Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for March 1, 2024

On February 29, 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts, arrest warrants were issued for Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, accusing the three women of witchcraft.

On March 1, 1778, the Georgia legislature confiscated property owned by 117 people after labeling them traitors.

On March 3, 1779, the British Army met America forces in Screven County, Georgia.

On March 3, 1779, 238 years ago [] , the first major battle of the British Army’s push into the American South took place at Brier Creek at the old road between Savannah and Augusta. According to Battle and President of the Brier Creek Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution Craig Wildi, the American loss resulted in the deaths of at least 200 patriots.

Studies done by Battle in conjunction with other professional organizations have uncovered evidence that some of Georgia’s soldiers who lost their lives in the fight for independence may still lie in graves at the battle site.

“This was the 16th bloodiest of all battle sites throughout the Revolutionary War,” Battle said. “We found so many artifacts under our original permit, Georgia DNR (Department of natural Resources) shut the study down.”

The land around the battle site is public, managed by Georgia DNR as part of the Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area. The wildlife management area is about 15,000 acres. Battle and Wildi said they want 500-600 acres set aside to fully study the site, but said DNR hasn’t been willing to dedicate more than about five acres for site preservation and management.

Last year, the Sons of the American Revolution held a commemorative event to place flags in honor of those who died at the battlefield. Because the event was hosted by a non-profit organization, Wildi said Georgia DNR waived the requirements for certain liability insurance policies and other fees for group events. This year, he said they are requiring the group to pay for those requirements; payments the small non-profit says it can’t afford.

During the surveys for and original push for the Palmetto Pipeline, bulldozers and other equipment were brought onto the site to widen roads across it inside the wildlife management area. The proposed pipeline map originally had the right of way slated to cross the battlefield. While both said they were relieved the pipeline was stopped, they say other challenges remain in saving the site.

Note that story above was from the Augusta Chronicle and published in 2017. The Brier Creek Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution can be found on the internet and on Facebook.

The Articles of Confederation were ratified on March 1, 1781.

The nation was guided by the Articles of Confederation until the implementation of the current U.S. Constitution in 1789.

The critical distinction between the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution —the primacy of the states under the Articles—is best understood by comparing the following lines.

The Articles of Confederation begin:

“To all to whom these Present shall come, we the undersigned Delegates of the States”

By contrast, the Constitution begins:

“We the People of the United States do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

On March 2, 1807, the Congress passed legislation outlawing the importation of slaves from Africa or anywhere outside the United States.

On March 3, 1820, Congress passed the Missouri Compromise.

In February 1819, Representative James Tallmadge of New York introduced a bill that would admit Missouri into the Union as a state where slavery was prohibited. At the time, there were 11 free states and 10 slave states. Southern congressmen feared that the entrance of Missouri as a free state would upset the balance of power between North and South, as the North far outdistanced the South in population, and thus, U.S. representatives. Opponents to the bill also questioned the congressional precedent of prohibiting the expansion of slavery into a territory where slave status was favored.

Even after Alabama was granted statehood in December 1819 with no prohibition on its practice of slavery, Congress remained deadlocked on the issue of Missouri. Finally, a compromise was reached. On March 3, 1820, Congress passed a bill granting Missouri statehood as a slave state under the condition that slavery was to be forever prohibited in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36th parallel, which runs approximately along the southern border of Missouri. In addition, Maine, formerly part of Massachusetts, was admitted as a free state, thus preserving the balance between Northern and Southern senators.

The Missouri Compromise, although criticized by many on both sides of the slavery debate, succeeded in keeping the Union together for more than 30 years.

On March 2, 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico.

On March 3, 1845, Congress overrode a Presidential veto for the first time.

The United States Congress passed the first Reconstruction Act on March 2, 1867.

On March 2, 1874, Gov. Smith signed legislation allowing anyone fined for a criminal conviction to arrange for a third party to pay the fine in exchange for the convict’s labor.

On March 3, 1874, Governor Joseph Brown signed legislation permitting persons or companies to lease Georgia prisoners for terms from one to five years, with the Governor setting the rates.

The act required the humane treatment of convicts and limited them to a ten-hour work day, with Sunday off. Equally important, leases had to free the state from all costs associated with prisoner maintenance. Once all state convicts were leased, the law provided that all state penitentiary officers and employees be discharged.

Just think of how much progress Georgia has made with privatizing the justice system — now, instead of leasing convicts, we have private probation companies overseeing released prisoners.

On March 1, 1875, Governor James Smith signed legislation making cruelty to animals a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $50.

On February 29, 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed the first Panama Canal Commission.

Paul Broun, Sr. was born on March 1, 1916, in Shellman, Georgia, and served 38 years in the Georgia legislature.

Broun was first elected to the state senate in 1962 in a historic election that took place after the federal courts struck down Georgia’s long-established county unit election system. Broun was one of several new senators elected in a class that included Jimmy Carter, the future president of the United States; Leroy Johnson, the first black legislator elected in Georgia since Reconstruction; and politicians like Hugh Gillis, Culver Kidd, and Bobby Rowan, who would have a lasting impact on legislative politics.

Broun was elected to nineteen consecutive terms in the senate, where he served as the chairman of the Appropriations Committee and the University System Committee.

Dorothy Felton was born on March 1, 1929, and served as the first Republican woman elected to the Georgia legislature.

Dorothy Felton was the first Republican woman elected to the Georgia General Assembly and eventually became the longest-serving Republican and the longest-serving woman of either party in the state legislature. She also worked for more than a quarter of a century for the right of the Sandy Springs community of Fulton County to incorporate as a municipality, a goal that was not achieved until four years after she retired from elective office.

Felton was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 1974 from a district in Sandy Springs.

On February 29, 1936, a board appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt recommended constructing a dam on the Savannah River at Clarks Hill, north of Augusta.

On February 29, 1940, Gone With the Wind received eight Oscars, including Best Supporting Actress for Hattie Mcdaniel, the first African-American winner.

On March 2, 1950, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the beginning of construction of Buford Dam, which would create Lake Lanier.

Herschel Walker was born March 3, 1962 in Augusta, Georgia.

President Lyndon B. Johnson attended ceremonies at Lockheed in Marietta for the first C-5A aircraft to come off the assembly line on March 2, 1968. President Johnson’s remarks can be read here.

Four years ago, the big story was that two coronavirus cases had been confirmed in Georgia, according to the AJC.

This year’s commemoration of “The Weeping Time,” one of the largest slave auctions, began yesterday, according to WSAV.

Back in 1859, on March 2nd and 3rd, one of the largest sales of enslaved Africans and African Americans took place here in Savannah.

Known as The Weeping Time, 429 men, women, boys, and girls were sold over those two days as a steady rain poured in that city, stopping only after the last person had been sold.

The Weeping Time was not named because the enslaved wept, but it came upon because they stated that God must have been weeping, hence the rain.

From February 29 through March 3, in Savannah and Darien, the community will remember, honor, and celebrate those ancestors.

The Tybee Island Historical Society was awarded the 2024 Americana Corner Preserving America Grant for work preserving the Tybee Island Lighthouse, according to WSAV.

In 2023, Sarah Jones, Executive Director for the Tybee Island Historical Society told News 3 that if repairs weren’t addressed soon, the structure of the 250-year-old lighthouse may become compromised and no longer be accessible to the general public. However, repairs came at a pretty hefty price tag of $1.6 million.

In November 2023, ICC Commonwealth launched a 7-month-long restoration project in an effort to help the island repair the beloved structure: estimated cost for repair — $1.7 million after faulty copper seams in the roof of the lens room in December were discovered and needed to be replaced.

Now, with help from the Americana Corner Preserving America Grant, this brings the Tybee Island nonprofit one step closer to finishing those much-needed updates.

The Tybee Lighthouse is expected to reopen on March 13, however, the light station and museum currently remain open at a discounted price. For more information about Tybee Island’s iconic lighthouse click or tap here.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

State legislation could kill local businesses where they depend on access to rivers, according to the Rome News Tribune.

People have been paddling down Big Cedar Creek in Cave Spring for decades, but a piece of legislation currently making its way through the Georgia legislature could jeopardize that tradition.

“It would be catastrophic to our business if someone decided we couldn’t paddle down Big Cedar Creek,” Cedar Creek RV Park and Outdoor Center owner John Pike said. “The waterways are the property of the people of Georgia; it’s one of our natural resources.”

His outdoor center runs thousands of trips down the creek in Cave Spring every year, Pike said, including hundreds of trips for Camp WinShape every summer.

Also at risk is the investment made for paddling and rafting by communities across the state by building access ramps and facilities to attract tourists and locals to use the state’s streams.

At issue is the language used in HB 1172, which could allow landowners to restrict the usage of big streams for hunting, fishing and paddling purposes even if it has been used for decades, if the stream is deemed unnavigable according to a law encoded in 1863.

In 1997, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that Ichawaynochaway Creek in Baker County was closed to the public based on the state’s 1863 navigability definition. In that case, a local county commissioner navigated the creek in a flat-bottomed boat loaded with another passenger, a goat and a bail of cotton to prove it was navigable. The court disagreed.

If a river or stream is not deemed navigable, it means the adjacent property owner owns everything to the middle of the waterway. And if they own property on both sides, then the new law allows for the potential to restrict public access to the creek.

The same precedent restricted access to sections of Armuchee Creek in Chattooga and Floyd counties in 1997.

According to the Georgia Department of Public Resources, the economic impact of trout fishing in Georgia is estimated to exceed $172 million annually. A the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that boating and fishing on the state’s waterways contributed $762.7 million of added value to Georgia’s economy in 2021.

“What we’re hearing from the legislature is ‘owners rights, owners rights,’” Cook said. “Well what about the right to hunt, fish and paddle on streams that have been used that way for generations?”

I’m not saying politicians are more interested in preserving their own jobs than those of other Georgians. House Bill 986 by State Rep. Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs) would prohibit use of AI “deepfakes” in campaigns, and passed the House, according to the Capitol Beat News Service.

Legislation that criminalizes the use of “deepfakes” generated by artificial intelligence to impersonate candidates in political campaign ads cleared the Georgia House of Representatives Thursday.

House Bill 986, which passed 148-22, creates the crime of fraudulent election interference. Anyone who knowingly perpetrates a political deepfake within 90 days of an election would face two to five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.

“We want to protect good political free speech,” Rep. Brad Thomas, R-Holly Springs, the bill’s chief sponsor, said on the House floor before Thursday’s vote. “But fraud is not protected speech.”

The legislation applies to “materially deceptive” video or audio deepfakes but carves out exceptions including satire, parody, artistic expression and journalism. It also allows deepfakes to be used in campaign ads as long as they acknowledge the candidate is being impersonated and the events depicted may not have occurred.

Today is the deadline to request an Absentee by Mail ballot for the March 12, 2024 Presidential Preference Primary, according to the AJC.

Any registered voter can apply for an absentee ballot by printing and signing a form, then returning it by email, through the state’s My Voter Page or at their county’s elections office.

Georgia allows all voters to choose whether they want to vote absentee, in person at early voting locations or on election day. Early voting is the most popular voting method in Georgia, accounting for 58% of turnout in 2022, while 6% of voters returned absentee ballots.

So far, 35,700 voters have requested absentee ballots and 191,000 people have voted in person during Georgia’s three weeks of early voting.

Under Georgia’s 2021 voting law, the deadline to request an absentee ballot was moved earlier, to 11 days before election day. Previously, absentee ballots could be requested until the Friday before the election.

Voters can request an absentee ballot through the state’s My Voter Page. Voters can then email their filled-out absentee ballot request to their county’s elections office, or they can scan and upload the form through the My Voter Page.

Then, once voters receive and fill out their absentee ballots, they must be returned to their county’s election office before polls close at 7 p.m. on election day March 12.

Click here to sign into your My Voter Page and request a mail-in ballot, check your registration, and view sample ballot.

Crossover Day in the Georgia General Assembly was yesterday, according to Atlanta News First via WTVM.

Next to opening day and adjournment, Crossover Day is one of the most important milestones of Georgia’s annual legislative session, and Thursday marks that milestone.

Crossover Day is the deadline for a bill to pass one of the two legislative chambers. Bills that fail to pass on Crossover Day can no longer be considered in the current session.

If a bill passes both chambers before adjournment, it is sent to the governor’s desk where it awaits approval or veto. After adjournment (or Sine Die), the governor has 40 days to approve or veto it. If Gov. Brian Kemp takes no action within that time, the bill becomes a law. If he vetoes the bill, the General Assembly can override the veto with a two-thirds vote by each House during the next session.

From 13WMAZ:

Crossover Day represents a critical deadline for state lawmakers. They spent Thursday scrambling to get bills from one chamber to the next before the day ended.

If bills don’t pass over by the end of Crossover Day, they could be considered dead for the legislative session.

Governor Brian Kemp yesterday signed the 2024 Amended Budget, according to a Press Release.

Governor Brian P. Kemp, joined by First Lady Marty Kemp, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, Speaker Jon Burns, Appropriations Chairmen Matt Hatchett and Blake Tillery, other members of the General Assembly, and Office of Planning and Budget Director Rick Dunn today signed the Amended Fiscal Year (AFY) 2024 budget in a ceremony at the State Capitol. The AFY24 budget includes critical investments for the wellbeing of the state, including an additional $102.5 million for K-12 classrooms, $1.5 billion for Georgia Department of Transportation Projects, $50 million to expand the rural workforce housing program, $100 million for rural economic development projects through the OneGeorgia Authority, $250 million within the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority for local water and sewer projects, over $591 million for facility and security improvements within the Department of Corrections, $5.9 million to upgrade the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, almost $70 million in additional funding for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, a million dollars to expand the Veterans Mental Health Services Program, and much more.

“I am proud to sign a budget that further invests in our priorities of public safety, education and workforce development, and strengthened infrastructure to keep Georgia the best state to live, work, and a raise a family,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “When you add everything in this document up, it demonstrates you can make smart investments when you budget wisely, trust the market rather than try to dictate it, and empower your citizens more than you empower the government.”

“I am grateful to Governor Kemp, Senate Appropriations Chairman Tillery, Speaker Burns, House Appropriations Chairman Hatchett, and everyone involved in this process for delivering results on behalf of the people of Georgia,” said Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones. “The AFY24 budget is part of our continued efforts to prioritize the education of our children, develop the infrastructure that is critical for expansion in our business community, increase public safety, and boost our agriculture industry. Thanks to strong financial standing, as a result of responsible and conservative budgeting, we can continue to keep Georgia as the best state to live, work, and raise a family.Æ

“With historic investments in education, public safety, economic development and healthcare, the FY 2024 amended budget reflects our shared priorities and continued dedication to making Georgia the best state in the country to live, work, and raise a family,” said Speaker Jon Burns. “It is a budget that is a result of the smart, conservative fiscal policies from the General Assembly and the Governor, and one that families and taxpayers across the state can be proud of. I look forward to building on the success of this budget toward an even brighter future for all Georgians.”

For more on the AFY 2024 budget, click here.

From the Associated Press via AccessWDUN:

Total spending of state revenue will rise to nearly $38 billion, over the $32.5 billion that that lawmakers approved last year. Total spending, including federal aid, college tuition, fines and fees, would rise to $68 billion in the budget running through June 30.

The money would also pay for a new dental school at Georgia Southern University in Savannah and a new medical school at the University of Georgia in Athens. It also spends $500 million to bolster one of the state’s pension funds and spends hundreds of millions to pay off other debts.

The state can spend lots more, even though growth in tax collections is slowing, because Kemp set a revenue estimate much lower than what the state will actually collect this year and because Georgia has $10.7 billion in surplus cash beyond its $5.4 billion rainy day fund. Kemp would spend up to $2 billion of the surplus.

Kemp agreed on Monday to boost state spending to pay for a $392 million project to build a new eight-story building for lawmakers across Martin Luther King Jr. Drive from the north side of the Capitol in downtown Atlanta and to overhaul the Capitol.

Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard shared his thoughts on immigration after the murder of Laken Riley, according to AccessWDUN.

Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard posted a video to social media Wednesday night, saying his office contacts U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement any time an illegal immigrant is arrested in its jurisdiction.

“We do contact ICE to see if they want to detain them,” Jarrard said. “It’s unfortunate that people have lost their lives by someone that has been here illegally. I just want to make sure that we always do what we need to do to keep this community safe.”

Jarrard’s comments came just hours after Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz held a press conference in response to Riley’s death. Girtz was asked about his government’s policies towards illegal immigrants.

“One protocol that sometimes arises is the approach that sheriff’s offices and jails take to what are termed detainers. The (Athens-Clarke County) Sheriff’s Office’s approach has varied over the years,” Girtz said. “I caution against conflating immigration and crime.”

Jarrard, meanwhile, said the decisions on whether ICE places a detainer on a suspect who is in the U.S. illegally is often made at the federal, not local, level.

“Unfortunately, sometimes that goes to the decisions of whoever is the president at that time,” Jarrard said. “I can tell you, at this time, as we do these calls to see if they want to place detainers, they’re not being detained at this time, on most incidents.”

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has been openly critical of U.S. President Joe Biden’s immigration policies in recent weeks. Jarrard said he commended Kemp’s efforts on immigration issues.

“I want to thank our great Governor Brian Kemp for all he’s doing with it,” Jarrard said. “We just want to keep this community as safe as possible. We will continue to contact ICE to try to get detainers on (illegal immigrants) when someone is arrested here.”

Former President Donald Trump also shared his thoughts on the Lake Riley case, according to the AJC.

Former President Donald Trump repeatedly mentioned the killing of nursing student Laken Riley during a campaign stop Thursday at the U.S. border in Texas, where he said he spoke to her “devastated” parents and vowed to avenge her death.

Trump said he is “not going to forget” Riley, who authorities say was beaten to death last week after she went out for a run near a lake on the University of Georgia’s campus.

Trump has invoked Riley’s death to highlight his calls to seal the U.S. border with Mexico and take other steps to crack down on illegal crossings. He called Ibarra a “monster” and said Riley was “barbarically attacked.”

“I spoke to her parents yesterday; they are incredible people,” he said. “They are devastated beyond belief. She was so beautiful in so many ways.”

House Bill 1105, The Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act of 2024 by State Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) passed the House and would punish local Sheriffs who do not report undocumented immigrants in their custody, according to the Savannah Morning News.

House Bill 1105, which would withhold federal and state funding from sheriffs who refuse to report undocumented detainees and prisoners to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, passed in the House on Crossover Day in a 97-74 vote, adding teeth to an existing state law that has largely gone unenforced.

The bill, also called the Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act of 2024, was introduced by state Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) in January. It gained momentum soon after the death of 22-year-old Athens nursing student Laken Riley on Feb. 22 on the University of Georgia campus. UGA police have charged Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, an undocumented Venezuelan man living in Athens, with her murder.

In addition to restricting funding for law enforcement agencies that refuse to partner with federal immigration authorities, sheriffs who do not comply with the law may be charged with violating their oath of office, a misdemeanor offense. The measure would also require sheriffs and jailers to publicly post the number of undocumented inmates who are booked into their facilities.

Vote: 97-74

Overview: This bill would impose harsher penalties on sheriffs who refuse to report undocumented immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and require correctional facilities to publicly post the number of undocumented immigrants housed in their prisons. The bill would also require that all eligible law enforcement agencies participate in ICE’s 287(g) program, or risk losing state funding. Read the original text of the bill here.

From 13WMAZ:

The bill’s sponsor, Jesse Petrea (R) of Savannah, says it was in the works long before Jose Ibarra was accused of killing Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus.

He says the bill would also set new requirements for how jail officials should check with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to see whether people are in the United States illegally.

“Currently, the statute as you see here uses the word ‘they are authorized to do so.’ This makes it very clear. By requiring that they cooperate with federal immigration authorities, local jurisdictions enhance public safety,” Petrea said.

Opponents argued it could cause people to be detained for long periods and could increase distrust in police.

From the Athens Banner Herald:

Petrea dismissed concerns that the bill would impact most immigrant communities, arguing that it would only impact undocumented individuals who violate Georgia laws.

“This issue is not about immigrants,” Petrea said as he presented the bill on the House floor. “This issue is about people illegally in the country, not immigrants. They are two different things.”

The latest iteration of the measure incorporates language from House Bill 1415, which was authored by state Rep. Houston Gaines (R-Athens).

The revised bill would require that all eligible law enforcement agencies partner with ICE by participating in the national 287(g) program, or risk losing state funding. Georgia currently has five counties enrolled in the program, as well as the state Department of Corrections.

Supporters of the bill say the measure will help ensure that sheriffs across Georgia are properly enforcing current immigration laws.

The bill passed in the House after about 90 minutes of debate. It now heads to the state Senate for further debate.

From the Capitol Beat News Service:

“Georgia law already prohibits sanctuary cities,” state Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, told his House colleagues before Thursday’s vote. “House Bill 1105 will make sure sanctuary policies don’t get rooted in our local governments.”

“We have the greatest border crisis in our nation’s history,” added Rep. Jesse Petrea, R-Savannah, the bill’s chief sponsor. “Millions are entering our country illegally. We don’t know who they are.”

But Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Atlanta, said the legislation would force local law enforcement agencies to focus their efforts on ferreting out illegal immigrants instead of allowing them to concentrate on those committing violent crimes regardless of their nationality.

“It’s stepping on the hands of law enforcement (agencies) who are trying to deal with high crime,” she said.

On other bills that passed Crossover Day from the Associated Press via AccessWDUN:

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: Proponents say Senate Bill 180 would protect religious liberty from being trampled by state and local governments, while opponents say it’s a license for people and groups to discriminate against LGBTQ+ in the name of religion.

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION: Senate Bill 390 bars state and local governments from giving money to the American Library Association. The sponsor says the group’s ideology is harmful. Valdosta State University could still use private money to maintain accreditation for its library science degree.

FILM TAX CREDIT: House Bill 1180 would require more use of Georgia-based employees and contractors to get the top 30% income tax credit on film production, and would cap credits eligible to be sold to third parties at 2.5% of the state’s annual budget, or about $900 million.

SPORTS BETTING: Georgians could get a chance in November to vote on a state constitutional amendment authorizing sports gambling after the Senate passed Senate Resolution 579.

PROPERTY TAXES: Senators want to limit future increases in a home’s taxable value to 3% a year under Senate Bill 349, while House members want to increase the statewide homestead tax exemption from $2,000 to $4,000 under House Bill 1019. School districts could cut property tax rates and still get state aid under House Bill 987.

PROSECUTOR DISCIPLINE: House Bill 881 and Senate Bill 332 would revive a commission with powers to discipline and remove prosecutors, a move Democrats warn is aimed at Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

Senate Bill 180, the “Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act,”  by State Senator Josh McKoon Ed Setzler (R-Cobb County) passed the Senate, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which passed 33-19 along party lines, the state and local governments would not be permitted to “substantially burden” an individual’s free exercise of religion unless the government could demonstrate it had a “compelling governmental interest” in doing so and that it was using the “least restrictive means” of intrusion.

Senate Bill 180 is aimed at protecting religious minorities from government intrusion through a “balancing test,” Sen. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, the bill’s chief sponsor, said on the Senate floor shortly before Thursday’s vote.

“It simply provides a tool to weigh the legitimate interests government has against people’s religious rights,” Setzler said. “We’re not trying to take anything from anybody.”

But the bill’s Democratic opponents said the measure could be used to discriminate against LGBTQ Georgians under the guise of religious freedom.

Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler, D-Stone Mountain, said passing the bill could hurt the state economically.

“We are telling LGBTQ Georgians and their families to leave our state and take their dollars elsewhere,” Butler said.

The General Assembly passed a RFRA bill in 2016 over objections from business organizations worried by threats from organizers of conventions and sporting events to boycott Georgia if the legislation became law.

But then-Republican Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed the measure after a storm of protest from civil rights groups that it threatened the rights of the state’s LGBTQ community.

House Bill 1180 by State Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton) would revise the Georgia Film Tax Credit, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

House Bill 1180, which passed 131-34, would require film production companies to meet at least four of 10 criteria to qualify for an additional 10% income tax credit on top of the 20% base credit the General Assembly enacted in 2008.

TV and film producers would have to spend at least $500,000 on a single production to qualify for the credit. The bill also would limit the total amount of sales or transfers of credits within a calendar year to 2.5% of the governor’s revenue estimate for that year.

In 2007, the year before lawmakers adopted the film tax credit, the film industry generated just $300 million in direct economic impact, a number that had grown to $4 billion by last year.

However, the credit also costs Georgia taxpayers about $1 billion a year in lost tax revenue, more than any of the state’s other tax incentives by far.

“This bill seeks to make this program sustainable,” said state Rep. Kasey Carpenter, R-Dalton, the bill’s chief sponsor. “It’s going to make sure the taxpayers of Georgia get the best value for their bucks.”

House Bill 1180 now moves to the state Senate.

Senate Bill 390 by State Sen. Larry Walker, III (R-Perry) takes on the scourge of the American Library Association and passed the Senate, according to the Capitol Beat News Service.

Senate Bill 390 cleared the upper chamber in the General Assembly 33-20 along party lines Thursday on Crossover Day, the deadline legislation had to pass either the state House or Senate to remain alive for the year.

The ALA has become controversial in right-wing circles in recent years for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the selection of library materials and for opposing book banning and other forms of censorship. Its president, Emily Drabinski, became a lightning rod two years ago when she characterized herself as a “Marxist lesbian.”

“They’re pushing a radical agenda,” Sen. Larry Walker III, R-Perry, the bill’s chief sponsor, told his Senate colleagues Thursday. “Their agenda and politics don’t match with conservative Georgia values.”

Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, opposed Walker’s bill as a “knee-jerk response” in the culture war being waged by Republicans that takes attention away from efforts to improve Georgia’s literacy rate, one of the 10 lowest in the nation.

“We should be spending our time encouraging more libraries and access to books,” Parent said.

From the AJC:

Senate Bill 390 is championed by Republicans who say the organization leans too far to the left, noting that the current president, Emily Drabinski, is a self-described Marxist. Many conservatives also criticize the organization’s endorsement of books about gender identity and racial bias.

“This bill is designed to prohibit taxpayer dollars funding political extremism,” said chief sponsor Sen. Larry Walker III, R-Perry.

Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, a Democratic leader of the Senate, called SB 390 a “knee-jerk” embrace of cultural warfare and a distraction from problems like literacy: “How does this even matter when two-thirds of Georgia’s kids can’t read well anyway? Why are we not talking about that today, colleagues?”

SB 390 initially threatened Valdosta State University’s graduate program for librarians with a prohibition on ALA accreditation, but Walker amended the bill to address those concerns. The version that will go to the state House of Representatives after a party line 33-20 vote would still prohibit the University System of Georgia from using taxpayer money to pursue accreditation. But it would allow the use of donations.

The measure now mainly seeks to sever the ALA’s influence over local and school libraries. No government entity would be allowed to spend taxpayer money on the ALA. Librarians who want to continue membership with the organization or participate in its professional training would have to pay for it themselves.

SB 390 would substitute ALA-based librarian certification with Georgia-specific certification. The bill proposes a Council of Public Libraries, with members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. It would assume the certification duties of the secretary of state’s office, which relies on the ALA.

House Bill 1192 by State Rep. John Carson (R-Cobb County) would temporarily stop the sales tax exemption for data centers, and passed the State House, according to the Capitol Beat News Service.

House Bill 1192, which passed 96-71, would suspend the exemptions for two years while a newly formed commission studies the impact data centers are having on Georgia’s power grid.

The drain data centers are putting on the state’s electric supply was documented last month when executives from Georgia Power testified before the state Public Service Commission that 80% of the additional demand for electricity driving the utility to ask for a huge increase in generating capacity is due to data centers.

“This is an immense subsidy for an industry that takes up a tremendous amount of resources, power and water,” Rep. Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said on the House floor Tuesday.

The bill’s supporters stressed that suspending the tax exemption would not affect companies operating existing data centers.

“We’re not pulling the rug out from anybody that’s trying to be in business today,” said Rep. Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta.

But opponents, including some lawmakers with data centers in their districts, argued that suspending a tax credit the General Assembly approved just six years ago and extended in 2022 to attract a fast-growing industry to Georgia would send the wrong message.

“We have signaled to this industry that Georgia is open for business,” said Rep. Matthew Gambill, R-Cartersville. Bartow County is home to a data center currently under construction that is expected to generate $44 million in tax revenue during the next 10 years.

Senate Bill 533 by State Sen. Brian Strickland (R-Henry County) would allow mental competency “restoration” programs in Georgia jails, according to the AJC.

When someone who has mental illness is charged with a crime, that person goes through a process to “restore” them through treatment so that they can be mentally competent enough to stand trial.

However, the state has experienced a shortage of beds in mental facilities available to conduct that restoration process. As a result, the average time someone is waiting for restoration services has skyrocketed to 275 days, said Republican Sen. Brian Strickland, who represents McDonough.

Senate Bill 533, which Strickland sponsored, would allow the restoration process to be conducted in jails. Senators approved the measure Thursday in a 44-1 vote. It will now go to the House for consideration.

Roughly 1,000 people are waiting for an evaluation to determine whether they’re competent, said Kevin Tanner, the commissioner of Georgia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.

“We’re working hard, but there is a backlog and it is very challenging,” Tanner said.

Tanner said the department opened a pilot program, conducting restorations in jails in Cobb County, where a section of the jail is reserved for those services. The department is also exploring a similar program in Dodge County. SB 533 would allow for more such programs, supporters said.

Senate Bill 480 by State Sen. Mike Hodges (R-Brunswick) would create a loan repayment program to help address the shortage of trained mental health workers, and passed the Senate, according to the AJC.

Some mental health and substance use disorder professionals could receive support repaying their student loans under a bill the Georgia Senate approved Thursday.

Senate Bill 480 would allow health care professionals working in mental health and substance abuse to apply to the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce to get money to pay off student loans if the worker is caring for “underserved youth” or practicing in underserved geographic areas.

The bill, which passed 44-1, is sponsored by state Sen. Mike Hodges, a Brunswick Republican and one of Gov. Brian Kemp’s floor leaders.

Final approval is also contingent upon negotiations of the budget between the House and Senate.

The State House unanimously approved House Bill 1341 by State Rep. Steven Sainz (R-St Marys) naming the White Shrimp as the Official State Crustacean, according to the AJC.

“South Georgia shrimp is the fruit of the sea,” said state Rep. Steven Sainz, a Republican from St. Marys. “This is just one small way to recognize that Georgia white shrimp are by far the best choice for Georgia consumers and all consumers across our nation.”

White shrimp make up 80% of the value of seafood caught in Georgia, and they help clean up the coast by feeding on waste, plants and small fish, according to House Bill 1341. Legislators said the shrimping industry has struggled with market pressures from international competitors.

“These shrimp are so tasty, so delicious, and they literally don’t even require a backbone to support this legislation,” said state Rep. Teri Anulewicz, a Democrat from Smyrna.

The shrimp bill was supported by House Speaker Jon Burns and his wife, Dayle, who worked with students in Effingham County who wanted to recognize the importance of white shrimp. The bill will next be considered by the state Senate.

White shrimp would join the Peach State’s other official state animals, including the brown thrasher, the largemouth bass, the green tree frog and the North Atlantic right whale.

Two points I want to make here: first, is that shrimp from St Marys are delicious. The Late Mrs GaPundit took our penultimate beach trip to South Georgia in 2016 and made stops in Darien, where they sell fresh-caught shrimp from the bed of a pickup truck as well as St Marys. Second is to dock the author of that article 25 points for failing to note that the “Adoptable Dog” is the official state dog of Georgia. Dolly is deeply offended. Mr. Niesse is not the only AJC writer to snub Dolly.

The League of Women Voters of the Dalton Area took local students to the Capitol, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.

On Feb. 15, the League of Women Voters of the Dalton Area took 11 students from The Dalton Academy to the state Capitol for the state League’s annual Legislative Day.

The League of Women Voters strives to engage youth in the political process, and this annual meeting was the perfect way to do so. Shannon Bearfield, president of the Dalton League, proudly explains that this engagement with students is what makes the local League so unique.

Bearfield said, “This is our second year doing this, and it is our goal to teach kids about democracy and voting through a memorable experience. They will remember their trip to the state Capitol, where they got to meet and speak with not only local representatives but also those from across the state, more than they will remember someone lecturing them about voting.”

These students were not merely lectured to. They toured the Capitol, heard from both Democratic and Republican legislators, and witnessed democracy in action by watching live Senate voting. They even took a photo with Gov. Brian Kemp and his wife and walked onto the Senate floor to meet Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.

Habersham County announced candidate qualifying dates and times, according to AccessWDUN.

Habersham County Public Information Officer Rob Moore said qualifying hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, March 4-7, and 9 a.m. to noon Friday, March 8.

Locations for qualifying are:

The Habersham County Republican Party will conduct its own qualifying at The Norton Agency, 855 Washington Street, Clarkesville, (706) 754-5700.

The Habersham County Democratic Party has filed a letter requesting that the Election Supervisor conduct that party’s qualifying, which will take place at the new Habersham County Elections and Voter Registration Office, 403 Habersham County Shopping Center on 441 Bypass, Cornelia (down from Belk and Pizza Hut), (706) 839-0170.

Candidates who plan to run as an independent in November must qualify at the Elections and Voter Registration Office, 403 Habersham County Shopping Center on 441 Bypass, Cornelia (down from Belk and Pizza Hut), (706) 839-0170.

Chatham County Commission Chair Chester Ellis announced he is running for reelection, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The announcement is the first in November’s race.

Ellis is set to officially launch the campaign at 11 a.m. on March 6 during an event at campaign headquarters. Ellis’ campaign is running on a “vision for continued growth and community unity,” the press release said.

Ellis will outline his objectives for a second term as chairman during his remarks at the launch event, which take place at his campaign headquarters at 2505 Abercorn St.

“I have stood on the frontlines of our county – keeping taxes low – supporting the public safety of our families, expanding opportunities for small business creation, and executing the blueprint for our County’s monumental growth. We have accomplished so much. Now is our time to thrive together,” Ellis said in the press release.

Ellis won the chairman seat in 2020 after a one-term stint as the District 8 Commissioner. Ellis beat Jason Buelterman in the 2020 race with 52% of the vote.

Albany‘s Municipal Court Administrative Office is relocating, according to WALB.

Forsyth County Board of Elections received the Election Administration Golden Leader in Excellence (EAGLE) award from the Secretary of State, according to AccessWDUN.

The EAGLE Award recognizes innovations, achievements and best practices of election offices over safe and secure local procedures.

In a recent press release from Secretary Raffensperger’s office, Forsyth County Commission Chairman Alfred John said that the county director for elections, Mandi Smith and her team, “…do outstanding work for the citizens of Forsyth County in preparation for and during election cycles. She’s constantly updating her office, staff and poll workers with new technologies and training to provide the best experience possible for voters.”