Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for January 10, 2024

On January 10, 1868, the Georgia Equal Rights Association was formed in Augusta.

On January 10, 1870, the Georgia General Assembly convened and seated African-American legislators who had been expelled in 1868.

Eugene Talmadge was sworn-in to his first term as Governor of Georgia on January 10, 1933.

Talmadge fired elected officials who resisted his authority. Others were thrown out of their offices. Literally.

After Julian Bond’s election to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1965, the chamber voted against seating him ostensibly because he had publicly state his opposition to the war in Vietnam. On January 10, 1967, after the United States Supreme Court held the legislature had denied Bond his right to free speech, he was seated as a member of the State House.

Ten years ago, on January 10, 2014, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution released a poll of the Georgia Governor’s race that showed Nathan Deal with 47 percent to 38 percent for Jason Carter. The nine-point Deal advantage was as close as the AJC polling firm would come all year to correctly predicting the point spread in the General Election.

Governor Nathan Deal was sworn-in as the 82d Governor of Georgia on January 10, 2011 while snow shut down the planned public Inaugural.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Under the Gold Dome Today

TBD     Canceled – Senate Rules Committee: Upon Adj – 450 CAP
8:00 AM          Canceled – Senate Natural Resources & Envt – 450 CAP
11:00 AM        HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD3) – House Chamber
1:00 PM          CANCELLED – HOUSE PUB SAFETY AND HS – 506 CLOB
1:00 PM          Cancelled- Senate Public Safety – 450 CAP
2:00 PM          HOUSE HEALTH – 403 CAP HYBRID
2:00 PM          HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION – 606 CLOB
2:00 PM          Senate Floor Session (LD 3) – Senate Chamber
2:00 PM          Cancelled- Senate Insurance & Labor – Mezz 1 CAP
2:00 PM          Cancelled- Senate Higher Education – 307 CLOB
3:00 PM          Senate Health & Human Services – 450 CAP
4:00 PM          Senate Finance – Mezz 1 CAP
5:00 PM          Senate State & Local Governmental Operations – 125 CAP

Vice President Kamala Harris said Georgia is at the forefront of voting rights issues, according to the Georgia Recorder.

On Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris called on Georgia voting rights advocates and elected officials to continue to fight for expanded access to the ballot box as the election cycle gears up for this November’s presidential election.

Harris’ message was relayed during a roundtable discussion held at The Gathering Spot in Atlanta as the second-in-command to Democratic President Joe Biden was making her 10th trip in Georgia since becoming vice president in January 2021.

Harris on Tuesday labeled Georgia as ground zero in the fight for voting rights while noting the White House has pushed to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act that would restore key areas of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 protecting minorities and other disenfranchised voters.

She also cited new policies pushed by the Biden administration, including paid time off for federal employees serving as poll workers and greatly expanding the number of languages translated on a government voting website.

“Yet, we have seen in the state of Georgia, by example, anti-voter laws, laws that have limited drop boxes and made it illegal to even provide food and water to people standing in line for hours,” she said.

U.S Rep. Nikema Williams, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, said that it’s appropriate for Harris to visit a city that is the cradle of the civil rights movement ahead of a pivotal 2024 election when the right to vote and other civil rights are at stake.

“As Donald Trump and extreme MAGA Republicans ramp up their dangerous anti-democracy rhetoric and attacks on voting rights, Georgians are more fired up than ever to stand with Vice President Harris and President Biden this November as they fight to ensure our fundamental freedoms are safe and our democracy is strong,” Williams said.

Senate Bill 172 by State Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens) was voted out of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee with a “Do Pass” recommendation, according to the Capitol Beat News Service.

The Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee voted 8-3 to let Georgians bet on sports either online or at remote terminals or “kiosks.”

The state would retain 20% of the gross revenue from most sports bets and 25% from “high-profit” bets including live bets placed during games. The money would go toward various state programs to be spelled out in a separate constitutional amendment.

Senate Bill 172 was available for consideration so early in the 2024 session because it was introduced last year, the first of a two-year legislative term. The Senate tabled it last year, which left it alive to be taken up again this year.

Cowsert said about three dozen states have legalized sports betting since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2018 allowed it to expand beyond a handful of states – including Nevada – where it already was legal.

Cowsert’s bill would establish a seven-member sports betting commission authorized to grant at least six licenses for sports betting operations. He said Atlanta’s pro sports teams, which formed a coalition several years ago to push for sports betting, could potentially set up kiosks in their home stadiums or arenas.

The legislation is what is known in General Assembly parlance as an “enabling” bill, designed to fill in the details of an accompanying constitutional amendment.

“I don’t see anything to fear from a constitutional amendment,” Cowsert said. “It’s the right thing to do. Let the people decide when you’re making a major policy change.”

Sen. Carden Summers, R-Cordele, the committee’s vice chairman, said he will introduce a sports betting constitutional amendment later in the session.

“We’re not going anywhere with it without a (constitutional amendment),” Summers assured his committee colleagues.

Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, also is planning to introduce a constitutional amendment into the Senate that would let voters decide whether to legalize casino gambling and pari-mutuel betting on horse racing in addition to sports betting.

From GPB News:

“There seems to be a good, a lot of push for this from some of our constituents,” [Sen. Cowsert] said. “And I just think it may be time and I certainly wanted us to address the issue this year, list, decide it once and for all, and move on.”

Several bills aiming to legalize sports betting or other types of gambling failed during the 2023 session. One of those bills was Senate Resolution 140, SB 172’s companion bill calling for a constitutional amendment.

Lawmakers will need to draft another proposed constitutional amendment, as SB 172 does not legalize sports betting on its own. A constitutional amendment requires a “yes” vote from two-thirds of the Legislature and approval from Georgia voters.

The current Georgia Constitution prohibits gambling. Last session, former State Supreme Court Justice Harold Melton said that some types sports betting may be allowed without a constitutional amendment. But a bill trying to legalize sports betting failed last year.

The AJC Political Insider reports that Gov. Kemp is slowing the train on tort reform.

We’re told the governor now views his initiative to rewrite the state’s litigation rules as a multiyear effort, meaning that what supporters call “tort reform” isn’t likely to cross the finish line during the 2024 legislative session, which opened Monday.

The decision marks a dramatic turnabout for Kemp, who surprised corporate executives at the Georgia Chamber’s annual meeting in August by vowing to reshape regulations guiding plaintiffs’ litigation.

A few months later, Kemp’s political allies launched a six-figure media campaign that included targeted digital ads warning Georgians of “senseless regulations that drive up insurance prices.” It seemed a sure sign that Kemp would go all out to pass the changes.

So what happened? Key Republicans, business executives and lobbying groups couldn’t get on the same page over a big comprehensive package, several officials said, and there’s little appetite for a piecemeal approach.

 

Governor Brian Kemp’s office released December 2023 state revenues, according to a Press Release.

Atlanta, GA – The State of Georgia’s net tax collections in the month of December totaled nearly $3.05 billion, for a decrease of $159.1 million, or -5 percent, compared to December 2022, when net tax collections approached $3.21 billion for the month. Year-to-date, net tax revenue totaled roughly $16.1 billion, for an increase of $253 million, or 1.6 percent, over the same half-year stretch in FY 2023, an increase that was driven principally by the collection of the state’s motor fuel excise tax that was suspended during the first half of last year. Net of motor fuel tax changes, revenues for the six months ended December 31 were down 2.5 percent from this time a year ago.

The changes within the following tax categories account for December’s overall net tax revenue decrease:

Individual Income Tax: Individual Income Tax collections for December approached $1.39 billion, down from a total of nearly $1.44 billion in fiscal year 2023, for a decrease of $52.2 million or -3.6 percent.

The following notable components within Individual Income Tax combine for the net decrease:

Individual Income Tax refunds issued (net of voided checks) increased by $66.6 million or 114 percent
Income Tax Withholding payments increased by $61.3 million or 4.6 percent over December FY 2023
Individual Income Tax Estimated payments decreased by $23.1 million or -37.9 percent from FY 2023
All other Individual Tax categories, including Tax Return payments, were down a combined $23.8 million

Sales and Use Tax: Gross Sales and Use Tax collections for December totaled $1.52 billion, for an increase of $41 million or 2.8 percent over FY 2023. Net Sales and Use Tax increased by $10.6 million or 1.4 percent compared to last year, when net Sales Tax totaled $747 million. The adjusted Sales Tax distribution to local governments totaled $745.4 million for an increase of $15.9 million, while Sales Tax refunds increased by $14.5 million.

Corporate Income Tax: Corporate Income Tax collections for the month decreased by $136.7 million, or -16.1 percent, compared to last year, when net Corporate Tax revenues totaled $848.8 million in December.

The following notable components within Corporate Income Tax make up the net decrease:

Corporate Income Tax refunds issued (net of voids) were up $13.7 million or 64.7 percent over FY 2023
Corporate Income Tax Estimated payments decreased by $109 million or -19.3 percent from last year
Corporate Income Tax Return payments decreased by $22.2 million or -21.6 percent from December 2022
All other Corporate Tax payments, including S-Corporation payments, were up a combined $8.2 million

Motor Fuel Taxes: Monthly Motor Fuel Tax collections increased by $11.9 million over last year, when Governor Kemp’s Executive Order to suspend the state excise tax was also in effect during the entire month. The suspension of the collection of the motor fuel tax was extended on November 8th and in effect through November 29.

Motor Vehicle – Tag, Title & Fees: Motor Vehicle Tag & Title Fee collections for the month decreased by $1.8 million or -5.8 percent, while Title ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) collections increased by $2.8 million or 4.4 percent from FY 2023.

From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Macon Telegraph:

The negative numbers might be expected to give pause to legislative budget writers, who will begin reviewing Gov. Brian Kemp’s spending recommendations next week. However, the state has built up a whopping $16 billion budget surplus during the last three years that should make current revenue trends of less concern than they would be otherwise.

Kemp will release his budget proposals to the General Assembly later this week.

WTOC spoke to local legislators about their priorities for the Session.

What should Georgia lawmakers do with the state’s nearly $11 billion surplus? It’s a question that could dominate the 2024 legislative session.

“It’s going to be a big issue,” state Sen. Derek Mallow, Georgia – District 2, said.

“Clearly, we need to look at what we’re doing and how we’re spending our money and actually pay the people in the state of Georgia what they’re worth because you cannot expect champagne with Kool-Aid money,” Sen. Mallow said.

After the film industry went on strike last year, some republicans are urging caution when spending surplus money to help make up for any lost investment in the state.

“That is a $4.1 billion direct spend from the film industry. That’s going to show up in our budget. I would prefer that we be cautious with the surplus that we got because there are rainy days coming,” said state Rep. Ron Stephens, Georgia – District 164.

“We do have differences between democrats and republicans in how we want to see this addressed. We all agree that we need affordable housing in Georgia, it’s just going to be a matter of how do we get there,” said state Rep. Anne Allen Westbrook, Georgia – District 163.

The City of Savannah is urging state lawmakers to allow municipalities to waive impact fees for the construction of workforce and affordable housing to keep development costs low.

“I think that’s a very creative way of looking at it and it’s something that could be a good fit for our local community,” Rep. Westbrook said.

 

21-year old C.J. Pearson announced he will run for the District 125 seat in the State House, according to the AJC.

the Augusta-area native announced he will run in the special election to replace state Rep. Barry Fleming, the Harlem Republican who is leaving the House to assume a judgeship.

Pearson burst onto the political scene at the tender age of 12 by making viral, in-your-face videos attacking then-President Barack Obama. His biting rhetoric quickly earned him a place on the Georgia GOP’s radar as a young Black spokesman for a party desperate to attract young voters and minorities.

“The people of my district don’t want to elect just another Republican to this seat; they want to elect a conservative who knows how to fight like the future of our country is on the line. Because it is — make no qualms about it,” Pearson said.

I’m not sure how an Alpharetta candidate mailing address will play in an Augusta-area seat. But then, neither of the other qualified Republican candidates listed an actual complete mailing address.

Former State Rep. Tim Bearden also qualified for the February 13, 2024 Special Election, running for the Senate District 30 seat vacated by former State Sen. Mike Dugan.

Cobb County Commissioner Jerica Richardson announced she will run for the Sixth Congressional District against Rep Lucy McBath, according to the Associated Press via WSAV.

Jerica Richardson, a county commissioner in suburban Atlanta, announced Tuesday that she will challenge U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath in the Democratic primary in May in a new congressional district on the west side of Atlanta.

Richardson, a Cobb County commissioner, had previously said she would run for Congress, but her decision had been uncertain after Georgia state lawmakers radically reconfigured McBath’s current district. McBath jumped to a new 6th Congressional District in Fulton, Cobb, Douglas and Fayette counties in which Richardson will also run.

The new district is majority Black, and Richardson and McBath are both Black. No other candidates have announced they’re running.

Richardson said in a statement Tuesday that she decided to run against McBath after a Georgia judge ruled Monday that Cobb County commissioners could not override lawmakers and redraw their own districts.

The Republican-majority Legislature passed maps that drew Richardson out of her commission district. Commissioners asserted in 2022 that they had home-rule authority to draw their own districts, but a judge rejected that claim. The county has said it will appeal the judge’s ruling to the state Supreme Court.

From the AJC:

Richardson’s decision sets up a potential primary battle against U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, who said last month that she will switch to the 6th Congressional District after Republican legislators drew her out of her suburban seat for the second time in two years.

It was a surprising move by Richardson, a Democrat who previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she wouldn’t run against a Democratic incumbent. But it may have been spurred by a court ruling this week that upheld a GOP-drawn Cobb map that ousted her from her commission seat.

“I certainly know what it means to be drawn out of an office and fight to get it back,” Richardson said.

“This race is about the people of the 6th District,” Richardson said. “I have decided that I’m going to keep surfacing the issues that voters care about because our voters deserve to know we are listening and creating ways to close the gap.”

In the statement, Richardson reconciled her promise not to challenge a Democratic incumbent by saying her campaign was “solely focused on delivering for the constituents of the 6th, many of whom are my current commission constituents.”

“In this campaign,” she said, “I am committed to what I am always committed to — which is the people of this district.”

Bulloch County public schools clarified their “no vape” policy, according to the Statesboro Herald.

Changes to the Bulloch County Schools student code of conduct that took effect Jan. 1, 2024, re-emphasize that electronic smoking devices are prohibited at all times at schools and school activities and create different categories — with potentially different consequences — between vaping devices that contain THC and those that do not.

Possession of a vaping device that contains no THC is now a violation of Rule 42a, while possession or use of a vaping device that does contain THC — tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive compound found in marijuana, or a range of related chemical compounds — is a violation of Rule 42b.

Meanwhile, an addition to a separate rule, Number 34, in the update unanimously adopted by the Bulloch County Board of Education Dec. 14 clarifies that the use or possession of other items containing THC but “not otherwise classified as electronic smoking devices” is also prohibited. In fact, the listing of non-vaping-device items that contain THC in the Level 3 portion of this general rule against “unapproved items” makes using or possessing these items a Level 3 violation, even on a first offense.

These distinctions reflect the fact that some electronic smoking devices being sold in Georgia purportedly contain “THC” compounds at levels legal for adults age 21 and up. During the Board of Education’s Nov. 30 work session, Bulloch County Schools Superintendent Charles Wilson asked School Safety Director Todd Mashburn to explain.

“Most all of these that we’re dealing with now are simply the version of THC that an adult 21 years of age and older can buy at these vape shops,” Mashburn said. “I think it’s Delta 8, Delta 10, maybe some other variants out there they’ve come up with now. It’s not the Delta 9 THC extract from the marijuana plant itself, which is a Schedule I felony for any person to possess.”

“What we have been dealing with is, we’re on the frontier of this,” Superintendent Wilson told board members. “There are not a lot of support services around for THC testing and things of that nature. We’re learning a lot of this now, and this was why it was important that we break this out.”

Columbus City Council approved $5000 raises for some law enforcement personnel, according to WTVM.

Columbus City Council approved the proposal increasing the pay for sworn officers and 9-1-1 dispatchers with the Columbus Police Department.

“Well, back in June, I made a presentation for the council to give all my police officers and my dispatchers a $5,000 pay raise, and we talked about it, we met with the finance director to make sure we had the funds there,” said [Police Chief] Mathis.

The increase eliminates 44 sworn positions for the department budgeted by council, and the total implementation cost is over $2.7 million.

“So, by saying were going to take the money that would have gone to that and spread it over the retention piece. It also allows us to continue to let our revenues grow organically So, that if we get to a point where we can hire officers beyond what we agreed too, you heard council they’re going to find a way to do it,” said Mayor Skip Henderson.

Mathis said he expects the increase in pay to result in several improvements within the department.

“Well, it’s going to make us more competitive as far as pay with local jurisdictions, and secondly, it’s going to improve the quality of life for police officers daily,” he said.

Columbus City Council also approved a lease agreement for Golden Park to bring a minor league baseball team, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Historic Golden Park sits on the banks of the Chattahoochee River in Columbus, Ga. The park has served as the home for several minor league baseball teams, including the Mudcats and the RedStixx. It also hosted the 1996 Olympic Softball games.

Columbus Council voted to OK a lease with Diamond Baseball Holdings to bring a Minor League team back to Golden Park, after about a 90-minute closed meeting.

That means the city will spend up to $50 million in a bond issue to upgrade the 1920s ball park to Minor League standards.

The lease council approved was for 20 years, with the option of five-year renewals.

Mayor Skip Henderson said later Tuesday that the team will be the Double-A Braves, based in Pearl, Mississippi, outside Jackson. His statement was followed by a press release by Diamond Baseball Holdings saying the Atlanta Braves’ Double-A club will continue to play as the Mississippi Braves in Pearl, MS, through the 2024 season.

Seven Georgia school systems will receive a total of nearly $60 million dollars to purchase electric buses, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.

The Georgia grant is part of $1 billion going to school systems across the country to pay for clean buses. The money comes from the bipartisan infrastructure spending bill Congress passed in 2021.

“This is about converting fleets of diesel-powered school buses into clean energy vehicles for the future,” U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., who was instrumental in getting the school bus funds into the infrastructure bill, said. “This investment demonstrates the power of bipartisan cooperation to deliver tangible results for our communities.”

The Georgia grant will provide 156 new electric buses. The Clayton and DeKalb County school districts will receive 50 buses each, with 25 going to Richmond County Schools, 15 to Bibb County schools, 10 to the Carrollton City School District, and six to Glynn County schools.

In addition, the Marietta school system will receive 15 propane-fueled buses.

Port Wentworth swore in City Council members, according to WTOC.

On Jan. 2 the City of Port Wentworth swore in new council member Shawn Randerwala (District 4), as well as Mark Stephens (District 2) and Mayor Pro Tem Thomas Barbee.

Randerwala, sworn in for his first term, is the first ever elected official in Chatham County of Indian descent. Stephens is sworn in for his second term, and Barbee will serve his third term.

“I am honored to serve as the first Indian American elected official in Chatham County,” said Randerwala. “I have enjoyed my time on the city’s Planning and Zoning Committee as well as the development authority board, and I look forward to continuing to serve the Port Wentworth community.” Randerwala is a local business owner and has lived in Port Wentworth for over 14 years.

Duluth swore in a new Mayor and a new City Council member, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Mayor Greg Whitlock and Councilwoman Shenee Johnson Holloway were sworn in to their respective offices Monday night during the January City Council meeting at Duluth City Hall. Councilman Manfred Graeder was also sworn into another term on the City Council during the meeting.

Whitlock is no stranger to Duluth residents, having served on the City Council for the last 16 years. Meanwhile, Holloway, who has served on the City of Duluth Planning Commission and the City of Duluth Board of Ethics in the past, is filling the Post 5 seat that Whitlock had held on the council.

United States Representative Rich McCormick (R-Duluth) endorsed Steve Gasper for Gwinnett County Board of Education District 3, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick endorsed Steve Gasper in the school board District 3 race last week. Gasper is one of a handful of candidates who have announced plans to run for the seat, which will be open after longtime school board member Mary Kay Murphy announced her plans to retire when her term expires at the end of this year.

“It is with great honor and pride that I extend my endorsement to my friend, Steve Gasper, for his candidacy for the Gwinnett County School Board,” McCormick said in a statement sent out to Gasper supporters. “For many years, I have proudly supported Mary Kay Murphy for her exceptional service and unwavering commitment to our great county. Her retirement marks the end of an era of distinguished leadership. However, it also opens the door to new opportunities and fresh perspectives.

School board seats in Gwinnett County are now nonpartisan races, a change that went into effect in 2022, so the winner will be decided in the nonpartisan elections that will be held in conjunction with the May 21 general primary election.

The other school board seats up for election this year include Districts 1 and 5, which are currently held by Karen Watkins and board Chairwoman Tarece Johnson-Morgan, respectively.

Ludowici Police Chief Robert Parker resigned, according to WTOC.

“Effective today I tendered my resignation to the City of Ludowici. At this time I feel that with my business, my position as County Commission Chairman, and a young family, that I can not devote the time and attention that’s needed to the position of Chief of Police. I came to this conclusion some months back and decided to leave after my retirement was vested at the end of last year. I will be staying on in a consulting role for a month to ease the transition to a new administration. I look forward to continuing to work with the Mayor and council and continuing to serve the citizens of Ludowici in my role as County Commission Chairman.”