Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879.
S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, was born on March 14, 1921.
Elvis Presley played the Fox Theater in Atlanta on March 21, 1956.
The largest traffic accident in Georgia history occurred on March 14, 2001 on I-75 in Catoosa County, involving 125 cars, injuring 39 people and killing 5.
Happy Birthday to Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives David Ralston.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Election
Governor Nathan Deal this week signed House Bill 626 by State Rep. Todd Jones (R-South Forsyth), authorizing the creation of the City of Sharon Springs, Georgia in Forsyth County, subject to a referendum on the May 2018 Primary Election ballot. From the Forsyth County News:
District 25 state Rep. Todd Jones said rather than being for or against the proposed city, he was happy voters would get the chance to decide on the matter.
“I am happy because the process won out and this gives the citizens of south Forsyth the opportunity to have their voices heard,” Jones said. “It gives them an opportunity over the next couple of months to hopefully work together, but I also understand there will be sides.”
He added that he hoped “those sides advocate in a passionate, cordial, neighborly, fact-based way to make sure that as many people as possible get educated as possible to ensure that when they go to the ballot box on May 22 that they’re able to make an informed decision.”
Voters living in the area of the proposed city will vote on cityhood in the May 22 primary. To pass, the bill will need the support of at least 57.5 percent of voters, a compromise between a simple majority and two-thirds majority.
If approved, Sharon Springs would begin with three services— zoning, sanitation and code enforcement— and would have a millage rate capped at .5 mills. One mill equals $1 for every $1,000 in assessed property value, which is 40 percent of the actual market value.
“I am happy to see that our system is working and our citizens will have self-determination and they can vote whether they would like to have more government,” Forsyth County Commission Chairman Todd Levent said, later adding that “[the information] tells me this is going to cost the citizens more than they think or are being told, more government or not.”
Under the Gold Dome Today
Legislative Day 34, both chambers convene at 10 AM.
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS
8:00 AM HOUSE AGRICULTURE & CONSUMER AFFAIRS 403 CAP
8:00 AM HOUSE NATL RES Envtal Quality Sub 515 CLOB
9:00 AM HOUSE RULES 341 CAP
UPON ADJOURNMENT SENATE RULES
1:00 PM SENATE INSURANCE AND LABOR 310 CLOB
1:00 PM SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY MEZZ
1:00 PM HOUSE GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 406 CLOB
2:00 PM SENATE TRANSPORTATION 310 CLOB
2:00 PM SENATE FINANCE INCOME TAX SUB MEZZ 1
2:00 PM HOUSE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 403 CAP
3:00 PM SENATE FINANCE MEZZ
3:00 PM SENATE EDUCATION AND YOUTH 450 CAP
3:00 PM HOUSE HEALTH & HUMAN SVCS 406 CLOB
3:00 PM HOUSE INDUSTRY AND LABOR-CANCELLED 506 CLOB
4:00 PM SENATE JUDY 307 CLOB
4:00 PM SENATE HEALTH AND HUMAN SVCS 450 CAP
4:00 PM HOUSE JUDY (Civil) Fleming Sub 132 CAP
4:00 PM House Regulated Ind Regulations Sub 506 CLOB
SENATE RULES CALENDAR
HB 513 – Domestic relations; signs to be posted at certain medical facilities where a newborn child may be left; provide (Substitute) (H&HS-17th) Dickerson-113th
HB 695 – Special license plates; Georgia Forestry Foundation; establish (NR&E-18th) Epps-144th
HB 784 – Specialty license plates; promote conservation of waterfowl populations and their habitats; establish (NR&E-28th) Dubnik-29th
HB 830 – Controlled substances; Schedule I and II; change certain provisions (JUDY-13th) Harden-148th
HB 888 – Ad valorem tax; certain reporting requirements; change (Substitute) (FIN-28th) Knight-130th
HB 909 – Health; designation of perinatal facilities; provisions (H&HS-52nd) Silcox-52nd
HOUSE RULES CALENDAR
Modified Open Rule
HR 1376 – House Rural Development Council; solicit input from hospitals in the state on the financial conditions of such hospitals; urge (H&HS-Hatchett-150th)
SB 333 – Deferred Compensation Plans; governing authority of a municipality may pay costs/fees associated with employee’s participation; provide (Ret-Battles-15th) Black-8th
SB 357 – Health Coordination and Innovation Council of the State of Georgia; create (Substitute)(H&HS-Jasperse-11th) Burke-11th
SB 425 – Professional Land Surveyors; provisions; change (Substitute) (RegI-Rakestraw-19th) Gooch-51st
SR 794 – Joint Georgia-North Carolina and Georgia-Tennessee Boundary Line Commission; create (IntC-Morris-26th) Miller-49th
Structured Rule
SB 382 – Optometrists guidance and consultation by the Department of Public Health; provide (H&HS-Rhodes-120th) Martin-9th
The Associated Press has more on Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Savannah on Saturday.
Mayor Eddie DeLoach plans to host Pence and members of the vice president’s family Saturday, when locals and tourists toting plastic cups of beer will cram the sidewalks and oak-shaded squares along the 2.25-mile (3.6-kilometer) parade route through Savannah’s downtown historic district.
“It’s always fun to have a special guest come to the parade,” Michelle Gavin, a city spokeswoman, told reporters at a news conference Tuesday. “And what a great honor to have the vice president of the United Sates come to the parade and shine a national spotlight on this event.”
At least two sitting presidents — William Howard Taft in 1912 and Jimmy Carter in 1978 — have visited Savannah on St. Patrick’s Day to address the evening banquet of the local Hibernian Society, the Irish social group that started Savannah’s parade 194 years ago.
Pence has proudly noted in political speeches that his maternal grandfather, Richard Michael Cawley, came to the U.S. from Ireland in 1923.
“He got off that boat an Irish lad,” Pence said in 2006, when he served in Congress. “He died an American, and I am an American because of him.”
Three candidates for Mayor of Athens-Clarke County met in a forum Monday night, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.
Richie Knight, Kelly Girtz and Harry Sims faced off at the Athens-Clarke County Library’s Appleton Auditorium, giving brief statements about who they are and why they are running, then answering questions from the audience and from the group that organized the forum, the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement.
The three candidates include two longtime members of the Athens-Clarke Commission, Sims and Girtz, and political newcomer Richie Knight. Sims and Girtz are both stepping down from the commission to run for mayor. Sims resigned his seat last month to give election officials time to schedule an election for his seat on the same election day, May 22, as the mayor’s race and several other commission seats. Girtz didn’t have to resign because his term is up at the end of the year.
Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price repaid the federal government $60,000 for charter plane flights he took for official business, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr referred for prosecution a complaint alleging Open Records violations in the City of Atlanta.
Statesboro City Council District Five voters will elect a new member on May 22d, with qualifying being held March 26-28.
The Bibb County Commission District One seat is likely to remain vacant for nine months after Commissioners declined to put the post on the May ballot, according to the Macon Telegraph.
Multiple commissioners cited concerns Tuesday about the costs of the special election and the confusion it could cause voters. They also said that the short time frame leaves people who might be interested in becoming commissioner with little time to decide.
Dawsonville voters will choose a new Mayor in a bizarre election next Tuesday, March 20th.
Current Mayor Mike Eason will face former Mayor James Grogan at the ballot box on Tuesday when the special election voting day commences.
Each is seeking to fill the unexpired term of Grogan, who was officially removed from office in October.
If elected during the March 20 special election, Grogan would be working with two city council members who voted for his removal in May of 2016, Caleb Phillips and Jason Power.
[Grogan] was removed from office after a city-council initiated investigation into allegations that he had misused city funds and violated the city charter. Grogan appealed the decision to the Superior Court but his appeal was denied.
Earlier this week, a Superior Court Judge ordered Grogan to repay more than $25,000 to the city.
Banks County Commissioners voted to create an historic preservation commission.
Augusta Commission members voted to move forward converting the old Joint Law Enforcement Center into a Juvenile Justice campus.
Decatur County Commissioners voted to join the national lawsuit against some opioid manufacturers.
The Glynn County Board of Elections is challenging the residency in District 4 of Democratic County Commission candidate Vicki Greene.
Greene’s address is listed on the Georgia Secretary of State’s website as 13 Ibis Cove in western Glynn County, which is in county commission District 1, according to the county’s property records.
At-large candidates can live in any district, but “all other candidates shall offer for election to the board from the commissioner district in which their legal residence lies,” according to the county’s ordinances.
Greene confirmed she did live outside District 4, but declined to comment on the matter.
Nineteen candidates are running for Mayor or City Council in this year’s Columbus municipal elections, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.
Of the 19 people who officially qualified for city races this week to run for mayor or one of six Columbus Council seats up for grabs more than 50 percent are first-time candidates.
One candidate for mayor listed his occupation as God/Jesus.
“Definitely, we are seeing a lot of newcomers entering the political process,” said Muscogee County Elections and Registration Director Nancy Boren in an interview with the Ledger-Enquirer. “We’re seeing a lot of younger people who are qualifying to run for office.”
When it’s all said and done, Columbus will have a new mayor to replace the outgoing Mayor Teresa Tomlinson, who will leave office at the end of the year due to term limits. There also will be at least two new councilors on the dais, representing District 5 and District 10.
Chatham County Superior Court Judge James F. Bass Jr. ruled that Savannah can halt short term vacation rentals while a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the law is litigated.
Hall County is seeing a bumper crop of Democratic candidates this year, according to the Gainesville Times.
[Alana] Watkins is running for a Georgia House seat in District 29, a seat currently held by Rep. Matt Dubnik, R-Gainesville. She’s one of seven Democratic candidates who qualified to run for local office this year in Hall County across races for federal, state and county offices.
Seven candidates is more than the party has fielded in 2016, 2014, 2012 and 2010 — combined. In 2014, the county party qualified zero people, according to chairman Kim Copeland. The most it put up in those four cycles was three people in 2010.
A Woodstock lawyer claims that Cherokee County Solicitor General Jessica Moss is no longer qualified to hold the office because she and her husband sold their home and are now renting elsewhere in the County, according to the Cherokee Tribune & Ledger-News.
Moss said she has changed her driver license and voter registration to her new address in Canton. She said she and her husband received an offer on their house and sold it in December. Until the end of her term on Dec. 31 they will live in a Canton apartment before retiring to a house they own in Blairsville in Union County, she said.
In his letter to the governor, Ruskell attached Moss’ state campaign disclosure filings, which have the address of the Blairsville house. “I do get some mail there, yes,” she said. “But, I live here until my term is up.”
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