Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for January 24, 2021

On January 24, 1915, the first transcontinental telephone call was placed from Jekyll Island, Georgia.

January 24, 1933 saw the first sales tax in Georgia proposed to fund schools and aid for farmers.

On January 24, 1960, Martin Luther King, Jr. became co-pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, sharing the pulpit with his father.

On January 24, 1987, some 12,000 to 20,000 civil rights protesters marched in Forsyth County, a week after a smaller protest. From the New York Times reporting:

CUMMING, Ga., Jan. 24— This small town in Forsyth County was overwhelmed today by civil rights marchers, members of the Ku Klux Klan and their sympathizers and an army of National Guardsmen and law-enforcement officers who kept the opposing groups separated.

Guarded by what a spokesman for the Governor’s office called ”the greatest show of force the state has ever marshalled,” a crowd of marchers estimated at 12,000 to 20,000 funneled slowly into Cumming, where a week earlier counterdemonstrators, throwing stones and bottles, disrupted an interracial ”walk for brotherhood” prompted by the all-white county’s racist legacy.

As the marchers headed into Cumming, which has a little more than 2,000 people, they found waiting for them, behind a stern-faced force of 2,300 guardsmen and police officers, a group of hundreds if not thousands of white, mainly young, rural men and women, repeatedly shouting, “N[*****], go home!”

Whatever the final figure, the march was one of the largest civil rights demonstrations since a 1965 rally that followed a march from Selma, Ala. to Montgomery. The rally, led by Dr. King, drew 25,000 people.

Seriously, read the Times report.

On January 24, 2001, the Georgia House of Representatives approved legislation changing the state flag to the Barnes design with the state seal on a blue background and a banner depicting five previous flags that flew over Georgia.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Under the Gold Dome Today

8:00 AM – Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee – 307 CLOB

9:00 AM – HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE – 341 CAP

10:00 AM – HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD 5) – House Chamber

1:00 PM –HOUSE Right of Way Governance EUT subcommittee – 606 CLOB HYBRID

2:00 PM – HOUSE Governmental Affairs General Government Subcommittee – 506 CLOB HYBRID

2:00 PM – Senate Judiciary Committee – 307 CLOB

3:00 PM – HOUSE GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE – 506 CLOB HYBRID

3:00 PM – Senate Education and Youth Committee – 307 CLOB

3:30 PM – HOUSE General Government Appropriations Subcommittee – 406 CLOB HYBRID

The State of Georgia has sued the federal government, challenging the Biden Administration’s reconsideration of the state’s Medicaid waiver that was approved by the previous administration, according to a Press Release.

The State of Georgia today filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia Brunswick Division against the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and related parties within the Biden administration seeking the ability to continue the implementation of the Georgia Pathways to Coverage (Georgia Pathways) as originally planned.

Georgia Pathways is an innovative program to voluntarily expand Medicaid coverage to tens of thousands of otherwise-ineligible, low-income Georgians while also ensuring that participants meet and continue to satisfy a minimum number of qualifying hours through work, job training, education, volunteering, or other similar activities. Georgia Pathways represents a carefully negotiated federal-state program that, although already approved by the federal government, was recently altered beyond recognition following CMS’s decision to rescind core elements of the program. Through this lawsuit, the State of Georgia is challenging this final agency action and seeking declaratory and injunctive relief in response to CMS’s unlawful and arbitrary attempt to cherry-pick pieces of an already agreed to bargain.

“Simply put, the Biden administration is obstructing our ability to implement innovative healthcare solutions for more than 50,000 hardworking Georgia families rather than rely on a one-size-fits-none broken system,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “They have attempted an unlawful regulatory bait and switch, and it is clear that their decision is not being driven by policy – rather politics – as they attempt to force their top-down agenda on the American people.”

“The Biden administration’s misguided actions were not based on the law or sound public policy, but rather crass partisan politics,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “We look forward to fighting for Georgia’s right to provide commonsense healthcare solutions for our citizens.”

The bi-partisan passage of Georgia’s Patients First Act in 2019 by the Georgia General Assembly allowed the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) the authority to provide Medicaid coverage to previously ineligible Georgia families for the first time. This was a carefully negotiated effort between the Office of the Governor and related departments and members of the Georgia General Assembly. And, for more than two years, efforts have been underway to implement the will of the legislature.

Culminating in the submission and ultimately federal approval of the Section 1115 Demonstration project, Georgia Pathways created an enrollment opportunity for more than 50,000 hardworking Georgia families to earn coverage on Medicaid – or their premiums covered by the state if they had access to employer sponsored insurance. Georgia Pathways provided an innovative approach to coverage – modeled after the existing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program – which promotes a “work-first” component to eligibility.

After multiple public comment periods, CMS approved Georgia Pathways on October 15, 2020. CMS also later confirmed on January 4, 2021, that Georgia Pathways reflected a binding contract between Georgia and the federal government. But, just weeks after President Biden was inaugurated, CMS sent Georgia a letter declaring that it was reconsidering its previous approval of Georgia Pathways and had preliminarily determined that the demonstration’s qualifying hours requirement would not further the objectives of Medicaid.

Several months later, on December 23, 2021, CMS formally rescinded its approval of the terms at the heart of Georgia Pathways — primarily its qualifying hours and premium requirements. But CMS said that the remaining part of the demonstration expanding coverage was still in place. The result: significant Medicaid expansion in Georgia without condition. This is not what Georgia signed up for and represents an egregious regulatory bait and switch on the core terms of a massive federal-state program.

From The Hill:

The plan, which was approved in the final days of the Trump administration but had not yet taken effect, would have imposed work requirements and premiums while covering some additional people.

The Biden administration rejected those parts of the plan last month, saying the policies would hurt, rather than help, people gain access to coverage, which is especially important during the coronavirus pandemic.

Kemp’s plan, called “Pathways to Coverage,” would have covered about 50,000 adults who met the work requirements and who earned no more than 100 percent of the federal poverty level, just under $12,900.

Most individuals who earned between 50 percent and 100 percent of the poverty level would also have been required to pay monthly premiums.

However, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services only rejected the state’s work requirement and premiums; the coverage expansion to 100 percent of the poverty level was left in place.

From the AJC:

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s “waiver” proposal, approved in the waning days of the Trump administration, was drawn up in response to federal government’s invitation to states to expand the Medicaid health insurance program to all poor adults.

The Kemp administration has estimated that his plan would end up covering about 50,000 of Georgia’s poor adults. Earlier estimates were that a full Medicaid expansion could cover 400,000 in need of health insurance.

Kemp’s plan would not cover, for example, someone who is a full-time caretaker for a relative with Alzheimers, or someone who does volunteer work that’s not registered with an approved nonprofit. Those who are mentally ill but unable or unwilling to go through the long process to be federally certified as disabled would also not meet coverage requirements.

Courts have ruled that work requirements do not meet the objective of the Medicaid law, which was to provide health coverage. The Kemp administration has argued that the engagement requirement is not a work requirement.

Attorney General Chris Carr filed the suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia Brunswick Division. Now it’s up to the Biden administration to respond.

A Texas man was arrested for allegedly threatening Georgia state government officials, according to WSB-TV.

The U.S. Justice Department arrested Chad Stark for advertising a $10,000 bounty to kill several Georgia officials including Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger over the 2020 election, law enforcement sources confirmed to ABC News.

The DOJ initially redacted the names from the ad that was allegedly posted on Craigslist by Stark with the title, “Georgia Patriots it’s time to kill [Official A] the Chinese agent – $10,000.”

“It’s time to invoke our Second Amendment right it’s time to put a bullet in the treasonous Chinese [Official A]. Then we work our way down to [Official B] the local and federal corrupt judges… If we want our country back we have to exterminate these people… we need to pay a visit to [Official C] and her family as well and put a bullet her behind the ears,” the post said.

Governor Brian Kemp is seeking a new District Attorney for the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has asked local members of the state bar association to send him nominees for district attorney in the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit based in Columbus.

The position currently is held by Acting District Attorney Sheneka Terry, sworn in after District Attorney Mark Jones was suspended last year amid allegations of misconduct. Jones cut short his trial on those charges in November when he pleaded guilty and resigned.

[Gov. Kemp] asked anyone interested in the position to fill out an application and send it to Rhonda Barnes Wilson in his paralegal office.

Officials at the Georgia Attorney General’s Office and the Georgia Secretary of State have said Kemp’s appointee will serve the remainder of Jones’ term, which ends in December 2024.

United States Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta) is working to prohibit members of Congress and their family members from trading individual stocks, according to the AJC.

Ossoff said his bill is a continuation of promises he made on the campaign trail at a time when both incumbent Georgia senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, were being criticized for stock trading during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Members of Congress should not be playing the stock market while we make federal policy and when we have extraordinary access to privileged confidential information, as a matter of basic integrity and ethics in government,” Ossoff, an Atlanta Democrat, said recently.

Loeffler and Perdue were both among Congress’ most wealthy members and most active in the stock market. Critics accused them of using information they gleaned from private Senate briefings to make a profit during the pandemic.

Ossoff in particular went after Perdue hard on the topic, calling him a “crook” in a viral exchange during their only debate. He also said he would put his own net worth into a blind trust if elected, which he did a few months after taking office.

Ossoff’s proposal would require every senator and U.S. representative, their spouses and dependent children to put their stock shares into a qualified blind trust. The legislation is similar to a bill filed last year in the U.S. House by Virginia Democratic U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Texas Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Roy.

But Ossoff’s bill takes it a step further by outlining financial penalties for those who violate the new rules: a fine equal to one year of their congressional salary. Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a fellow Democrat, is his partner on the legislation.

Georgia State Rep. Matt Dubnik (R-Gainesville) announced he will run for reelection, according to AccessWDUN.

“It has been the honor of my life to serve the 29th district and I look forward to two more years under the gold dome,” Dubnik said in a prepared statement. “While I begin my sixth year of service as your Representative, I realize how much I have to offer the people of Hall County. I have learned much during my time in office, and I acknowledge the calling to continue to be an advocate for all Georgians on many causes.”

Dubnik has served in several roles as a Georgia House representative, including Chairman of the K-12 Education Committee during the 2021 legislative session, Secretary of Appropriations in 2020 and as a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

The release states Dubnik has focused on fiscal responsibility in Georgia’s budget, tax reform, teacher pay raises, public safety, mental health initiatives and the nursing and physician shortage.

Gwinnett County politicians are split by party on proposals to redistrict County Commission seats, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The future of a proposed redistricting map for the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners is uncertain as lawmakers from the county are split along party lines over the map and some give and take may be negotiated to ensure bipartisan support.

Democrats make up the overwhelming majority of Gwinnett’s House and Senate delegations, and they have the signatures needed to get local legislation for school board and county commission redistricting maps on the Georgia House of Representatives’ local calendar early next week.

Republicans in the delegation are opposed to the proposed commission map, however, because they believe there should be at least one district that is solely in GOP-friendly north Gwinnett.

And, while Republicans are a minority among Gwinnett’s legislators, their party controls both chambers of the General Assembly, which means they still have a card to play in negotiations over the map.

Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson announced a new health and wellness program, according to WTVM.

The program is aimed to help underserved communities live a healthier lifestyle.

The Apple Body Project, which is part of the mayor’s health commission, will offer mobile resources and education opportunities throughout the area.

According to health experts, an apple body shape is when the waist is one times more than the hip size, creating more stomach fat.

Mayor Henderson says the idea behind the project will help many people avoid health issues related to weight.

Residents can look forward to educational information, a mobile health clinic, farmers market, and a recreation unit that will come right to their communities.

The Floyd County Board of Education will consider a red light camera proposal, according to the Rome News Tribune.

Floyd County Schools Board of Education will hold a called meeting at 7:30 a.m. Monday to discuss installing RedSpeed cameras near Armuchee Elementary School.

Capt. Ron Hunton of Floyd County Police Department will be giving a presentation on speeding along Martha Berry Highway, which is the second most common place for wrecks in the county.

The police department recommended the school system approve implementation of the speed cameras after seeing the success Rome Police Department had with their RedSpeed cameras along Veterans Memorial Highway near Rome Middle School and Rome High School.

With the RedSpeed cameras, anybody traveling 11 miles or more over the speed limit would be clocked and the owner of the vehicle fined. A citation would be mailed out by the company after the photo evidence is vetted by county police.

The initial speeding fine would be $75 after a warning; any subsequent fine would be $125. About 65% of the fines would go to Floyd County police and 35% would go to RedSpeed, the company that provides the cameras.

Glynn County Commissioner Cap Fendig wants to reinstate the toll to St Simons Island, according to The Brunswick News.

Cap Fendig helped lead the charge to eliminate the toll both to St. Simons Island in 2003 after the money collected to pay for the causeway was collected.

Fendig is now asking his fellow Glynn County commissioners to explore the possibility of another toll to St. Simons Island. The booth would be operated by the county, with an estimated $2 million to $3 million generated from the toll going directly into the county’s general fund.

Fendig said if commissioners choose to collect a toll to the island, it would cost about $5 million to build the booth and technology needed to read license tags and sent motorists a bill they can pay online.

It will be nothing like the toll booth to Jekyll Island or the old one to St. Simons Island, he said. Instead it would be set up like the Peach Pass in the Atlanta area.

If a toll is collected, Fendig said he doubts if it would affect tourism to St. Simons. Instead, at least a portion of the money will be used on the island to pay for clean and safe parks, more trees and road improvements and enhance tourism.

There is still more research to help commissioners get a better understanding of the law, he said, and the pros and cons of collecting a toll.

Montezuma Mayor Larry Smith died Friday, according to 13WMAZ.