Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for January 27, 2021

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.

https://youtu.be/rTVjnBo96Ug

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Dr. Kandiss Taylor, a Baxley teacher, announced her campaign for the Republican nomination for Governor in 2022, according to WTOC-TV.

Dr. Kandiss Taylor stood outside the Appling County courthouse instead of Atlanta to announce her campaign. She didn’t call Kemp by name but told supporters she was running to clean up election fraud and running for values she says aren’t held by current incumbents in Atlanta.

“Georgia is begging for an alternative. They want an alternative who’s going to represent them. I know I’m not a sellout and that I can do it,” Taylor said.

A career teacher and educator in Baxley, she ran last year as a political outsider for the US Senate seat now held by Raphael Warnock.

She says personally campaigning in all 159 counties for the Senate gives her a network she can use in this governor’s race.

8:00 AM HOUSE JUDICIARY NON CIVIL 132 CAP
8:00 AM HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS 341 CAP
9:00 AM HOUSE RULES 341 CAP
10:00 AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD6) House Chamber
1:00 PM HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION 606 CLOB
2:15 PM Senate Retirement 450 CAP
2:15 PM Senate Education and Youth 307 CLOB
3:30 PM Senate Finance 450 CAP
4:45 PM Senate Judiciary 307 CLOB

A group of Metro Atlanta school board members is asking Governor Brian Kemp to prioritize vaccinating teachers, according to Fox5Atlanta.

“If we’re going to ask our educators to be superheroes, we have to stop snatching their cape,” said Cobb County School Board member Dr. Jaha Howard.

The letter to Gov. Kemp talks about teachers’ lives lost due to COVID-19 and the mental and emotional trauma educators are going through. It is signed by 13 school board members from six different school districts. They’re calling on the governor to take action. They want medical-grade masks for all educators and staff.

They also want educators to get priority when it comes to the vaccine. Atlanta Public Schools students are going back to the classroom for the first time in almost 300 days. Board member Jason Esteves said teachers need to be safe.

“The state has indicated teachers won’t be vaccinated until late February or later depending on how things go. I find that to be unacceptable, we need teachers vaccinated now,” said Esteves.

From the AJC:

Cody Hall, spokesman for Gov. Brian Kemp, said the school districts whose board members signed the letter have received a combined $643 million in federal coronavirus relief funding within the past year. The state has provided more than 8 million masks, 287,000 gallons of hand sanitizing gel, about 20,000 hand sanitizing stations and about 52,000 face shields to schools around the state, Hall said.

“On top of what the state has done, these members should look at utilizing some of those funds to purchase PPE as needed by individual school systems,” Hall said.

[Diijon] DaCosta, who is DeKalb’s school board vice chair, said ensuring the protection of school staff is a top priority because educators “are responsible for our most prized possessions: Our scholars.”

“Just as essential workers representing healthcare and other sectors are adequately equipped with safety equipment and protective gear, educators should also have access,” he said. “They should have access to PPE throughout their facilities, access to vaccinations, and the right to know that their feedback is important.”

State Rep. David Clark (R-Buford) was removed from the State House Chamber yesterday after refusing multiple opportunities to be tested for COVID-19, according to the AJC.

Rep. David Clark, R-Buford, had refused to comply with requirements that legislators be tested for COVID-19 twice a week. He has not been tested since the session began three weeks ago, said Kaleb McMichen, a spokesman for House Speaker David Ralston.

On Tuesday, Ralston had Clark escorted out of the chamber by a state trooper after he refused to leave when initially asked. Many of Clark’s colleagues applauded after his removal.

Clark was unrepentant after his removal, vowing not to get tested and threatening legal action.

“We have a member of this body who has deliberately failed at all to get tested as we begin session, clearly in violation of our testing policy,” Ralston told lawmakers. He said the representative was “jeopardizing the health of other members of this chamber.”

Ralston did not name the representative but said, “I’m going to ask that member to be as discreet as possible to leave the chamber.”

When Clark did not leave, Ralston asked House members whether they supported the testing policy. They said they did.

Ralston then called for a trooper to escort the unnamed member out of the chamber. The trooper approached Clark and led him out.

“I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve been to too many funerals, and I’m getting tired of going to them,” Ralston said after Clark was gone.

Rep. Clark planned to head to the Capitol again this morning, according to the AJC.

Clark says he’ll be back at the Capitol Wednesday, untested.

“I’m not falling in line. They have no right to do this,” he told one of your Insiders Tuesday. “I’m going to show back up tomorrow and try to get in. I’m going to show up every day and work for my constituents.”

But he won’t be going to his office to do it. Ralston let Clark know he won’t have work space until he passes a COVID test.

Clark is already known in the House as a resident rabble rouser. He has called for Ralston’s resignation and run a failed bid for Speaker in his own short tenure and is the son-in-law of Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta), the lawmaker who signed onto a vast federal lawsuit to challenge Georgia’s election results in favor of Donald Trump.

From the Albany Herald:

While Ralston was enforcing the COVID-19 testing rule in the House, Georgia Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan returned to the upper legislative chamber Tuesday after quarantining since testing positive two weeks ago. He urged lawmakers to comply with the twice-weekly testing requirement both the House and Senate have adopted.

“You’re all too valuable to have someone slip up and pass on [the virus] unknowingly,” Dugan, R-Carrollton, said from the Senate floor.

Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan (R-Forsyth County) favors keeping no-excuse absentee ballots, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.

Duncan, who presides over the state Senate, said halting the ability of Georgians to request mail-in ballots for any reason besides just living out of state or due to disability should not be part of “meaningful election reform” state Republicans are seeking in the 2021 legislative session.

His stance mirrors Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, who earlier this month also urged Republican lawmakers to avoid proposals ending no-excuse absentee voting. Ralston wants to focus on changing voter ID laws to require photo identification when requesting mail-in ballots instead of signature verification.

“I think the best step forward is for us to just look for an opportunity to create a photo ID process,” Duncan said. “I think that best fits the needs of 11 million Georgians.”

The Georgia Senate Republican Caucus also called for eliminating no-excuse absentee voting after election fraud claims pushed by former President Donald Trump and his allies stirred mistrust among many Georgia conservatives over the state’s election integrity.

Duncan also said Tuesday he wants to focus this session on legislation aimed at improving foster-care services in Georgia, creating a new special-needs scholarship and changing the state’s controversial citizen’s arrest law.

State Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) has introduced yet another casino gambling bill, according to the AJC.

House Tourism and Economic Development Chairman Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, filed House Resolution 30 on Tuesday, which would put a question on the 2022 ballot asking Georgia voters if they support allowing casinos in Georgia.

It is the second of three expected pieces of legislation Stephens said he plans to file that would allow gambling besides the Georgia Lottery, which was approved in 1992. He already filed House Bill 86, which would legalize online sports betting in Georgia. A third piece of legislation would legalize horse racing.

Supporters say an expansion of the gambling industry could bring thousands of jobs and pump hundreds of millions of dollars into the Georgia Lottery-funded HOPE scholarship. Conservative groups and religious organizations oppose expanding any form of gambling because they find it immoral and an addictive habit that breeds crime.

Adding casino gambling — and horse racing — would require Georgians to approve a constitutional amendment allowing the expansion. Stephens and other sports betting supporters said the resolution is not needed to allow sports betting.

Some state legislators want to look at tax break programs, according to the Center Square.

Sens. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome; Jen Jordan, D-Atlanta; and House Minority Leader James Beverly, D-Macon, said the state needs to re-evaluate its tax incentive programs to eliminate waste and ensure tax equity.

Georgia’s economy is operating at 89% of where it was in early March, before the pandemic, according to Moody’s Analytics and CNN Business’ Back-to-Normal Index. December’s net tax collections in Georgia were up 7.7% compared with December 2019. Fiscal-year-to-date collections are up 6.1%.

Hufstetler said the state offers $9.5 billion in tax incentives with minimum oversight. Tax credits in Georgia range from economic development and job credits to entertainment credits. Hufstetler, who heads the Senate Finance Committee, said he plans to propose legislation to evaluate five of the state’s tax incentive programs and launch a two-year study on tax credits.

“Some [tax credits], I think are worthy. I think many of them are not,” Hufstetler said. “But when you collect $14 billion in income tax, and you’re giving away $9.5 billion, you might have a chance to have more revenue and, perhaps, have everybody have a better tax rate at the same time. So we’ve got to work on that.”

State House appropriators moved more state budget money into fighting the pandemic, according to the Associated Press via the Gainesville Times.

House appropriations subcommittees on Tuesday made proposed changes to the current year’s budget, a yearly ritual that’s on a fast track in 2021 because of fears that the pandemic could disrupt the General Assembly’s session. The full House could vote on the changes as early as Thursday. The Senate would consider the changes after that.

House lawmakers propose adding nearly $34 million into the state Department of Public Health, after Gov. Brian Kemp had proposed no new spending from state money, instead relying on federal coronavirus relief for now.

“The pandemic, I think, has exposed critical staffing needs in the Department of Public Health and federal funds have been used where we’ve been able to do that, but we still need to put in some state funds,” said House Appropriations Health Subcommittee Chairman Butch Parrish, a Swainsboro Republican.

Of the money for public health, $18 million would go to modernize and replace the computer system that tracks immunizations statewide. That system, the Georgia Registry of Immunization Transactions and Services, has been in the spotlight in recent days as the state has struggled to keep up with how many coronavirus vaccines health care providers have administered.

The state would also set aside $286,000 to bolster Department of Public Health leadership, including hiring a chief medical officer, a deputy commissioner and a chief data officer. The department has faced repeated complaints about how it publishes data during the pandemic, subcontracting much of its public data presentation.

Public Health would also get $15.4 million more to increase support for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which provides HIV/AIDS medications to low income people.

Under the House proposal, Georgia would also spend $19.3 million more to subsidize nursing homes.

From the AJC:

The House Appropriations Committee backed the $26.6 billion mid-year budget for fiscal 2021 – which runs through June 30 – and the measure will be up for a vote by the full chamber Thursday. The Senate is expected to move quickly on it so the state is funded for the next several months in case the General Assembly has to take a break because of the pandemic, as it did last year.

The largest increase is in education, where the House is going along with Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposal to backfill 60% of the spending cuts they approved last year, when they slashed 10% because of fears that state revenue would plummet due to the pandemic. That didn’t happen, and the mid-year budget restores $567 million in cuts to k-12 schools.

U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Extreme Northwest Georgia) is being criticized for social media posts, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.

CNN reported Tuesday Greene “repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians in 2018 and 2019 before being elected to Congress.” The report was the result of a CNN KFile review of hundreds of posts and comments from Greene’s Facebook page.

Savannah City Council will vote on a resolution to support state legislation to repeal or revise Georgia’s “Stand your Ground” law, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Rep. Carl Gilliard (D-Garden City) said it was Arbery’s death that led him to sponsor House Bill 45, which would repeal the citizen’s arrest law. The law currently allows those who witness someone committing a felony to detain the person.

“As a nation, we saw a videotape that revealed that people were taking the law into their own hands and went bad,” he said.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said the repeal of the laws would help to legally protect Georgia residents.

“These stand your ground laws are associated with increased homicides,” Johnson said. “Right now our law allows the person to shoot and kill another person, even when they can clearly and safely walk away. There is not a retreat required.”

While citizen’s arrest and stand your ground are two separate issues when it comes to legislation, both Johnson and Gilliard said they go back to the same factors.

Glynn County Commissioners voted to move forward with a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) proposal for the March ballot, according to The Brunswick News.

Voters will be asked to approve a new SPLOST in a countywide referendum. Commissioners propose the 1 percent sales tax for three years, which would generate a total of $68.5 million for infrastructure and capital projects.

To anyone who feels the commission has rushed the planning process, [Commissioner Cap] Fendig said it is the continuation of months of work done on a proposed SPLOST 2020. That initiative was abandoned early last year over concern on the potential impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the local economy.

SPLOST 2020 was proposed as a five-year, 1 percent sales tax that would bring in $110 million. The project list included a $23 million courthouse expansion as a Tier 1 project, one that would have to be completed before any other project on the list could begin.

Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the list of projects and call a referendum on March 16.

Bulloch County Board of Education District One member Glenn Womack will participate in his first BOE meeting online this week after being sworn in virtually, according to the Statesboro Herald.

Augusta public libraries will remain closed an additional week due to COVID-19, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

Hall County fire services has replaced half their fleet of fire trucks with nine new units, according to the Gainesville Times.

Federal CARES Act funding will allow Hall County teachers up to ten days sick leave if they are diagnosed with COVID-19, according to AccessWDUN.

Hall County teachers who contract COVID-19 – or who have to quarantine because of COVID exposure – will be eligible for paid sick leave following a vote by the Hall County School Board Monday night.

District Superintendent Will Schofield cautioned that the approval of paid sick leave does not mean that every employee is entitled to an additional 10 days of sick leave; employees are to use the paid leave only for COVID-related absences and only when needed. Schofield also noted that the funding will be beneficial especially to younger teachers who have not accrued sick leave.