On July 5, 1737, James Oglethorpe sailed from England to Georgia with a warship and troop transports carrying a regiment to be stationed at St. Simons Island.
On July 7, 1742, General James Oglethorpe was victorious over the Spanish at the Battle of Bloody Marsh and the Battle of Gully Hole Creek; a week later Gov. Montiano would call off the invasion of Georgia from Florida, leaving Georgia to develop as a British colony.
On July 5, 1742, Spanish forces based in Florida sailed past Fort St. Simon, bypassing English forces there. That night, Oglethorpe’s troops left Fort St Simon and fell back to Fort Frederica.
On July 6, 1775, Congress issued the “Declaration on the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms” addressed to King George III, stating that they preferred to “to die free men rather than live as slaves.” The document was written by John Dickinson after a draft by Thomas Jefferson.
The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on July 1, 1776 to debate a resolution by Richard Henry Lee that the colonies declare their independence of Britain.
On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted a resolution by Richard Henry Lee (father of Robert E. Lee) calling for independence from Britain. The delegations of twelve colonies voted in favor, while New York’s abstained, not knowing how their constituents would wish them to vote.
On July 4, 1776, the United States declared its independence from Great Britain.
On July 2, 1826, representatives from Georgia and Alabama met to begin surveying the border between the two.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4, 1826.
The first U.S. Postage stamps were issued on July 1, 1847 in New York City.
The Republican Party was formally organized on July 6, 1854.
The party was born of hostility to slavery.
In February [1854] a gathering in Ripon, Wisconsin, resolved to form a new party and a local lawyer named Alvan E. Bovay suggested the name Republican for its echoes of Thomas Jefferson. In Michigan there were meetings in Kalamazoo, Jackson and Detroit, and after the Act had passed in May, the new party was formally founded in Jackson in July. A leading figure was Austin Blair, a Free Soiler lawyer who was prosecuting attorney of Jackson County. He helped to draft the new party’s platform, was elected to the state senate in Republican colours that year and would become governor of Michigan in 1860.
On July 2, 1861, Georgia voters approved a new state Constitution, which had been adopted by the state’s Secession Convention.
The Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, 1863.
July 2, 1863 saw day 2 of the Battle of Gettysburg, with Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia attacking Meade’s Army of the Potomac.
Union cavalry under Gen. Kenner Garrard reached Roswell, Georgia on July 5, 1864, setting the town alight.
On July 4, 1868, the Georgia General Assembly convened for the first time after passage of the Constitution of 1868 with a legislature comprising 186 members, of whom 36 were African-American.
On July 6, 1885, Louis Pasteur successfully tested a rabies vaccine on a human subject.
On July 3, 1889, the Georgia General Assembly held its last session at the Kimball Opera House, located at the corner of Marietta and Forsyth Streets in downtown Atlanta before moving into a new Georgia State Capitol. On July 4, 1889, the Georgia State Capitol was dedicated, then housing all three branches of the state government.
Happy birthday to Idaho, which became a state on July 3, 1890.
Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders charged San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War on July 1, 1898.
On July 2, 1898, the first pot of delicious Brunswick Stew was made in Brunswick, Georgia. I think I’ll celebrate with a bowl for lunch today.
On July 3, 1913, the Georgia state Senate tabled a motion to allow the Georgia Women’s Suffrage Association to address the chamber.
Coca-Cola marketed its current formula for the first time on July 1, 1916.
Construction of USS Augusta, a cruiser, began on July 2, 1928, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
She would be completed and launched in February 1930, “sponsored” by Evelyn McDaniel, of Augusta, who would later become the wife of a Superior Court judge.
Augusta saw service in the Pacific and later became a command ship during Operation Overlord and the D-Day invasion. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman traveled aboard her during wartime treaty endeavors, and the latter would publicly announce the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima from his office aboard the ship.
USS Augusta was built at Newport News Shipbuilding, where my father worked when I was a child, and where we occasionally attended christenings and launches.
On July 1, 1956, a new Georgia flag bearing the state seal and a version of the Confederate Battle Flag became effective after being adopted by the Georgia General Assembly in the 1956 Session.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on July 2, 1864. Major provisions included outlawing discriminatory application of voting laws, prohibiting racial discrimination in public accomodations, allowing the Attorney General to join lawsuits against states operating segregated public schools, and prohibiting discrimination by state and local governments or agencies receiving federal funds.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a witness to Johnson’s signature, standing behind the President in the Oval Office. Johnson presented King with one of the 72 pens used in signing the legislation.
Occasionally, pens from the Civil Rights Act signing come onto the collectors’ market. A collection of 50 pens used to sign legislation by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson went across the block in November 2013. This pen went unsold.
As a student of Dr. Merle Black in the political science department at Emory, we began our study of Southern politics from the premise that race relations and the legacy of racial discrimination shaped Southern politics. One book we read every year was The Longest Debate: A Legislative History of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which belongs on the bookshelf of any serious student of American politics, political history, and legislative process.
On July 3, 1970, the Atlanta Pop Festival was held in Byron, Georgia.
Among the artists playing at Byron were the Allman Brothers Band and Jimi Hendrix.
The Clash played their first live show on July 4, 1976 at The Black Swan in Sheffield, England.
The current Georgia Constitution became effective on July 1, 1983 after its approval in a referendum during the November 1982 General Election.
Back to the Future was released on July 3, 1985.
On July 3, 1986, President Ronald Reagan reopened the Statue of Liberty after a two-year restoration.
Georgia native Clarence Thomas was nominated to the United States Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush on July 1, 1991.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
New state laws go into effect today, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.
New state laws take effect Wednesday, bringing new mandates that will change life for Georgians in both obvious and unseen ways.
The laws that were passed this year and signed by Gov. Brian Kemp will affect everything from health and housing to safety and schooling.
There are new laws concerning religion, relationships and a child named Rio. Some were controversial and some were unifying.
Here are highlights of laws that take effect on July 1, 2026.
Consumers
Pennies are only for thoughts, after the U.S. Mint decided copper was too valuable to forge into coins destined for the bottom of fountains. House Bill 1112, which passed the state Senate unanimously and the House nearly so, requires merchants to round cash transactions at the register to the nearest nickel when customers lack exact change.
Senate Bill 439 regulates referral agencies for senior services, requiring them to disclose potential conflicts of interest by revealing relationships they have with the assisted living communities or personal care homes that they are recommending. Covered relationships include payments, ownership shares and other arrangements that could bias referrals. Enforcement falls to the state attorney general.
Development
Senate Bill 447 seeks to reduce development costs by expediting local building inspections. It gives local governments two days to notify applicants of deficiencies in their permit applications and requires more clarity around reasons for denial. The law also sets a January 2028 deadline for certain localities to establish websites with real-time permit tracking.
Drugs
Patients who have a prescription for medical marijuana can now get stronger and faster-acting doses. Senate Bill 220 lifts the state’s limit on THC content in medical marijuana and lets patients vape for faster relief. Georgia had a low adoption rate among the 42 states with medical marijuana programs, with about 34,500 registered patients and 2,200 registered caregivers when the Legislature was in session in the spring.
Education
Senate Bill 556 establishes a state-funded college scholarship for Georgia students from low-income households. The DREAMS Scholarship will begin disbursing aid in the fall from $325 million in state seed money. The program ends Georgia’s distinction as one of only two states in the nation without a need-based college scholarship.
Lawmakers also expanded a nearly two-decade-old program that funnels taxpayer dollars to primary and secondary students attending a private school. House Bill 328 increases the annual total cap on tax credits for contributions to Georgia’s student scholarship organizations to $150 million. The organizations allocate a portion of their proceeds to students in payments that the state calls scholarships but that critics call vouchers.
The new law also relaxes eligibility for some, exempting military families and students with intellectual or developmental disabilities from the requirement that they first enroll in a low-performing public school. That is the general eligibility requirement for students entering the program after first grade.
Donors who give money for scholarships can get all of it back as a credit off their state taxes. The statewide cap was $120 million, up from $50 million when lawmakers created the scholarships in 2008.
Senate Bill 150 extends a program that helps public schools fill teacher shortages by paying retired teachers in high-demand areas to return to the classroom while collecting their pensions. The program was to expire Wednesday but will now continue another four years.
Senate Bill 552, the True Patriotism and Universal Student Access Act, honors slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk by using the same acronym as the organization he founded, Turning Point USA. It requires equal access to public school facilities for student meetings, prohibiting denial of access for political or ideological reasons.
Homeownership
Residents in neighborhoods governed by condominium and homeowner associations are getting new rights from Senate Bill 406. Most of the mandates for accountability and transparency in the levy of fees and fines — and for limitations on foreclosures — will take effect in January. But a section regulating the associations’ authority to extract attorney’s fees from homeowners in payment disputes is now in effect, requiring review by judges in bench trials.
Religion
Imams, ministers, priests, rabbis and other clergy members now risk prison if they have sex with someone with whom they have a “pastoral counseling or spiritual authority relationship.” Senate Bill 542 establishes penalties, from a misdemeanor to a felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison and a $100,000 fine, with exceptions for married couples.
The concept is similar to existing laws that prohibit sexual relationships involving an authority figure when there is a power imbalance. For instance, sexual encounters between school employees and students are forbidden, as are such relationships between parole officers and their charges, hospital employees and patients, psychotherapists and their clients, police and those they arrest, and correctional officers and inmates with a disability.
Safety
Mason Sells was 20 when his heart stopped during an intramural soccer match at Mercer University two years ago. His death, which was caused by a soccer ball kicked to his chest, led to Senate Bill 399. The Mason Sells AED Coordination Act requires everyone with an automated external defibrillator to notify 911 of its location. It also gives 911 operators until the end of next year to get trained in how to coach callers to use the devices and to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Senate Bill 433 establishes a specialty license plate for people with autism or a developmental disability. Rio’s Law, named after a boy with autism, also requires training for police to avoid escalations during encounters with people who have those conditions.
Senate Bill 443 increases the financial exposure for protesters who block streets by enhancing the charge for the offense from a misdemeanor to a high and aggravated misdemeanor. Those convicted could still get up to a year in jail, but now they may also be fined up to $5,000 and could be sued by motorists and others for damages, such as for lost wages or medical costs.
House Bill 1230 makes it a felony to fly a drone over a jail or prison for criminal purposes, authorizing law enforcement agencies and officers to jam, hack and seize the aircraft. The measure is a reaction to the increasing use of unmanned aircraft to deliver drugs, weapons and other contraband to inmates.
From Atlanta News First via WTVM:
A batch of new Georgia laws takes effect today, July 1, bringing changes that range from homeowners association reforms to tougher penalties related to pimping, along with new rules impacting cryptocurrency and other issues.
Here’s a breakdown of several of the measures and what they mean for Georgians.
HB 651: School-zone automated enforcement updates
• Revises how school-zone speed cameras can be used and enforced under state law.
• Allows prosecutors (DAs/solicitors/prosecuting attorneys) to enforce civil monetary penalties tied to recorded images of school-zone speeding.
• Clarifies court/enforcement process for these camera-based citations.SB 470: “Emergency & Public Safety Signal Protection Act”
• Bans signal jammers (possession/use/sale/manufacture/import), with defined exemptions.
• Authorizes enforcement tools, including Attorney General forfeiture proceedings in certain cases.SB 406: The Georgia Property Owners’ Bill of Rights Act (aka the HOA law)
• Creates an HOA/POA registration option through the Georgia Secretary of State, with annual registration and required filings.
• Boosts transparency: homeowners get clearer access to governing documents and financial records.
• Adds a complaint path through a state-managed review/referee-style process, aimed at offering recourse short of costly lawsuits.
• Changes collections/foreclosure guardrails tied to assessments and how certain charges can be pursued.The association must provide an itemized list of reasonable attorney’s fees. In bench trials for actions recovering sums against a homeowner, the judge must review and enter an order stating whether they’re reasonable before fees can be awarded.
HB 1020: Judicial Retirement System changes for district attorneys
• Allows monthly retirement benefits at age 65 for creditable service as a district attorney under the Georgia Judicial Retirement System.
• Updates benefit calculations for new members after the law takes effect.
• Adjusts survivor benefit calculations and makes related conforming changes.HB 974: Georgia’s budget (FY 2027)
• Funds state government operations for the fiscal year running July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027.
• Impacts agency spending, staffing and program funding across Georgia.HB 1164: State Board of Education audit committee
• Requires the State Board of Education to appoint an audit committee.
• Intended to strengthen oversight and accountability in education governance.HB 1193: Georgia Early Literacy Act
• Reworks and expands Georgia’s literacy and reading efforts, including major revisions tied to dyslexia/early literacy initiatives.
• Aims to standardize and strengthen reading supports statewide.HB 1030: “Math Matters Act”
• Requires advanced math course standards and pushes expanded access to advanced math in middle and high school.
• Updates teacher prep expectations so certification programs ensure math teaching competency.HB 1302: Education and Workforce Strategy Act
• Reconstitutes the Office of Student Achievement into the Office of Education and Workforce Strategy.
• Aligns workforce planning (including apprenticeships) and designates the Technical College System of Georgia as the state apprenticeship agency.SB 589: School enrollment age date change (Quality Basic Education Act)
• Revises the deadline date for when a child must turn a certain age to enroll in kindergarten or first grade.
• Creates options for families to choose voluntary Pre-K in certain circumstances.SB 293: Makes odometer tampering a felony
• Greatly increases the minimum civil payout for victims: If someone tampers “with intent to defraud,” the violator is now liable for triple actual damages or $10,000 (whichever is greater), up from $1,500.
• Expands/keeps broad “tampering” behavior illegal: Still prohibits setting back, disconnecting, failing to connect or otherwise altering an odometer to show lower mileage than actually driven.
• Targets trafficking in tampered cars: Keeps it illegal to bring into Georgia or sell/attempt to sell a vehicle knowing it shows falsely low mileage because of tampering.
• Bans odometer “devices”: Keeps it illegal to advertise, sell, use, install or have installed any device that makes an odometer register mileage other than actual mileage.
• Raises the stakes for title fraud tied to mileage. Separately, it also classifies knowingly falsifying the odometer reading on a certificate of title as a felony offense under the title-fraud statute.SB 195: Pharmacists authorized to dispense PrEP/PEP under conditions
• Allows trained pharmacists to dispense HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) under specified requirements.
• Requires an approved training program through the Georgia State Board of Pharmacy.SB 570: “Georgia Human Trafficking Prevention Training Act”
• Requires human trafficking training for inns and short-term rental properties.
• Sets training/record-retention expectations and outlines penalties for noncompliance.SB 547: Pimping and pandering penalties
• Strengthens penalties by making offenses under Georgia’s pimping/pandering statute felony-level offenses.
• Applies updated sentencing structure moving forward.HB 340: Distraction-Free Education Act
• Portions of this law took effect July 1, 2025. Each local school system and public school was required to adopt policies and procedures for the use of personal electronic devices at school and school-sponsored events for grades K-8 by Jan. 1, 2026.But it also established a deadline for July 1, 2026. It states, “Beginning no later than July 1, 2026, no public school student in kindergarten through grade eight shall be permitted to access personal electronic devices during the school day, except as otherwise provided in this Code section or required by law.”
HB 256: Foster parents bill of rights updates
• Expands and revises protections in Georgia’s foster parents bill of rights.
• Includes relative caregivers and fictive kin and adds required administrative procedures.HB 945: Financial fraud protections for seniors, cryptocurrency regulations
• Banks can now freeze accounts if they suspect an elderly person (65+) or disabled adult is being financially exploited. The freeze can last up to 30 business days while the bank investigates. Banks are protected from lawsuits for acting in good faith.
• Regulates Bitcoin/crypto ATMs (kiosks) Crypto kiosk operators must:Display prominent warnings that transactions are irreversible and losses from fraud may not be recoverable.
• Cap fees at 18% of the transaction amount.
• Limit new customers to $2,500/day and existing customers to $10,000/day.
• Issue refunds to new customers who were scammed (within 72 hours of request).
Provide live phone support, hire a compliance officer, and screen for high-risk wallets.
• Tightens rules on litigation finance companies: Companies that fund lawsuits in exchange for a cut of winnings must now register annually, undergo background checks and disclose their identity in all contracts. The state can issue cease-and-desist orders to unregistered operators.HB 483: Protections for code enforcement inspectors
• Creates enhanced penalties for assaults/batteries against code enforcement inspectors under certain circumstances.
• Intended to deter threats or attacks during inspections/enforcement work.HB 1129: Enterprise zones changes
• Updates rules for local enterprise zones, including limits and criteria.
• Clarifies tax treatment, fees, and bond-related provisions, with an exception process in the law.HB 1470: New cause of action for abusive website accessibility litigation
• Creates a way to sue over abusive litigation tied to alleged website access violations.
• Establishes evaluation factors and a rebuttable presumption if corrective action is taken after notice, plus potential Attorney General involvement.
Over 100 bills will become law in Georgia on July 1, addressing public safety, health and wellness and more.
Rio’s Law
House Bill 433, also known as Rio’s Law, will require law enforcement officers to receive training on how to approach drivers with autism during a traffic stop.
It will also give drivers with autism the option to get custom license plates informing officers that they, or a passenger in the car, has autism.
Greg Cochran, an academy manager with the Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC), said the GPSTC has been training police officers on how to help those with autism since 2017.
He said he feels making it a requirement will support those drivers.
“I think it’s essential in providing public safety and ensuring a positive outcome in the encounters we may have,” Cochran said. “I believe it creates a safer, more predictable and respectful encounter, which is going to allow for better outcomes, which we want.”
The Georgia Human Trafficking Prevention Training Act
Senate Bill 570 will require inn workers and short-term rental operators be trained on the signs of human trafficking.
Kate Gallop, the outreach manager for Savannah-based Tharros Place, said more than half of survivors report encountering a hotel worker at some point.
Tharros Place is a shelter for those who have survived human trafficking.
“When we talk to a lot of sheriffs and police, they describe a very short window where traffickers and trafficking survivors can be identified,” said Gallop. “So it’s essential for people who work in hotels to understand what trafficking really does look like.”
Expanded safe haven laws
HB 350 will allow for safe haven baby boxes to be installed in fire stations, police stations and hospitals.
This will give parents a way to make sure their child is cared for if they can’t do it themselves.
The boxes work by sounding an alarm if a baby is placed in the box. Firefighters or medical professionals will then take the baby to a safe place where it can be cared for.
The Pooler Fire Department is planning on having a baby box at all of its locations soon.
“I see this as an opportunity for somebody that, you know, has no other options other than to put this child, you know, in a box and give it a life, and doing so again, that is the ultimate brave thing to do,” said Corey Monroe, EMS captain at the Pooler Fire Department.
Parents will also be able to surrender a baby inside an ambulance or other public safety vehicle with the new law.
Augusta-area cannabis dispensaries are open for business on Wednesday, officially marking new changes to Georgia’s medical marijuana law.
Senate Bill 220, the “Putting Georgia’s Patients First Act,” signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp in May, expands eligibility requirements for people in the state’s cannabis program. Participants can use oils, edibles, and smokable products containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis used to manage pain or mood.
People wishing to join the state’s program must be certified by physicians who issue diagnoses of qualifying conditions and register applicants with the Georgia Department of Public Health. The program card, valid for two years, costs $30.
Allowable conditions now include cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, sickle cell anemia, lupus, autism spectrum disorder, chronic pain, and severe Alzheimer’s disease.
Smoking cannabis is still prohibited, but patients aged 21 and older can now vape legal products, although not in public.
Local co-sponsors of S.B. 220 included state Sens. Lee Anderson, R-Grovetown; Harold Jones, D-Augusta; and Mark Newton, R-Augusta.
Some students going back to school in August can kiss their cellphones goodbye during the day, thanks to one of the hundreds of new laws going into effect in Georgia on July 1.
Students in kindergarten through eighth grade will be subject to a “bell-to-bell” ban on cellphones, smart watches and other personal electronic devices. Next year, high school students will be subject to the same restrictions.
Though the K-8 ban has a July 1 start date, many Georgia school districts got a head start by implementing creative storage solutions or policies designed to keep devices out of sight.
Lawmakers approved a $38.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2027, which begins today. But the final product was shaped by Gov. Brian Kemp’s veto pen.
The budget includes a host of new spending, including $70.4 million for literacy coaches in every elementary school, $11.7 million for school enrollment growth, $213.3 million for school construction and $44.7 million in additional lottery funds for HOPE scholarships.
But Kemp vetoed more than $300 million in spending, citing the effects of a big income tax cut that takes effect this year.
Lawmakers voted to continue to pare back the state’s income tax rate and exempt some cash tips and overtime from taxes, making those changes retroactive to Jan. 1.
While a federal restriction on hemp products looms, Georgia’s Legislature expanded the use of medicinal cannabis. A state law will allow medical patients 22 or older to vape their products, something advocates say provides patients with quicker relief than oil tinctures.
The law also lifts the cap of Georgia’s current 5% THC concentration limit for medical cannabis products and expands the conditions that qualify a person for a medical cannabis card.
Lawmakers who opposed the measure warned that such changes could be abused, casting the measure as a backdoor to recreational use rather than to treat a medical condition.
A recall effort against suspended Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch has been started, according to AccessWDUN.
Access North Georgia got confirmation from Hall County’s Director of Elections that an application for a recall petition has been filed against Sheriff Gerald Couch.
The petition, filed by Melanie Garrish, claims Couch has committed malfeasance, violated his oath of office, committed an act of misconduct, and is guilty of a failure to perform his duties.
“We filed it because we believe that Hall County deserves a sheriff that’s going to give 100% to our county, and we don’t believe that our current sheriff, in the condition that he’s in, is capable of doing that,” Garrish told Access North Georgia Tuesday. “If you believe that our county deserves better, then you need to sign the petition. If you believe that we need leadership that’s going to be there for the people that put their lives on the line every day, then you need to be out there signing the petition, because you need somebody that’s going to be active in that position.”
Garrish cites Couch’s February driving under the influence (DUI) arrest and his subsequent Dawson County arrest in May for violating his limited driving permit. Couch returned to office on June 15 after a cumulative 90-day suspension by Governor Brian Kemp.
What happens next?
Director of Elections Lori Wurtz confirmed to Access North Georgia that the application has been received and meets the required initial 100 voter signatures, though they are in the signature verification process at this time.
Concerned citizen Vickie Kanady told Access North Georgia that it is their understanding Wurtz will review the signatures and notify them when to pick the next packet up.
Number of signatures needed
Under the Georgia Public Officers Recall Act of 1989, an application can not be filed during the first or last 180-days of the term of the person holding office. Couch’s current term began in January of 2025 and ends early 2029.
Georgia code dictates that, for a local office holder, at least 30% of the electors registered and qualified to vote in the last election for the office must sign in the presence of the petition circulator. The petitioner must also execute the affidavit of verification and the elector shall sign his or her name, print their name, and print or write their residence address.
For Hall County Sheriff, that would be 42,243 voters.
Garrish said they can divide up into teams and then will have to get it notarized. Their strategy? A mix of community drives and canvassing door-to-door.
Potential petition in Superior Court
Additionally, within four days after the submission of the initial application, Couch can file a petition in Hall County Superior Court to review the grounds for the recall “on an expedited basis.”
If a ruling of sufficiency is handed down, the recall proceedings may continue.
“We have mentally prepared ourselves for that,” Garrish said. “We have gone back and forth … all we’ll do is get up there and tell the truth why we filed it and what we believe is reason to have the petition.”
When an election may take place
If a judge rules a recall is valid and the 42,243 signatures are gathered upon review by the election superintendent, a recall election will be published and be conducted 30 to 45 days after verification. If a general or primary election occurs within that timeframe, it will be conducted then.
Voters will vote “yes” or “no” on the recall, and if the yeses exceed 50%, the office will become vacant. A special election will be called 30 to 45 days after the recall election to fill the vacancy.
The process is long and drawn out, and the recall application is in its initial stages. Access North Georgia will update this article when more information becomes available.
Chatham County Superior Court Chief Judge John Morse issued a Temporary Restraining Order to prevent enforcement of new horse carriage rules in Savannah, according to the Savannah Morning News.
A Chatham County judge extended an order blocking Savannah from enforcing its 85-degree temperature limit on horse-drawn carriage tours on Tuesday, allowing operators to continue running tours until temperatures reach 92 degrees while the legal challenge proceeds.
Savannah City Council voted in August 2025 to lower the maximum operating temperature for horse-drawn carriage tours from 95 degrees to 85 degrees, with the ordinance taking effect Jan. 1, 2026. Two local carriage companies sued the city in May, arguing the regulation would cause “irreparable injury” by threatening their businesses.
A law, passed by the General Assembly this year and signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in April, limits local governments’ ability to regulate livestock.
When the suit was filed, it came with a request by the tour operators for a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing the city from enforcing the new regulations until the litigation was resolved.
The plaintiffs argue that Savannah’s ordinance conflicts with a state statute passed during this year’s legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp on April 22. The law, HB413, amended a provision prohibiting municipal regulation of crop management or animal husbandry practices on private property.
HB413 added a new provision that prohibited municipal regulation of “any livestock or owner located on any private property or public road.” In a Facebook post explaining the legislation, which also dealt with transfer-on-death deeds, bill sponsor Rep. David Jenkins (R-Grantville) referenced the City of Savannah’s new regulations.
“Essentially the City of Savannah passed some very restrictive ordinances that threatened the viability of the carriage horse industry. This bill prevents cities from doing that,” Jenkins said in the post previously reported by the Savannah Morning News.
The city argues the statute does not apply to Savannah’s horse-drawn carriage businesses because they are not “involved in the production of agricultural or farm products.”
According to court documents, the city argues the plaintiffs are taking one phrase from the state law — “any livestock or owner located on any private property or public road” — out of context. The city says the language must be read as part of the broader agricultural law, not as a standalone provision that applies to horse-drawn carriage businesses.
Chatham County Superior Court Chief Judge John Morse granted the TRO until Tuesday’s hearing, which was postponed from its originally scheduled date on June 5. That TRO initiated the pause on enforcement that was extended Tuesday.
“Plaintiffs have demonstrated a substantial threat of irreparable injury if the temporary restraining order is not granted, including imminent business losses, threatened citations and permit consequences under a preempted ordinance, and harm to the welfare of approximately (30) thirty draft horse dependent on revenue from the carriage tour operators,” Judge Morse wrote in his ruling at the time.
Democratic candidate for Governor Keisha Lance Bottoms proposes allowing casino gambling to fund universal pre-k, according to Georgia Recorder.
Key points:
• Georgia’s decades-old pre-K program is struggling to keep up with demand in some areas, not providing enough spaces for 4-year-olds.
• In a number of counties, fewer than 50% of 4-year-olds are served by state-funded pre-K.
• Experts say that while some parents will always opt against state-funded classrooms, Georgia should be trying to serve 75% or more of children to meet its claim to provide universal pre-K.
Georgia’s prekindergarten program for 4-year-olds is supposed to provide a free spot to any parent who wants to enroll their child.
But that universal guarantee has been voided by a shortage of classrooms in parts of the state.
Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee for governor, says she wants to fill that gap if she’s elected.
Blake Osborne, who lives in Cobb County, is among those who have struggled. He was facing paying $1,600 a month for prekindergarten for his 4-year-old daughter until she came off a waiting list at one of the six state-paid programs the family applied to.
“If it’s universal, that means there should be a spot for every kid,” Osborne said.
Bottoms’ plan calls for providing places for all 4-year-olds, financed by legalizing casino gambling. It projects spending another $330 million on pre-K, a 57% increase over the 2026 budget year’s $580 million. But even as Bottoms’ plan projects a place for every single child, it agrees with experts that not every parent will choose public pre-K.
The cost of childcare is an intensifying issue for Democrats. Last year, New Mexico became the first state to launch free childcare for most children from birth to age 13. In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani made universal publicly financed childcare a cornerstone of his campaign.
“As a mother of four, I know every child deserves a strong start in school. Yet each year in Georgia, thousands of four-year-olds are left behind,” Bottoms said in a statement. “Families face long pre-k waiting lists, and the program reaches only about 60% of eligible children. Faced with a months-long wait, many families are not signing up at all.
“My plan creates a dedicated, recurring funding source, without raising taxes, to ensure that every parent who wants their child to attend Georgia’s pre-k program has that opportunity,” she added.
Georgia was the first state to offer universal prekindergarten for 4-year-olds in 1995, after voters approved Gov. Zell Miller’s plan for a lottery, which also dedicates funding for HOPE Scholarships in college. But the share of Georgia 4-year-olds in prekindergarten plateaued, then dropped during the pandemic, and hasn’t recovered.
The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning said an average of 3,862 children were on waiting lists during the last school year. It projects it will serve 57% of eligible students next school year.“It’s not getting anywhere to what we would consider a universal program,” said Allison Friedman-Krauss, an associate research professor at the National Institute for Early Education Research. “We want to see those numbers in the 70s and the 80s to show that all children who want the program can have access to it.”
Both the Child Care Trust and the Center for American Progress have published analyses showing that Georgia, like other states, lack childcare slots.
Some of the drop in 4-year-old enrollment may come from changing parental preferences about sending their kids to school. DECAL Deputy Commissioner Susan Adams said the department is studying family demand, but said older data showed spaces for 75% of 4-year-olds would meet demand.
Erica Boone sees the need for more capacity in Columbia County, where DECAL projects it will serve only 47% of 4-year-olds next year. That’s 11th-worst statewide.
Boone directs Cornerstone Academy in Martinez. Her childcare center began hosting a state-paid prekindergarten class last August.
Cornerstone previously offered a 4-year-old class with parents paying $245 a week. But many parents were withdrawing children to seek spaces in the state program.
“Honestly, they just can’t afford it,” Boone said. “But they still want their kids to have that great start.”
Now, the classroom is at the state-mandated cap of 20 and Cornerstone has five children on a waiting list. Boone said parents routinely call seeking spots.
Georgia has been spending more on pre-K, adding $100 million over a four-year period beginning in 2024 to reduce class sizes from 22 to 20, to boost teacher salaries and increase the number of classes.
Cutting class sizes means Georgia now meets all of NIEER’s quality benchmarks, becoming the largest state program to do so.
But Georgia must add 100 new classrooms yearly to maintain total enrollment while decreasing class sizes. Atop that, Adams said the state has been adding an additional 30 to 60 classrooms yearly to meet unmet demand.
Alisha Thomas Searcy is a former state lawmaker and CEO of the nonprofit Center for Strong Public Schools who advised Bottoms on her plan. She said the state needs to do more to prioritize capacity.
“They made a conscious decision to focus on the quality of the program rather than focusing on opening more seats, which is admirable, but it still doesn’t speak to the fact that there are kids who need access,” she said.
Bottoms’ plan calls for creating a space for every eligible child. But others say the level of need is more nuanced, with some counties having plenty of slots and parents unlikely to send every 4-year-old to school. Hanah Goldberg, director of research and policy for the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, said the picture is “complicated.”
“What you see, at least within the metro area, is that there are these pockets where we have supply challenges, but they’re spread all throughout the metro area,” Goldberg said.
To meet her plan’s estimated cost of up to $330 million, Bottoms calls for a state constitutional amendment to legalize and tax casino gambling, requiring a two-thirds vote in each chamber of the General Assembly and approval by a majority of voters. No casino gambling amendment has come anywhere close to passing in recent years.
Alternately, Searcy suggested the lottery could cover increased spending, as it has for the current improvement plan. Some Republicans voice worries about spending the lottery’s surplus cash, threatening the sustainability of existing programs.
But Searcy said the alternative is children going without quality care.
“For low income families that can’t afford to pay for a quality private pre-K program, how do we make sure those children have access?”
Georgia Republicans lauded a United States Supreme Court ruling on school sports, according to the Associated Press and Atlanta News First via WALB.
Georgia Republicans praised Tuesday morning’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld state bans in Idaho and West Virginia prohibiting transgender girls and women from playing on their public school and college sports teams.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision upholding fairness in women’s sports is a win for common sense and young athletes across the country,” Gov. Brian Kemp said on social media. “As the parents of three daughters, Marty and I applaud this further protection of Title IX for Georgia’s women and young girls.”
Attorney General Chris Carr, who previously joined 27 other attorneys general in filing two friend-of-the-court briefs in support of both the Save Women’s Sports Act and the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, also hailed the ruling.
“This is a major victory that will protect female athletes for generations to come, and we’re proud to have partnered with our fellow attorneys general on both cases,” Carr, fresh off an unsuccessful bid himself for Georgia’s GOP gubernatorial nomination, said. “Women’s sports are for women only, and now the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed — upholding the legacy of Title IX and ensuring equal opportunity on the field. We have taken action here in Georgia to preserve fair competition, and this decision paves the way for every other State to do the same.”
Rick Jackson, the billionaire healthcare CEO who did win the Republican gubernatorial nomination and is set to face former one-term Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in November, applauded “today’s common sense ruling by the Supreme Court.”
Progressives disagreed with the ruling. “The Supreme Court’s decision is disappointing, and it is hurtful to transgender young people and their families, especially in states like Georgia where our existing bans have been given clearance to stand,” said Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality. “Allowing states to pass blanket bans that exclude transgender students from every sport, at every age, and at every level of competition does not advance fairness.”
A ban on transgender athletes participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams in Georgia is likely here to stay after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upheld similar bans in two other states Tuesday.
The decision, which was released on the final day of LGBTQ Pride month, upholds bans in Idaho and West Virginia, with the justices ruling that such laws do not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Georgia’s ban, which took effect one year ago on Wednesday, is known as the Riley Gaines Act after a college swimmer who tied for fifth place with a transgender swimmer during a tournament at Georgia Tech. The law prevents transgender athletes from playing on team sports that match their gender identity at both K-12 and college levels. It also requires separate facilities — including restrooms, locker rooms and sleeping areas — for men and women at athletic events and sets up a pathway to legally challenge schools that violate the law.
Advocates for the LGBTQ community in Georgia, such as Georgia Equality’s executive director Jeff Graham, swiftly condemned the decision.
“The Supreme Court’s decision is disappointing, and it is hurtful to transgender young people and their families — especially in states like Georgia where our existing bans have been given clearance to stand,” Graham said in a statement. “Allowing states to pass blanket bans that exclude transgender students from every sport, at every age, and at every level of competition does not advance fairness.”
He also cautioned that such policies could result in “witch hunts” that can target any child who doesn’t conform to gender stereotypes.
But Republican officials, such as Attorney General Chris Carr, applauded the ruling and highlighted efforts to restrict transgender students from participating on sports teams that align with their gender identity in Georgia. The Georgia High School Association and National Collegiate Athletic Association have both banned transgender girls from competing on girls’ teams, and the Riley Gaines Act codified the ban.
“We have taken action here in Georgia to preserve fair competition, and this decision paves the way for every other state to do the same,” Carr said in a statement.
Carl Charles, an Atlanta-based attorney at Lambda Legal who helped represent the plaintiff in the West Virginia case, expressed disappointment with the ruling, but said the Supreme Court’s decision notably did not restrict states from letting trans athletes compete on teams that are consistent with their gender identity.
“The decision is very clear that it does not stop states from legislating inclusivity as their policy,” he said.
But for states with bans already in place, such as Georgia, the decision likely extinguishes any possibility of overturning those laws through the courts.
“At least for now, it closes the door on challenges to the Riley Gaines Act,” Charles added.
Candidates running for statewide office were also quick to weigh in on the ruling. Rick Jackson, the Republican nominee for governor, celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision, calling it a “common sense ruling,” and issuing a jab at his opponent, Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms.
“As Governor I will always safeguard our children from a woke and radical ideology,” he said in a statement.
Bottoms’ campaign spokesperson, TaNisha Cameron, responded with this statement:
“As Keisha has said, she is the mother of four children, including a twin daughter and son, and understands that there are important differences between male and female athletes in competitive sports. However, Keisha believes decisions about athletic participation should be made by the appropriate athletic governing bodies — not by politicians.”
U.S. Rep. Clayton Fuller (R-Extreme NW GA) is calling for a Constitutional Amendment after the U.S. Supreme Court decision on birthright citizenship, according to the Savannah Morning News.
In a landmark 6-3 decision in the nation’s highest court, the Justices rejected President Donald Trump’s proposed limits on who constitutes a citizen in the United States, part of his immigration policy.
The Justices ruled the president cannot redefine birthright citizenship, and all children who are born in the United States, whether their parents are in the country legally or not, satisfy citizenship requirements in the 14th amendment.
“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights − to freely participate in our political community,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. “The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today.”
In a statement posted on X following the Court’s decision, Representative Fuller from Georgia’s 14th congressional district, accused the Court of “prioritizing the future of illegals over Americans.”
“The invasion must stop,” Fuller wrote. “Congress needs to take decisive action.”
Fuller then referred back to a resolution he proposed in the House of Representatives back in May, H.J.Res. 172.
The resolution would require anyone born in the United States to have at least one citizen or legal resident parent to earn citizenship. Anyone born in the United States to two illegal parents would not be a citizen.
Fuller previously criticized temporary protected status, or TPS, which was used for many Syrian and Haitian refugees in the United States, and called Somalis “fraudsters,” “pirates,” and “thugs.” He celebrated the Supreme Court decision ending TPS for Haiti and Syria earlier this month.
“Temporary means temporary. Send them back. Put Americans first!” Fuller wrote on X.
He has also joked about deporting fellow Representative Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia, on social media.
Lowndes County Commissioners adopted an FY 2027 budget, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
Very few major changes were made compared to the 2026 budget, with the most significant being a $7 million increase in SPLOST VIII and a $17 million increase in SPLOST XI for 2027. 2025’s fiscal year was also reported as the lowest millage rate in Lowndes County’s recent history going back to 2006.
The FY2027 total budget is $193,127,057, an increase from the FY2026 budget of $165,658,955. This is a 16.58% increase from last year’s budget. Revenue for the 2027 year is predicted to be $72,804,350, a $526,850 increase from 2026.
Just over 85% of the county revenue is reported to come from taxes, with 57% of those being property taxes. Nearly 42% of expenditures for the county are reportedly going towards public safety.
Georgia Bald Eagles are having a “banner year,” according to WRGA News.
This year’s survey of bald eagles nesting in Georgia may have covered less territory than usual. But the results point to a population that is still going strong.
The survey by the state Department of Natural Resources rated nest success for bald eagles above average in all areas checked, according to survey leader Dr. Bob Sargent.
The survey was shaped by Sargent’s retirement as a DNR program manager in March – some follow-up flights are done in April – and issues including bad weather that nixed a handful of northeast Georgia nest checks. Yet while the sample size was smaller for the DNR surveys in even-numbered years, nearly half of all known eagle nests in the state were monitored, providing a reliable measure of productivity.
Of 113 occupied nest territories recorded, 101 were successful, fledging 170 eaglets (1.7 per nest) – an 89 percent success rate. The totals for nest success and fledging topped long-term averages. Accounting for nests not checked, Sargent said the findings suggest Georgia again had over 200 nests, as it has since 2015, and the number of nesting eagles continued to increase in some areas, even if that trend has slowed over the last 10 years.
“This year’s results reflect a population that is having a strong year acquiring food resources and has clearly bounced back from the serious hit productivity took – especially on the coast – during the initial avian influenza outbreak in 2022. Unfortunately, we have evidence that the disease persists in Georgia and elsewhere across the U.S. But our survey shows that these magnificent birds are resilient.”
Bald eagles have rebounded here and across the species’ range. Factors fueling the recovery include a U.S. ban on DDT use in 1972, habitat improvements after enactment of the federal Clean Water and Clean Air acts, protection through the Endangered Species Act, increased public awareness, restoration of local populations through release programs, and forest regrowth.
Following a steep decline in the eagle population in Georgia, the state went from no known successful nests during most of the 1970s to one in 1981, 55 by the turn of the century, and more than 200 today.
DNR monitors eagle nesting by helicopter twice a year, splitting the state into five sections for surveys. Flights in January and February mark nests in use. Follow-ups in March and April help gauge how the nests fared.
The state’s six coastal counties are surveyed annually. During even-numbered years, nests are checked in northeast and central Georgia, as well as the north/northwest region of the state. Volunteers also monitor about 15-20 nests statewide each year, sharing their observations with DNR.
The 2026 survey covered the coastal counties and barrier islands, a swath of northeast Georgia framed by Athens, Dublin and Augusta-area reservoirs, and several reservoirs between Atlanta and Macon. Data on 16 nests that volunteers checked from the ground were also included. (A follow-up survey flight was not completed for some nests east of Milledgeville and along lakes Richard B. Russell and Hartwell.)
Nest success rates ranged from 88 percent on the coast to 91 percent in central and northeast Georgia and 94 percent for the volunteer-monitored nests. The rates are notably higher than the long-term averages of 70-75 percent. But Sargent also cautioned that conducting the follow-up survey flight earlier than normal on the coast this year could have led to a slightly inflated nest success rate for that region.
The number of occupied nests surveyed on the coast has varied over the last 10 years from the low 70s to the mid-80s, so the 75 recorded this year is average, he said. DNR typically documents 30-35 occupied nests in the central and northeast Georgia areas. This year’s results would have been consistent with that range if the entire follow-up survey could have been completed.
The public is encouraged to report eagle nests via https://georgiawildlife.com/bald-eagle, or (478) 994-1438). Such reports typically lead to the discovery of 10-15 new nests a year. (Tip: Osprey nests are sometimes confused with eagles. Learn more at https://georgiawildlife.com/bald-eagle.)
DNR works with landowners to help protect bald eagle nests on private property. Although delisted from the Endangered Species Act in 2007, eagles are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and state law. In Georgia, the species is classified as threatened.
The surveys of these birds are part of DNR Wildlife Conservation Section’s mission to conserve nongame wildlife – native animals not legally hunted or fished for – and native plants and natural habitats.
The conservation of bald eagles is supported in part by people who buy an eagle or monarch license plate or renew these or the older hummingbird designs. The tags cost only $25 more than a standard license plate and $19 of each purchase and $20 of each annual renewal goes to help conserve eagles and hundreds of other Georgia plant and animal species listed as species of conservation concern.
EAGLE NESTING IN GEORGIA/AT A GLANCE
Occupied bald eagle nest territories: 113*
Successful nests: 101
Young fledged: 170 (1.68 per nest)
New nests (first time surveyed): 11
Overall nest success rate: 89%
By region:Coast: 75 occupied nests; 66 successful; 112 young fledged; three new nests
Northeast-central: 22 occupied; 20 successful; 31 young fledged; four new nests
Nests not monitored by flights: 16 occupied; 15 successful; 27 young fledged; four new nests
Tybee Island broke their previous record for sea turtle nests, according to WSAV.
Tybee Island has officially broken their 2022 record for sea turtle nesting, Tybee Island Marine Science Center (TIMSC) officials announced Tuesday.
The previous record, set in 2022, was 35 nests. As of June 30, 2026, the island has 39 nests “and counting,” a TIMSC spokesperson reported.
Officials said the protections set for loggerheads a little over 30 years ago has directly impacted increased numbers. It takes approximately 30 years for a turtle to become sexually active, meaning that babies that were protected back then are now the ones old enough to lay eggs.
“We shall see these turtles back here around 2056 and beyond,” a TIMSC spokesperson said in response to a commenter.
Eggs will hatch around 50-60 days after being laid. Nesting continues through August, but the full season runs annually from May 1-Oct. 31.
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