Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for January 27, 2020

On January 27, 1785, a charter was approved by the Georgia legislature for the first publicly-supported state university in America.

On January 27, 1941, Delta Air Lines announced it would move its headquarters from Monroe, Louisiana to Atlanta, Georgia. It was an interesting case of public-money-fueled economic development.

In 1940, the city of Atlanta and Delta had signed an agreement whereby the city agreed to contribute $50,000 for construction of a new hanger and office building for Delta if it would move its headquarters to Atlanta. In turn, Delta agreed to pay the remaining construction costs and then assume a 20-year lease for the new facilities. On Jan. 16, 1941, Delta had secured a $500,000 loan from Atlanta’s Trust Company of Georgia, thus allowing it to make a public announcement of the move.

On January 27, 1965, the Shelby GT 350 was unveiled.

Otis Redding’s “Dock of the Bay” was released on January 27, 1965, seven weeks after his death.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Governor Brian Kemp will speak at the 11th Annual Addiction Recovery Awareness Day Program and Rally 4 Recovery.

WHEN:

Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Program

Governor Brian Kemp speaks at 10:00 AM in the Freight Depot                    

1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Rally in Capitol

WHERE:

Program at The Georgia Freight Depot, 65 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW, Atlanta, GA  30303

Recovery Rally at Georgia State Capitol Building, South Steps

WHY:

•  An estimated 22 million Americans are in recovery from alcohol or drug addictions
•  There are more than 800,000 Georgians living in recovery
•  The program and rally will celebrate the power of recovery in the lives of everyday Georgians and demonstrate that Georgia’s leadership stands united in support for the Georgia Recovery Community
•  The Georgia Recovery Community supports initiatives which promote prevention and early intervention, increase opportunities and resources for treatment, and support pro-recovery policies that increase the likelihood of sustained, long-term recoveryWHAT ELSE:

•  At the rally on the south steps of the State Capitol, State Representative Erick Allen (D-Smyrna) willintroduce the design of the Georgia Recovers license plate. House Bill 326 would create a special state license plate to honor people in recovery from addiction and mental health challenges, their allies and professionals who have dedicated themselves to help improve lives and communities.

•  The program will feature: Narcan training, recovery language training, personal recovery stories from people in recovery, remarks from state Constitutional Officers and Members of the General Assembly

•  Program speakers include Governor Brian Kemp, Attorney General Chris Carr, Senator Renee Unterman, Senator Kay Kirkpatrick, Representative Sharon Cooper, Representative Erick Allen, Commissioner Judy Fitzgerald, and Neil Campbell, Executive Director of the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse.

•  The Rally will feature speakers including members of the Georgia General Assembly and state Constitutional Officers as well as Georgian’s in Recovery.WHO:

The program is jointly organized by the Georgia recovery Community, a collaborative network of addiction treatment and recovery stakeholders and advocates, including:

Georgia Council on Substance Abuse (GCSA), Georgia Addiction Counselors Association (GACA), Georgia Association of Recovery Residences (GARR), STAND, Inc., Georgia Association of Community Service Boards (GACSB), Penfield Christian Homes, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Certification of Georgia (ADACB/GA), Georgia Overdose Prevention, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, and the Kennesaw State University Center for Young Adult Addiction and Recovery.

Under the Gold Dome Today – LD5

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

TBD SENATE RULES UPON ADJOURNMENT 450 CAP

1:00 PM SENATE INSURANCE & LABOR- CANCELED 310 CLOB

1:00 PM SENATE FINANCE- CANCELED MEZZ 1

1:00 PM HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS PUBLIC SAFETY SUB 341 CAP

1:00 PM HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUB 515 CLOB

1:30 PM SENATE & HOUSE PUBLIC SAFETY JOINT MEETING 450 CAP

2:00 PM SENATE EDUCATION & YOUTH – CANCELED 307 CLOB

2:00 PM HOUSE Kelley Sub Judiciary 132 CAP

2:00 PM HOUSE Governmental Affairs State and Local Sub 606 CLOB

3:00 PM SENATE HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES- CANCELED 450 CAP

3:00 PM HOUSE Governmental Affairs Elections Sube 606 CLOB

4:00 PM SENATE JUDICIARY 307 CLOB

The Georgia General Assembly will be occupied with budget issues for the foreseeable future, according to the Capitol Beat News Service.

Georgia House Speaker David Ralston has warned his legislative colleagues repeatedly this month the need for painful spending cuts means the 2020 General Assembly session likely will last longer than usual.

Three days of hearings Jan. 21-23 on Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposed mid-year budget adjustments for this fiscal year and his $28.1 billion fiscal 2021 budget plan dramatically demonstrated Ralston’s point.

While some of the budget austerity results from slower economic growth in Georgia, a major culprit is the tax cut the General Assembly passed two years ago. Lawmakers reduced the state’s income tax rate for the first time since 1937 from 6% to 5.75%.

Then-Gov. Nathan Deal steered the tax cut through the legislature to make sure taxpayers received the benefit of a revenue windfall the state was expecting as a result of the federal tax reforms Congress passed late in 2017.

The 2018 bill called for a two-part tax cut, with lawmakers due to vote this year whether to roll back the income tax rate again to 5.5%.

But Kemp has been cool to the idea, citing the tight budget climate. Passing the second phase of the tax cut this year would cost about $500 million.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Hufstetler, said the state can’t afford that kind of revenue hit this year.

“We’re looking at some severe budget cuts,” Hufstetler said Friday. “I don’t see the math there right now.”

From the AJC:

Hufstetler and his colleagues have been working on measures to increase tax collections and he voiced support for increasing the state’s tobacco taxes.

Two Democrats on the panel Friday, House Minority Caucus Chairman James Beverly, D-Macon, and Rep. David Dreyer, D-Atlanta, also voiced opposition to another income tax cut.

“In a word, no,” Beverly responded when asked whether the General Assembly should consider it.

State Economist Jeffrey Dorfman suggested a further state income tax rate reduction is not necessary for continued economic growth, according to The Covington News.

Georgia lawmakers reduced the state’s income tax two years ago from 6% to 5.75%, the first change in the rate since the 1930s. The 2018 bill called for the legislature to vote again this year whether to reduce the tax rate again to 5.5%.

But with employment in Georgia and the state’s unemployment rate already at record highs, cutting taxes again would not be an effective way to increase economic activity by luring other businesses to the Peach State, Dorfman told members of the state House and Senate Appropriations committees at the start of three days of budget hearings.

“A quarter percent one way or the other just doesn’t move the bar,” Dorfman said.

The $28.1 billion fiscal 2021 state budget plan Gov. Brian Kemp unveiled last week does not take into account the $500 million revenue hit the state would absorb if the General Assembly follows through with the additional .25% tax cut.

Governor Brian Kemp has proposed $900 million dollars in state borrowing in the coming budget, according to the AP via the Daily Inter Lake.

Key projects in the Republican governor’s plan include $70 million to expand the state-owned convention center in Savannah and $55 million to build a new headquarters for the Department of Public Safety in Atlanta.

Lawmakers authorized borrowing of nearly $1.1 billion last year. The agency that forecasts Georgia’s borrowing said the state could issue up to $1.2 billion in bonds this year.

In one shift, Kemp wants to move more funding to aid school construction from districts statewide to those that have small property tax bases. Kemp would borrow $155 million for construction in such low-wealth districts, up from $44 million this year. But the amount to buy new school buses would fall to $12.5 million from $20 million this year, if lawmakers don’t change it. A new school bus can cost more than $100,000, depending on the model.

Kemp also proposes:

— $48 million for a new science and engineering research building and equipment at the University of Georgia in Athens. — $35 million to renovate and expand a building at Gwinnett Technical College in Lawrenceville.

— $30.7 million for a new building for Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

— $19.5 million for a new business building at the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega.

— $6 million for a new conference center at Lake Lanier.

— $2 million for a new driver’s services office in Dalton.

Proposed state budget cuts are being scrutinized for their effect on rural Georgia, according to the AJC.

Lawmakers have spent the past few years making it a priority to boost rural Georgia, pouring millions of dollars into efforts to help a part of the state that voted overwhelmingly for Kemp for governor in 2018.

Now they are wondering what will become of their work after much of what they championed was slated by Kemp and agency heads to be trimmed back as the governor tries to balance a shaky state budget and keep his campaign promise to raise teacher pay.

“Rural Georgia is going to feel the pain of this,” said state Rep. James Beverly, D-Macon, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “Rural Georgia is going to get killed.”

“Many of the programs the General Assembly has worked on over the last several years in trying to address the (health care) workforce shortage in rural Georgia … all of them seem to be offered up for cuts,” said House Appropriations Chairman Terry England, R-Auburn. “It seems like these are things that are taking the brunt of the cuts.”

“Governor Kemp is committed to keeping rural Georgia strong by using innovative ways to spur economic growth, improve educational opportunities, and ensure bright futures for Georgia families,” said his spokeswoman, Candice Broce.

Clarkston Mayor Ted Terry has dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican David Perdue, according to the AJC.

Democrat Ted Terry dropped out of the crowded race against U.S. Sen. David Perdue on Sunday to run for an open DeKalb County commission seat, leaving three top rivals competing to challenge the Republican in the nationally-watched contest.

The Clarkston mayor told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his fundraising struggles – his latest disclosure showed him with roughly $60,000 in campaign cash – contributed to his decision to abandon a race expected to set new spending records.

He’ll take that donor list to his race for the seat held by long-time DeKalb Commissioner Kathie Gannon, who announced last week she will not seek another term. She represents Super District 6, which covers the western half of the heavily-Democratic county.

At least two other candidates are already in that contest: Democrat Robert Murphy, a local realtor, has already filed paperwork. And community activist Emily Halevy announced her own campaign last week with Gannon’s support.

Gov. Kemp visited a Porsche factory during a trade trip to Germany, according to Global Atlanta.

When Gov. Brian Kemp visited Porsche’s new electric vehicle plant in Stuttgart, the sports car maker made a thoughtful choice for his tour guide.

The governor walked the production line of the brand new Taycan Turbo all-electric sports car with Detlev von Platen, an executive who led Porsche Cars North America’s Atlanta operation for seven years. He presided over a selection process that considered 73 sites but ultimately landed Porsche on a 53-acre complex with a test track near the Atlanta airport.

Mr. Von Platen, who was succeeded here as president and CEO by Klaus Zellmer in 2015, is now a member of the Porsche AG executive board for sales and marketing.

He showed off the Taycan, which launched in December with a six-figure starting price, at an opportune moment: Mr. Kemp was fresh off announcing a new foreign investment to supply a $1.7 billion vehicle battery factory in Jackson County. In a news release, he noted a desire to see a hub for future-facing vehicles continue growing in Georgia, already an automotive magnet.

Analysis by the AJC found shockingly that the highest numbers of voter registration cancellations were in the four most populous counties.

The AJC analyzed the state’s list of voter registration cancellations to find out who in the metro Atlanta area had their registrations removed. Election officials last month canceled the registrations of voters who moved away or failed to participate in elections for several years.

More than a third of voters removed statewide came from four metro Atlanta counties: Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Cobb. Of the 286,790 voter registrations canceled across Georgia, 107,711 or 38% came from the four metro counties — Georgia’s four most populous counties.

The rate of voter registration cancellations in the metro area counties was slightly higher than in the rest of the state. About 4.2% of all registered voters in the four counties were canceled compared to 3.9% statewide.

Of those metro voters removed, more than half were canceled because voters submitted change of address forms, indicating they had moved and were no longer eligible to vote at their previous precincts. Voters were also removed because they hadn’t participated in elections since before 2012, or their elections mail was returned as undeliverable.

Chatham County will see an unusual number of new judges this year, according to the Savannah Morning News.

a new Superior Court judge, two of the three State Court positions and as many as two Juvenile Court judgeships could be fresh faces when 2021 begins. With those shifts will be some veteran judgeships being filled by younger talent.

The only similar numbers in Chatham County changes occurred in May 1995 when then-Gov. Zell Miller appointed judges Penny Haas Freesemann, John E. Morse Jr. and James F. Bass Jr. to Superior Court and H. Gregory Fowler and Ronald Ginsberg to State Court.

Several Gwinnett County municipalities are deploying automated speeding ticket cameras in school zones, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

In July 2019, the Lilburn City Council approved an agreement with RedSpeed USA to install school zone cameras. This came after House Bill 978 passed in 2018, which allowed for automated enforcement in school zones.

“Once the HB was passed into law we decided to conduct our own speed studies at all seven schools inside our city,” Lilburn Police Chief Bruce Hedley said. “All studies showed we had a speeding problem, but we decided on Arcado and Trickum because of the high volume of pedestrian traffic, especially during drop off and pick up times. Safety is a priority and the goal is that the program will encourage drivers to slow down and obey the speed limit.”

The city of Norcross also plans to install cameras in the school zones at Beaver Ridge Elementary School, Baldwin Elementary School, Norcross Elementary School and Summerour Middle School. During a special called meeting on Oct. 21, Norcross Mayor Craig Newton and the City Council approved a contract with RedSpeed to monitor and enforce school zone speed within the city limits of Norcross.

Sgt. Eric Butynski with the Norcross Police Department said the city had not set an exact date to deploy those cameras, but it could be as early as one month away. The department met with RedSpeed on Thursday to learn the ins and outs of the new system.

A Snellville municipal ordinance regulating extended stay hotels might affect homelessness, according to the AJC.

Snellville’s new city ordinance, which is already in effect, includes a limit on how long guests can stay — no more than 30 days straight or 60 days total within three months. Before the ordinance’s passage, there was no time restriction for hotel residents. The city also requires hotel residents to have a car and register it with the hotel.

In addition, the ordinance bans hourly room rentals and prohibits air-drying of clothes on clotheslines, balconies or outdoor railings. Hotels that violate the ordinance can be declared a public nuisance and forced to close.

The ordinance is intended to prevent crime and promote public safety, said Councilman Dave Emanuel. The ordinance cites research from the U.S. Department of Justice that found extended stay hotels can become hubs for crimes including sex trafficking, prostitution, and drug manufacturing and sales.

The Gwinnett County Solicitor General’s Office recently cited similar concerns about crime at extended stay hotels. Five Gwinnett County hotels, all in the Norcross area, were the source of 300 misdemeanors between September 2018 and September 2019, according to the solicitor’s office.

The Gainesville Times looks at how the embattled film tax credit has affected the local area.

“If Georgia were to cancel the film tax credit, we would very likely see projects like this go elsewhere to film,” [Lake Lanier Convention & Visitors Bureau President Stacey Dickson] said.

The popular but expensive state tax credit, which has come under scrutiny after a state audit showed lax oversight, has emerged as a hot topic in this year’s legislative session, which got underway Jan. 13.

The audit, conducted by the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts and released earlier this month, “brought to light some very serious issues that we need to take a look at, no doubt,” said state Rep. Timothy Barr, R-Lawrenceville, who represents part of South Hall and is a member of the House Working Group on Creative Arts & Entertainment.

The tax credits have grown from $141 million in 2010 to an estimated $870 million in 2019.

Georgia requires companies to provide less documentation than any of the 31 other states with a film tax incentive, auditors wrote. Hundreds of projects annually receive the credits.

“If the state continues the film tax credit program and refines the process by which eligible projects receive tax credits, I hope they will consider a mechanism to be able to share data with local communities,” Dickson said.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is warning about an online scam involving fishing licenses, according to the Gainesville Times.

Perry Lamb will run for Chairman of the Walker County Commission, according to the Chattanoogan.

Perry Lamb, who was second in the 2016 general election for sole commissioner of Walker County, announced that he is running for chairman of the county’s new five-member board. He will run as a Republican.

He noted that in the 2016 race he became the first candidate in the history of Walker County to gather enough signatures to appear on the ballot as an Independent.