March 20, 1854 saw a meeting in Ripon, Wisconsin that is generally considered the founding of the Republican Party.
[F]ormer members of the Whig Party meet to establish a new party to oppose the spread of slavery into the western territories. The Whig Party, which was formed in 1834 to oppose the “tyranny” of President Andrew Jackson, had shown itself incapable of coping with the national crisis over slavery.
The Civil War firmly identified the Republican Party as the party of the victorious North, and after the war the Republican-dominated Congress forced a “Radical Reconstruction” policy on the South, which saw the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution and the granting of equal rights to all Southern citizens. By 1876, the Republican Party had lost control of the South, but it continued to dominate the presidency until the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.
The Georgia State Capitol was completed on March 20, 1889. Ron Daniels, the Poet Laureate of GaPundit, has written an ode to the Gold Dome:
Well I guess it was back in eighteen eighty nine,
When a couple of boys in Dahlonega went down in a mine,
And found it was slap full of gold.
Then these folks in Atlanta wanted to keep growing,
So they told the legislature the Capitol had to be going,
And so those politicos said “Good Bye Milledgeville! Our attorneys will be in touch.”
Now the Capitol had been moved before,
Savannah, Louisville, and more,
They’d even moved it down to Macon on an overloaded poultry wagon.
Atlanta sure wanted to lend the State a hand,
Giving the legislature plenty of land,
Hammers started swingin’ and, boy howdy, they sure were buildin’.
The architect of this here building was feeling bold,
Covering the building’s dome all in beautiful gold,
Leaving the gold mine empty, and leaving someone with the shaft.
Well, Governor Gordon was slap full of delight,
When his eyes did recognize that impressive sight,
On March 20, 1889, a completed Capitol building.
He grabbed the keys and a few words he spoke,
The words he uttered were no joke,
“Boys when you’re hot, you’re hot! Now thanks a lot.”
On March 20, 1943, Governor Ellis Arnall signed legislation authorizing a referendum to amend the Georgia Constitution and make the Public Service Commission a Constitutional agency.
On March 20, 1965, President Lyndon Baines Johnson notified Alabama Governor George Wallace that Alabama National Guard troops would be called up to maintain order during a third march from Selma to Montgomery. Within five months, the Voting Rights Act would be passed by Congress.
On March 20, 1970, Governor Lester Maddox signed legislation designating the Brown Thrasher the official state bird, and the Bobwhite Quail the official state game bird.
On March 20, 1982, this song was #1 on the Billboard charts:
Happy birthday to Georgia-born actress Holly Hunter (1958) and film director/actor Spike Lee (1957).
March 20, 2014 was the 40th Legislative Day of the Georgia General Assembly.
Under the Gold Dome Today
| 9:30am – 10:00am | House Rules Committee – 341 cap |
| 12:00pm – 1:00pm | Senate Rules Upon Adjournment – 450 cap |
| 12:00pm – 1:00pm | Senate Education & Youth – Upon Adjournment – 307 clob |
| 1:00pm – 2:00pm | Senate Public Safety Committee – 310 clob |
| 1:00pm – 2:00pm | Senate Finance – Subcommittee – upon adjournment of Rules – mezz 1 |
| 1:00pm – 3:00pm | House Academic Support Sub of Education – 406 cap |
| 1:30pm – 3:30pm | House Juvenile Justice Committee – 506 clob |
| 2:00pm – 3:00pm | House Banks & Banking Committee – 341 cap |
| 2:00pm – 3:00pm | Senate Appropriations Subcommittee – 123 cap |
Senate Rules Calendar
HB 76 – General appropriations; State Fiscal Year July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016 (Substitute) (As Passed House) (APPROP-4th) Ralston-7th
HB 170 – Transportation Funding Act of 2015; enact (As Passed House) (Substitute) (TRANS-51st) Roberts-155th
House Rules Calendar
Modified Structured Rule
SB 51 – Pharmacists and Pharmacies; provide for substitutions of interchangeable biological products (Substitute)(H&HS-Cooper-43rd) Burke-11th
Transportation Tax on the Senate Floor Today
The Georgia State Senate will vote today on its version of the Transportation Tax Bill, HB 170. The Chattanooga Times-Free Press has an analysis of the Senate version of the finance act,
Senate Transportation Chairman Sen. Tommie Williams, R-Lyons, said he’s open to suggestions with a specific benchmark in mind.
“The goal in the Senate is to keep gas prices as low we can, so we’re looking to other places to get the money,” Williams said.
Those sources include a new $25 “highway user” fee paid when Georgians renew their license tags, a new $5 rental car fee and the elimination of a sales-tax holiday for back-to-school purchases. The Senate plan also moves $250 million annually from the state’s general fund to pay off debt service owed by the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, said that frees up agency revenue for maintenance or capital projects rather than debt service payments. State lawmakers would determine the exact dollar amount each year when voting on the state’s budget.
Senators maintained House lawmakers’ decisions to end tax breaks for jet fuel purchases by airlines and new electric vehicles purchases, as well as a new $200 annual charge on those cars.
The Senate plan also has what WABE’s Michelle Wirth describes as a “reboot of T-SPLOST.”
The new funding plan has two steps. First, if more than half of the county commissions within a 10-county region are in favor of a transportation referendum, they would be able to put it before voters. Right now, it’s up to the state to put the issue on the ballot.
Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Tommie Williams, R-Lyons, says putting local governments in charge might work better.
“Let the county commissioners decide if they think they can get the votes, and let them put it on the ballot, rather than us saying all of you are going to have to do it,” Williams says. “That was part of the problem last time. We set it up where it happened all across the state at the very worst time, in a very heated political environment.”
If voters in those regions reject the tax or counties don’t take advantage of that option by January 2017, step two comes into play. It would allow individual counties to decide on their own ballot measures for transportation.
Williams says that option will likely be needed for the metro Atlanta region. He told fellow committee members it will be difficult for the 10-county region to get a project list together that voters would approve.
“If you look at where the congestion is, where red lines are, where traffic is frankly stopped, it’s all in or around the perimeter … That’s where I don’t believe this region will ever pass a regional SPLOST,” Williams says.
Medical Marijuana Passes Senate Committee
Yesterday, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed a bill that combines parts of House Bill 1, the expansive Medical Marijuana bill by State Rep. Allen Peake (R-Macon) and the more conservative Senate Bill 185 by Sen. Lindsey Tippins (R-Marietta). From Maggie Lee, for the Macon Telegraph,
Having up to 20 ounces of a liquid form of medical marijuana under certain conditions would not be grounds for arrest under House Bill 1, by state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon. It also directs Georgia’s university system to undertake clinical studies on medical marijuana for severe seizures.
“I think that we have successfully accomplished what we want to do in putting these two pieces together,” said state Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, ahead of the voice vote of her Senate Health and Human Services Committee meeting Thursday.
The House version of the bill includes fibromyalgia in the list of cannabis-eligible diagnoses. The Senate committee declined it.
“Fibromyalgia is a difficult diagnosis, and I think that will make it more difficult to pass,” said state Sen. Ben Watson, R-Savannah, a physician.
Even without access for fibromyalgia patients, Senate committee passage is “not a small step, but a huge leap,” he said.
The bill comes with other conditions already approved by the state House.
And more details from WABE’s Michelle Wirth,
[S]everal physicians like Dr. Paul Earley warned legalizing the oil will lead to abuse.
“Any legislation that brings more THC into our state is simply fueling the fire for more addiction problems in Georgia,” said Early.
The bill limits the THC content in the oil to 5 percent. It also says there would have to be a matching amount of cannabidiol, which is a non-psychoactive extract of marijuana that’s supposed to contain therapeutic benefits.
However, the oil won’t be produced in Georgia. Instead, residents would have to get the cannabis oil from other states and need a recommendation from a doctor. They would also be required to register with the state’s health department.
The legislation says those with conditions like Parkinson’s, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis would have to be near death or have severe symptoms to get the oil. Meanwhile, residents with cancer would have to be dying, severely ill, or have symptoms like nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy or other cancer treatments.
The bill requires those gaining the immunity to be a Georgia resident for at least a year. However, that doesn’t apply to children under 12-months old. The committee also carved out an exception to the one-year residency requirement for Georgians who have moved to other states to gain access to the cannabis oil.
Rep. Peake took to Facebook to discuss the bill’s passage out of committee,
I’m grateful to senator Renee Unterman for supporting a bill that includes 8 medical conditions and 5% THC. This will allow our medical refugees to come home, and provide immunity for those with cancer, ALS, MS, and other conditions. Hopeful the bill will pass the full senate early next week and head to Governor Nathan Deal for his signature. This is a giant leap in our effort, and I have a humble and grateful heart this evening.
Rachel’s Law in House Committee Today
Today at 1:30 PM, the House Juvenile Justice Committee will take up SB8 and SR7 by Sen. Renee Unterman to continue Georgia’s fight against sex trafficking of children. Here are the Committee Members if you’re moved to let them know you support the legislation. Click a name for contact information:
Rep. Tom Weldon, Chairman
Rep. Regina Quick, Vice Chairman
Rep. Sheila Jones
Rep. Stephen Allison
Rep. Dar’shun Kendrick
Rep. Alex Atwood
Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver
Rep. Simone Bell
Rep. Brad Raffensperger
Rep. Wes Cantrell
Rep. Paulette Rakestraw
Rep. Joyce Chandler
Rep. Dexter Sharper
Rep. Christian Coomer
Rep. Jason Spencer
Rep. Pam Dickerson
Rep. Erica Thomas
Rep. Chuck Efstration
Rep. Keisha Waites
Rep. Stacey Evans
Rep. Sam Watson
Rep. Scott Holcomb
Rep. Andrew J. Welch
Rep. Henry “Wayne” Howard
Rep. David Wilkerson
Rep. Mike Jacobs
Elections
Robert Reichert will run for reelection as Mayor of Macon-Bibb County, according to The Macon Telegraph.
Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert, two years into an abbreviated three-year term as the consolidated government’s first leader, said Thursday that he will seek another four years in office in 2016.
“Yes, we are already beginning to gear up for a run,” he said in an afternoon meeting with The Telegraph’s editorial board.
Reichert was elected mayor of Macon in 2007 and re-elected in 2011. He pushed hard for merging the city and county governments, successfully persuading voters in 2012 where four tries in the previous 80 years had failed. He then won the 2013 race to become countywide mayor.
The first Macon-Bibb mayoral term was set at three years, to bring municipal elections in line with the presidential election cycle. The 2016 election is for a full four-year term. Should Reichert win and serve it out, he will have presided over Macon for 12 years.
Flowery Branch in Hall County will hold a Special Election on June 16, 2015 to elect two new City Council members after a pair of resignations.
Post 1 Councilman Damon Gibbs’ resignation was effective March 1; Post 5 Councilwoman Tara Richards’ resignation will go into effect April 17. Both Gibbs and Richards resigned for job opportunities requiring them to move outside city limits.
Per the proposed ordinance, qualifying for the election will run 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 27-29 at Flowery Branch City Hall, 5517 Main St.
The qualifying fee of each post will be $144, which is 3 percent of the annual salary.
The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer looks at how the Muscogee County E-SPLOST was passed on Tuesday, March 17, 2015.
South Columbus as a whole seemed united in its support of the tax to raise $192 million for new school facilities. Taking Macon Road as Columbus’ customary north-south dividing line, the only precinct south of it to vote “no” was at Edgewood Baptist Church, and there the margin was thin, with 215 voting for the tax and 222 against it.
Elsewhere in the south, it was a blowout in most precincts, with more than 100 votes separating the two sides….
The tax also won in one of the city’s wealthiest areas on the far north side of town, the precinct at Wynnbrook Baptist Church, 500 River Knoll Way, where 430 voted “yes” and 324 “no.”
Frank Myers, the newly elected District 8 school board representative who along with District 2 newcomer John Thomas campaigned against the tax, said the Wynnbrook results were “not a big surprise to me.”
Myers helped manage two previous sales tax campaigns, one in 2008 for a city government tax primarily devoted to public safety, and a 2009 school sales tax for a new Carver High School and other capital improvements.
Wynnbrook, where residents from Green Island Hills and other upscale neighborhoods vote, supported both of the previous sales taxes, too, Myers said. “That’s a trend that continues.”
Those precincts voting against the tax tended to be majority white, including those located at St. Mark United Methodist church with 80 percent and St. Peter United Methodist Church with 77 percent, as well as North Highland Assembly of God, Northside Baptist Church and Britt David Baptist Church, each with 73 percent.
But again, exceptions remained: Majority-white precincts favoring the tax included Wynnbrook Baptist Church with 84 percent and St. Paul United Methodist Church with 76 percent.
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