On February 27, 1922, the United States Supreme Court released an unanimous decision holding that the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting women the right to vote, is constitutional. The case, Leser v. Garnett, arose because of a challenge seeking to strike women’s names from the voter rolls in Maryland and asserting:
- The power to amend the Constitution did not cover this amendment, due to its character.
- Several states that had ratified the amendment had constitutions that prohibited women from voting, rendering them unable to ratify an amendment to the contrary.
- The ratifications of Tennessee and West Virginia were invalid, because they were adopted without following the rules of legislative procedure in place in those states.
It might as well have asserted that sleeping on the couch for the rest of the plantiffs’ lives would be cold and uncomfortable.
On February 27, 1962, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ralph David Abernathy were tried in Albany for charges stemming from a demonstration on the steps of City Hall.
On February 27, 1982, Wayne Williams was convicted in Fulton County Superior Court of murdering two adult males. Atlanta Police later said he was guilty of at least 23 of 29 child murders between 1979 and 1981. Williams was never indicted or tried on the allegations of child murder and maintains his innocence.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Under the Gold Dome – Legislative Day 23
7:30 AM HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS 341 CAP
8:00 AM HOUSE INSURANCE 606 CLOB
9:00 AM HOUSE RULES 341 CAP
10:00 AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD 23) House Chamber
TBD SENATE RULES UPON ADJOURNMENT 450 CAP
12:30 PM SENATE REGULATED INDUSTRIES AND UTILITIES- DEALER FRANCHISE AGREEMENT REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE- UPON ADJOURNMENT OF RULES 450 CAP
1:00 PM SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY MEZZ 1
1:00 PM HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION 606 CLOB
1:00 PM HOUSE Governmental Affairs State & Local Government Subcommittee 406 CLOB
1:00 PM HOUSE JUVENILE JUSTICE 415 CLOB
2:00 PM SENATE VETERANS, MILITARY, AND HOMELAND SECURITY 310 CLOB
2:00 PM SENATE EDUCATION & YOUTH 307 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE Regulated Industries Low THC Oil Access Subcommittee 415 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE STATE PROPERTIES 403 CAP
2:00 PM HOUSE BUDGET & FISCAL AFFAIRS OVERSIGHT 506 CLOB
2:30 PM SENATE STATE INSTITUTIONS & PROPERTY 450 CAP
2:30 PM HOUSE INDUSTRY AND LABOR 506 CLOB
3:00 PM SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT 310 CLOB
3:00 PM SENATE HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES 450 CAP
3:00 PM SENATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & TOURISM – CANCELLED 125 CAP
3:00 PM HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS 606 CLOB
3:00 PM HOUSE BANKS AND BANKING 341 CAP
4:00 PM SENATE RETIREMENT MEZZ 1
4:00 PM SENATE JUDICIARY 307 CLOB
Senate Bill 106, Governor Kemp’s Medicaid waiver bill, passed the State Senate, according to AccessWDUN.
The measure cleared the Senate 32-20. It now goes to the House for consideration.
Kemp applauded the passage of the bill, calling it a “critical step toward more innovative, accessible, and affordable health care for hardworking Georgians.”
Kemp has stated that full Medicaid expansion, which Democrats support, isn’t an option. His measure would give Georgia the flexibility to adopt a more conservative plan.
“It’s a very simple three-page bill that can do miraculous things for health care and health care costs,” said Republican Sen. Blake Tillery of Vidalia, Kemp’s floor leader in the Senate. “This bill doesn’t just address the rich. It doesn’t just address the poor. It covers the gambit of Georgians.”
Senate Democrats accused their Republican counterparts Tuesday of shutting down debate on the plan after the Senate voted to consider the bill without allowing for any amendments.
Gov. Brian Kemp came to the chamber afterward to address reporters on the bill, which he proposed. “We’re on the right track to do things and put Georgians first to reform a broken system,” Kemp said.
He stood beside Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who oversees the Senate. “Today was a great day in the Senate,” Duncan said. “We were able to pass a bill … to, I believe, put 11 million Georgians in a great spot.”
Relieving one piece of the curiosity about how he would use such a law, Kemp confirmed that he would attempt to use the ACA waiver to form a “reinsurance” program. His idea is to help private insurance companies on the exchange market pay for the high cost of patients with pre-existing conditions, which would save them money and hopefully pass the savings on to their consumers. That would include people of all income levels who buy individual plans on the exchange.
“I want to help give better health care for all Georgians, more accessible, more affordable,” Kemp told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Full Medicaid expansion covers those up to 138 percent of the poverty level, such as individuals with an income of about $16,000 per year. But SB 106 would only allow the governor’s waiver to deal with those who make up to 100 percent of the poverty level, or about $12,000 per year for an individual.
That has a couple of consequences. One is, it’s possible Georgia wouldn’t receive the full 90 percent federal match promised for full Medicaid expansion. So far, opposition in the Obama administration and internal disagreements in the Trump administration have stalled applications for that 9-to-1 federal match by states that only wanted to expand Medicaid up to 100 percent of the poverty level.
House Bill 316, revising some voting procedures and moving forward to replace Georgia’s voting machines, pass the House, according to AccessWDUN.
The bill passed by a 101-72 vote, largely along partisan lines with Republicans in support. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.
The bill’s author, Republican state Rep. Barry Fleming of Harlem, said he believed electronic ballot markers better captured voter intent, citing the possibility of stray marks throwing off tabulation of hand-marked paper ballots. Fleming also said electronic ballot markers are the only way to accommodate all Georgians, including disabled voters, with one system.
Initial purchase estimates for electronic ballot markers near $150 million, with ongoing operating costs rising from there.
On Tuesday morning, hours before the vote, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger released the results of an internal analysis of the costs of hand-marked paper ballots. It found that hand-marked paper ballots would cost the state roughly $224 million over the next decade with printing costs included. It said much of the costs were an “unfunded mandate” that would fall to counties.
Senate Bill 9 by Sen. Harold Jones (D-Augusta) would create a new crime of sexual extortion and passed out of the Senate Judicuary Committee, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
Senate Bill 9 defines coercion as exposing or threatening to expose information that if revealed would subject a person to criminal proceedings, hatred or contempt; destroying or concealing a passport or immigration document; or exposing, or threatening to expose a photo, a video or image of a person in a state of nudity or engaged in explicit conduct.
“Sextortion” is growing increasingly common, and a recent South Carolina case involved inmates sending military members explicit photos, then demanding money from those who responded by saying the photos were child pornography, Jones said.
The bill excludes those convicted of sexual extortion from having to register as a sex offender. Jones said that was a compromise made to ease some senators’ concerns about adding these people to the registry.
House Bill 62 by State Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta) would require a warning to women with dense breast tissue, according to The Brunswick News.
Legislation to make women aware if they have dense breast tissue, and the risk that carries, easily passed the state Senate 55-0 on Tuesday on a day in which senators spent a healthy amount of time addressing health care bills.
H.B. 62 passed the state House of Representatives on a 168-1 vote on Feb. 11.
State Sen. Lester Jackson, D-Savannah, remarked on how the issue moved on from a concern Singleton had about her own health to something to help women statewide.
“This started out as a local bill, a local issue, with one woman,” Jackson said. “And she realized this affects so many other people and so many other families, and she took it upon herself to spread a message. So, I too support this bill and I urge all of us to support this magnificent legislation that will actually save lives.”
Senate Bill 182 by Sen. William Ligon (R-Brunswick) passed out of the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee, according to The Brunswick News.
“At the heart of this is ensuring the public safety, so that’s why the permitting piece is so important — that we insure that this is done safely,” said Wes Robinson, director of public affairs for DNR. “Often, oysters are consumed raw, and so ensuring the public safety is a paramount issue. We think this does have the appropriate protocols to have a safe shellfish program in Georgia that does include appropriate protocols for having a year-long season in the state of Georgia.”
“Additionally, the other key component here is the siting piece. Because this activity would be taking place in public waters, it is important that the siting piece is done in a public manner, in a fair manner, and so these activities would take place in department-approved growing areas.”
The bill provides for a closed season, which can be opened upon request and authorization, along with the usual ability for the DNR commissioner to order a fishery closure in the event of an emergency like a tropical cyclone, algal bloom, oil spill or something similar.
“It really can be a multimillion-dollar business for Coastal Georgia,” Ligon said. “I’m just glad to be a part of it — I know in the House, Rep. (Jeff) Jones has worked very hard on this, and so I think it’s something that’s timely in Georgia. I know that there may not be perfect agreement on everything on behalf of some of the stakeholders, but this is an important first step, and I do think we need to take that step and we’ll do that by passing Senate Bill 182, as substitute.”
House Bill 426 by State Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Gwinnett) would enhance penalties for “hate crime” convictions, according to The Brunswick News.
Tuesday morning, the state House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee advanced House Bill 426, which is to insert specifics into the law and bring it up to constitutional muster.
“Georgia’s hate crimes statute was found to be unconstitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court in 2004,” said committee Chairman Chuck Efstration, R-Dacula, the lead sponsor of the bill. “That was in the Botts case, and the issue was the individual targeted was not identified — the individuals targeted were not identified in the statute and therefore, there was effectively a vagueness issue with the existing statute and it was found to be unconstitutional. This seeks to address that, with revised provisions here that also mirror existing statute in many of the 45 other states and the federal government that have similar statutes.”
This bill specifies acts regarding the perpetrator’s belief or perception — whether or not that belief or perception is correct — about the victim or victims’ race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, mental disability or physical disability.
State Rep. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, reiterated issues he had with the bill that he raised Monday in subcommittee.
“I had shared, or at least introduced the idea yesterday of a concern around these enumerated classes, and I understand we’re sort of weighing out, in the broadness of this, how we could not be void for vagueness, yet accomplish something, and I think my concern is the impetus for this was the idea that these actions don’t stand by themselves,” Setzler said. “These actions — the reason we would want to put a hate crimes structure in our law is that there’s this sort of calculated fear effect that’s broad-classed across a class of people. That really is why we’re doing this — is that fair to say?”
Congressman Doug Collins (R-Gainesville) introduced legislation to reduce gun thefts, according to the Gainesville Times.
Collins introduced the Mass Violence Prevention Act Monday, Feb. 25.
The bill would increase the maximum punishment for burglary or robbery of a federal firearms licensee to 20 years, which is double the current standard.
For a burglary, the minimum prison sentence would be three years. Robbery would carry a minimum five-year prison sentence.
The centerpiece of the bill is the “mass violence prevention center,” which would have a director appointed by the FBI director. According to the bill, the center’s purpose is to be the “primary organization in the United States government for analyzing and integrating all intelligence possessed or acquired by the United States government pertaining to threats of mass violence.”
Gwinnett County Elections Director Lynn Ledford said turnout for the March MARTA referendum may clear 30 percent, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
As of 6 p.m. on Monday, 867 votes had been cast at the county’s elections office in Lawrenceville and a few handfuls of additional voters swung by after that during the last hour that the poll was open that day. In addition to the votes cast Monday, 834 mail-in ballots have been sent out to voters as early voting began.
All of it is leading county elections director Lynn Ledford to predict a turnout that is at least twice as large as a typical special election might draw.
“For a true special election, it’s pretty high,” Ledford said of the voter activity that happened as early voting began. “Obviously, it depends on the issue and how interested people are in whatever the issue is, but usually special elections don’t draw but maybe 10 to 12 percent, maybe 15 percent …
“But where we’re headed now, it could be 25 to 30 percent if the rate keeps up.”
Voters are being asked to approve a contract between Gwinnett County and MARTA which would result in the county being brought into the regional transit system. A 1 percent sales tax would be levied in Gwinnett to pay for the county’s participation in MARTA and the contract lasts through 2057.
[W]hether the MARTA referendum in Gwinnett passes or fails, two things are certain: The standalone March vote has paralyzed a Republican machine in Gwinnett that is already under great stress. And it has handed Democrats a weapon they can use to win solid political control of the county in 2020.
One of the odder aspects of the pro-MARTA effort in Gwinnett is that it has produced only a single elected Republican to champion what is necessarily a bipartisan campaign.
What this means is that a pro-MARTA stance could still pose problems for a GOP candidate in a Gwinnett County primary. It’s something that must be worked into the calculations of Republicans seeking re-election or higher office.
Georgia Democrats, however, are unified on transit. The state party is going all in, and says it will dispatch field operatives, communications staffers and voter protection resources to support the referendum. (No doubt while trying to keep a low profile that doesn’t spark a GOP backlash.)
Without meaning to, Republicans in Gwinnett have given Democrats the gift of a dress rehearsal for 2020. Theirs is a win-win scenario. Should MARTA win voter approval in Gwinnett next month, they’ll be able to claim a piece of the victory. If the referendum fails, they’ll have an issue that will only be stronger 18 months from now — with fresh voter data ready to be wielded like a cudgel.
A Special Election to fill a vacancy on the Murray County Board of Education was canceled after no candidates qualified, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.
Both elections officials and a Murray County Schools spokesman said that means the Board of Elections will have to call another special election and hold qualifying again for the District 5 seat. According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s website, the next date that a special election can be held is June 18.
Murray County Schools Director of Administration Mike Tuck said Ray Ingle will continue to fill the District 5 seat until the election is held or he resigns.
Ingle was selected on Sept. 24 of last year by school board members to fill the unexpired term for the District 5 seat previously held by Mitchell Wilson, who moved out of the district and could no longer serve on the board. That term ended on Dec. 31 and shortly before that, board members unanimously reappointed Ingle to serve in the seat until a special election is held to fill a full, four-year term on the board. That special election was to have been held on March 19.
The Albany Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a group visiting the General Assembly, according to the Albany Herald.
Albany leaders got to meet with Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, as well as state representatives and senators. They also had the chance to talk with officials from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
“Atlanta is the capitol of the state,” [Chamber President Barbara Rivera] Holmes said. “Many decisions are made at that level, and so it’s important for our community to have a relationship and to have input with those decision-makers.”
“There’s a lot with being able to provide resources to rural communities, so rural Georgia is really hot,” Holmes said. “And then transportation and infrastructure always are, and, of course, we are in the middle here of a T-SPLOST campaign that will be on the ballot on March 19. The Albany Area Chamber does support passage of T-SPLOST, and so we talked more about the transportation needs of the state as well.”
The Albany Area Chamber will host a similar program in June, during which they will take a group of community leaders to Washington, D.C. They will have a chance to meet with officials from the Pentagon, the congressional delegation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Superior Court Chief Judge Carl C. Brown Jr. of the Augusta Judicial Circuit asked the Augusta Commission Administrative Services Committee to convert the old Law Enforcement Center into a juvenile justice facility, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
Three Albany Commission seats and the Mayor will be on the November ballot, according to the Albany Herald.
In addition to the mayor’s seat, the Wards I, IV and VI seats, currently held by Jon Howard, Roger Marietta and Tommie Postell, respectively, will be up for re-election. And each seat offers its own unique twist.
Qualifying for the Nov. 5 general election will run from Aug. 19-23. The city races are nonpartisan, so candidates will not have to go through primary races.
The Henry County SPLOST Committee meets Thursday to consider potential projects, according to the Henry Herald.
While the purpose of the meeting will be to discuss possible projects in District 4, the committee will also make recommendations for District 2 projects after the committee was unable to finalize those recommendations at its District 2 meeting in late January.
The Henry County SPLOST Committee is a recommending body that is in the process of the final round of meetings to determine what the community would like to see on the next SPLOST, which will be on the ballot in November.
The Henry County Board of Commissioners, however, will make the final decision as to what items will or will not be on the referendum.
If voters approve the proposal in November, the sales tax will begin collections in 2020, replacing SPLOST IV, which ends at the conclusion of the 2019 calendar year.
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