Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for March 22, 2021

King George III approved of the passage of the Stamp Act legislation on March 22, 1765 designed to pay for some of the costs the UK incurred in protecting the colonies, but it would lead to the movement that culminated in the American Revolution.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Beer and Wine Revenue Act on March 22, 1933, allowing the sale of alcoholic beverages, and later that year, the federal Prohibition was ended.

The first Masters golf tournament began on March 22, 1934 in Augusta, Georgia.

The state prohibition on all alcoholic beverages ended on March 22, 1935 with Governor Eugene Talmadge’s signature of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act.

The United States Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment on March 22, 1972; it would fail to garner enough state ratifications.

The Georgia Historical Society is placing a marker t0 honor Amanda Dickson, an early African-American female millionaire from Augusta, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

[O]n May 21, the Georgia Historical Society is scheduled to place a marker in front of the downtown Augusta house to honor Dickson’s life and memory.

Dickson was born in 1849 to prominent Hancock County plantation owner David Dickson and a 13-year-old slave. Legally a slave owned by her white grandmother, the biracial child was reared in her father’s household. There, she learned to read and write, play piano and practice the social graces of white Southern affluence.

“Amanda’s story is very unique, but it also speaks to how complicated race relations have always been in this country,” said Corey Rogers, resident historian at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History. “When you look at her life story and the things she went through, it sort of speaks to how multilayered and complicated things could get during that time period and even to this day.”

When her father died in 1885, his will bequeathed most of his estate to her, valued then at about $400,000 but in today’s dollars it would be between $8 million and $10 million.

Outraged at the bequest, dozens of relatives from across the nation came forward to contest the will. In 1887, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the will, making Amanda Dickson – by varying newspaper accounts – the richest Black woman in Georgia, the South, the United States or the world.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Under the Gold Dome Today – Legislative Day 36

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS

8:00 AM Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs – canceled – 450 CAP
8:00 AM Senate Finance – canceled – Mezz 1
8:00 AM CANCELLED – HOUSE AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS – 406 CAP
8:00 AM HOUSE EDUCATION – 506 CLOB
8:30 AM CANCELLED – HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ELECTION INTEGRITY – 406 CLOB
9:00 AM Senate Rules – 450 CAP
9:00 AM CANCELLED – HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION – 606 CLOB
9:15 AM Senate Ethics – 310 CLOB
9:15 AM Senate Judiciary – 307 CLOB
9:30 AM HOUSE RULES – 341 CAP
10:00 AM HOUSE JUDICIARY NON CIVIL – 132 CAP
10:00 AM HOUSE INDUSTRY AND LABOR – 515 CLOB
10:30 AM Senate Appropriations – 341 CAP
10:30 AM Senate Education and Youth – 307 CLOB
10:30 AM Senate Government Oversight – canceled – 450 CAP
11:00 AM HOUSE AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS – 403 CAP
11:00 AM HOUSE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM – 506 CLOB
11:30 AM HOUSE INSURANCE – 606 CLOB
12:00 PM HOUSE PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY – 606 CLOB
1:00 PM Senate Floor Session (LD 36) – Senate Chamber
1:00 PM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD36) – House Chamber
1:30 PM CANCELLED – HOUSE JUDICIARY – 132 CAP
2:00 PM HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ELECTION INTEGRITY – 606 CLOB
3:00 PM HOUSE EDUCATION – 341 CAP
3:30 PM HOUSE REGULATED INDUSTRIES – 406 CLOB

HOUSE RULES CALENDAR

Modified Structured Rule

SB 9 – Courts; the Columbia Judicial Circuit and to be composed of Columbia County; create a new judicial circuit for the State of Georgia (Substitute)(Judy-Newton-123rd) Anderson-24th

SB 32 – Public Disclosure; certain personal records of state and federal employees; exempt (Substitute)(Judy-Gullett-19th) Brass-28th

SB 114 – Professions and Businesses; grounds for refusing to grant or revoking a license; revise (RegI-Momtahan-17th) Robertson-29th

SB 145 – Distilled Spirits; initiating a referendum election for the authorization of the issuance of licenses for the package sale of distilled spirits; modify the petition requirements (RegI-Ballinger-23rd) Brass-28th

SB 159 – Elementary and Secondary Education; provision relating to student transportation; revise (Substitute)(Ed-Barr-103rd) Gooch-51st

SB 185 – Revenue and Taxation; all questions of law decided by a court; matters from state board of equalization and refunds and appeals be decided without deference; require (Judy-Jones-25th) Hatchett-50th

SB 219 – Alcoholic Beverages; regulation of the manufacture, distribution, and sale of malt beverages; provide (RegI-Powell-32nd) Ginn-47th

SB 247 – Agricultural Commodity Commissions; public hearings with online public comment opportunities; replace (A&CA-Meeks-178th) Anderson-24th

Structured Rule

HB 745 – Washington County; Board of Education; provide nonpartisan elections for members (IGC-Jackson-128th)

Governor Brian Kemp will sign House Bill 593 today, cutting Georgia’s income tax by an estimated $140 million dollars, according to 11Alive.

House Bill [593] specifically raises the state’s standard deduction for individual filers by $800 to $5,400 and by couples filing jointly by $1,100 to $7,100.

“The Tax Relief Act of 2021 cuts taxes on Georgians and allows them to keep more of their hard-earned money,” said Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire), Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee. “This measure follows the tax cuts that the House passed in 2018 and 2020 in demonstrating our commitment to keeping the tax burden on Georgians as low as possible.”

The Georgia House unanimously passed the measure without opposition while the Senate passed the bill 35-15.

Federal stimulus aide to state and local government may complicate budget issues, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Augusta Chronicle:

Legislative Democrats and advocates for low-income Georgians say the state should spend its windfall from the latest federal COVID-19 relief bill on making a full economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

But Republican leaders say it’s too soon to commit money the state doesn’t have.

“We got a promise, but we ain’t seen a check yet,” said state Rep. Terry England, R-Auburn, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. “Until you get the cash in the bank, you don’t get too far ahead in thinking what to do with it.”

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act signed by President Joe Biden on March 11 includes $350 billion in aid to state and local governments affected by the pandemic. Georgia is due to receive $8.1 billion, with $4.7 billion going to the state and the rest to cities and counties.

“No one really knows what the rules are yet for this money,” he said. “Let’s wait and see what the rules are before we start making decisions.”

The Gainesville Times looks at how much stimmie local governments are likely to receive.

A pot of federal funds will soon be handed down to Hall County municipalities, which will use the next few years to identify what pandemic-affected sectors will benefit from the incoming cash flow.

Under the American Rescue Plan, a total of $350 billion in assistance is on its way to states, counties, cities and tribal governments to help recoup losses and bounce back from downturns suffered in the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to estimates published on March 8 by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Georgia is slated to receive $8.3 billion of it.

The bill would cover economic and governmental damages that Hall County suffered like a ransomware attack in the fall and a yearlong downturn for local industries still experiencing revenue loss.

Hall County, the 10th-largest county in Georgia, will receive an estimated $39.6 million in federal funds from the plan.

Under the American Rescue Plan, all local governments will receive funding directly from the U.S. Treasury. In the CARES Act, the Treasury directly provided funds to counties and municipalities with a population size of 500,000 plus.

Additionally, states under the CARES Act were allowed to determine how to allocate funding to local governments; in the latest plan, each local government’s funding amount is based on population data from the most recent Census.

FEMA will also distribute federal aid to families who incurred funeral expenses due to COVID-19, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

State Reps. Penny Houston, R-Nashville, chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Economic Development, and Gerald Greene, R-Cuthbert, chair of the House State Properties Committee, have announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide financial resources for families who incurred funeral expenses for a loved one who has died as a result of COVID-19 last year.

“South Georgia has experienced first-hand the devastation and loss of life under the grips of this pandemic,” Houston said in a joint news release with Greene. “Already faced with incredible loss, Georgia families must also deal with the financial burden from burying their loved ones, and this federal assistance will surely be a blessing for south Georgia families during this difficult time.”

Governor Kemp is also expected to sign today House Bill 114 by State Rep. Bert Reeves (R-Cobb County), according to WJCL.

It will increase the annual tax incentive for adopting a foster child from $2,000, to $6,000.

Parents would receive the $6,000 for five years before it goes back down to $2,000 per year until the child turns 18.

Georgia native Hans von Spakovsky, a former Federal Election Commissioner and now Senior Legal Fellow with the Heritage Foundation, writes in the Augusta Chronicle about Georgia’s legislative election reforms.

With the recent passage by the Georgia House of Representatives of House Bill 531, the state has made a good start on amending its election rules to reform the system and fix the many security vulnerabilities that currently exist – vulnerabilities that fueled the controversy over election results in Georgia in 2020.

Legislators have proposed several amendments to the state’s election code relating to primaries and elections. Among them: revisions to how absentee ballots and early voting are handled. Considering some of the problematic voting procedures utilized in Georgia during the 2020 presidential election, this bill is certainly a step in the right direction.

One of the most-needed reforms in House Bill 531 is adding an identification requirement to absentee ballots. Georgia has had a model voter ID statute for more than a decade that requires a government-issued photo ID to vote in person – and the state provides a free ID to anyone who lacks one.

Another important provision is one banning private funding of election officials and election officers, something that happened in the 2020 election. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg contributed $350 million to an organization that distributed those funds to local boards of elections nationwide, including in Georgia. These were supposedly “nonpartisan” grants, but an analysis by the Capital Research Center showed that the grants were targeted “to known Democratic districts to turn out its base in battleground states.”

There are many other changes to Georgia law in the House bill on other issues such as early voting and poll watchers, which are intended to directly address challenges seen across the country in the 2020 presidential election. The bill is a big first step in the right direction to protect both access and security, which should be the key objectives of any state’s election process.

United States Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Atlanta) has criticized GOP-led election reforms at the state level and GOP elected officials at the federal level, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

“I think it’s unfortunate that some politicians have looked at the results and, rather than changing their message, they’re busy trying to change the rules,” the Democrat said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Warnock was referring to a key committee in the Georgia Legislature, which began work this week on a massive new voting bill that would give the state broad powers over local election officials, set limits on weekend early voting and add voter ID requirements for absentee ballots.

“Voting rights has traditionally has been bipartisan. The last time we reauthorized the 1965 Voting Rights Act, George W. Bush was president, and it passed the United States Senate 98-0,” Warnock said.

He added: “I think the onus is on my colleagues to explain why they’re not supporting voting rights. Voting rights is not just one issue alongside other issues. It is fundamental. It is foundational. It is who we say we are as an American people. It’s the covenant we have with one another. One person, one vote. We’ve got to do everything we can to pass voting rights.”

Warnock captured his seat in a special election and will be on the ballot again in 2022.

Senate Bill 202 by state Senator Max Burns, (R-Sylvania) transplant surgery by State House committee, would change runoff elections in Georgia dramatically, according to the AJC.

Runoffs would be held four weeks after an initial election, cutting short the state’s current nine-week wait.

Military and overseas voters would use instant-runoff ballots, in which they would pick their second-choice candidates upfront, rather than having to vote again in a runoff.

And special elections would be preceded by partisan primary elections, eliminating the kind of 20-candidate contests that included Republican Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Raphael Warnock in November.

Taken together, these proposals would make it more likely that the leading candidate in general elections would prevail in runoffs.

The new voting methods for runoffs and special elections are included within a 94-page measure, Senate Bill 202, that could receive a committee vote as soon as Monday. The far-reaching legislation also would require more ID for absentee voting, set earlier absentee ballot request deadlines, limit drop boxes and disqualify provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct.

Georgia is the only state in the nation that mandates runoffs after general elections, which led to the U.S. Senate runoffs on Jan. 5. State law requires that candidates receive a majority of votes to win. Most other states declare a winner based on whichever candidate earned the most votes on election night, even if they fall short of the 50% mark.

Before this year, Republicans had won every statewide runoff since 1992, when Republican Paul Coverdell defeated Democratic U.S. Sen. Wyche Fowler.

House Bill 150 could prevent Savannah from favoring some energy sources over others in adopting building codes, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Case in point: the Savannah City Council. This eight-member board last year unanimously passed Savannah’s 100% clean energy resolution, which says all electricity consumed in the city of Savannah will be generated from renewable energy by 2035, and all other energy needs will be generated from renewable energy by 2050.

House Bill 150 would prevent local governments in Georgia from adopting building codes based on the source of energy they use. The legislation also would apply to state agencies. The bill made its way through the house and is now being considered by the senate.

“It really limits the municipalities on energy choices,” Savannah Alderman Nick Palumbo said. “We are a home rule state, where local government knows best. And we’re advocating to make sure that it stays that way so that your city has a choice in their energy choices. And House Bill 150 would take away that right. It would preempt municipalities from being able to make those energy choices and force you to take energy, like coal or natural gas that maybe residents don’t want into the future.”

Alex Muir of One Hundred Miles recalled that Rep. Kasey Carpenter, R-Athens, said before voting for the bill that “we’re all in favor of local control until locals get out of control.”

Both Muir and Palumbo said the chairman of the Committee on Regulated Industries and Utilities, Republican Bill Cowsert of Athens, discounted the impact cities would have on global warming even if they did decrease their carbon footprints.

“(Cowsert) said, ‘you can’t change the problem on your own as one little community,’” Muir told a Facebook Live rally against the bill that Palumbo organized Wednesday. “And that’s a direct quote, which I find pretty interesting, because he’s representing an area where they passed a 100% renewable resolution.”

“And he went on to say one city isn’t going to change the temperature of the earth by one centimeter. I’m going to go ahead and ignore the fact that he doesn’t seem to understand we measure temperature in degrees and not centimeters. Because what I think is really important here for all of us to be focusing on is that he’s belittling the impact that his constituents and the rest of us in Georgia can have in addressing an issue that we care about.”

HB 150 is part of a multi-state strategy to pre-empt clean energy measures in cities. As the Natural Resources Defense Council reported in January, the fossil fuel industry backed bills proposed in 14 states this year:

U.S. Representative Jody Hice (R-Monroe) will challenge Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, according to the AJC.

U.S. Rep. Jody Hice announced a primary challenge on Monday to unseat Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and the four-term Republican is expected to land the endorsement of former President Donald Trump in his bid to become the state’s top elections official.

“Free and fair elections are the foundation of our country,” said Hice in a statement. “What Brad Raffensperger did was create cracks in the integrity of our elections, which I wholeheartedly believe individuals took advantage of in 2020.”

The development, first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, set off a scramble in state GOP circles. Several candidates quickly lined up to run for Hice’s conservative northeast Georgia district, while another Republican challenger to Raffensperger cemented plans to enter the race.

The congressman confirmed last week he’s seriously considering running for the statewide post, adding that he has met with Trump and that the former president is “supportive” of his potential candidacy. Hice said then he’ll soon announce a decision, which would mean giving up a prominent post if Republicans flip control of the House next year.

State Rep. Houston Gaines, an Athens Republican, said last week he’s “humbled by the outpouring of support and encouragement” and is weighing a bid if the seat becomes open. And on Sunday, state Sen. Bill Cowsert of Athens said he is also “seriously considering” a campaign for the seat and that he’ll make a decision shortly if Hice runs.

Other potential candidates include Mike Collins, a trucking executive who was runner-up to Hice in the 2014 runoff, and state Rep. Jodi Lott of Evans.

Former state Rep. Vernon Jones, a Democrat-turned-Republican who is popular in the pro-Trump crowd, has long been rumored to run for secretary of state and is said to be weighing his options. He visited Trump earlier this month in Florida and said he’d soon detail his political future.

Columbus Recorders Court will end a program that discounts fines and fees for traffic offenses, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Time is running out for those with Columbus traffic tickets to get a 50% discount on their fines and court fees while the COVID-19 pandemic suspends traffic court hearings.

The offer approved last year has been extended to April 2, with traffic court set to resume April 5, said Clautretta Williams, the chief clerk of Columbus Recorder’s Court.

The discount does not apply to all traffic offenses, as some fines are set by law and can’t be altered. Among those are violations related to distracted driving, seat belts and child-restraint seats.

Read more here: https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/crime/article250007964.html#storylink=cpy

Whitfield County will announce next week early voting dates and times for an April 13 runoff election for County Commission District 3, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.

Early voting will begin “soon” in an April 13 runoff for a special election to fill the District 3 seat on the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners, according to county Chief Registrar Mary Hammontree.

Shane Day, global sales director for Tiarco Chemical in Dalton, and John Thomas, a realtor and former member of the Whitfield County Board of Education, finished first and second respectively in a five-person race to fill the unexpired term of the late Roger Crossen on Tuesday. Day received 467 votes (29.37%) and Thomas 430 votes (27.04%). Because no one received more than 50% of the vote, state law calls for a runoff.

Hammontree said the law says early voting should start “as soon as possible.” She said the county elections office must first complete the logic and accuracy testing of voting machines before she can set a date. That testing will start Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the elections office in the county courthouse, 205 N. Selvidge St., Dalton, and continue until completed. Hammontree said the testing typically takes two or three days.

 

Guyton City Manager Bill Sawyer resigned for medical reasons, according to the Savannah Morning News.