing of House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, a big proponent of income tax cuts.
Stacey Abrams-affiliated Fair Fight Action launched a multi-million dollar ad campaign against GOP-led voting changes, according to the AJC.
Fair Fight Action launched a multimillion-dollar ad campaign on Tuesday warning that legislation to restrict absentee balloting could harm Republicans as much as Democrats, leading to longer lines and new threats of identity theft.
“Georgians of both parties have voted by mail for decades. Almost half a million Georgia Republicans did it just last year,” said a narrator, pointing to the roughly 450,000 absentee ballots in November that were cast for former President Donald Trump.
“The GOP knows voting by mail works – it was their idea. It’s how Republicans won Florida. Now these same politicians who passed these laws want to make it harder.”
The media blitz includes $1 million in TV spending and at least another $1 million on ads for digital, radio and mailers. It’s another facet of the intense political fight over voting rights spurred by Republican efforts to impose new restrictions after Democratic victories in Georgia in November and January.
Abrams, who started Fair Fight as she ended her 2018 gubernatorial bid, is widely expected to mount a rematch campaign against Gov. Brian Kemp and has made expanding voting rights a cornerstone of her platform. She’s set to testify at a U.S. House hearing on Thursday about federal electoral policy.
The new ad campaign is part of an overall Democratic strategy to complicate passage of the measures targeting vote-by-mail rules initially supported by state Republicans over decades in the Legislature.
“The battlegrounds of Florida and Ohio have similar voting access to Georgia yet Republicans have been winning there,” said Lauren Groh-Wargo, the Fair Fight chief executive. “Those states should serve as a lesson for them on how access to the ballot can work in their party’s favor – if they do the work.”
Augusta Commissioners voted unanimously to oppose state-level voting changes, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
At the request of Mayor Hardie Davis, the 10-member panel approved a resolution opposing all bills “aimed at restricting methods available to Augusta residents to exercise their right to vote or cause undue financial burden on voters.”
The resolution names Senate Bills 67, 68, 69, 71, 73 and 74, as well as “other bills” doing the same.
City General Counsel Wayne Brown said the resolution opposes all “bills that infringe on the fundamental rights of citizens to exercise their right to vote.”
Fulton and DeKalb Counties are seeking reimbursement of legal fees from the Trump campaign, according to the AJC.
Two metro Atlanta counties are seeking attorneys fees from former President Donald Trump and Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer in a lawsuit that sought to overturn the presidential election in Georgia.
Trump and Shafer filed the lawsuit in December in Fulton County Superior Court. It was part of a wave of election litigation that has continued long after Joe Biden was sworn in as president.
Among other things, the lawsuit said tens of thousands of illegal voters cast ballots in the November election — claims that election experts said were “highly inaccurate” and “worthless.” Trump later withdrew the lawsuit on the eve of a court hearing.
Now Cobb and DeKalb counties say the former president and Shafer should pay their legal bills. In a brief filed Monday, Cobb says it spent $10,875 on the “meritless and legally deficient petition.” DeKalb says it spent $6,105.
The Augusta Commission will consider raises for the Mayor and Commissioners after the measure passed out of committee, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
Commissioner Ben Hasan, who has called to reexamine the salaries, said he disagreed with Mayor Hardie Davis’ proposal to create a blue ribbon panel to perform a broad evaluation of the government. Among the panel’s considerations might be a look at the powers of the commission, mayor and city administrator, Davis has said.
Hasan said to evaluate the 1996 Augusta-Richmond County Consolidation Act, the city should reach out to state legislators, who originally authored it, rather than a local panel.
“I’m of the mind-set that we didn’t need to do a blue ribbon committee,” Hasan said. “To have a conversation about the charter … We need to reach out to the state.”
Hasan said he did favor increasing the mayor’s and commissioners’ salaries but not increasing the mayor’s powers. Augusta has a “weak mayor” form of government that gives final authority to the 10-member commission.
Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols (R-Northeast GA) writes in an Op-Ed in the Savannah Morning News about the Commission’s work to avoid a grid failure like Texas experienced.
There were unplanned outages from every fuel type: a pump broke at a nuclear power plant, wind turbines froze in place, natural gas flow to power plants was restricted because of heavy home usage, and equipment failed at coal plants. In other words, the fabric was ripping across the state of Texas.
In Georgia, utilities and the Public Service Commission use a triennial energy planning period to do stitching as we find small tears in our system. The most important stitch is that of a diversified fuel mix. We’ve kept our cleanest coal plants where we have invested billions in pollution scrubbers. We have increased our gas plants five-fold even allowing the utility to buy a gas company adding to our dispatchable baseload power.
Responding to the market, we have added solar to the grid with appropriate backup. These panels provide an important homegrown energy source that helps during our peak energy periods every day.
And despite all odds, we have persisted with building two Westinghouse nuclear reactors that will power 500,000 homes and will run for 18 months without refueling. The well-trained and well-staffed craft labor force at our plants are showing the world that America can build the most sophisticated energy plant in the world — and it is greatly bolstering our state economy in the process — and will for 80 years.
In Georgia, we have sewn into our fabric a winter planning reserve margin approaching 26%. In fact, the Georgia PSC reviewed the level of contingency in 2020 and allowed Georgia Power to substantially increase their planning strategy for moments just like Texas is experiencing. Why? Because in 2019 we noted a small “tear” that identified a key winter reliability risk.
We’re not perfect, but we have a proven strategy. And once Texas digs out of this storm, I am sure Georgia and all states will draw on the lessons learned from their experience. In the meantime, prayers for Texas as they recover.
Keith Higgins, the new District Attorney for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, discussed his plans for the office, according to The Brunswick News.
Keith Higgins, the circuit’s newly elected top prosecutor, is just as interested in preventing crimes as he is prosecuting those who commit them.
Higgins defeated incumbent DA Jackie Johnson in the November general election, ending her 10-year tenure in that position.
Since winning the election, Higgins has busied himself with putting together his new staff for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit. He adopted what was left of a $4.6 million operating budget for fiscal year 2021, which ends July 1.
The Brunswick DA circuit has a backlog of 3,903 cases waiting to go to trial.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, jury trials have been suspended in Georgia for nearly a year by the state Supreme Court. They will remain so at least through March 9.
Higgins said he is equally committed to pretrial intervention programs that will keep nonviolent offenders out of jail when it can be helped. Incarceration is not necessarily the answer for juveniles, drug addicts and the mentally ill, he said.
The Brunswick Circuit serves Appling, Camden, Glynn, Jeff Davis, and Wayne Counties.
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