Georgia Politics, Campaigns and Elections for March 11, 2020

On March 11, 1779, Congress created the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

On March 11, 1861, the Confederate Congress, assembled in Montgomery, Alabama, adopted the Constitution of the Confederate States of America. Today the original signed manuscript of the Confederate Constitution is in the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries.

On March 11, 1942, General Douglas MacArthur obeyed the President’s order dated February 20, 1942, and left the Philippines.

On March 11, 2005, Brian Nichols shot and killed Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes and court reporter Julie Brandau in the Fulton County Courthouse, leading to a lockdown of the state capitol and a number of nearby buildings. Nichols killed two more before taking a young woman hostage in Duluth; that woman, Ashley Smith, would talk Nichols into surrendering the next day. Nichols was eventually convicted for four murders and is serving consecutive life sentences.

Happy Birthday to former Governor Roy Barnes, who served from 1999-2003, and lost to Republican Sonny Perdue in 2002, and to current Governor Nathan Deal in 2010.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns and Elections

A Waffle House employee from Canton was diagnosed with the Coronavirus, according to WSB-TV.

Twelve employees who worked at the same Waffle House are now under self-quarantine until Saturday and the store is closed. So far, officials say none of those employees have showed symptoms of the illness.

Officials said the employee was new and only worked at the store for one day during the last two weeks, on March 1. The patient went to the hospital but has since been released and is in isolation. The patient has not been identified.

The 10 hourly employees who are on self-quarantine will be paid while they are in quarantine, the company said.

Waffle House officials are working with the Cherokee County Health Department to advise them on how to proceed.

“We continue to work with state and local health department personnel for guidance. Our main concern has been, and will continue to be, the safety of our associates and customers,” Waffle House officials said in a statement.

There are no recent reports of health issues from any other employees or customers who ate at the Canton Waffle House.

Valdosta City Schools are closed today due to coronavirus concerns, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

According to a statement released late Tuesday night by Valdosta City Schools, a student teacher at Sallas Mahone Elementary School had indirect contact with family members who may have been exposed to COVID-19. While neither the student teacher or family have shown symptoms, they have decided to self-quarantine for the next two weeks.

Based on the information provided, public health officials state that the student teacher “has an extremely low risk of any significant exposure to the coronavirus.”

The school system isn’t taking any chances and decided to close schools Wednesday, March 11, to allow staff to clean and sanitize affected schools and buses as a preventive measure.

Georgia House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) is taking measures to limit coronavirus spread within the state Capitol, according to the AJC.

Georgia House Speaker David Ralston is discouraging the public from visiting the Capitol for the remainder of he legislative session out of an “abundance of caution” regarding COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

The state Senate will not be making any changes in its operations, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan said in a statement.

From the Augusta Chronicle:

Until further notice, there will be no House pages, the school-age young people who carry messages back and forth to lawmakers. Also, the House will not bring guests to the floor for “invite resolutions,” which honor Georgians from around the state for accomplishments from high school sports champions to beauty pageant winners.

“Out of an abundance of caution … the floor of the House will be limited to members, authorized staff and the media subject to the House rules,” said Ralston, R-Blue Ridge.

The speaker said the visitors gallery above the House floor will remain open to the public. But he urged those who want to follow the progress of the House to do so online.

The General Assembly will be back under the Gold Dome on Thursday for the typically lengthy annual Crossover Day, the deadline for bills to make it through at least one legislative chamber in order to remain alive for the current session.

Coronavirus is hitting Atlanta’s economy, according to the AJC.

Delta Air Lines is slashing flight capacity steeply in response to a 25%-30% decline in bookings in the last two weeks due to the spread of coronavirus.

The Atlanta-based company, which has 90,000 employees worldwide including more than 36,000 in Georgia, also announced Tuesday it will begin a hiring freeze and offer voluntary leave to employees.

The company plans to cut international flight capacity by 20%-25% and domestic by 10%-15%. The international reductions include 65% cuts to Pacific flight capacity, 15%-20% cuts to trans-Atlantic and 5% cuts to Latin American seats.

Hartsfield-Jackson International, the world’s busiest airport, has also seen a double-digit decline in passenger counts, according to airport deputy general manager Balram Bheodari.

Delta aims to reduce expenses by $1.8 billion this year, including plans to ground aircraft and cut labor costs.

But, cleaning companies may see increased business, according to the Gainesville Times.

Quarantined cruise ship passengers are arriving in Georgia, according to the AJC.

The first quarantine patient at Hard Labor Creek State Park has arrived, according to the AJC.

State officials have transferred the first patient who tested positive for the disease caused by a coronavirus to a state park used to isolate and monitor Georgians exposed to the illness.

And Georgia officials late Tuesday said the number of residents who are confirmed or presumed to have the disease, known as COVID-19, has grown to 22 cases – including the first in south Georgia. All but one of the residents are hospitalized, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. And for most of these people infected by the the coronavirus, the source of exposure is unknown.

The United States Treasury Department may shift the April 15 tax deadline, according to the Macon Telegraph.

As confirmed coronavirus cases top 1,000 in the United States, Treasury Department officials are reportedly pondering whether to extend the April 15 federal tax deadline, the New York Post reports.

The measure might be part of an economic stimulus package being worked out by the White House and Congress, according to the publication.

But Treasury officials have not finalized a decision, nor have they settled on how far to push the deadline and who would be eligible, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Under the Gold Dome Today

8:30 AM JOINT HOUSE SENATE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE 403 CAP

9:00 AM HOUSE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 403 CAP

10:00 AM HOUSE REGULATED INDUSTRIES 406 CLOB

10:30 AM HOUSE GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 403 CAP

~~12:00 PM SENATE RULES – CANCELED 450 CAP~~

~~1:00 PM SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY- CANCELED MEZZ 1~~

1:00 PM HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION 606 CLOB

1:30 PM SENATE FINANCE Mezz 1

1:30 PM HOUSE JUDICIARY CIVIL 132 CAP

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

2:00 PM HOUSE JUVENILE JUSTICE 406 CLOB

2:00 PM HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS 415 CLOB

~~3:00 PM SENATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & TOURISM – CANCELED 125 CAP~~

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

3:00 PM HOUSE INDUSTRY AND LABOR 506 CLOB

~~4:00 PM SENATE RETIREMENT – CANCELED MEZZ 1~~

~~4:00 PM SENATE JUDICIARY- CANCELED 307 CLOB~~

Governor Brian Kemp appointed Buck Levins to an open seat on the Superior Court for the Enotah Judiciary Circuit, which comprises Lumpkin, Towns, Union, and White Counties, according to a press release:

Buck Levins, a native of Warner Robins, has served as the Senior Assistant District Attorney for the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit since August of 2019. Prior to that, he served as the Senior Assistant District Attorney for the Enotah Judicial Circuit from October 2012 to August 2019, Assistant District Attorney for the Alcovy and Atlanta Judicial Circuits, and as an associate attorney at several practices throughout Georgia. Mr. Levins graduated from the University of Georgia in 2000 and went on to earn his Juris Doctorate from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2005.

Mr. Levins is an active member of his community, serving on the board of the Blairsville-Union County Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the Rotary Club, C.A.R.I. Pack Project, and graduate of Leadership Union. In 2019, he was named the Georgia Council of Accountability Court Judges’ Prosecutor of the Year.

The State House of Representatives passed their FY 2021 budget, according to the Center Square.

The House’s budget – presented as House Bill 793 – maintains previous cuts to mental health, rural health care and the criminal justice system. It provides half of the anticipated $2,000 teacher raise proposed by Gov. Brian Kemp.

“The budget is a lot like an iceberg,” said England, R-Auburn. “It’s easy to focus on the exposed bright peaks that are above the surface, but beneath the water lies about nine-tenths of that iceberg.”

At $28.1 billion, the proposed 2021 budget is about $556 million more than the 2020 budget. However, budget writers were tasked with reducing spending by 6 percent under Kemp’s directive.

Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome, said the budget process is one of the most impactful parts of the job.

“Specifically, much of the work in behavioral health developmental disabilities, addiction or foster care or veterans,” she said. “When you look at the funding that went there and the dollars that went across those agencies to actually work to meet the needs of some of our most vulnerable Georgians is so very, very important.”

From the Valdosta Daily Times on the fallout from this year’s budget process:

House Speaker David Ralston announced Monday legislation to ensure the “independence of the House” from the governor’s office that quickly passed through committees to the floor.

“The governor and the office of the governor is entitled to our respect. I insist that my staff and those people around me respect the governor and his office,” Ralston said. “Without mutual respect, our state government, and indeed, our state, suffer. And so it is within that context that sometimes tweaks are required.”

A pair of bills — House Bills 1111 and 1112 — put oversight on the budget process and overwhelmingly passed a floor vote.

HB1111 limits the governor’s ability to withhold appropriated funds and mandates notice to the General Assembly when first quarter revenue is down 1% from the previous fiscal year.

HB1112 would require state agencies to provide budgetary information to the House Budget and Research Office and the Senate Budget and Evaluation Office at the same time information is given to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget.

Senate Bill 386 by Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford) to increase the availability of education vouchers for special needs students, passed the Senate, according to the Georgia Recorder.

Senate Bill 386 proposes to use public school dollars to pay for private school tuition for a program expansion that includes more children in the pool of eligible special needs students. Tuesday’s 33-22 vote was nearly entirely along party lines, with Republican lawmakers supporting a measure they say gives parents more opportunities to provide their children with specialized services they may not receive in a public school setting.

The state’s special needs scholarships program is now open to disabled students that require a tailored education accommodation as part of a federal identification process. The Senate legislation passed Tuesday would extend the eligibility to students covered under a 504 federal plan to students with a disability who can perform at the same level as peers if accommodations are made.

Opponents of expanding the voucher program raise concerns about taking away more funding from public schools. If the legislation becomes law, the state would spend $9.5 million of k-12 funding on vouchers if 10% of students who now have 504 plans take part in the scholarship program. The state’s portion would rise to $28 million if 30%, or roughly 8,600, participate, according to an estimate by state auditors.

Senate Bill 415 by Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega), to change state tort laws, was tabled in the Senate, according to the Georgia Recorder.

A sweeping bill to limit jury awards and punitive damages stalled in the Senate Tuesday as the odds for tort legislation to pass this year grew longer.

Sen. Steve Gooch, a Dahlonega Republican, said the aim of his Senate Bill 415 is to rein in out-of-control damages in civil cases which he said drive up insurance rates and encourage doctors and other professionals to leave Georgia.

Among Gooch’s Republican colleagues to speak against his bill, Sen. Renee Unterman of Buford said big payouts to victims are often justified and encourage business owners to provide necessary safety improvements.

The bill is favored by business groups and insurance companies that argue large jury awards cost consumers, but opposed by trial lawyers who say victims of negligence deserve compensation.

Democrat Rick D. Day announced he will run against Republican State House Speaker David Ralston, according to Fetch Your News.

The Albany Commission approved an outdoor entertainment district where visitors can purchase one alcoholic beverage, according to the Albany Herald.

Participating establishments that sell alcohol must have cameras to monitor activity.

Patrons will be limited to one beer or mixed drink to carry outside, and they will be served in distinctive plastic cups with logos that will allow police to recognize that they were obtained legally.

“That’s a safety component we have added so our public safety officers will know this was a drink purchased at one of our businesses,” Downtown Albany Manager Lequrica Gaskins told commissioners.

The Glynn County Board of Elections is considering paying poll workers a higher rate, as they have trouble hiring for the upcoming elections, according to The Brunswick News.

Early voting is higher in Lowndes County than in the 2016 Presidential Preference Primary, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

As first week of early voting concluded, 974 Lowndes County residents cast ballots in the presidential primaries from Monday, March 2, to Friday, March 6. That number represented a 40% increase from the 693 votes from first week of the 2016 presidential primaries.

The increase did not surprise the Georgia Secretary of State’s office as it expected higher turnout in this election, said Walter Jones, director of communications for the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

He cited Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s points about state population growth and automatic registration, attaining or renewing a driver’s license or changing an address. Jones added that additional interest in the election this year plus the new voting machines could contribute to increased turnout as well.

Jones added that as of Monday evening, early voting results showed about 100,000 Democrats and nearly 52,000 Republicans have cast ballots already statewide.