On February 7, 1733, the first Georgia colonists had been here a week and they finished building a hand-operated crane to move heavy supplies and livestock from their boats to the top of the forty-foot high bluff where they were building a settlement.
On February 8, 1751, the first session of the Georgia Provincial Parliament adjourned, having convened on January 15, 1751.
The House of Assembly, Georgia’s legislative body, held its second meeting after statehood on February 6, 1788 in Savannah.
On February 9, 1825, the United States House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams as President of the United States, despite his having received fewer popular votes than Andrew Jackson. Congress voted for the President after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes in the 1824 election.
The 12th Amendment states that if no electoral majority is won, only the three candidates who receive the most popular votes will be considered in the House.
Representative Henry Clay, who was disqualified from the House vote as a fourth-place candidate, agreed to use his influence to have John Quincy Adams elected. Clay and Adams were both members of a loose coalition in Congress that by 1828 became known as the National Republicans, while Jackson’s supporters were later organized into the Democratic Party.
Alexander Stephens was elected Vice President of the Confederate States of America on February 9, 1861
Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. In 1980, Reagan would be elected President of the United States, beating incumbent Jimmy Carter. When he was born, his father said, “he looks like a fat little Dutchman. But who knows, he might grow up to be president some day.”
On February 9, 1926, the Atlanta Board of Education voted to prohibit teaching evolution in the Atlanta Public Schools.
On February 6, 1952, Governor Herman Talmadge signed resolutions of the General Assembly that included:
A resolution calling on Congress to call a convention to propose a constitutional amendment to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment and instead allow a maximum rate of 25 percent on any federal income, transfer, gift, or inheritance tax.
A resolution urging U.S. Senator Richard B. Russell to run for the presidency.
On February 8, 1955, Gov. Marvin Griffin signed a resolution by the General Assembly calling on Congress to require racial segregation in the military.
On February 6, 1956, Governor Marvin Griffin addressed a joint session of the Georgia General Assembly, asking their support for House Resolution 1185, which introduced the idea of “interposition,” in which the State of Georgia would declare the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 and 1955 Brown v. Board of Education decisions “null and void” in Georgia. That day Griffin also signed a raft of legislation for his “massive resistance” agenda against integration of state schools.
On February 8, 1956, the Georgia State House adopted a resolution purporting to hold the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education null and void.
On February 9, 1964, the Beatles debuted in America on The Ed Sullivan Show.
On February 7, 1980, Pink Floyd opened “The Wall” tour in Los Angeles.
On February 8, 1981, R.E.M. held their first recording session at Bombay Studios in Smyrna, recording “Gardening At Night,” “Radio Free Europe” and “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville,” as well as others.
On February 6, 1985, Reagan gave the State of the Union. During the speech he announced what would be known as the “Reagan Doctrine.”
On February 7, 1990, the Communist Party Central Committee of the Soviet Union agreed to a proposal by Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev that is should give up its political monopoly.
The response from the United States was surprise and cautious optimism. One State Department official commented that, “The whole Soviet world is going down the drainpipe with astonishing speed. It’s mind-boggling.” Former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger indicated that he was “personally gratified and astonished that anyone would have the chance to say such things in Moscow without being shot.” President George Bush was more circumspect, merely congratulating President Gorbachev for his “restraint and finesse.”
Ironically, the fact that the Communist Party was willing to accept political challenges to its authority indicated how desperately it was trying to maintain its weakening power over the country. The measures were little help, however–President Gorbachev resigned on December 25, 1991 and the Soviet Union officially ceased to exist on December 31, 1991.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Georgia Senior Judge John R. Turner dismissed the remaining charge against former Brunswick Judicial District DA Jackie Johnson, according to the Associated Press via WSAV.
A judge Wednesday threw out a felony indictment against a former Georgia prosecutor, ending her trial on charges that she abused her power by trying to protect the men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery in 2020.
Former District Attorney Jackie Johnson for years denied influencing police who initially decided against making arrests when Arbery was fatally shot in coastal Glynn County, where Johnson then served as the top state prosecutor.
She was indicted in September 2021 after state Attorney General Chris Carr ordered an investigation into possible misconduct by Johnson. But prosecutors for Carr’s office struggled to make a case once Johnson’s trial began last week.
Senior Judge John R. Turner on Monday ordered Johnson acquitted of a misdemeanor count of obstructing police. Turner ruled after prosecutors rested their case, declaring they failed to show “one scintilla of evidence” that Johnson had directed police investigators not to arrest the man who shot Arbery.
The judge Wednesday shot down the one remaining charge, a felony accusing Johnson of violating her oath of office. This time he granted a defense challenge that the indictment used to charge Johnson was fatally flawed by technical errors.
“Frankly, this is a decision I didn’t want to make,” Turner told attorneys in the courtroom. But he said he felt the defense’s challenge to the indictment against Johnson “needs to be granted.”
Since Johnson’s trial opened a week ago, prosecutors have tried to build a case that she worked behind the scenes to protect Travis McMichael and his father, a retired investigator from Johnson’s office, even after the district attorney had recused her office from the case.
Prosecutors suffered a setback last week when Glynn County Assistant Police Chief Stephanie Oliver testified that she and Johnson have never spoken about Arbery’s case. Oliver was one of two officers named in the 2021 indictment charging Johnson with obstruction by “directing that Travis McMichael should not be placed under arrest.”
Prosecutors rested their case Monday without calling Stephan Lowrey, the second officer named in the indictment, to testify.
Johnson recused her office from handling Arbery’s shooting. But prosecutors argued Johnson abused her power by recommending the attorney general appoint a neighboring district attorney, George Barnhill, to oversee the case without disclosing that Barnhill had already advised police that the shooting was justified.
Johnson was voted out of office in November 2020 and largely blamed her defeat on controversy over Arbery’s killing months earlier.
Two West Georgia magistrate judges have resigned amid ethics investigations, according to the AJC.
Jason Blackmon resigned as Haralson County’s chief magistrate judge on Wednesday, though he says he could have beaten judicial misconduct charges. On Tuesday, Brenda Jennings resigned as the chief magistrate judge in Heard County.
Gov. Brian Kemp accepted both resignations Wednesday. They were then publicly revealed by the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission, which had been separately investigating the judges.
Blackmon, 59, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he’d rather return to retirement than stay on the bench under the scrutiny of the JQC. A retired state trooper of 30 years, Blackmon just won reelection to the judgeship he was appointed to in 2020.
He said the transition from public servant to judge, in the county he’s always lived in, was difficult and that being a judge is “not fun work.”
A JQC report on Jennings reveals she was accused of routinely failing to be at court, using staff to transport her to and from personal errands during workdays, arranging for tenants of her personal rental properties to make payments at court through staff and failing to report extra income. She also allegedly used profane language in court, engaged in prohibited communications about cases and failed to be dignified and courteous with a litigant.
Both Blackmon and Jennings resigned before formal charges were brought against them. JQC Director Courtney Veal said there aren’t any public filings detailing the allegations against Blackmon.
“I can confirm that his resignation was due to our investigation,” Veal said Thursday.
County magistrate courts handle small civil cases over $15,000 or less and are often where criminal cases begin.
In Georgia, chief magistrate judges are elected to four-year terms in countywide races and can be appointed under local legislation.
The JQC has two pending cases involving formal charges against judges.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shermela Williams is due to stand trial before the agency’s hearing panel in March, accused of favoring a sorority sister in a child custody case and ignoring calls to decide other cases that she’d let languish for more than a year.
Chatham County Probate Judge Thomas Bordeaux is accused of sitting on several cases without a ruling for as many as seven years. Bordeaux, a former state representative who chaired the house judiciary committee, told the AJC he was embarrassed by the case delays, which he blamed in part on limited support staff.
State legislators elected three members to the Georgia Department of Transportation Board, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
A caucus of Georgia state representatives and senators from Congressional Districts 6, 7, and 8 recently held elections for State Transportation Board at the Georgia State Capitol. Current Board representative Tim Golden of Valdosta was re-elected to represent his congressional district on the board, and Doug Stoner and Joseph P. Stein were newly elected.
Stoner, a life-long resident of Cobb County, was elected to represent Congressional District 6 which includes portions of Cobb, Douglas, Fayette and Fulton counties. Stoner was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2002 and the Georgia Senate in 2004. Most recently he served as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives representing District 40 from January 2023 to January 2025. Stoner is currently the director of business development for the Foresite Group, a full civil engineering firm headquartered in Peachtree Corners.
A retired U.S. Air Force major general, Stein, of Gwinnett County, was elected to represent Congressional District 7, which includes Forsyth, Dawson and Lumpkin counties and portions of Cherokee, Hall and Fulton counties. Stein is finishing four years of service as secretary and treasurer of the Forsyth County Development Authority. He is also a former board director and president/CEO of Baer Air, Inc., supervising all aspects of financial management.
Golden represents Congressional District 8 located in central and south-central Georgia. He was elected to the board in 2015 and previously served as board secretary. The Valdosta State University graduate is a business and civic leader; a partner at Capitol Benefits Group, LLC; and a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives, where he served four terms, and the Georgia State Senate, where he served eight terms.
Georgia DOT is governed by a 14-member State Transportation Board, which exercises general control and supervision of the department. The board is entrusted with powers that include but are not limited to naming the commissioner; designating which public roads are encompassed within the state highway system; approving long-range transportation plans; overseeing the administration of construction contracts; and authorizing lease agreements. Board members are elected by a majority of a General Assembly caucus from each of Georgia’s 14 congressional districts.
Georgia’s Secretary of State asked the Trump Administration to withdraw a lawsuit over Georgia election laws, according to Atlanta News First via WALB.
Senate Bill 202 was passed by Georgia lawmakers in 2021 after the contentious 2020 general presidential election, an election which saw Joe Biden carry Georgia over Donald Trump, the first time a Democratic candidate had carried a deep Southern state since Bill Clinton in 1992.
The law changed the deadlines to request mail-in ballots; required voters to include ID numbers like a driver’s license number on both their application for a mail-in ballot and their completed ballot; and limited the number of drop boxes in each county, among other changes.
Then-President Biden labeled the new Georgia as “Jim Crow 2.0,” and protests from unsuccessful Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and others eventually resulted in Major League Baseball’s decision to withdraw the 2022 All-Star Game from Atlanta.
U.S. v. Georgia was filed by the U.S. Justice Department over the law.
Since then, however, and despite no changes in the law, Georgia voters turned out in record-breaking numbers in the 2022 and 2024 elections. Raffensperger is pointing to a 2022 University of Georgia poll that found that 99% of voters reported no issues casting their ballots, and a follow-up poll in 2024 reflected a high satisfaction rate, with 98% of voters experiencing no problems at the polls.
“It disparaged our reputation, it cost the taxpayers of Georgia millions upon millions of dollars pushing back about this,” said Raffensperger, who is rumored to be a 2026 candidate for governor. “SB202, the Election Integrity Law, is good election law. This is a frivolous lawsuit.”
Major League Baseball’s 2025 All-Star Game is also returning to Atlanta, set to be played at Truist Park on July 15.
Raffensperger also said Georgia has seen reduced wait times at polling places, enhanced absentee ballot processes and increased voter confidence.
“They’re wrong, we’re right, because we have the numbers. We have the proof. We had record turnout. Voters love our system,” he said. “It will be dismissed but how many millions of more dollars is this going to cost Georgia taxpayers?”
Plaintiffs in the case, like the ACLU of Georgia, are prepared to keep fighting the law.
So far, U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee, a Trump appointee, has upheld most of the law, but he blocked criminal penalties for handing out food and drinks to voters waiting in line as long as they’re outside 150 feet of a polling place. Boulee also barred counties from rejecting ballots of voters who didn’t write their correct date of birth on absentee ballot envelopes.
The Secretary of State’s Office also wants to improve their ability to identify ineligible voter registrations, according to 13WMAZ.
He wants elections officials to access to additional personal identifying information such as dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and driver’s license numbers during SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) searches, instead of relying solely on Alien Registration Numbers or DHS receipt numbers.
In a statement from his office, Raffensperger said this will protect the integrity of our elections.
We have not found much evidence of individuals who are non-citizens participating in the past,” UGA Political Science Professor Charles Bullock said.
This past election, Raffensperger’s office shared officials removed 20 non-citizens from the voter rolls statewide, but Bullock says this doesn’t happen often.
“To vote in Georgia, you have to present a government issued photo ID. So, we do not allow immigrants who are not in the country legally to get a driver’s license,” Bullock shared.
While immigration is a hot-button issue, right now and during election season, Bullock says Raffensperger could be using this as a chance to calm voters.
“By asking that there be further review of this may put to rest some of the concerns that the individuals likely to vote in the Republican primary would have,” he shared.
The Georgia State House of Representatives passed their FY2025 Amended Budget, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.
The Georgia House overwhelmingly passed a $40.5 billion mid-year state budget Thursday containing hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending aimed largely at helping victims of Hurricane Helene recover from the devastating storm.
The mid-year budget, which now moves to the state Senate, sailed through the House 166-3.
House lawmakers added $197 million to the $615 million Gov. Brian Kemp requested in relief for residents, business owners, farmers, and timber producers who suffered losses when Helene struck South Georgia and the eastern half of the state last September.
“This will just address initial needs,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Matt Hatchet, R-Dublin, said of the $250 million included in the mid-year budget to help timber producers affected by Helene, up from the $100 million the governor recommended. “I’m sure we’ll have additional legislation.”
Another priority of the mid-year budget is public safety. The spending plan calls for hiring more than 400 correctional officers to staff a state prison system criticized last fall in a federal audit for failing to protect inmates from widespread violence.
The mid-year budget also would boost funding for body cameras and tasers to help those correctional officers maintain order.
House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus, questioned whether two modular prison units the state Department of Corrections plans to construct will provide enough security. The state plans to move inmates into those units temporarily to make room for projects fixing crumbling infrastructure in existing prisons.
“They are very sturdy,” Hatchett responded. “The concrete reinforcement and insulation of doors and locks are the same ones we use (in the existing prisons).”
The mid-year budget also includes $501.7 million to increase surface water supplies in Coastal Georgia to supply the huge Hyundai electric-vehicle manufacturing plant now under construction west of Savannah. A new water intake on the Savannah River is expected to produce 20 million gallons a day by 2030.
Another $250 million would go toward low-interest loans to help finance water and wastewater projects across the state.
The Georgia Department of Transportation would receive more than $500 million for improvements along the state’s interstate corridors.
The House supported Kemp’s request for an additional $50 million for school-security grants, with each school in Georgia getting more than $68,000 to spend as local school district officials see fit.
Another $22 million would go to accommodate the increasing numbers of foster children needing shelter. Hatchett said the state’s ultimate goal is eliminating the “hoteling” of foster kids in Georgia.
Financially struggling hospitals, many of which pitched in to help victims of Hurricane Helene, would get $35 million in one-time funds to help shore up their bottom lines.
Overall, the mid-year budget would increase state spending by $4.4 billion above the fiscal 2025 budget the General Assembly passed last spring. Of that amount, $2.7 billion would come from the state’s massive $16 billion surplus.
House Speaker Jon Burns said the House was determined to pass a mid-year budget as early as possible in this year’s session in order to make the funding available for disaster relief and other vital needs. The mid-year budget, which covers state spending through June 30, was the first bill to reach the House floor this year.
“We’re upholding our commitment here in the House,” said Burns, R-Newington. “We hope our friends across the hall (the Senate) will get the budget out and get it out timely.”
House Bill 67 passed 166-3 and was immediately transmitted to the Senate. Bills typically spend a day in one chamber before going to the other, but a transmitted bill can be taken up the same day in the other chamber.
The amended fiscal year 2025 budget was the first bill the House passed this session.
“Our vote here certainly confirms your dedication to your constituents and to what’s good for Georgians, from Hurricane Helene relief, education, school safety, to an increase in public safety funding and infrastructure,” Burns said to House members shortly after the bill passed.
The bill, which aligns with much of Gov. Brian Kemp’s budgetary plan, adds $197 million more to hurricane relief, bringing total hurricane aid to over $800 million. Of that amount, roughly $150 million is allocated to the agriculture and forestry industries, while $35 million is earmarked for hospitals.
“We need to get this relief to them as quickly as we can,” Hatchett, R-Dublin, told State Affairs.
State prisons would get a $333 million infusion through June 30.
“Every one of the budgets we do … are snapshots of what our members want to see,” Hatchett said. “And that’s one reason we do the amended budget is because things happen that you can’t perceive.
“We knew we had to spend money on corrections,” he said. “The governor had a consultant come in and they aren’t even through yet. But there were some things we needed to put in the plans, so we addressed that. ”
Senate Bill 1 by State Senator Greg Dolezal (R-Forsyth County) passed out of the Senate and would regulate transgender student participation in high school sports, according to the Capitol Beat News Service.
The Republican-controlled Georgia Senate moved to purge transgender athletes from female teams Thursday in a near party-line vote.
Senate Bill 1 would prohibit public school and state college students from competing on teams that do not match the sex on their birth certificates. Private institutions that compete against them would be affected, too.
Noncompliant public schools would risk loss of state funding and exposure to lawsuits.
Public schools are already facing financial consequences at the federal level.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes. His “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” order withholds federal funding from schools that do not “oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports … as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed its own bill with the same goal last month. The U.S. Senate has yet to consider it.
On Thursday, Republican state senators said a state-level law is needed because of “male advantage” in sport.
“Without a boundary around female sport that excludes male advantage, males would dominate every major sporting competition,” said Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, the chief sponsor of SB 1.
Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, said it was “common sense” that males and females should not compete on the playing field.
Democrats argued that Republicans are exploiting the issue from a “cynical, strategic” standpoint.
They said transgender people comprise a tiny fraction of the population and are not a real threat to female athletes, especially younger children.
“Why are you making these transgender girls into super girls that are just going to dominate everything?” said Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II, D-Augusta. “They just want to play. They just want to participate. Have you ever thought about that?”
Legislative Republicans have repeatedly pointed to a 2022 NCAA swim meet at Georgia Tech where a transgender student born male dominated the women’s competition.
Legislation the General Assembly passed in 2022 empowering state athletic associations to ban transgender athletes has also eliminated such occurrences, but Republicans say a law is still needed.
Democrats have taunted their GOP opponents over the fairness issue by pitching their own equity legislation.
They have bills before the state House of Representatives and the Senate that seek to mandate equal funding for girls’ sports teams in schools. They also tried, and failed, to amend SB 1 with such a requirement, then derided Republicans over their vote against it.
“My colleagues are not invested in truly leveling the playing field for girls’ sports,” said Sen. Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain, a co-author of the failed amendment.
SB 1 passed 35-17, with two Democrats crossing the aisle to support the measure.
The measure now goes to the state House, where Republican leaders have their own legislation on the issue in House Bill 267.
The support by the GOP leadership in both chambers hints at a likelihood that something will pass on the issue this year. Georgia would then join more than two dozen states with a similar prohibition on the participation of transgender athletes in school sports.
Senate Bill 39 by State Senator Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia) would remove gender-affirming healthcare from the state employees’ health benefits plans, according to the Associated Press via WTVM:
A bill introduced in the Georgia Senate that would prohibit the state insurance plan from paying for gender-affirming care moved forward Tuesday.
Senate Bill 39 would prohibit the state’s insurance plan from paying for gender-affirming care and prevent doctors employed by the state government from administering gender-affirming care.
The bill moved forward after a 6-3 vote.
“What this bill says is we are not going to spend state taxpayer dollars on transgender surgeries in our state,” Republican Sen. Blake Tillery of Vidalia, the sponsor, told the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee.
In October 2023, the state settled a lawsuit brought by two transgender men and the mother of a transgender child alleging that the insurance plan illegally discriminated against them by refusing to pay for their lawsuit. The lawsuit is directly referenced in Senate Bill 39.
Earlier Tuesday in a nearby courtroom, Houston County Sheriff’s Sgt. Anna Lange watched as lawyers clashed before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals over whether her county’s insurance plan must keep paying gender affirming care benefits she won through a federal suit.
“Trans people are people, and we deserve to be treated just like everybody else,” Lange said afterward.
Scott and Khara Hayden, a transgender woman who is an information technology specialist, both testified they might leave state employment if benefits end on Jan. 1, 2026, as the bill proposes.
“If you approve this bill, essentially you’re going to take away the care I need to continue living,” Hayden testified, saying a lack of hormone therapy would force her into early menopause.
Even if the state can scrap the settlements, opponents say they’d sue again to strike down unconstitutional denial of benefits to transgender people because of their sex. The Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that under a 1964 civil rights law, employers couldn’t discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender employees “because of sex.”
“It’s discriminatory, 100%, that they’re specifically targeting the transgender individuals and the care that they need,” Hayden said.
According to the state government, the state’s insurance plan covers around 660,000 people.
Senate Bill 21 by Sen. Blake Tillery would waive local governments’ sovereign immunity in some lawsuit alleging a failure to cooperate with teh Feds on immigration issues, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.
A Georgia Senate committee advanced legislation Wednesday that would expose school districts and other governing bodies to lawsuits if they violate a state law that requires cooperation with federal officials and police on immigration enforcement.
The Republican-led Senate Public Safety Committee voted 5-3 to pass Senate Bill 21, which would waive sovereign immunity for violators. Sovereign immunity shields governments against lawsuits.
The legislation targets what has come to be known as “sanctuary city” policies — local rules against collaborating with federal immigration authorities.
The measure requires sheriffs to comply with federal immigration detainer requests, and a representative of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association said his group was neutral on that.
Mack Parnell with the Georgia Faith & Freedom Coalition expressed support for the whole bill, but other advocates were opposed.
Megan Gordon, policy director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, warned that SB 21 could expose teachers to lawsuits if they follow federal court precedent that she said prohibits the collection and reporting of students’ immigration status.
Stephanie Tanner with the Georgia School Boards Association said she was unaware of any of the state’s 180 school districts having a policy that violates the state law on immigration. She said members were concerned about whether a mere accusation would be enough to open the door to lawsuits.
Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, the chief co-sponsor of the bill, said a government would expose itself to a lawsuit if it violated state law, which already carries criminal penalties for noncompliance.
“If they aren’t complying then they are running the risk of waiving sovereign immunity if you pass this bill,” Tillery said, adding that “it hits them in the pocketbook.”
Senate Resolution 131 by State Senator Carden Summers (R-Cordele) would create a statewide referendum on a Constitutional Amendment to allow some gambling, according to 13WMAZ.
Four state senators filed Senate Resolution 131 on Tuesday, proposing a constitutional amendment that would create a regulated gaming industry with at least eight casino licenses and a 20% tax rate on betting revenue.
The resolution, sponsored by Senators Carden Summers, Billy Hickman, Brandon Beach, and Lee Anderson, would establish a Georgia Gaming Commission to oversee operations. The measure would direct $2 billion in tax revenue to be split evenly among Georgia counties.
The resolution marks Georgia’s seventh consecutive year considering sports betting legislation. However, supporters believe this attempt has stronger momentum, particularly with neighboring states Tennessee and North Carolina already offering legal sports betting.
The proposal includes provisions for problem gambling, requiring 5% of revenue beyond the initial county distribution to fund addiction prevention and treatment programs. The resolution explicitly prohibits online casino gaming.
If approved by two-thirds of both legislative chambers, the measure would appear on Georgia ballots in November 2026. The resolution faces a March 6 deadline to clear the Senate and must pass the full legislature by April 4.
Should voters approve the measure, Georgia could launch legal sports betting in 2027, positioning the state to become a significant player in the U.S. gaming market.
House Bill 237 by State Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton) would limit prosecutors’ right to use song lyrics as evidence in some prosecutions, according to WRDW.
A group of Republican and Democratic state lawmakers have introduced a bill that would limit prosectors’ use of musical lyrics in trials against defendants.
The bill comes after Fulton County’s massive organized crime-related trial of international recording superstar Young Thug and the alleged Young Slime Life criminal gang.
While Young Thug (real name Jeffery Williams) and his co-defendants all took plea deals or were eventually exonerated in Georgia’s historically long trial, District Attorney Fani Willis and her office had planned to use rap lyrics as evidence of their alleged criminal involvement.
“If you decide to admit your crimes over a beat, I’m going to use it,” Willis said more than two years ago. “I’m not targeting anyone. You do not get to commit crimes in my county, and then get to decide to brag on it, which you do that for a form of intimidation and to further the gain and to not be held responsible.
“I believe in the First Amendment,” Willis said. “It is one of our most precious rights. However, the First Amendment does not protect people from prosecutors using it as evidence if it is such. In this case, we put it as ‘overt, predicate act’ in the RICO count, because we believe that’s exactly what it is.”
House Bill 237 was introduced Wednesday by state Reps. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton); Trey Kelley (R-Cedartown); Eric Bell (D-Jonesboro); Tyler Paul Smith (R-Bremen); and Spencer Frye (D-Athens). Carpenter is chairman of the House’s creative arts and entertainment committee.
The bill is designed to raise the level of difficulty for prosecutors to use artists’ creative expressions against them in a trial.
House Bill 92 by State Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) would extend the deadline for local governments to decide whether to opt out of the HB 581 Homestead Exemption, according to the AJC.
Republicans are dismayed that more local governments aren’t giving the tax break a chance. But local leaders are feeling the pressure. They have to opt out by March 1 or else forever hold their peace.
That could change. A bill moving in the state Legislature would let local governments try out the tax break to see how they like it by extending the opt-out deadline to 2029.
“If there was some sort of test period … they might be more inclined to try this out,” said state Rep. Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire.
The bill cleared the House Ways and Means Committee this week. But even with the trial period, it’s not a given that local governments will be on board — especially school districts. School officials in Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties have warned the exemption would cost them millions of dollars each year.
But Republicans seem confident governments will stick with the break if they try it, especially once homeowners see the impact on their budgets.
“Frankly, I don’t understand how any elected official in the state of Georgia who cares about taxpayers could opt out of this legislation,” said Rep. Trey Kelley, R-Cedartown.
The Bryan County Board of Education hosted a meeting to discuss opting-out of the HB 581 Homestead Exemption, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Residents in Bryan County piled into the Bryan County Board of Education office in Black Creek Thursday night to express their concern regarding the school board’s decision to opt out of House Bill 581.
According to Bryan County Schools, the homestead exemption bill, which was passed in March 2024, “Is a law that changes how property taxes work for cities, counties and schools creating a floating homestead exemption which affects school districts by putting a limit on how much property taxes can go up based on the rate of inflation.”
Richmond Hill resident Betsy DeBry told the Savannah Morning News before the meeting her biggest concern is what will happen to residents who cannot afford a hike in their property taxes if the school board opts out.
“People are up in arms,” said DeBry. “They don’t seem to care that the residents of Bryan County are upset. It seems to be shortsighted – people have seen property taxes skyrocket. It is hurting our seniors too and those on a fixed income. People are not prepared for that. They cannot budget for that. For people on a fixed income or retired people, if their property taxes go up, where will they get that money from to pay for it?”
A handout sheet at the meeting listed three negative consequences if the school district opts in:
• All new growth is funded locally for the first year. Partial funding by the state is not received until a year after new students enroll. For this reason, high growth districts need all funds available to support the increase of students.
• Funding Limits: A property tax cap would likely reduce the ability to provide adequate educational services through a reduction in the operational funds. Overall, this could lead to fewer teachers, larger class sizes, deteriorating facilities, fewer safety personnel and resources, and a decline in overall educational resources.
• Millage Rate Cap: State law dictates a millage rate cap of 20 mills for school systems (not including debt-service). Bryan County Schools is currently 15.075 mills. Not opting out of HB58l would require us to increase our millage rate to offset losses. With continued growth, it would be possible to reach the 20 mill cap.
Public school systems across the state have echoed the Bryan County Board of Education’s concerns saying that the expected shortfalls from opting in would force them to choose between raising millage rates, which would impact all property owners, or cutting services and staff.
Residents will have two more opportunities to participate in the public meetings and express their opinions on this matter. The board will host a public forum Feb. 7 at 9 a.m. and Feb. 14 at 9 a.m.
The school board cited concerns about paying for the influx of new students coming in due to rapid growth in Bryan County.
“2048 -We will grow to about 16,715 students,” Paul Brooksher, Bryan County Schools Superintendent, said. “So, you ask yourself what could 6,115 kids, new students, mean for Bryan County schools? It could mean a need for five new schools and other support facilities. We could need over 300 new teachers and other support staff.”
Residents expressed opposition to the school board’s decision before Thursday, though.
On Wednesday evening, about a dozen people gathered on the side of Ford Ave holding signs with slogans like “save our homes.”
According to a representative for Bryan County, close to 70% of Bryan County voters cast their ballot in favor of the tax exemption.
“The county and the city both are opting in,” Stephanie Falls, another resident, said. “The school board is the only government entity in Bryan County that is wanting to opt out.”
Savannah City Council hosted a meeting on opting-out of HB 581, according to the Savannah Morning News.
The city of Savannah held its first of three hearings on potential participation in HB581, a statewide floating homestead exemption that has caused confusion among many residents.
The Whitney Administrative Complex meeting room was packed full Tuesday morning for council’s first hearing, and some attendees said that confusion brought them to the meeting. Much of the confusion stems from something unique to Chatham County– the fact it has an existing floating homestead exemption in the Stephens-Day exemption.
Tuesday’s hearings laid out how opting in or out of HB581 would impact Savannah taxpayers, and how it relates to the Stephens-Day exemption.
This is how the Stephens-Day exemption works for the city of Savannah.
“We want to be very, very clear that the city of Savannah thinks that homestead exemptions are a very, very good thing,” said City Manager Jay Melder. “Homestead exemptions protect our homeowners and their primary residence from large property tax increases.”
The decision for the city of Savannah to opt in or out of HB581 in many ways boils down to how it compares to the Stephens-Day exemption. For the city of Savannah, that floating homestead operates the exact same as HB581– allowing inflation-related increases to the base year of the exemption.
There are two key points about how HB581 applies to taxing entities with existing exemptions: opting in to HB581 would not change the base year of anyone’s Stephens-Day exemption. In other words, HB581 would not replace Stephens-Day.
Second, a provision in HB581 states that if a homeowner has two homestead exemptions (in Savannah both Stephens-Day and HB581) then the one with the most savings will apply to the taxpayer. In other words, you get the better of the two if you have both.
Melder said in an overwhelming majority of cases, Stephens-Day will be better for Savannah taxpayers.
Some of the cons of opting in shared by city staff included increased confusion from taxpayers having two potential assessments on their tax bill. There will also be additional administrative costs to the Chatham County Tax Assessors’ office due to processing an added exemption.
The Bibb County Board of Education voted unanimously to opt out of HB 581, according to the Macon Telegraph.
The Bibb County School District voted 7-0 Wednesday to opt out of House Bill 581, a floating statewide homestead exemption legislation that promises property tax relief for homeowners.
Board member James Freeman was not in attendance at the called meeting, but other members voted unanimously.
“HB 581 introduces significant changes to property tax caps, homestead exemptions, and school funding. The decision to opt out will ensure long-term financial stability and flexibility for the district, protecting essential revenue streams necessary for student achievement, staff effectiveness, and stakeholder engagement,” the district stated in its board of education newsletter.
BCSD Chief Financial Officer Eric Bush previously noted that opting into HB 581 would have resulted in over $700,000 of revenue lost for the 2024 fiscal year alone, as well as an overall long-term impact.
“It’s important to note that we’re talking about a 50-year decision, which increases the importance of understanding what the impact is in the lens of the future of the district,” Bush said at the district’s first public hearing in January.
Bibb County Schools will move forward with next steps to file the resolution with the Secretary of State’s office by March 1, the district said. Houston County School District and Monroe County School District will hold their upcoming public hearings on the legislation on Feb. 11.
The Bibb County Board of Education is considering closing some schools, according to 13WMAZ.
Three scenarios are on the table now for the community to provide their input on. The first option is Hartley Elementary School could close and merge with Ingram Pye Elementary and Southfield Elementary School.
The second scenario involves closing L.H. Williams Elementary and merging the school with Ingram Pye and Hartley Elementary School students.
The third proposal is Porter Elementary School could close and merge with Heard Elementary and Skyview Elementary. Under any of these circumstances, the district says middle and high school enrollment would stay the same.
Walking into tonight’s meeting, the district had these three scenarios posted on the walls with large posters leaving room for attendees to write down benefits, opportunities, challenges and concerns. Deputy Superintendent Katika Lovett is the leader of the consolidation committee.
United States Representative Andrew Clyde (R-Athens) discussed his 2026 reelection campaign, according to AccessWDUN.
On Jan. 28, Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon announced he would be running for the seat in the Republican primary. Clyde, however, says that will not deter him from seeking another term.
“Being a congressman for Georgia’s ninth district has been the honor of my life,” Clyde said. “I have been focused on keeping the promises that I made to the ninth district. Promises made, promises kept.”
A major issue for Clyde in this congressional term is immigration.
“What we want to accomplish in this session is we want to close that border,” Clyde said. “We want to deport these illegal aliens.”
Clyde is also on the House Appropriations Committee and the Budget Committee, with responsible spending being another key issue.
“So those two very important committees are going to be able to do this and give the President and his executive branch the funding that they need in order to accomplish this very important agenda,” Clyde said.
Clyde first won the 9th Congressional seat in 2020, defeating Republican Matt Gurtler in the primaries before beating Democrat Devin Pandy in the general election. He will look to defend his seat a third time when the 2026 primaries come around.
“That’s up to the people of the ninth district,” Clyde said. “It’s an honor to serve them, and what you see is what you get with Andrew Clyde.”
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Extreme Northwest GA) is considering running for Governor or United States Senate, according to the AJC.
[S]he leaned in when asked whether she plans to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff next year.
“Of course I’m considering all possibilities. No decisions have been made, but I would be telling a lie if I didn’t say I wasn’t considering it,” she said, adding that a race for governor also wasn’t off the table.
Her interest in the U.S. Senate raises the intrigue around a race that is sure to be one of the most closely watched in the country in 2026 as Republicans seek to retake a seat that contributed to their losing the majority in 2021.
State and national Republicans are pressuring Gov. Brian Kemp to challenge Ossoff. Greene offered praise for the term-limited Republican who has had a sometimes rocky relationship with Trump.
“I think Gov. Kemp would be a very solid candidate,” she said.
Of course, either of those paths opens the way for State Senator Colton Moore (R-Extreme NWGA) to run for Greene’s Congressional seat.
Columbia County District Attorney Bobby Christine is serving as an Army Major General after being called to active duty, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
Columbia County’s district attorney heads to Washington, D.C., later this week to help direct legal matters for the National Guard.
Serving at his National Guard rank, Army Maj. Gen. Bobby Christine will be acting general counsel for the National Guard Bureau, the federal agency that regulates the nation’s Army and Air National Guards.
The general counsel is responsible for the Guards’ uniformed and civilian lawyers and nonlawyer staff, and National Guard legal operations in all 50 states. His predecessor, Charles L. Young III, was a 2020 civilian appointee from the Senior Executive Service.
Though the duty posting is “temporary,” Christine told The Augusta Chronicle this week that the precise length of the assignment hasn’t yet been determined.
While serving, Christine will consult with his leadership team in Columbia County to maintain his civilian position as DA. He became DA of the newly established Columbia Judicial Circuit in 2021.
Pearson Mayor Robert “Buster” Johnson was arrested by the GBI and charged with allegations of fraud, according to WALB.
According to the GBI, the investigation began when the Alapaha Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office received complaints of Mayor Johnson participating in fraudulent activities. The district attorney subsequently requested the GBI to look into these allegations. During the investigation, agents uncovered a plan to have an incarcerated person released from jail through fraudulent documentation, obtaining kickbacks from city contracts, theft of municipal land and bribery of city employees.
Johnson faces several charges including:
• Criminal Attempt to Commit Hindering or Apprehension or Punishment of Criminal
• 3 counts of Influencing Witnesses
• Criminal Solicitation to Commit False Statements and Writings
• Criminal Solicitation to Commit False Official Certificates or Writings by Officers or Employees of a State and Political Subdivision
• 2 counts of False Statements and Writings
• Criminal Attempt to Commit Theft by Taking
• Conspiracy in Restraint of Free and Open Competition
• 4 counts of Conspiracy to Defraud State and Political Subdivision
• Theft by Deception
• 3 counts of Bribery
• 2 counts of Theft by Taking
• Fraud, Forgery, and Theft in Connection with Registration of Title to Land
• Filing False Documents
• 4 counts of Violation of Oath of Office by Public OfficerJohnson was booked into the Atkinson County Jail and is currently being held in Coffee County.
South Fulton City Council wants to audit the Mayor’s use of a city purchasing card, according to the AJC.
South Fulton’s City Council has called for a forensic audit of Mayor khalid kamau’s spending after concerns arose about his use of a city purchasing card and the extent of his travel at taxpayer expense.
The concerns and questions also led the City Council to suspend international travel for city officials, with council members noting that the mayor used his card for a trip to Africa and that the city has no policy for taxpayer-funded international travel.
Spokesman Shaheen Solomon said the city also has hired Bambo Sonaike CPA to provide weekly audits and monthly reports to top city officials on the use of the purchasing cards, known as P-cards, and the firm Baker Tilly to perform an in-depth review of the city’s purchasing card program.
“We are spending a lot of money on P-cards,” City Manager Sharon Subadan said at a council meeting last week, adding that 57 people have P-cards in a city with 600 employees. “I recognize that there’s been a lot of concern, and the concern is justified.”
In his first media interview on the subject, kamau told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday that the criticism of his spending is politically motivated.
“All of this is really just political mudslinging,” said kamau, who does not capitalize his names and is in the process of legally changing his name to Kobi. “Councilwoman Willis has decided to start her campaign for mayor by dragging our entire city through the mud.”
Water service was cut off to some Long County facilities in a money dispute, according to WTOC.
Money disputes in Long County ended with county buildings, including animal control, without water for most of Wednesday morning.
Although water is back on in the city, the Long County Commission Chairman says this whole thing came about because of a missing $10.
Current Commission Chair James Craft says this all started after the county asked the city of Ludowici to pay for a part-time employee for the county’s animal control that serves the city as well.
After the request, the county awaited a response, but at a meeting on Tuesday, the mayor confronted the county commission about an outstanding water balance of a few thousand dollars.
A balance Craft says they paid in full.
“I had them write a check for the invoices we had.. and I dropped it off at the city, so as far as we knew that debt was settled,” said Craft.
But the Craft says the city came back with 2 other invoices the county claims they had no idea about.
Invoices that totaled around $10 dollars.
“I can assure you that we can afford to pay a missing ten dollars” said Craft. “But they used that as justification as to why they shut the water off.”
Craft claims that before the county was able to make the correct payment the city turned off the water in county buildings within city limits, including Animal County.
“In our county and in the state of Georgia, animals have to have water, have to have access to water,” said Austin Mayner, Long County Animal Control.
Austin Mayner at the county’s animal control says the fire department and local county residents did drop off water for the animals and the water did come back on right before noon.
WTOC has made contact with Ludowici Mayor Jim Fuller who said he couldn’t meet with us Thursday but is available tomorrow morning.
Dublin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Harold Mclendon has taken office as the first new DA in twenty years, according to 13WMAZ.
After 20 years with the same district attorney, some are are calling it a new era in Laurens, Johnson, Twiggs, and Treutlen counties after Harold Mclendon took over the office in December.
Now, Mclendon will try cases himself to reduce the backlog of cases he said is much worse than he anticipated. McLendon said he inherited thousands of misdemeanor and felony cases from the last District Attorney Craig Fraser.
He said he’s not sure why Fraser waited so long to try cases, but he wants to speed up the court process much faster. He said his team is simultaneously working on new and old cases – spending about 60% of their time on new cases, and 40% of their time on backlogged cases.
Mclendon said he’s starting to tackle cases with statute of limitations expiring soon, while also taking on violent felony cases.
“All of the murders, the armed robberies, the child molestation cases,” Mclendon said.
He said he was honored to keep some of the same staff, along with adding five new members to his team that he’s worked with closely in the past.
“They’re world class. We have a staff here that’s just really really good. They along well together, and they’re very, very productive,” Mclendon said.
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