The Supreme Court of Georgia held its first meeting on January 26, 1846 at Talbotton, Georgia.
John Sammons Bell was born on January 26, 1914 in Macon, Georgia. He would go on to serve as Chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia, as a Judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals, and as chief judge of the appellate court. He is today best known as the designer of the state flag featuring the Confederate battle flag, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1956.
On January 26, 2001 a new state flag, first designed by Atlanta architect Cecil Alexander, passed out of committee in the General Assembly by a 4-3 vote and would be voted on later that week. Click here to view the floor debate from 2001.
The Georgia Historical Society reopened its Savannah Research Center after a $5 million dollar renovation, according to the Albany Herald.
The GHS Research Center houses the institution’s library and archives and is home to the oldest collection of Georgia history materials in the nation — 5 million manuscripts, documents, photographs, rare books, and artifacts. It is used by more than 60,000 researchers each year, ranging from professional historians to teachers and documentary film makers such as the History Channel, Georgia Public Broadcasting and the BBC.
The GHS Research Center consists of three adjoining buildings constructed over three centuries of Georgia history — Hodgson Hall (1876), the Abrahams Archival Annex (1970), and the new archival wing (2021).
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Under the Gold Dome Today
TBD – Senate Rules upon Adjournment – 450 CAP
8:00 AM – HOUSE Appropriations Public Safety Subcommittee – 132 CAP HYBRID
8:00 AM – HOUSE Education Appropriations Subcommittee – 506 CLOB HYBRID
8:00 AM – HOUSE Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee – 341 CAP HYBRID
9:00 AM – HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE – 341 CAP
10:00 AM – HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD 7) – House Chamber
10:00 AM – Senate Floor Session – Senate Chamber
1:00 PM – HOUSE Health Appropriations Subcommittee – 506 CLOB HYBRID
1:00 PM – HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION COMMITTEE – VIRTUAL 1
1:00 PM – HOUSE General Government Appropriations Subcommittee – 415 CLOB
1:00 PM – Senate Health and Human Services Committee – 450 CAP
2:00 PM – HOUSE GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE – 406 CLOB HYBRID
2:00 PM – Senate Retirement Committee – 310 CLOB
2:00 PM – Senate Education and Youth Committee – 307 CLOB
3:00 PM – HOUSE JUDICIARY NON-CIVIL COMMITTEE – 132 CAP HYBRID
3:00 PM – HOUSE INDUSTRY AND LABOR COMMITTEE – 506 CLOB HYBRID
3:00 PM – Senate Finance Committee – 450 CAP
3:30 PM – HOUSE Special Committee on Access to Quality Health Care – 406 CLOB HYBRID
3:30 PM – HOUSE STATE PROPERTIES – 403 CAP
Senate Resolution 382 is the new Adjournment Resolution setting the schedule of legislative days.
Thursday, January 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 8
Tuesday, February 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 9
Wednesday, February 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 10
Thursday, February 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 11
Monday, February 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 12
Tuesday, February 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 13
Wednesday, February 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . committee work day
Thursday, February 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 14
Friday, February 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 15
Monday, February 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 16
Tuesday, February 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 17
Wednesday, February 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . committee work day
Thursday, February 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 18
Tuesday, February 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 19
Wednesday, February 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . committee work day
Thursday, February 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 20
Monday, February 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 21
Tuesday, March 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 22
Wednesday, March 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . committee work day
Thursday, March 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 23
Friday, March 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 24
Tuesday, March 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 25
Wednesday, March 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 26
Thursday, March 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . committee work day
Friday, March 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 27
Monday, March 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . committee work day
Tuesday, March 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 28 (Crossover)
Wednesday, March 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 29
Thursday, March 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 30
Friday, March 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 31
Monday, March 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 32
Tuesday, March 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 33
Wednesday, March 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 34
Thursday, March 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . committee work day
Friday, March 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 35
Monday, March 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 36
Tuesday, March 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 37
Wednesday, March 30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 38
Thursday, March 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . committee work day
Friday, April 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 39
Saturday, April 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . committee work day
Sunday, April 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . committee work day
Monday, April 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 40 (SINE DIE)
From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post:
The Georgia House and Senate unanimously passed an adjournment resolution Tuesday setting the schedule for the remainder of the 2022 session.
The votes came on Day 6 of the 40-day session, earlier than legislative leaders typically let rank-and-file lawmakers know when they can return to their homes and regular jobs.
“It gives us some certainty in our lives,” said House Majority Leader Jon Burns, R-Newington.
Some lawmakers questioned the comparatively late date for Sine Die, particularly in an election year when they are anxious to get out on the campaign trail. The General Assembly often adjourns in late March and has left Atlanta in recent years as early as mid-March.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan, R-Carrollton, said because of staffing shortages, Senate employees still on the job need extra time to complete their work.
“The pandemic has affected all of us,” he said. “If we’re going to do our jobs, we need to do them well.”
“[The schedule] sets aside enough time for us to get our work done properly,” added House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge.
State Senator Sheila McNeill (R-Brunswick) announced she will not run for reelection, according to The Brunswick News.
McNeill, on the last year of her first two-year term, announced in late 2021 an intention to run in 2022 but now says she will leave the senate at the end of the current term.
“I will not be seeking re-election in the upcoming election as I had planned to due to my husband’s recent health issues,” she said in a statement issued to the media, adding that it has been an honor to serve.
Her departure comes at a time when her District 3 will include all of Charlton County and take in a part of Ware County under the state’s new redistricting plan. The district also includes Glynn, Camden, McIntosh and Brantley counties.
New district lines will go into effect in 2023.
“I am still working on several pieces of legislation before my term is over and I am still fighting for District 3 during this session,” she said.
The only other candidate to announce for District 3 Senate to date is former state Rep. Jeff Jones, a St. Simons Island Republican.
Senate Bill 351, the “Women’s Health and Safety Act,” by State Senator Bruce Thompson (R-White) would ban mail delivery of some prescription drugs, according to the Associated Press via AccessWDUN.
Republicans in Georgia have introduced a bill that bans the delivery of abortion pills by mail. It would require anyone who wants to use abortion pills to visit a doctor in advance and then return to pick up the pills.
The lawmakers also want to require women to undergo physical exams including ultrasounds, and then sign an extensive consent form at least 24 hours before doctors provide the pills.
Senate Bill 351, introduced Tuesday by Republican Sen. Bruce Thompson of White and cosponsored by 23 other GOP senators, responds to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s December decision that changed a federal rule that had required women to pick up the medication in person. The federal government had already set aside the rule temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It puts great risk on those females who make that choice,” [Thompson] said. “What we’re asking is that these females have a physician involved.”
The bill’s prospects are unclear, though. Republican House Speaker David Ralston of Blue Ridge told reporters before the session that he’s not interested in more abortion legislation until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on Mississippi’s challenge to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
Republican Sen. Sheila McNeill is one of 25 senators to sign Senate Bill 351, dubbed the Women’s Health and Safety Act.
In addition to bolstering informed consent for women, the measure seeks to prohibit abortion pills from being dispensed in Georgia via telemedicine or mail.
If the legislation passes, Georgia will be joining Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas, all of which have enacted state-level safeguards against mail-order abortion drugs.
Georgia House Speaker David Ralston will introduce legislation on mental health services with a press conference at 11 AM today, according to the AJC.
Of the many powers and prerogatives that House Speaker David Ralston exercises, introducing his own bills is almost never one of them.
That will change today, when Ralston puts the force of his Speakership behind a piece of legislation for only the second time ever when he introduces a bipartisan bill to address Georgia’s acute shortage of mental health care services.
The issue has become his top priority, as investigations have shown Georgia last in the nation for mental health care and the crisis has worsened in his own community– and hundreds of other cities and towns across Georgia.
On a visit to Blue Ridge by one of your Insiders over the summer, Ralston said, “People think this is heaven up here…But there are people here struggling with real problems.”
Look for a Capitol press conference this morning, with lead co-sponsors state Reps. Todd Jones, R-South Forsyth, and Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, on hand to detail what’s in the comprehensive bill.
WJBF reports on rising numbers of fentanyl deaths in the Augusta area.
“If you’re taking these drugs, it’s not a matter of if, it’s when it’s going to happen,” Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen explained.
Coroner Bowen reported since 2020, overdose deaths increased from 48 to 63. And he said most of them are from drug mixtures that included Fentanyl, making the cocktail more deadly.
He added, “Heroin, Cocaine, Oxycodone, Morphine.”
Boyd Long, who is the Men’s Director for Immanuel House at 143 Ministries told us, “Ultimately, people use because they don’t like the way they feel. We not only teach them why they use, but we go back to the original addictions and the things that led them to change the way that they use.”
Democratic state legislators will propose the repeal of last year’s voting legislation, according to the AJC.
Georgia Democratic lawmakers are proposing a complete repeal of the state’s voting law — even provisions that authorize ballot drop boxes and mandate a second Saturday of early voting statewide.
The legislation, co-sponsored by 30 Democrats in the Georgia House of Representatives, would also roll back parts of the law they most strongly oppose, such as new ID requirements for absentee voting and the ability for the state to replace county election boards.
The 83-page measure, House Bill 941, has no chance of advancing in the Republican-controlled General Assembly, but it sends a message about Democrats’ priorities in an election year that is certain to focus on voting rights.
Democratic state Rep. Donna McLeod of Lawrenceville, the lead sponsor of the bill, said Democrats support drop boxes and plan to introduce a separate bill that would remove restrictions on them.
Under SB 202, drop boxes are only available in early voting locations and during voting hours, and counties can only install one drop box for every 100,000 active registered voters. Drop boxes were initially authorized by emergency rules of the State Election Board in 2020 that expired after last year’s runoffs for the U.S. Senate.
McLeod said the parts of SB 202 that limit voting access should be reversed and new laws passed that make it easier to vote.
Democratic State Rep. Sam Park (Gwinnett) is accusing Republicans of politics in redistricting, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
State Rep. Sam Park, D-Lawrenceville, announced that House Republicans reassigned his county commission redistricting bill — despite his objections — from the House Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, which has been handling local redistricting bills, to the Governmental Affairs Committee this week.
Park accused state Rep. Bonnie Rich, R-Suwanee, of orchestrating the reassignment. Rich is the House Majority Caucus chairwoman.
“By sending them to a general committee, the Republican majority is taking steps to usurp local control, undermine the will of Gwinnett voters and allow politicians from around the state to draw local maps for Gwinnett,” Park said.
“(It) is a clear deviation from the regular process for local redistricting, which demonstrates racially discriminatory intent and violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”
The committee change increases the likelihood that Republicans — who are a minority in Gwinnett’s legislative delegation but hold the majority in both chambers of the General Assembly — will redraw the commission maps without input or approval from Democrats.
“The Republican Party is no longer a party of local governmental control, that ship has sailed,” Rep. Jasmine Clark, D-Lilburn, said. “It is now a party of state takeovers.”
Cobb County Commissioners voted on party lines to move forward with a proposed redistricting map, according to the AJC.
A divided Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night endorsed an election map that looks a lot like the one that’s already in place.
But the 3-2 vote — along party lines — may foreshadow a more consequential political fight to come.
The Republican-controlled General Assembly has final say over local election maps, a process known as redistricting, and Cobb County Democrats are bracing for a counter-proposal to emerge at the statehouse that could threaten their recent political gains.
The map, proposed by state Rep. Erick Allen, a Democrat from Vinings, will be considered Wednesday by the full Cobb legislative delegation, setting the stage for a bill to be introduced to the legislature.
COVID is affecting local governments in another way now – inflation. From the Valdosta Daily Times:
Valdosta City Council considered this purchase, a grapple truck for the public works department, for $204,845.65 from Hol-Mac Corp which comes in $44,845 more than the $160,000 budget.
Councilmember At-Large Ben Norton asked if this was the only bid. Richard Hardy, deputy city manager of operations, said this was the only vendor that wanted to bid.
“We thought about postponing but moving down the roadway, we didn’t know whether that price was going to come down,” Hardy said.
Hardy said the increase in price, referencing the semiconductor chip shortage, is due to the vehicle’s availability and changes within the vehicle’s production.
As the increase in price was alarming, the request itself, which is funded by SPLOSTVIII, stated the cost would be spread over other public works projects.
A similar over-budgeting issue was found with a request to purchase a jet vacuum sewer truck for the utilities department.
City Manager Mark Barber also offered some insight on ways to offset the increase of both requests, offering up the American Rescue Fund Act money.
The city could take the overages and pay it with the ARPA funding, keeping things within budget, Barber said, referencing this is only an option.
United States Senate candidate Herschel Walker (R) posted a quarterly fundraising total of more than $5.4 million dollars, according to the AJC.
The former football icon has raised about $10 million overall since launching his bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock in August, his campaign said Wednesday. He is expected to report roughly $5 million in cash on hand at the Jan. 31 deadline.
Walker is the GOP frontrunner thanks in part to his sky-high name recognition and support from former President Donald Trump, who said the Republican would be an “unstoppable” political force in a contest that could decide control of the Senate.
Walker’s top Republican rivals have yet to report their fundraising haul for the three-month period, which spans from October to December. They include Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, military veteran Kelvin King and former Navy SEAL Latham Saddler.
Warnock also has yet to disclose his figures, though he’s set a torrid early fundraising pace. He ended the last fundraising quarter with about $17.2 million in cash on hand, more than any Senate campaign in Georgia history at that stage in the fundraising cycle.
Jackson County Board of Education Chair Don Clerici announced he will run for State House District 31 seat being vacated by State Rep. Tommy Benton, according to WGAU.
The Columbus City Council moved us closer to a dystopian surveillance state voted to move forward with a new camera system, according to WTVM.
Nearly 2,000 cameras will be installed throughout the city.
Officials say these cameras will be able to see crimes as they happen and may help land criminals behind bars.
“These are 360° cameras, they’re tag readers,” said Deputy City Manger Lisa Goodwin. “These are cameras that, even at night, will be able to clearly see what’s going on, facial features.”
Now that city council has passed the vote, the first batch, including 584 cameras, will be installed.
Dougherty County Commissioners approved a proposed redistricting map, according to WALB.
“The goal was to have about 14,298 citizens in each of the six districts. We’ve come very close to that. We had minus 119 in district 3 and plus 72 in district two,” said [Redistricting Committee Chair Gloria] Gaines.
County Attorney Spencer Lee said this process had to happen after the county lost around 8,000 residents from 2010 to 2020, leaving the district malapportioned.
The commission has approved a draft. Albany State Rep. Winfred Dukes and State Senator Freddie Powell Sims will take it to the state’s legislation.
“Sometime next week, they’ll pass the local legislation it will eventually go to the secretary of state’s office, and they will adjust the lines for the upcoming election,” said Spencer.
Flowery Branch City Council approved pay raises for police department employees, according to AccessWDUN.
The starting salary for police officers in the department has been raised to $50,212. Hulsey said the previous starting salary was $43,038.
Likewise, all officers currently employed at the department received a 16.90% pay increase, no matter their current salary. Raises for current officers were retroactive beginning on Jan. 10, 2022.
“In July … I just noticed that there were some of us that were struggling because the pay was so low, and the quality of applicants that we were getting just wasn’t really that good,” Hulsey said.
Hulsey approached City Manager Tonya Parrish in December 2021 with concerns about the pay. That meeting eventually led to the vote for the pay raise on Thursday.
The Chatham Area Transit Board voted to hire Faye Q. DiMassimo as the agency’s new Executive Director and CEO, according to the Savannah Morning News.
According to news reports DiMassimo most recently served as senior adviser for transportation and infrastructure to Nashville Mayor John Cooper. She was appointed to that position in 2019.
The appointment comes almost a year after the board abruptly fired former CEO/executive director Bacarra Mauldin in late Jan. 2021.
The Port of Savannah set a new annual throughput record, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.
The Port of Savannah moved a record 5.6 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) last year, a 20% increase over 2020, the Georgia Ports Authority reported Tuesday.
“While Georgia’s maritime logistics community has been tested by a challenging year, I am proud of our ports’ achievements to keep cargo flowing, support jobs and industry across the region and the world, and to serve customers in every corner of the state,” Gov. Brian Kemp said. “The Georgia Ports Authority not only powers economic success in the Peach State, it has served as an example to the nation in solving the supply-chain crisis.”
The Savannah port set a new monthly record every month last year. In December, the port’s Garden City Terminal handled 465,000 TEUs. Counting Roll-on/Roll-off cargo processed at Savannah’s Ocean Terminal, the port moved 668,166 TEUs, during the month, up 11% over December 2020.
“Our expanded rail and yard capacity, along with new operational practices, allowed GPA to overcome serious headwinds in the international supply chain,” authority Executive Director Griff Lynch said.
From the Associated Press via AccessWDUN:
The Georgia Ports Authority reported Tuesday that Savannah’s port handled a record 5.6 million container units of imports and exports last year — an increase of 1 million container units from the 2020 calendar year.
As the economy rebounded from the coronavirus pandemic, retailers rushed to refill inventories and kept ordering to ensure shelves stayed stocked while online shopping also continued to grow, said Griff Lynch, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority.
“It literally is three to four years of growth in one year,” Lynch said. He added: “It didn’t come out without pain.”
Savannah has the fourth-busiest U.S. seaport for cargo shipped in containers — giant metal boxes that can easily loaded onto ships, trucks and trains to transport retail goods ranging from consumer electronics to frozen chickens.
Lynch said the port’s container yard remains largely full, but only one ship was anchored offshore waiting to come into port.
“We want to get that to zero,” he said.
Meanwhile, a $973 million deepening of the Savannah River shipping channel that connects the port to the Atlantic Ocean should be completed by March, Lynch said. Begun in 2015, the dredging project will allow larger ships carrying heavier loads to reach the port without waiting for higher tides.
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