Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for July 12, 2024

John Percival, an Irish Member of Parliament who served as a Georgia Trustee, was born on July 12, 1733.

In the British House of Commons, Percival served on the committee on jails with a young member named James Oglethorpe, who shared his idea about a new colony in North America for the deserving poor. Percival, like Oglethorpe became a Georgia Trustee, and during Georgia’s first decade, with Oglethorpe in America, Percival worked harder than anyone to champion Georgia’s cause and secure its future.

On July 13, 1787, Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance, in which states ceded some claims to the west, and a process was set up for admitting new states.

Happy Bastille Day on Sunday, celebrating the 235th anniversary of Bastille Day, 14 July 1789, when citizens stormed the Bastille, a prison in Paris.

On July 14, 1798, the Alien and Sedition Act became federal law.

The first three acts took aim at the rights of immigrants. The period of residency required before immigrants could apply for citizenship was extended from five to 14 years, and the president gained the power to detain and deport those he deemed enemies. President Adams never took advantage of his newfound ability to deny rights to immigrants. However, the fourth act, the Sedition Act, was put into practice and became a black mark on the nation’s reputation. In direct violation of the Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of speech, the Sedition Act permitted the prosecution of individuals who voiced or printed what the government deemed to be malicious remarks about the president or government of the United States. Fourteen Republicans, mainly journalists, were prosecuted, and some imprisoned, under the act.

The United States Army Medal of Honor was created on July 12, 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation authorizing the award.

The first U.S. Army soldiers to receive what would become the nation’s highest military honor were six members of a Union raiding party who in 1862 penetrated deep into Confederate territory to destroy bridges and railroad tracks between Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia.

On July 14, 1864, General Sherman issued Special Field Order 35, outlining the plan for the Battle of Atlanta.

On July 13, 1865, James Johnson as provisional Governor of Georgia, issued a proclamation freeing slaves and calling an election in October of that year to elect delegates to a state Consitutional Convention. Johnson had previously opposed Georgia’s secession and after the war was appointed Governor by President Andrew Johnson.

Savannah, Georgia-born John C. Fremont, who was the first Presidential nominee of the Republican Party in 1856, died in New York City on July 13, 1890.

On July 13, 1960, John F. Kennedy was nominated as the Democratic candidate for President.

Lt. Frank Reasoner of Kellogg, Idaho died in action on July 12, 1965 and was later posthumously awarded the first Medal of Honor to a United States Marines for action in Vietnam.

Atlanta Brave Hank Aaron hit his 500th Home Run on July 14, 1968.

On July 14, 1976, former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter won the Democratic nomination for President at the Democratic National Convention.

On July 12, 1984, Congresswoman Geradine Ferraro (R-NY) joined the Democratic ticket with Presidential nominee Walter Mondale. Ferraro was the first woman and first Italian-American woman nominated for Vice President. Mondale and Ferraro lost the General Election in the largest ever Republican landslide to Republican President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George Bush.

On July 13, 2013, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter first appeared on Facebook.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Governor Brian Kemp’s Office released June tax revenue numbers, according to a Press Release.

The State of Georgia’s net tax collections in June approached a total of $3.03 billion, for an increase of $185.4 million or 6.5 percent compared to FY 2023, when net tax collections totaled $2.84 billion for the month.

Year-to-date, net tax revenue totaled almost $32.95 billion, for a decrease of $182.2 million or 0.5 percent compared to FY 2023, during which the state’s motor fuel excise tax was suspended for more than half the fiscal year, until January 10, 2023. Net of motor fuel tax changes, net revenues for the year-ended June 30 were down 3.4 percent from fiscal year 2023.

The changes within the following tax categories help to further explain June’s overall net tax revenue increase:

Individual Income Tax: Individual Income Tax collections approached $1.33 billion, for an increase of $36.4 million or 2.8 percent compared to last year when Individual Tax collections totaled $1.29 billion.

The following notable components within Individual Income Tax combine for the net increase:

• Individual Income Tax refunds issued (net of voided checks) were down $64.5 million or 39.6 percent
• Individual Withholding payments were down $47.2 million or 4 percent from the previous year
• Individual Income Tax Estimated payments increased by $9.1 million or 6.3 percent over FY 2023
• All other Individual Tax categories, including Return payments, were up a combined $10 million

Sales and Use Tax: Gross Sales and Use Tax collections totaled $1.55 billion for June, for an increase of $43.9 million or 2.9 percent compared to June 2023. Net Sales and Use Tax increased by $5.3 million or 0.7 percent compared to last year, when net sales tax totaled $751.3 million. The adjusted Sales Tax distribution to local governments totaled $791.6 million, for an increase of $41.9 million or 5.6 percent, while Sales Tax refunds decreased by $3.3 million or 43.1 percent compared to FY 2023.

Corporate Income Tax: Corporate Income Tax collections for the month totaled $537.4 million, for an increase of $128.5 million or 31.4 percent compared to June FY 2023.

The following notable components within Corporate Income Tax make up the net increase:

• Corporate Income Tax refunds issued (net of voids) were down $161.6 million or 91.5 percent from FY 2023
• Corporate Tax Estimated payments decreased by $60.1 million or 13.9 percent from the previous year
• Corporate Income Tax Return payments increased by $1.1 million or 2.8 percent over last fiscal year
• All other Corporate Tax types, including Tax Assessment payments, were up a combined $25.9 million

Motor Fuel Taxes: Motor Fuel Tax collections increased by nearly $9 million or 4.7 percent compared to FY 2023.

Motor Vehicle – Tag & Title Fees: Motor Vehicle Tag & Title Fees for June decreased by $2.1 million or 6 percent while Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) collections increased by roughly $1 million or 1.3 percent over last year.

Governor Brian Kemp issued Executive Order #07.09.24.01, implementing the previously announced appointment of John Blake Cunningham as State Court Judge for the Coweta Circuit, a previously announced appointment.

Governor Kemp spoke to Martha Zoller on WDUN, according to AccessWDUN.

Kemp discussed the memorial for Massey held on Monday in Gainesville.

“It was a great tribute, I think probably the best line that I stole from Governor Deal about Abit was he was the best Georgia Governor we never had,” Kemp said.

Kemp said Massey was loved by Republicans and Democrats alike.

“The rotary tribute a few weeks ago, where you had, myself, Governor Deal, Governor Barnes, and then Chancellor Perdue, our former governor, all did tributes for him at that event,” Kemp said. “Republicans and Democrats and it really spoke to his passion for Gainesville and Hall County, for the poultry industry, but also for our state universities, just so many things that cut across the political divide. And he was so well respected from both sides of the aisle. And I think that was certainly prevalent at the memorial service the other day.”

Kemp talked about his second trip to South Korea.

“One of the big announcements we have done up in the Hall County area was CJ Foodville, just an incredible company and their presence is going to grow not only in Georgia but across the United States. So that’s a big win for Hall County,” Kemp said. “It was just a great trip, we also met with some prospects over there that we are very high on and really down to probably the last two or three states that they are considering. And so it was really a timely trip for us. Not only say thank you to over 120 Korean companies that are doing business in Georgia, and literally hiring 10s of 1000s of our people and putting a lot of our contractors to work but also to work on new deals for the future.”

The governor discussed the growth seen throughout northeast Georgia over recent years.

“We have averaged about five projects a year in the Hall County area since I’ve been governor, and that’s off of the heels of, just the tremendous things that Governor Deal announced while he was in office, especially coming out of the Great Recession, when we all got elected on the statewide ticket in 2010,” Kemp said. “Growing jobs and getting our economy back going was the number one issue by far in that campaign.”

Kemp gave an update on the Rivian manufacturing plant being built in Georgia after Volkwagon invested $1 billion into Rivian.

“We are in conversations with them to better understand how that relationship will be and what that means for the Georgia site. I’m hopeful that we’ll know more in the next couple of weeks,” Kemp said “They still have told us that they are committed to building on the Georgia site. We have a commitment to them, and we are honoring that until that changes that is going to continue to be our position.”

The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision and held that Attorney General Chris Carr (R-Cobb County) may proceed in a lawsuit against the New Georgia Project, which was founded by two-time Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Dalton Daily Citizen News.

The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals this week overturned a lower court decision that was blocking the state from pursuing a civil enforcement action against the nonprofit New Georgia Project through the Office of State Administrative Hearings.

The case goes back to 2019, when the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission began investigating a complaint that accused the group of failing to report millions of dollars in election spending in 2018 and 2019.

The commission issued an order in 2022 finding reasonable grounds that New Georgia Project had failed to register with the commission.

“This decision is a victory for transparency in campaign finance,” Carr said of Monday’s appellate court ruling. “Rather than simply comply with Georgia law, New Georgia Project chose years of costly litigation and lost. These rules apply to everyone, and we will ensure they are upheld.”

New Georgia Project had challenged two of the state’s campaign-finance laws as unconstitutional violations of the First Amendment.

Monday’s decision did not address the merits of the group’s arguments. Instead, the appellate court ruled that the lower federal court lacked jurisdiction to issue an injunction blocking the attorney general from pursuing the civil case.

Fair Fight, also founded by Stacey Abrams, continues raising money, according to the AJC.

The voting rights group that Stacey Abrams started after her first gubernatorial defeat was credited with playing a major role in Democrat Joe Biden’s surprising 2020 win in Georgia, spending $65 million to aid the party’s success that year.

Four years later, Fair Fight officials are just hoping the group is on the financial mend, with its political action committee having raised $1.57 million in 2024 as of June 30, according to filings with the Georgia Ethics Commission.

Still, Fair Fight’s filing shows its fundraising is picking up and thousands of small-money donors from across the country continue to send the organization money, with 51,000 contributions since Jan. 1. The celebrity and big-money donors of 2019-2022 haven’t been so plentiful since Abrams lost her second gubernatorial election to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022.

“With strong fundraising fueled by over 50,000 individual contributions since January, Fair Fight is moving forward on rebuilding to continue taking on the big voting rights and ballot access fights this year and for the long haul,” [Fair Fight CEO Lauren Groh-Wargo] said in a statement to the AJC.

Former Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine (R-Gwinnett) will be sentenced in federal court today, according to the AJC.

Facing up to 10 years in prison, former Georgia insurance commissioner and gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine has asked an Atlanta judge to be lenient when sentencing him Friday in a federal case accusing him of taking part in a $3 million health care fraud scheme.

Oxendine, 62, pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and agreed to pay almost $700,000 in restitution as part of a deal with prosecutors. The government wants Oxendine to spend three years and eight months in prison and pay a $700,000 fine, citing his “significant net worth” in court filings.

Oxendine, an attorney and insurance consultant, said his achievements as insurance commissioner and support from friends and family should factor into a lesser prison sentence than what prosecutors sought. He provided 59 support letters to the court describing his good character, including those from former insurance commissioners of other states, former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Craig Schwall and pastor Johnny Hunt, who served as the president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Prosecutors said Oxendine helped Gallups defraud health care insurance providers and received tens of thousands of dollars in kickbacks. They said the arrangement between 2015 and 2017 involved fraudulent insurance claims for medically unnecessary genetic and toxicology testing by Texas lab company NextHealth.

Oxendine was indicted in May 2022, when he pleaded not guilty and was released on a $100,000 signature bond. He was due to stand trial in April on single counts of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the money laundering charge under the plea deal.

Georgia’s Secretary of State announced an audit to determine whether foreign citizens voted in Georgia, according to the AJC.

The audit will compare voter registration applicants whose citizenship status hasn’t been confirmed with federal data to verify whether they’re eligible voters.

The audit will compare voter registrations with a federal program called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements to find potential noncitizens. The audit is expected to be completed in the coming days.

During the prior citizenship audit two years ago, the secretary of state’s office found that all ballots in recent elections had been cast by citizens, but there were 1,634 individuals whose registrations were pending until they proved their status. Those voters are required to show documentation before they’re allowed to cast a ballot.

The United States Postal Service is raising the price of first-class Forever stamps on Monday, according to Grice Connect.

On Monday, July 14, 2024, certain postage prices will increase in the United States. The new rates include a 5-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp. The price will change from the current 68 cents to 73 cents.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission of mailing services price changes. The adjustments, approved by the governors of the Postal Service, will raise mailing services product prices approximately 7.8 percent.

Retired Augusta Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge J. David Roper, sitting as a Senior Judge, denied a request for anonymity of a witness in the lawsuit over a recall petition seeking removal of Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

The organizer of a recall effort against Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz won’t be allowed to have a secret witness testify in a closed courtroom in any hearings connected to Girtz’s petition for a legal review of recall proceedings.

In that same hearing, Roper rejected a motion from the Athens-Clarke County government that it be dismissed from Girtz’s petition. Part of Girtz’s challenge to the legal sufficiency of the recall effort centers on concerns about how county elections officials have handled the process.

But a major issue that could dramatically affect the recall – namely, whether Girtz filed his petition for a court review of the effort in time to meet a legally established deadline – remains awaiting a written order from Roper.

New state election law that went into effect this month seeks to clarify the role of poll watchers, according to USA Today via the Athens Banner Herald.

In Georgia, poll watchers already have access to “enclosed spaces” in polling places and ballot counting centers. Now, they will be allowed to “sit or stand as close as is practicable” to what they are observing to ensure that all rules are being followed.

On the surface, the new law may appear to give poll watchers free rein to invade voters’ space and potentially disrupt the election process. But election experts hope that it will have the opposite effect by clarifying what poll watchers are legally allowed to do and not do.

Chris Harvey, the former elections director for the Georgia Secretary of State, was quick to point out that there is a significant – and legal – difference between a poll “watcher” and “observer.”

“A poll watcher is an actual legal designation, where you have to go through an appointment process and training,” Harvey told USA TODAY.

Overzealous poll “watchers” – like the self-appointed ones Harvey mentioned – have been a problem for Georgia in past elections.

The most infamous case came during the 2020 presidential election, when observers showed up to Atlanta’s State Farm Arena in Fulton County and claimed to see “suitcases full of ballots,” the supposed smoking gun of a rigged election. The assertion was false and led to a years-long harassment campaign against two election workers and the eventual disbarment of former lawyer and Trump advisor Rudy Guiliani.

The new law, Harvey explained, allows election managers to regulate access for regular citizens, or “self-declared election enthusiasts,” who try to pass themselves off as designated poll watchers.

“If election officials have to run around chasing poll watchers, telling them to stop looking over people’s shoulders, talking to voters, or taking pictures, then it takes away from their primary job.”

The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus will host an annual conference in Atlanta next month, according to State Affairs.

Black lawmakers from around the country will meet in Atlanta next month to discuss issues pertinent to their communities, including increasing voter participation ahead of the Nov. 5 general election.

The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus will host its annual conference Aug. 2-4 at Atlanta Metropolitan State College. This year’s conference theme is “Redeeming the Soul of America, Testing 1, 2, 3.”

“This is a critical conference for Black leaders from across the nation to come together and strategize, not only about the upcoming election, but the upcoming agendas for legislatures across the country,” Caucus Chairman Rep. Carl Gilliard, D-Savannah, told State Affairs.

The three-day event will kick off with a roundtable discussion Friday, Aug. 2, at 6 p.m. The talk will feature state leaders, lawyers, district attorneys, judges and elected officials. The conference will feature panel discussions between young Black voters in the Democratic and Republican parties, Gilliard said, as well as recent measures to remove books and Black history from schools.

The 75-member Georgia Legislative Black Caucus was founded in 1975 and is the nation’s largest Black caucus. Its members represent over 3 million people in Georgia.

The Biden Administration awarded nearly $80 million dollars to Blue Bird to convert a manufacturing facility to produce electric buses, according to WRDW.

The Energy Department will issue grants totaling $1.7 billion to create or retain thousands of union jobs and support auto-based communities that have long driven the U.S. economy, the White House said Thursday.

In Georgia, Blue Bird Body Co. will receive nearly $80 million to convert a site previously used to make diesel-powered motor homes to produce electric school buses.

The new facility is expected to create 428 manufacturing jobs and 250 construction jobs to Fort Valley.

The new 600,000-square-foot manufacturing facility will host the production of zero-emission electric school buses, with a particular focus on the education and training of its current and future workforce.

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., hailed the plans.

“This is a ride to the future,” he said, “and this investment demonstrates the power of bipartisan cooperation to deliver tangible results for our communities.”

Hall County Commissioners voted to place a T-SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Transportation) referendum on the November ballot, according to AccessWDUN.

A Transportation SPLOST is a 1% sales tax collected on the sales of specific goods and services over a six-year period for a specific program of transportation projects

Taxes collected can only be used on transportation purposes such as roads, bridges, bicycle paths, sidewalks, and accompanying infrastructure and services necessary to access such facilities. A Transportation SPLOST would go into effect in April 2025, if approved in November.

Hall County District 2 Commissioner Billy Powell says through a press release, “There have been several moving parts for us to get to this point, including hard work from our local delegates, the coming together of the municipalities, and now it will be up to the voters to decide whether we will continue to move forward with a Transportation SPLOST.”

Hall County District 1 Commissioner Kathy Cooper adds, “As long as this community continues to expand, we will need to ensure our roads and infrastructure are maintained and improved in order to ease congestion, improve traffic flow, and make sure our citizens and visitors are as safe as possible when choosing to drive or walk to their destinations.”

Hall County District 4 Commissioner Jeff Stowe said. “This is an important step for our County and all other counties in Georgia who are seeking dedicated transportation sales tax funding.”

Macon-Bibb County and the United Way of Central Georgia are launching “United to End Homelessness,” according to 13WMAZ.

Reverend Jake Hall with United Way of Central Georgia is leading the initiative “United to End Homelessness,” and presented it to commission leaders on Tuesday. Hall is working with the county to close the gap between shelters, health centers and other non-profit groups.

He’s collected data from around the area through the “Show the Way” app and found the homeless population has been undercounted in recent years.

Macon-Bibb reported 160 people experiencing homelessness in 2023 between shelters and those living on the street.

But since they started using the app, Hall says they’ve learned the number is actually 250.

The app provides a more accurate count and can connect providers and street outreach workers with law enforcement and mental health professionals who can make a more concerted effort to help those in need.

Gwinnett County Board of Education members voted for an FY 2025 budget that will increase property taxes, according to AccessWDUN.

The new budget lowers the school system’s millage rate by 0.1 mills, but that number is not enough to constitute a full rollback, meaning residents who saw their tax assessments increase this year will see property tax increases. The average homeowner in Gwinnett County is expected to see an increase of just over 4.5 percent.

The millage rates will be 19.10 for Maintenance and Operations and 1.45 for the debt service rate. Funds generated by the M&O millage pay for the day-to-day operations of the school system, including employee salaries, instructional materials, student transportation and school utility costs, according to a release by GCPS.  The debt service rate pays down the School Board’s long-term debt from bond referenda passed over the years to pay for school construction.

The board held three public hearings to discuss the millage rate reduction prior to approving the budget. The first hearing was held on July 3 at 6 p.m. The second and third public hearings took place on July 10 at 11:00 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Pooler City Council has scheduled public meetings to discuss a proposed property tax millage rate increase, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The city has tentatively adopted a millage rate that would increase property taxes by 3.99%, over the rollback millage rate. This would result in a millage rate increase of .145 mills, to 3.780 mills.

The proposed tax increase will be approximately $10 for a home with a market value of $175,000 and $16 for a non-homestead property with a market value of $200,000.

Without the proposed tax increase, the millage rate would be no more than 3.635 mills.

Savannah City Council will also host meetings to discuss a proposed increase in the property tax millage rate, according to WTOC.

People will be able to give their thoughts on the proposed millage rate Thursday evening at 6 p.m. in City Hall. This after the City proposed maintaining its current millage rate.

Because of rising property values, city staff say the move will add more than $7 million to their upcoming budget. That money going toward projects the City says are crucial.

A five percent pay raise could be in store for Savannah’s public safety officials if the city’s millage rate proposal goes to plan.

Right now, the city is proposing to maintain the current rate of 12.2 mills.

According to a city spokesperson, if the move is approved, the proposed tax increase for a home that does not have a homestead exemption valued at $100,000 is approximately $40.16.

The first millage rate hearing was held Thursday morning with no public comments submitted.

After Thursday night’s hearing, the next one is set for July 25 at 2 p.m., which is when councilmembers are also set to vote on the rate.

Valdosta will host a parade honoring Ruth K. Council, the city’s first African-American council member, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

A parade has been planned for Saturday to honor Valdosta’s first Black council member on her 90th birthday.

The parade, honoring Ruth K. Council, will start at 3 p.m. Saturday on Ruth Council Drive — named for her in 2015 — and proceed onto Bunche Drive, where she now lives, said her daughter, Lynette Council.

Because of high heat, Ms. Council will be watching from inside her home, her daughter said. The National Weather Service said Valdosta can expect a high of 98 degrees Saturday.

She ran for office in 1974, served a two-year term, was reelected in 1976 for four years and became mayor pro-tem in 1980.

Council ran for the Valdosta City Council in a time when the area was divided by skin color. “You stay your way and we’ll stay our way,” she said of residents’ thoughts at the time. “You live in your community and I’ll live in my community. You just stayed in your race. You knew what was the practice.”

“I say to young people, offer yourself. People will help you,” Ruth Council said in a past interview. “You’re not going to go into anything knowing everything but just offer yourself and accept help, and you’ll be surprised at what you can do. That’s in most things,” she said.