Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for March 17, 2022

On March 17, 1762, the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held in New York City by Irish serving in the British army; the date commemorates the death of St. Patrick in 461. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade in Savannah, Georgia was held in 1813.

On March 17, 1866, Governor Charles Jones Jenkins signed legislation granting African-Americans the same rights as whites for contracts, suits, inheritance, property, and punishments for violation of the law.

On March 17, 1933, Governor Eugene Talmadge signed a joint resolution of the state legislature to place a plaque on the wall of the Georgia Capitol commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the founding of Georgia.

On March 17, 1943, Governor Ellis Arnall signed legislation creating a commission to revise the 1877 Constitution of Georgia.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Democrat Stacey Abrams has a new gig as President of the United States Earth. From the Gwinnett Daily Post:

The Democrat, who is running for governor this year, made a surprise cameo in the final moments of Star Trek Discovery’s Season Four finale on Thursday. Abrams — who is a self-avowed Star Trek fan — played, of course, a politician.

Well, actually, she didn’t just play any politician. She appeared the president of United Earth in the series, which is set in the late 32nd Century, to announce the planet was interested in rejoining the United Federation of Planets.

And, no, Abrams’ character was not given a name. She was simply referred to as “madame president.”

President Abams has also filed a Personal Financial Disclosure that shows a sea-change in her personal position. From the AJC:

Four years ago, Stacey Abrams’ struggles with debt became a favorite Republican attack during her run for governor. As she wages a second bid for Georgia’s top job, financial disclosures show that won’t be an issue this time.

Abrams now has a net worth of roughly $3.17 million that’s mostly tied up in real estate and investments. She’s built a multimillion-dollar business writing books and appearing on the speaking circuit, according to a disclosure that shows she’s earned more than $6.5 million since the beginning of 2019.

After her 2018 bid catapulted her visibility to new heights, making her a household name to political junkies nationwide, her net worth also soared.

In her most recent financial disclosure, Abrams reported roughly $320,000 in cash on hand and $1.8 million worth of real estate holdings, most of it a home she bought days before the general election in 2020 that’s valued at $1.2 million. A second home she bought, in Stone Mountain, is for her parents, Abrams’ campaign said.

Supreme Court Justice Michael P. Boggs was elected Chief Justice by his colleagues, according to the Albany Herald.

He will succeed Chief Justice David E. Nahmias, who will resign from the court on July 17 after more than a dozen years of service as a Justice.

The court also unanimously elected Justice Nels S.D. Peterson as its next Presiding Justice. The new roles take effect July 18.

The Chief Justice, who serves one four-year term, leads Georgia’s judicial branch and is the spokesperson for the Supreme Court, as well as for the entire state judiciary. He presides over the court’s oral arguments and the court’s deliberation of cases, although he has only one vote as does each of the eight other Justices.

Boggs has served on the Supreme Court since his appointment by former Gov. Nathan Deal in 2016. He won statewide election to a six-year term in 2018. Previously, Boggs served as a Judge on the Court of Appeals of Georgia — the state’s intermediate appellate court — and as a Superior Court judge for the Waycross Judicial Circuit, founding and serving as the first presiding judge of the Circuit’s Drug Court Program.

Justice Boggs also served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2001-2004.

Under the Gold Dome – Legislative Day 30

TBD Senate Rules Committee Upon Adjournment 450 CAP

8:00 AM Senate Ethics Committee – canceled 307 CLOB

8:30 AM HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE CANCELED 406 CLOB HYBRID

10:00 AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD 30) House Chamber

10:00 AM Senate Floor Session LD 30 Senate Chamber

1:00 PM HOUSE Public Safety & Homeland Security Subcommittee B 406 CLOB HYBRID

1:00 PM Senate Public Safety Committee – canceled Mezz 1

1:00 PM Senate Health and Human Services- Subcommittee on Mental Health Parity 450 CAP

1:30 PM HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE 132 CAP HYBRID

2:00 PM Senate Transportation Committee – canceled 450 CAP

2:00 PM Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee Mezz 1

3:00 PM Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee 450 CAP

4:00 PM Senate Government Oversight Committee – canceled 450 CAP

Governor Brian Kemp signed the Amended Budget for the current fiscal year, according to a Press Release:

Governor Brian P. Kemp, joined by Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan, House Speaker David Ralston, House and Senate Appropriations Chairmen Terry England and Blake Tillery, and leaders from several Georgia state agencies, today signed the Amended Fiscal Year 2022 Budget, HB 910, for the State of Georgia.

“I’m proud to have worked with the dedicated staff at the Office of Planning and Budget to develop a budget that funds our priorities for education, public safety, and healthcare while streamlining government services and finding new ways to better serve hardworking Georgians,” said Governor Brian P. Kemp. “As demonstrated throughout the last two difficult years, Georgia’s greatest strength is our people, and we will soon announce additional measures which will further our reputation as the best place to live, work, and raise a family. When the books are closed on this legislative session, I’m confident we will have built a safer, stronger Georgia for all who call the Peach State home.”

“As opportunities available in Georgia continue to attract new residents, we must ensure our state is equipped with the resources necessary to maintain the positive economic growth seen from strong, conservative leadership,” said Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan. “With record-breaking revenue, this year’s amended budget prioritizes fiscal responsibility through a $250 refundable tax credit while expanding investments in critical services such as education, mental health care and public safety.”

“This amended budget reflects the priorities of a growing, thriving state while returning more than a billion dollars to Georgia taxpayers,” said Speaker David Ralston. “I’m proud that this budget makes critical investments in both mental health services and public safety. I appreciate Governor Kemp’s commitment to working with the General Assembly on these and other priorities as we keep Georgia moving forward.”

From the Associated Press via WABE.

Citing increased revenues, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday signed an amended budget that includes pay boosts for state employees, hundreds of millions of dollars to restore education cuts and an earmark of more than $1 billion for tax refunds.

Kemp said the state was in a “unique” economic position that he credited to his decision to reopen businesses early during the coronavirus pandemic.

House Bill 910 covers the budget year ending in June. It includes $5,000 pay boosts for state agency employees and $2,000 bonuses for teachers and other school workers. It also restores more than $380 million to the state’s K-12 funding formula that had been cut when lawmakers feared revenue decreases at the beginning of the pandemic.

A $2.35 billion surplus was left at the end of the 2021 budget even after filling the state’s savings account to its legal limit of $4.3 billion.

That prompted the tax rebate plan, which was approved by the state Senate on Wednesday after it passed earlier in the state House.

People who filed income taxes in Georgia in 2020 and 2021 will get a refund when they file taxes this year. Single filers will receive as much as $250.

From the AJC:

The $30.2 billion midyear spending plan, which adds $3 billion in expenditures from the original budget, runs through June 30. The General Assembly approved the election-year spending plan last week.

“This budget funds our priorities and sets our state on a clear path to a continued strong recovery in coming months as we fully turn the page on the (COVID-19) pandemic,” Kemp said before signing the budget.

The budget includes $1.6 billion for state income tax refunds that Kemp proposed earlier this year after the government ran a surplus in fiscal 2021. A state fiscal note last week suggested the refund program, which would give single tax filers a $250 refund and joint filers $500, would actually cost closer to $1.1 billion.

The Senate gave final approval Wednesday to House Bill 1302, which would allow single Georgians to receive a $250 refund when they file their taxes, joint filers $500. The refunds would go to those who filed returns for both the tax years 2020 and 2021, and the money would be available in six to eight weeks.

“This a good budget, one that invests strategically in priorities for a growing, thriving state while returning more than $1 billion to Georgia taxpayers,” House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, said at a budget-signing ceremony at the Capitol.

From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald:

State employees will see their annual pay increased by $5,000, with an additional $2,000 going to correctional officers in the juvenile and adult prison systems to reduce high turnover rates.

The State Senate passed House Bill 1302, to set up the state income tax refund proposed by Gov. Kemp, according to the AJC.

The Georgia Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to Gov. Brian Kemp’s plan to refund more than $1 billion of surplus state funds to Georgians when they file their taxes this year.

Under House Bill 1302, which passed 47-4, single Georgians would be able to receive a $250 refund when they file their taxes, joint filers $500. The refunds would go to those who filed returns for the tax years 2020 and 2021 and the money would be available in six to eight weeks.

Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, one of the governor’s floor leaders, told colleagues Wednesday that the refund backed up Kemp’s belief that “when government takes in more money than it needs, the surplus funds should go back to taxpayers. They know best how to spend their hard-earned money.”

A split among Republican State Senators led to the scuttling of a voucher progam. From the Associated Press via WSAV:

Eight Republicans broke ranks and four others left the floor Tuesday, spurning a push by Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller. The Gainesville Republican is seeking his party’s nomination for lieutenant governor.

The measure would have let parents spend on private school or home-schooling for any child who attended public school for as little as six weeks.

State House Republicans passed House Bill 1464, granting the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) original jurisdiction to investigate election law allegations, according to the Associated Press via WSAV.

Democrats say the Republicans are still catering to Donald Trump’s “big lie” that Georgia’s 2020 election was stolen.

Republicans say the new rules would improve confidence in elections.

Changes include allowing the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to start examining election problems without an invitation from other officials.

The measure would also create new chain-of-custody requirements for handling ballots.

People would also get the right to inspect paper ballots after an election.

From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post:

“Chain of custody is important,” said Rep. David Knight, R-Griffin. “This is about the integrity of elections [so] everybody knows the procedures and rules are followed.”

The bill also requires employers to make time for their workers to vote, not just on Election Day but also during the early voting period.

House Democrats’ strongest objections were over a provision giving the Georgia Bureau of Investigation “original jurisdiction” to investigate complaints of election fraud, meaning the agency wouldn’t have to wait to be called into a case by the State Election Board or attorney general’s office.

“The GBI conducting voter fraud investigations … will be used to intimidate Georgia voters and election workers,” said Rep. Derek Mallow, D-Savannah. “This is another attack on the right to vote.”

The State Senate voted to pass Senate Bill 171, the “Safe Communities Act of 2021” to increase penalties for some crimes if they are committed during the course of a protest, according to the Associated Press via WSAV.

Senate Bill 171 passed on a party-line vote Tuesday. Republican Sen. Randy Robertson of Cataula says the bill will stop people from engaging in illegal activities and force cities and counties to not adopt a hands-off approach to criminal behavior.

Democrats say most of the activity Robertson cites as objectionable is already a crime. They say the bill is unconstitutional because it violates people’s First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly.

The State House approved House Resolution 842, which would create a statewide referendum to set legislative pay at 60% of the media state income, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Rome News Tribune.

The House approved the legislation 136-33, well above the two-thirds majority needed for constitutional amendments to clear the chamber. It now moves to the Georgia Senate.

If voters ratify the amendment in November, annual salaries for members of the state House of Representatives and Senate would be set at 60% of the median household income in Georgia.

Based on the state’s current median income of $58,000 a year, lawmakers would be paid about $35,000 annually. Legislators currently are paid just more than $17,000 a year.

The amendment would take effect in July of next year. After that date, lawmakers would no longer have any say over the politically dicey decision of how much they are paid.

“This is an issue that represents a conflict of interest for all of us,” Cantrell said. “This constitutional amendment protects us from having to recuse ourselves. … We will never have to address this issue again.”

Senate Resolution 623 would change the term in office for state senators from two years to four, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Senate Resolution 623 gives Georgia voters the opportunity to choose whether Georgia state senators continue to serve two-year terms, or bump them up to four-year terms. The change would be a statewide ballot item for the November election — a yes or no vote.

What the senators themselves want is clear: the resolution passed with a 49-3 vote. Only Republican Sens. Greg Dolezal of Cumming, Matt Brass of Newnan and Steve Gooch of Dahlonega voted against it.

The resolution now goes to the House, the members of which were not included in the text of the legislation.

State Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah) doesn’t expect [House passage] to happen. He says he sees House approval as an unlikely outcome, noting that the idea has been tossed around over the last 12 years and has yet to come to fruition.

“I’ve been here, four years in the House and eight years in the Senate. It was talked about when I was in the House, and they said there was no way they were gonna let those senators do that,” Watson said. “Now, I’m in the Senate, and I’m sure that they probably still feel the same.”

Senate Bill 498, which passed the Senate, sets standards, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

High school accrediting agencies would have to rate schools and school districts primarily on academic performance rather than the performance of their school boards under legislation that cleared the Georgia Senate Tuesday.

Senate Bill 498, which passed unanimously and now moves to the state House of Representatives, was prompted by a recent review by the accrediting agency Cognia that criticized the governance of the Cobb County Board of Education, made up of four Republicans and three Democrats.

“The core business of education is academic performance,” said Tippins, chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee. “What [colleges] are not looking for is an evaluation of whether the adults play well together.”

House Bill 1424, to regulate the coin-operated gambling amusement industry, passed the State House, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Georgians playing coin-operated amusement machines (COAM) could receive non-cash redemption gift cards under legislation the state House of Representatives passed Tuesday.

Gift cards would help the Georgia Lottery Corp., which oversees the COAM machines, keep better track of an industry that has been plagued by illegal cash payments to winners, Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, the bill’s chief sponsor, told House lawmakers.

“It will stop any illegal trade,” he said.

While often considered a stepchild of the lottery, COAM machines brought in $4.5 billion in Georgia last year, with the state getting 10% of the proceeds to support the HOPE Scholarship and pre-kindergarten programs.

Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Atlanta, who voted against the bill, argued that’s not enough. “This is serious money, and our kids need it,” she said.

Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, suggested a higher take for the state could be negotiated into the COAM bill as it moves over to the Georgia Senate.

United States Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Atlanta) introduced legislation to allow federal COVID relief funds to be used by local governments to fund a tax free holiday, according to the Albany Herald.

“Well, I’m hearing from Georgians that these times in which they are clearly feeling squeezed by the rising costs. And I’ve been focused on providing people relief from the day I’ve arrived in the Senate. And today I introduced the Relief For Families Act, which will enable state and local leaders to give the people of Georgia, the people of the Albany area, a tax holiday. This will certainly help the ordinary consumer in their pocketbook or wallet. It will also be a boost to small businesses who are also feeling the pinch, with these rising costs. Working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, we hope to get this passed sooner rather than later,” said Warnock.

“The idea of using American Rescue Act money, will that help make this possible without hurting inflation worst?” Wallace asked.

“This is money that has already been provided, as you point out, by the American Rescue Plan. And it will allow local leaders from Albany to have a tax holiday,” Warnock answered.

“The tax holiday will cover essential items. The Treasury will have a role in what that is. But when you think about essential items, we’re talking about groceries. The cost of diapers, just ordinary items that people need. Hygiene items, the things that we spend every day that are essential. And with Albany, a sales tax of 8%, that’s a real help for ordinary folks,” Warnock explained.

“I am going to fight with everything within me to be sure we get this across the finish line. This is a win-win. This is money we already allocated through the American Rescue Plan, so this is not new money. And I was proud to stand up for Georgia last week, as there were those who were trying to claw this money back. No. And Georgia certainly deserves a lot of credit here. We would have not passed the American Rescue Plan if Georgians had not stood up in the way that they did, and sent me and my colleague Jon Ossoff to the United States Senate. And as a result of that, we were able to pass the American Rescue Plan. Again, this is not new money. It enables local areas like Albany and its leaders to offer a sales tax holiday, while at the same time not costing the state of Georgia any more money or the local municipalities, being covered by American Rescue dollars. This is a win-win all around. And I would hope even in a place that’s so often paralyzed by partisan politics like Washington, that common sense will prevail,” Warnock said.

State Rep. Matt Dubnik (R-Gainesville) was named “Young Man of the Year” by the Gainesville Jaycees, according to the Gainesville Times.

Dubnik has represented Gainesville in the State House since 2017, and is seeking re-election this fall. He will enter the May 24 primary election as the sole Republican candidate, and is set to compete against Devin Pandy, the only Democratic candidate, in the November general election.

Dubnik works as the chief engagement officer for Forum Communications in Gainesville, and he is involved in several community organizations including the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, Ducks Unlimited, Junior Achievement, Georgia Mountain Food Bank and First Baptist Church of Gainesville.

The Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections named a new Interim Director, according to the AJC.

The Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections named Nadine Williams as the acting leader of the elections department Monday. She will take over when current director Richard Barron leaves in a couple weeks. The county is still actively recruiting a permanent director.

He lead the department through a disastrous June primary that had some voters waiting in line for hours partly because many never received mail-in ballots after Fulton’s system was overwhelmed.

Not only did former President Donald Trump accuse Barron of committing a “crime” while citing a debunked election conspiracy, but the elections board voted to fire him.

Both Republican elections board members and one Democrat, who is no longer on the board, voted to fire Barron before Democrats on the elected board of commissioners saved Barron.

Georgia’s goofy laws about how some vacancies in elected office are handled strikes again. From 13WMAZ:

In Houston County, William Kendall has served as the acting district attorney since George Hartwig abruptly resigned months into a 4-year term.

“Once the governor makes an appointment, that should trigger a special election, except under Georgia law, there is a specific statute that relates to district attorneys,” [former District Attorney’s Office employee Erikka Williams] said.

That statute is under the Georgia code 45-5-3.2. It says the appointed DA will serve until January of the following year and then there will be a special election six months after the date of appointment.

“Because the person that the governor announced an intention to appoint doesn’t meet the minimum statutory qualifications to hold the office, he cannot be sworn in until May,” she said.

That person is William Kendall. He’s been the acting DA in Houston County for months, but is not officially the “interim” replacement.

Kemp announced in January that he wanted to appoint Kendall, but the governor timed it so Kendall won’t officially become interim DA until May.

The six-month window after that means there can’t be a special election by November, and the Georgia Secretary of State’s office says that means no special election until 2024.

Georgia says even to become an interim DA, you must live in the state, be at least 25 years old, live in the area, and practice law for at least three years. Kendall marks three years as a lawyer in May, and that’s why Kemp’s appointment can’t take effect until then.

“What we’re actually talking about is statutory qualifications — not qualifications to do the job, but do the job under the Constitution, and right now, I’m the acting district attorney and I qualify for that position, not only statutorily but because of the person I am and the job that I’ve done,” Kendall said.

Jim Reid was elected to the Sumter County Commission District 2 seat vacated by the death of his brother, the late William Reid, according to WTVM.