Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for February 28, 2019

On February 28, 1784, John Wesley executed a document titled “The Rev. John Wesley’s Declaration and Establishment of the Conference of the People called Methodists.”

On February 28, 1827, the first American railroad organized to transport people and freight commercially, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, was chartered. At the time, Baltimore was the second largest city in the nation.

On February 28, 1854, 30 anti-slavery opponents of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which would repeal the 1820 Missouri Compromise, met in Ripon, Wisconsin and called for the creation of the Republican Party.

On February 28, 1885, the American Telephone and Telegraph company was incorporated, though some accounts says March 3d.

On February 28, 1991, the First Gulf War ended, as President George H.W. Bush declared a ceasefire and that Kuwait was liberated.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Under the Gold Dome – Legislative Day 24

8:00 AM SENATE HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES 450 CAP

8:00 AM SENATE FINANCE- TAX EXPENDITURES SUBCOMMITTEE MEZZ 1

8:00 AM HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT 606 CLOB

9:00 AM HOUSE RULES 341 CAP

10:00 AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD 24) House Chamber

12:00 PM SENATE RULES UPON ADJOURNMENT 450 CAP

1:00 PM SENATE ETHICS- SUBCOMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND VOTING 307 CLOB

1:00 PM SENATE GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT 125 CAP

1:00 PM SENATE HIGHER EDUCATION 450 CAP

1:00 PM HOUSE JUVENILE JUSTICE 406 CLOB

1:00 PM HOUSE Railway and Transit Subcommittee 506 CLOB

1:00 PM HOUSE EDUCATION 606 CLOB

2:00 PM SENATE STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS 450 CAP

2:00 PM SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY- GENERAL WELFARE AND SAFETY SUBCOMMITTEE 310 CLOB

2:00 PM SENATE FINANCE MEZZ 1

2:00 PM HOUSE TRANSPORTATION 506 CLOB

2:00 PM HOUSE BANKS AND BANKING 341 CAP

2:00 PM HOUSE Setzler Subcommittee of Judiciary (Non-Civil) 515 CLOB

2:00 PM HOUSE Kelley Subcommittee of Judiciary 132 CAP

2:00 PM HOUSE GAME, FISH AND PARKS 403 CAP

2:30 PM SENATE INTERSTATE COOPERATION 125 CAP

2:30 PM HOUSE Powell Subcommittee of Public Safety & Homeland Security 415 CLOB

3:00 PM SENATE REGULATED INDUSTRIES & UTILITIES 450 CAP

3:00 PM SENATE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY MEZZ 1

3:00 PM HOUSE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 403 CAP

3:00 PM HOUSE MOTOR VEHICLES 515 CLOB

3:00 PM HOUSE Welch Subcommittee of Judiciary 132 CAP

3:30 PM HOUSE Reeves Subcommittee of Judiciary (Non-Civil) 415 CLOB

4:00 PM SENATE JUDICIARY 307 CLOB

4:00 PM SENATE TRANSPORTATION 310 CLOB

5:00 PM SENATE INSURANCE & LABOR 310 CLOB

SENATE RULES CALENDAR

SB 127 – Motor Fuel Tax; electronic filing of certain reports; require (FIN-52nd)

SB 156 – Insurance; division of a domestic insurer into two or more resulting domestic insurers; provide (Substitute)(I&L-9th)SB 128Income Tax Payment; person required to submit a statement of taxes withheld shall be assessed a late penalty after the due date; provide(FIN-52nd)

SB 137 – Tuskegee University; specialty license plate; establish (PUB SAF-26th)

SB 149 – Motor Vehicles; retain custody of the vehicle under certain conditions; valid number license plate without required revalidation decal affixed; permit (PUB SAF-29th)

HB 183 – Ad valorem tax; right to appeal for any taxpayer that fails to file a property tax return or whose property tax return was deemed returned; provide (FIN-52nd) Harrell-106th

HOUSE RULES CALENDAR

Modified Open Rule

HB 31 – General appropriations; State Fiscal Year July 1, 2019 -June 30, 2020 (Substitute)(App-Ralston-7th)

Modified Structured Rule

HB 64 – Parent and child; require child welfare agencies to make efforts to determine whether a parent or guardian of a child who is the subject of abuse allegations is on active duty in the military (Substitute)(JuvJ-Prince-127th)

HB 68 – Education; prohibit certain entities from being student scholarship organizations (Ed-Carson-46th)

HB 134 – County law libraries; repeal a population provision regarding the disposition of law library funds in certain counties (Judy-Rich-97th)

HB 197 – Office of Planning and Budget; provide for the establishment of the Strategic Integrated Data System (Substitute)(B&FAO-Dempsey-13th)

HB 257 – Council of Magistrate Court Judges; organization and provide for officers; increase authority (Judy-Scoggins-14th)

HB 277 – Insurance; allow good will from insurer acquisitions to be treated as an asset (Substitute)(Ins-Carson-46th)

Structured Rule

HB 321 – Health; hospital Medicaid financing program; extend sunset provision (App-Lott-122nd)

The State House FY 2020 budget passed the Appropriations Committee and includes changes to Gov. Kemp’s priorities, according to the AJC.

The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved a $27.5 billion state budget for fiscal 2020 — which begins July 1 — that gives smaller raises to teachers but also spreads the pay hike to about 9,800 school psychologists, counselors, media specialists, social workers, speech and language pathologists, and instructional technologists.

The full House is expected to back the spending plan Thursday.

On the campaign trail last fall, Kemp promised teachers a $5,000 pay raise. When he proposed a $3,000 raise in January, he called it a down payment on meeting that promise.

So the House wants to lower the raise to $2,775 for teachers. All other certified employees would get the same.

When asked about the House move, Kemp said he remains committed to fulfilling his campaign promise, and that he would continue talking to lawmakers about his budget priorities.

The City of Atlanta will fight a proposed state takeover of the airport, according to the AJC.

The state Senate Transportation Committee late Tuesday approved a bill that would create the Georgia Major Airport Authority to control the world’s busiest airport

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms called the move “nothing short, in my opinion, of an attempted theft from the people of Atlanta and the city of Atlanta.”

State Sen. Burt Jones, R-Jackson, said he sponsored the bill in response to a federal corruption investigation into Atlanta City Hall and lawsuits over the years alleging steering of airport contracts.

“Unfortunately, there have been some people that have taken advantage of that elected post… where they’ve given out political favors and lucrative contracts to family members and friends,” Jones said. “And in some cases you gotta question whether or not they’re qualified to do the jobs they’ve been asked to do.”

Senate Bill 221 by State Sen. Marty Harbin (R-Tyrone) would protect religious practitioners, according to the AJC.

“This legislation would require the government to have a compelling interest before it could interfere with someone’s religious practices,” said state Sen. Marty Harbin, a Republican from Tyrone and the bill’s sponsor.

Kemp said during his campaign for governor last year he would only sign a “mirror image”of the federal religious freedom law.

The bill includes the same language as the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, along with additional provisions allowing plaintiffs who win lawsuits against the government to recover their legal costs. Another addition to the bill allows judges to order declaratory judgments and grant injunctive relief.

State Rep. Jeff Jones (R-St Simons Island) removed his name from two House bills after signing a resolution calling on the Speaker to step down, according to The Brunswick News.

State Rep. Jeff Jones, in emails to local news media Wednesday, announced he removed his name from his coal ash bills — H.B. 93 and H.B. 94 — in hopes they were able to continue forward without hindrance from the political fallout that occurred since the St. Simons Island Republican signed on to a resolution last week calling for state Speaker of the House David Ralston to resign from the chamber.

Ten House Republicans, including Jones, signed the measure. Monday, Ralston took to the House well for a vigorous defense of his actions as an attorney and a legislator, and left to a standing ovation from members of the House.

The Georgia Poultry Lab will receive $1.5 million of $4 million requested in the state budget, according to The Gainesville Times.

The funding is part of a $27.5 billion statewide spending package for the 2020 fiscal year, which begins July 1, that House legislators are expected to pass this week.

Design flaws at the Georgia Poultry Lab in Hall County will require $4 million in fixes, Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black told state lawmakers in January.

House Bill 511 by State Rep. Kevin Tanner (R-Dawsonville) would add revenue for transit, according to the AJC.

The money would come from a 50-cent fee on all taxi, limousine and ride-hailing trips and a 25-cent fee for shared rides. That would generate an estimated $30 million to $60 million annually for transit.

Some of the money would support new subsidies for unemployed rural residents who need transportation to get jobs or to get to school and tax credits for companies that help cover their employees’ transportation costs. But some of the money could be available for metro Atlanta programs.

“Nothing has ever been done like this before,” said state Rep. Kevin Tanner, R-Dawsonville, the bill’s sponsor. “This is actually boots on the ground, removing obstacles (workers) face, trying to make their lives better.”

House Bill 511 would replace Georgia’s state sales tax on rides for hire with the flat fee to be collected beginning in January. In addition to providing money for transit, the fee would address a long-standing dispute over how such companies are taxed.

Currently, taxi and limo companies pay the sales tax, but ride-hailing firms such as Uber and Lyft have maintained they’re not required to pay it under state law (the Department of Revenue disagrees). If HB 511 passes, all companies would pay the flat fee.

House Bill 213 by State Rep. John Corbett passed the House and would allow cultivation of hemp with very low levels of THC, according to the AJC.

The 163-3 vote calls for Georgia to join the 41 other states that already permit hemp cultivation, said state Rep. John Corbett, a Republican from Lake Park.

“As a farmer, this is a great bill,” said state Rep. Robert Dickey, a peach grower and Republican from Musella, west of Macon. “This is another tool in the belt of farmers that we can diversify.”

Hemp could be processed into CBD droplets, capsules and creams that are already widely available in nutrition stores but imported to Georgia from other states.

Cannabidiol — also called CBD — is legal in the United States if it contains less than 0.3 percent THC, the main psychoactive component of the cannabis plant.

A separate measure pending in the state House, House Bill 324, would allow cultivation and sales of medical marijuana oil, which contains up to 5 percent THC and can be used by registered patients.

Cobb County may place a transit referendum on the 2022 ballot, according to the AJC.

Lawmakers are expected to take up an official request by the county to extend a key deadline coming up this year, which was written into the original legislation creating the new regional transit authority, the ATL.

County Chairman Mike Boyce made the case to delay the vote to the Cobb delegation Wednesday, a day after the county commission unanimously passed a resolution on the subject.

He said the county has not decided whether to hold the referendum county-wide or create a special transit district in the southeastern part of Cobb. The special district option would sunset this year without the extension.

“Everything is on the table and why I’m asking you for an extension is to keep everything on the table,” Boyce said.

The City of Rome has weighed in opposing Senate Bill 172 and House Bill 302, which would prevent local governments from making some zoning rules, according to the Rome News Tribune.

Legislation to limit local elected officials’ power to set design standards for homes and duplexes is slated for a hearing today in the Senate Government Oversight Committee.

“We don’t need the state telling us how to develop our city,” said Rome City Commissioner Evie McNiece. “What it is doing is preempting local control.”

The measure is opposed by both the Georgia Municipal Association and the Association County Commissions of Georgia. The Rome City Commission signed on to a resolution Monday urging local lawmakers to reject the proposal.

Senate Bill 172 was submitted last week because the original legislation, House Bill 302, is being held up in the Rules Committee. McNiece said the chairman, Rep. Jay Powell, R-Camilla, is still undecided on if he will schedule it for a full House vote by March 7. Any legislation that hasn’t passed at least one chamber by then is dead for the year.

“It’s about the government closest to the people making the decisions,” Commissioner Wendy Davis said. “It’s going to be hard to fight because they say it’s how they build cheaper housing … But it’s not about building houses in poorer communities. It’s about building cheaper houses in rich communities.”

The City of Brookhaven is also opposing preemption of local zoning, according to Reporter Newspapers.

Brookhaven’s resolution opposing House Bill 302 and Senate Bill 172 states, in part, the proposed legislation would “create chaos in community development.” The bill would take away a local government’s authority to regulate design elements in one or two-family properties such as color, exterior material, windows, doors, number and types of rooms and foundation materials.

The Dunwoody City Council on Feb. 25 approved its own resolution urging the General Assembly to oppose the bills. Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul has also publicly voice opposition.

Mayor John Ernst said it was important for Brookhaven to join other municipalities in opposition to the proposed legislation. If the bills were to pass, he said, much of the city’s zoning code rewrite approved in November would be erased.

The proposed legislation would “shred the very fabric and character of neighborhoods across Brookhaven,” he said.

 

Federal legislation enlarging the Fort Frederica National Monument on St Simons Island heads to President Donald Trump, according to The Brunswick News.

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter said he’s worked to expand the boundaries of Fort Frederica National Monument since he first arrived on Capitol Hill. With the heavy lifting and cooperation of untold numbers of people and bipartisan cooperation in both chambers of Congress, the massive public lands bill that provides for the Frederica expansion now awaits the signature of the president.

“In fact, the two previous sessions in which I’ve been a member, I’ve had this legislation pass each session, in the 114th Congress as well as the 115th,” said Carter, who represents Georgia’s 1st District. “Now we’ve finally got it passed, out of the Senate and out of the House, and now it’s sitting on the president’s desk, so we’re excited.”

“These type of things are very important,” Carter said. “This is a historical piece of property here that’s included, Fort Frederica, because the history, if you look at it — it was designed by Gen. Oglethorpe, (then there is) the War of Jenkins’ Ear, and everything that happened between the (local British soldiers) and the Spanish troops, and the Battle of Bloody Marsh. It’s just historic and part of our history and part of what makes Georgia so great.”

The bill — S. 47, the Natural Resources Management Act — passed the Senate by a vote of 92-8 on Feb. 12, where it received the support of Georgia Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue, and passed the House on Tuesday by a vote of 363-62.

The bill changes a 1936 law to increase Fort Frederica’s maximum boundary limit from 250 acres to 305 acres, which includes 21 acres purchased by the St. Simons Land Trust for $3.5 million in 2007 for this purpose.

The Macon Telegraph looks at how efforts to force fixes to blighted properties affects residents.

A 2017 property survey found nearly 4,000 structures throughout the county are unoccupied. Most of those properties are in fair or poor condition, and over 400 are in such rough shape they can’t be saved by any means except demolition.

The growing body of uninhabitable homes did not emerge overnight. Decades of population loss, absentee landlords and a lack of investment in the county’s most impoverished neighborhoods has led to widespread urban decay.

Local leaders hope to save blighted communities, before they fall even further into disrepair. But just as the decomposition took years to set in, it will take years to revitalize.

“These neighborhoods did not become blighted overnight. They’re not gonna be turned around overnight,” said Alison Goldey, executive director of the Macon-Bibb County Land Bank Authority. “And I think it’s important to pick your areas of strength in a neighborhood and to work from those points of strength.”

Read more here: https://www.macon.com/news/local/article226106845.html#storylink=cpy