Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for February 26, 2020

HB 521 – Professions and businesses; temporary licenses for dentists licensed in other states to provide dental care to indigent populations in this state; authorize (Substitute)(H&HS-Gaines-117th)

HB 799 – Motor vehicles; prohibition regarding eligibility of certain violators to receive early reinstatement of their driver’s licenses and limited driving permits; repeal (JudyNC-Blackmon-146th)

HB 893 – Special Insurance Fraud Fund; frequency of assessments; reduce (Ins-Gambill-15th)

Early voting has begun in the Special Runoff Election for State Senate District 13, which was vacated by the death of Sen. Greg Kirk, according to WFXL.

The runoff election will be between two candidates Jim Quinn and Carden Summers.

Summers received 43% of the vote while Quinn received 42% of the vote which did result in the runoff since neither candidate received 50% of the vote plus one.

This seat covers nine counties across Southwest Georgia including Crisp, Dodge, Dooly, Lee, Tift, Turner, Worth and portions of Sumter and Wilcox.

Voting for the State Senate race will be open all week and ends on Friday.

The election is scheduled for March 3rd.

Governor Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp spoke about legislation against human trafficking, according to 11Alive.

H.B. 823, sponsored by Rep. Houston Gaines (R – Athens); H.B. 911, sponsored by Rep. Ed Setzler (R – Acworth); and S.B. 435, sponsored by Senator Brian Strickland (R – McDonough) are supported by the Governor and First Lady in an effort to end human trafficking in Georgia, they announced.

“I would like to thank these members for their hard work and support for these important pieces of legislation,” said Governor Kemp. “We look forward to working with the General Assembly in the coming weeks to hold bad actors accountable, give victims a second chance, and strengthen protections for our foster children.”

First Lady Kemp echoed his remarks and said the bills are sending a strong message to the perpetrators.

“Representative Gaines, Representative Setzler, Senator Strickland, and their co-sponsors are leading the fight to end human trafficking, and I greatly appreciate their efforts,” said First Lady Marty Kemp. “These bills will give a voice to the voiceless and send a clear signal that we will not stop until every victim is rescued and every perpetrator is brought to justice.”

House Bill 994, designed to fight criminal gangs, is being criticized by some, according to 11Alive.

“It seems as if we’re going backwards on criminal justice reform,” said Gerald Griggs of the NAACP.

House Bill 994 aims to address criminal gang activities of teens 13 to 17.

It will fast track a child who commits a crime while participating in any criminal gang activity to adult court.

The bill defines a criminal street gang as an organization, association, or group of three or more persons associated formally or informally who take part in criminal gang activity.

Several bills in the legislature would expand a type of voucher for special needs students, according to WABE.

Senate Bill 386 would increase the number of students who qualify for the Special Needs Scholarship program. House Bill 939 would keep the cap on Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship program at $100 million. Lawmakers could still consider a third type of voucher plan called Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) if they reconsider Senate Bill 173, introduced last session.

The Special Needs Scholarship provides vouchers to students who have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and attend a Georgia public school for one year. SB 386 would extend eligibility to students with a 504 Plan as well as children who have been adopted and some who have been placed in foster care.

To receive special services in public schools, students usually need to have either an IEP or a 504. Families who qualify for this scholarship tend to get a voucher for the amount the state would spend on the student in public school.

Voters may be able to express their preference for or against the time changes associated with Daylight Savings Time, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Cherokee Tribune Ledger News.

Margaret Ciccarelli, director of Legislative Affairs for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, said most of the 85 e-mails she has received from teachers on the issue expressed similar sentiments.

“Almost all agree the toggling back and forth is bad for students and disruptive for families,” Ciccarelli told Pruett’s committee.

The [House State Planning and Community Affairs Committee] held a hearing Tuesday on legislation sponsored by Rep. Wes Cantrell, R-Woodstock calling for a non-binding statewide advisory referendum asking Georgians whether the state should stick with the current system of switching between standard and daylight time twice a year, observe standard time all year or go to daylight time all year.

Gianluca Tosini, a neuroscience professor at Morehouse School of Medicine, cited studies showing an increase in heart attacks, strokes and auto accidents during the week after the yearly switch from standard to daylight time.

The committee did not vote on the bill Tuesday. Pruett suggested it might be a better idea for the General Assembly to decide the issue rather than hold an advisory referendum, based on research into the potential impacts of the options.

Senate Bill 303, called the “Georgia Right to Shop Act” passed the State Senate with a single vote in opposition, according to the Center Square.

The bill would require insurance companies to create a webpage or toll-free phone number where patients could compare rates, see the average amount for particular services, estimate out-of-pocket costs and access quality metrics.

“So we’re working in conjunction, not only with cost but also in quality, making that transparency,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Ben Watson, R–Savannah. “Because we know that if we drive quality, we drive cost.”

Quality metrics could include infection reports or remissions, Watson said during a committee review.

Proponents of the policy say it allows consumers to take control of their health-care costs, and it can save the state millions of dollars.

Right-to-shop legislation was an idea recommended in the the Taskforce on Healthcare Access and Cost, led by Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan.

House Bill 779 by State Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) passed the State House and would revise the distribution formula for car tag tax income, according to AccessWDUN.

Georgia charges a combined title fee and property tax when an owner first registers a vehicle in Georgia for cars and trucks purchased since 2013. That was a change from the earlier system of annual property tax payments.

Local governments complained that the new system reduced their revenue, and lawmakers gave them a larger share. But Rep. Shaw Blackmon, a Bonaire Republican, says under the most recent change, cities were still short of revenue, while schools and counties saw revenues rise.

Now, 28% of shared revenue goes to counties, 23% to cities and 49% to a county school district. The bill would give cities 28% and counties 23%. In cities with their own school districts, cities would get 34%, counties would get 28% and city school districts would get 43%.

House Bill 987 by State Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Cobb), to enhance state regulation of assisted living and long-term care facilities, passed out of the House Health and Human Services Committee, according to the Rome News Tribune.

House Bill 987 aims to tighten rules on assisted-living and long-term care facilities for seniors following reports of elder neglect, poor care and financial troubles in some facilities in the state.

“We have a lot of good assisted living facilities in our state. But as always, it seems that the bad guys come along and they put a spoiler for the good people,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta.

Specifically, Cooper’s bill would require at least one direct-care staff member for every 15 senior residents during waking hours, and one for every 20 residents at night.

It would also require a licensed or registered professional nurse to be on-site at assisted living facilities for a certain amount of time each week and require all staff to undergo training in elderly and disabled-adult care.

The bill also includes a slate of rules to tighten staffing standards and training for memory care centers, which provide services for people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other cognitive conditions.

Cooper traced issues with the facilities in part to the state’s shortage of licensed nurses and the unpredictable impact on facilities as Georgia’s senior population continues growing.

She also said Gov. Brian Kemp has committed to adding certification courses for assistant nurse practitioners to the state-funded HOPE grant program, which covers tuition costs.

Democrat Jon Ossoff spoke in Columbus, according to WTVM.

“Taking this campaign straight to the people and hearing what is on the minds of Georgia voters,” Ossoff said.

“Getting every single Georgian health insurance, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, investing in our infrastructure. That message is appealing to urban, suburban, rural areas, in black, white communities. Everything in between,” Ossoff explained.

“We need to get serious about whether housing on and around the base is up to standards to protect the health and safety of military personnel and their families,” he said.

“Elections are about the human condition, not political parties and dueling colors on a map. Elections are about the real human consequences,” Ossoff said.

Congressman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, has endorsed Rep. Doug Collins for the United States Senate seat held by Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Atlanta), according to the IJR.

Kevin Van Ausdal is the first announced Democratic candidate in the 14th Congressional District seat being vacated by Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ranger), according to FetchYourNews.

Jonathan Paine will run as a Democrat for Bulloch County Coroner, according to the Statesboro Herald.

He challenges incumbent Republican Jake Futch and Democratic newcomer Michelle Fiorelli-Rupar.

Cobb County may change some additional voting precincts, according to the AJC.

Cobb’s top election official has not ruled out more changes to county voting precincts and polling locations between now and November, as lawmakers caution against disruption in a fraught election year.

Janine Eveler, director of the Cobb County Board of Elections, spoke to the Cobb legislative delegation Monday after the county split some precincts and moved polling locations for others, affecting at least 50,000 voters.

Eveler told lawmakers the board has struggled to find new polling locations after it decided to remove election activities from schools due to concerns over security and voter access. The board is also attempting to shorten lines on Election Day as the county grows, she said.

Eveler said the board did move dozens of polling places last year, but that finding new locations has been a challenge.

“We’re not the best tenant to have on Election Day,” she said. “It’s a lot of trouble for the facility to host us, so sometimes they say no.”

“The timing is not what I would have liked either, but we couldn’t get them all done last year,” she added.

Macon crime statistics show a mixed bag in 2019, according to the Macon Telegraph.

While overall reported crimes have seen a gradual decline in Macon and Bibb County since 2014, some of the more serious crimes such as rape and what sheriff’s officials refer to as “personal” robberies went up last year.

Murders went down to 26, compared with 42 the year before.

The figures were made public in the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office’s Uniform Crime Report for 2019, which heralded an 8% decrease in crime overall compared to 2018.

Meanwhile, incidents of what the sheriff’s offices describes as “personal” robberies increased from 191 to 239. These would be, for example, people who are the victim of a hold-up on the street.

Dr. Frank Rossiter, Jr. was reelected Chairman of the Chatham County Hospital Authority, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The authority owned Memorial Health properties, including Memorial Health University Medical Center, prior to Memorial’s sale to HCA Healthcare in 2018. Now it oversees the indigent care trust fund that resulted from the sale.