On March 26, 1734, the British House of Commons voted for spending £10,000 to subsidize the Georgia colony, down from £26,000 the previous year.
The British Parliament closed the Port of Boston on March 25, 1774, passing the Boston Port Act in retaliation for the destruction of $1 million worth of tea in the Boston Tea Party.
On March 24, 1824, the Marquis de LaFayette visited Augusta, Georgia.
On this date in 1825, LaFayette, a beloved French hero of the American Revolution, stopped in Augusta on his nationwide tour, and thousands turned out to greet him.
Storekeepers displayed all sorts of LaFayette gear – hats, portraits, souvenirs. An arch was constructed over Broad Street. A platform big enough to hold 600 diners was put up in front of the courthouse on Greene Street.
On March 26, 1920, This Side of Paradise, the debut novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published. The author was 23 years old.
Flannery O’Connor was born on March 25, 1925 in Savannah, Georgia. She would come to be recognized as one of the greatest American fiction writers. O’Connor graduated from the Georgia State College for Women, now called Georgia College and State University. She returned to Milledgeville in 1951, living at the family farm, called Andalusia, until her death at age 39 in 1964.
At GCSU, the Flannery O’Connor Room is located in the GC Museum, the Flannery O’Connor Collection includes manuscripts, and the College includes a program in Flannery O’Connor Studies.
O’Connor died of Lupus, which also killed her father.
Horton Smith won the first Masters tournament on March 25, 1934.
On March 25, 1937, Governor E.D. Rivers signed legislation creating the Georgia Department of Labor; in 1945, the Commissioner of Labor was upgraded from statutory office to Constitutional.
Governor E.D. Rivers signed a resolution on March 24, 1939, calling for the return of “General” locomotive made famous in the Great Train Chase from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Georgia. It currently resides in The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia. The other locomotive involved in the chase, The Texas, is displayed at the Atlanta Center.
Elvis Presley was inducted into the United States Army on March 24, 1958.
On March 24, 1970, Gov. Lester Maddox signed legislation naming the Largemouth Bass the Official State Fish.
On March 26, 1982, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in Washington, DC for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; the design approved a couple weeks earlier was by 21-year old Yale architecture student Maya Lin.
On Saturday, March 24, 1984, five juvenile delinquents disaffected youth reported to detention at Shermer High School.
On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Florida Man Ron DeSantis will visit Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna on Thursday, according to the AJC.
The Republican’s scheduled visit Thursday to a suburban gun store is part of a media blitz that’s widely seen as a prelude to an official 2024 announcement expected within months.
DeSantis picked an area freighted with political symbolism for his visit. Cobb County was once an important Republican stronghold that transformed during the Donald Trump presidency into a Democratic bastion. Joe Biden carried the county by 14 points in 2020.
DeSantis has been ramping up his national appearances in recent weeks as he prepares a likely White House bid. He’s seen as the top threat to former President Donald Trump, who launched his comeback tour months ago but has yet to return to Georgia.
With the nominating contests a year away, DeSantis was the top alternative state GOP leaders mentioned in texts, emails and phone interviews over a two-week span. Others floated former Vice President Mike Pence and Haley.
Under the Gold Dome Today
10:00 AM Canceled – Senate Rules Committee – 450 CAP
The AJC Political Insider writes about an apparent stumbling block between the two legislative chambers.
The impasse over health care regulations still looms over the legislative session, but Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is pressing ahead on his push to make it easier to build new hospitals — and punish the Wellstar Health System and others who oppose the idea.
The Republican pushed forward on multiple fronts on Thursday, orchestrating the passage of a budget that strips $105 million from Gov. Brian Kemp’s spending proposal — the same amount that legislators recently approved for a records system that could benefit Wellstar.
Senate lawmakers are also poised next week to vote on a measure that would rollback tax benefits that Wellstar now receives, along with a tweak that protects Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta after it was inadvertently dinged in the rebuke.
And Senate lawmakers engineered a last-minute revamp of a mental health bill that had already cleared the House 163-3, leaving it in an uneasy purgatory. Jones’ allies warned the mental health package, championed by House leaders, could stall if his hospital overhaul failed.
The flurry of moves comes despite an olive branch from House lawmakers in the form of a resolution by state Rep. Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta, to form a study committee to evaluate the “certificate of need” program that Jones wants to remake. Senate leaders pointed out they floated their own study committee two weeks ago.
Either way, Jones has continued to push for Senate Bill 99, which would make it easier for new hospitals to be built in rural counties, including a proposed 100-bed private facility that could be constructed on his father’s land near his hometown in Jackson. Wellstar opposes the measure because it could directly threaten two nearby hospitals it operates.
State officials are adamant about scuttling Jones’ measure because they want Wellstar to agree to a potential takeover of the state-run Augusta University Health System, which is mired in financial trouble. This week, Moody’s downgraded the health system’s bonds due to cashflow struggles and a “very weak liquidity position.”
AUGUSTA ANGST. Some lawmakers who see the $105 million taxpayer-funded medical records system for a unit of the AU Health System as a giveaway that could sweeten the pot for the Wellstar takeover have suggested that other large hospital systems could be better partners.
We checked around and obtained emails from Northside and Piedmont — two of the state’s biggest health care providers — that showed executives from both passed on requests to negotiate a partnership in 2021-2022.
The AJC’s Patricia Murphy questioned the Lt. Governor’s motivations. I’m not going to excerpt that editorial, but you may wish to read it.
Governor Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 140 by Sen. Carden Summers (R-Cordele), which limits the availability of some transgender procedures for minors, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
SB 140 prohibits sex reassignment surgeries or other surgical procedures and hormone replacement therapies performed on anyone younger than age 18 to alter primary or secondary sexual characteristics.
“Today, I signed SB 140 into law to ensure we protect the health and wellbeing of Georgia’s children,” Kemp said after signing the bill March 23. “I appreciate the many hours of respectful debate and deliberation by members of the General Assembly that resulted in final passage of this bill.”
The ACLU of Georgia has announced its intent to sue the state for the bill.
“The Georgia Legislature has once again chosen to place politics before patient care. The politicians who passed SB 140 are interfering with the rights of Georgia parents to get life-saving medical treatment for their children and preventing physicians from properly caring for their patients,” said Cory Isaacson, ACLU of Georgia legal director.”
According to the new law, the Georgia Composite Medical Board is tasked with coming up with regulations for the continued treatment of minors who are, prior to July 1, 2023, being treated with irreversible hormone replacement therapies.
Supporters, including sponsor Sen. Carden Summers, say minors can’t make the decision to affirm their gender.
“We want them to make their own decision after 18 years old, they can make their own decision after 18 years old,” said Summers.
“I don’t think the Georgia State legislature knows more about taking care of pediatric patients than the American Association of Pediatrics but that’s where we are,” said State Rep. Dr. Michelle Au (D-Atlanta). “I am very dismayed that this passed and I think it’s shameful.”
“SB 140 in Georgia is to stand up for our most vulnerable – our children. What we tried to do is prevent irreversible surgeries to children,” explained State Rep. Bo Hatchett (R-North East Georgia)
The Georgia Senate passed their version of the FY 2024 budget, according to the Athens Banner-Herald via the Savannah Morning News.
The vote was 51-1 in the Senate. The Senate and House versions of the budget must still be reconciled before a final version is passed.
The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a version of the state budget, HB 19, that cut $18 million for the employer share of health benefits that was introduced by Gov. Brian Kemp and approved by the state House. It also includes an $87 million cut to the teaching budget — a block of funding for student instruction, as opposed to research or other agencies under USG — to be replaced with unspent funds carried forward from the past year.
The total cut is about $105 million when compared to the Gov. Brian Kemp’s initial budget proposal. But USG puts the cut at $113 million after including reductions to other budget lines. In contrast, the House passed a budget with less than $10,000 difference from the governor’s proposal overall for the USG teaching budget.
“The $113 million decrease would significantly impact all 26 USG public colleges and universities, many of which are already experiencing a negative budget impact due to declining enrollment,” USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue was quoted as saying in a statement. “These additional funding reductions would impact teaching budgets, staff and students. We are confident these things will resolve themselves by the end of the session.”
The Senate Appropriations Committee’s Compensation Subcommittee recommended passage of House Bill 364, the “Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act,” according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.
House Bill 364, which the Georgia House of Representatives passed early this month, would replace the current requirement that the wrongfully convicted find a legislative sponsor for a compensation resolution and instead turn over compensation decisions to a panel of experts.
“Every person who has been wrongfully convicted has to have a resolution filed and go through the whole gantlet of the legislative process,” state Rep. Scott Holcomb, D-Atlanta, the bill’s chief sponsor, said of the current process for gaining compensation. “I think it will prevent any potential mistakes, of us getting it wrong, by having a panel of experts. We’re trying to make sure we get it right.”
Holcomb’s bill would create a five-member panel of experts in the criminal justice system, including a judge, retired judge, or retired justice; a district attorney, a criminal defense lawyer; and two attorneys, forensic experts, or law professors with expertise in wrongful convictions.
Georgians who have been exonerated of a crime for which they were wrongfully convicted could submit compensation claims to the panel, which would determine whether compensation is warranted and recommend an amount of compensation.
The original House bill set the range of compensation for the wrongfully convicted at $50,000 to $100,000 for each year of incarceration. The subcommittee approved an amendment offered by Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, raising the compensation range to between $60,000 and $120,000.
The bill moves next for consideration by the full Senate Appropriations Committee.
Procedurally, House Bill 364 did not actually get heard in the Subcommittee, which actually heard and recommended passage of Senate Bill 35, originally a meausre to authorize a state car tag honoring a fraternal organization. It appears that the House Rules Committee stripped the original language of SB 35 and inserted the language of HB 364.
Also getting the slice-and-dice treatment in Committee was SB 158 by Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Cataula). From the AJC:
The Georgia House revived the soapbox derby measure in a new bill Thursday after state senators had deleted it from legislation that they rewrote last week in a last-ditch attempt to legalize sports betting. Then the House voted unanimously, 166-0, to pass the bill and send it to the Senate.
The proposal would designate the Southeast Georgia Soap Box Derby in Lyons as the state’s official soapbox derby for tourism purposes.
The latest soapbox derby measure, Senate Bill 158, revised a proposal that previously would have provided for insurance discounts for retrofitting properties so they can better resist tornados or hurricanes.
The sports betting legislation that originally dealt with the soapbox derby, House Bill 237, passed a Senate committee and could soon be scheduled for a vote in the full Senate.
The Senate Regulated Industries Committee amended House Bill 196 by State Rep. Alan Powell (R-Hartwell), which attempts to uncluster the licensing procedures of the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.
The version of House Bill 196 House lawmakers approved March 6 called for increasing the number of medical cannabis production licenses the state awards to 15, up from the current six. That would have let nine companies that filed lawsuits after they were denied licenses a new opportunity to compete.
But the Senate Regulated Industries Committee scrapped that provision from the bill after representatives of two companies already awarded licenses to grow marijuana in Georgia and convert the leafy crop to low-THC cannabis oil testified they will be able to provide more than enough oil to Georgia patients registered with the state to receive the drug.
“It looks like we have enough capacity for up to 1 million patients already, and we only have 26,000 to 27,000 patients on the list,” committee Chairman Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, said Thursday.
The House bill introduced by state Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, also got pushback for essentially promising the nine companies that went to court after they lost bids for licenses that they would get licenses if they agreed to drop their lawsuits. Powell argued that otherwise the companies could tie up the medical cannabis program in court for years, forcing patients in dire need of the drug to go without it.
“We are not just statutorily going to award licenses to protesters that lost,” Cowsert said.
A House committee passed separate legislation this week abolishing the commission and turning over responsibility for medical cannabis to the Georgia Department of Agriculture.>
Let me pause here for a moment. Governor Nathan Deal signed the “Haleigh’s Hope Act” on April 26, 2015. I stood and watched Governor Nathan Deal sign it. In 2017, Mrs. GaPundit was diagnosed with a terminal disease that qualified her for the Low THC Oil Registry, and she died on April 2, 2018 having never had the opportunity to legally buy the medication that was prescribed by her physicians. Today, nearly eight years after Governor Deal signed that law, no Georgia patient has had that opportunity.
Eight years waiting for a prescribed medication that is nominally legal in this state. I try to contain my bitterness about this, and I don’t think anyone in state government has done anything wrong.
This provides a teachable moment for two important principles. The first is that government is a messy process that is incredibly inefficient. The second is that government does not provide salvation, or in the case of the late Mrs. GaPundit, the balm that she would have benefited from. Don’t put your faith in government to solve your problems. And don’t hate the player, hate the game.
With that I conclude my soapbox moment.
Speaking of players and games, the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services rewrote House Bill 520, the next step in reforming Georgia’s mental health system and then declined to vote on their own measure. From the Associated Press via WALB:
An effort to make more changes to Georgia’s mental health system could stall in the closing days of the 2023 legislative session even though a Senate committee on Wednesday unveiled a rewritten bill that House sponsors and advocates found broadly acceptable.
That’s because the Senate Health and Human Services Committee didn’t take a vote on House Bill 520 and didn’t schedule another meeting before a Thursday deadline for bills to advance out of Senate committees.
Committee Chairman Ben Watson, a Savannah Republican, said that means a two-thirds vote of the Senate would be required to set aside normal rules and vote on the bill after the deadline. When asked whether he would seek that move, Watson said “That’s probably not my question to answer.”
That’s an apparent reference to Senate Republican leaders who on Wednesday escalated a dispute with the House over hospital permitting, threatening end-of-session talks on the budget, mental health and other issues. The session is scheduled to end next Wednesday.
But Senate support remains uncertain. A spokesperson for Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones criticized the form in which the measure came over from the House even after the committee met Wednesday, including a claim that the bill expanded Medicaid, which Watson refuted during the meeting.
The bill would try to add more workers by forgiving student loans for nurses and others already in the health care field, atop the loan forgiveness granted to current students in last year’s law. It could ease Georgia training and licensing requirements for workers trained in other states and countries.
The State House tabled Senate Bill 233, the school vouchers bill by Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-Forsyth County), according to the Associated Press via WSAV.
The House voted 95-70 to table the bill, meaning it could be taken up again before the 2023 session ends Wednesday. If not voted on this year, it could be considered again in 2024.
Still, the failure to pass the $6,500 per student yearly voucher was surprising after the measure appeared to inch toward passage in the House, which has historically been cooler toward voucher bills than the Senate has.
Republican Rep. Will Wade of Dawsonville, who as a floor leader carries legislation for Gov. Brian Kemp, told members that Kemp supports the bill. That could be a key factor in winning over wavering Republicans but is also likely a sign that supporters are scraping for every last vote to reach a majority.
“He really appreciates and supports this legislation, because this strikes the balance that this discussion needs,” Wade said of Kemp. “It gives parents choices.”
State Rep. Rick Townsend (R-St. Simons Island) voted to table the bill and opposed it in subcommittee but voted for an amended version in the full House Education Committee, according to The Brunswick News.
“I voted no on the subcommittee because it had no accountability,” Townsend said.
His attitude soon changed. Following a series of tweaks and tucks, it looked more like something he could support, and he did as a member of the House Education Committee.
“It’s changed quite a bit from what came from the Senate,” he said.
Under the House version, recipients of the $6,500 in state funds will be required to take Georgia’s standardized test in third through eighth grade and once in high school, the same that is required of public school students.
“If they choose to take this money, they have to agree to accountability testing,” Townsend said. “We’ll be tracking data now.”
If SB 233 passes the full House, it will have to be mediated in a House-Senate conference committee before resubmitted for adoption by both chambers.
Two bills to raise homestead exemptions for some Gwinnett homeowners passed, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
The Georgia House of Representatives passed the bills on Thursday. The bills now head to the Georgia Senate, which has only two legislative days left to pass it before the end of the 2023 session — but technically has until the end of next year’s session to pass it.
House Bill 711 calls for a referendum on doubling the homestead exemption for the schools portion of property tax bills, going from $4,000 to $8,000. Meanwhile, House Bill 748 calls for a referendum on creating an additional $2,000 exemption on school taxes for public servants.
“In the middle of a housing crisis, the Georgia House of Representatives is fighting hard for Gwinnett County’s homeowners and taxpayers,” said state Rep. Matt Reeves, R-Duluth, who is the lead sponsor on both bills.
“I am honored to work with my colleagues to fight to keep the American dream of home ownership alive and well in the middle of Georgia’s largest school district.”
If the Senate passes the bills, the referendum would appear on next year’s primary ballot in May 2024. Legislators said it would be the first time in 35 years that Gwinnett voters have gotten to vote on increasing property tax relief.
Candidates for Captain of Titanic Georgia Republican Party Chair spoke in Brunswick, according to The Brunswick News.
Glynn County Commission Chairman Wayne Neal served as moderator for candidates Rebecca Yardley, Josh McKoon and Chris Joseph, field director for Dennis Futch’s campaign, who was unable to attend the candidate forum.
Yardley said she has been an active party member since she moved to Georgia 22 years ago.
“I have the experience to help win in 2024 “ she said. “You need a leader who leads by example.”
If elected, Yardley said she will support a robust training program and ensure party members have to resources necessary to win the 2024 elections.
She said she has a 100-day plan to bolster fundraising, increase training and increase staff.
“The No. 1 priority jus to beat the Democrats,” she said.
Yardley and Joseph said they support an audit of party finances. McKoon said he didn’t believe an audit was necessary unless there were concerns about party finances, which he said there are none.
The winner will be selected at the Republican state convention in Columbus on June 9 and 10, said Cathy Powers, 2nd vice chair of the Glynn County Republican Party.
Powers said Glynn County has 27 delegates who will be eligible to vote for the next chair. She said this is the first time a candidate forum to select the new chair has ever been held in the Golden Isles.
“This is a real coup for Glynn County,” she said.
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper (R-Ocilla) and the Vidalia Onion Committee announced the packing date for Georgia’s most famous allium, according to WTOC.
The Georgia Agriculture Commissioner and Vidalia Onion Committee announced that April 17 is the official pack date for 2023.
“It’s an exciting time for farmers and producers in our state and for consumers across the country as we look forward to enjoying the sweet onion once again. The Vidalia onion has become a sought-after ingredient by professional chefs and home cooks alike, and we’re proud to grow them right here in Georgia,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said in a prepared statement.
Vidalia onions are available for a limited time each year, between April through early September.
The pack date is determined by soil and weather conditions during the growing season, which contributes to high quality Vidalia onions. The Vidalia Onion Advisory Panel voted April 17 as the 2023 pack date.
The Vidalia Onion Act of 1986 established their growing region in South Georgia and trademarked the “Vidalia onion” name.
Effingham County has its first liquor store after Springfield residents approved a referendum, according to WTOC.
The first liquor store opened in Springfield more than a year after a narrow vote allowed the city to start issuing licenses.
It comes after years of work by businesses and others in the community to bring liquor sales to Effingham County, which has always been a dry county. Something this business owner says is getting community support already.
“I feel super proud, super excited – the first step, kind of nervous, but now getting positive energy from customers – we’re doing something right for Springfield,” Local on Laurel Spirits owner Billy Patel said.
Columbus Police Chief Freddie Blackmon discussed rumors of his (career) demise, according to WTVM.
Blackmon says he received a severance package on March 15, the following day after he presented a strategic plan to Columbus City Council due to the Jensen Hughes assessment paid for by businesses that want to remain anonymous.
The chief has been in position for three years since November 2022. He was asked about his thought on having endured a no-confidence vote by members of the FOP, two lawsuits with the Columbus Police Department and a severance.
When asked if the chief thought he had been given enough time to implement his plan, he said, “I presented this most recent strategic plan on March 14, and the day after, I was presented with a severance package.”
He added, “It was not a comfortable feeling. As I stated, I know there are challenges, but I would like to opportunity to work at implementing the strategic plan.”
Savannah City Council At-Large Post Two member Alicia Miller Blakely announced her campaign for reelection, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Blakely was first elected in 2019, defeating Tony Center in a race for an open post. Blakely received the most votes out of any citywide post in that election, with 13,642 total votes cast. Blakely is the first Black woman to hold Savannah’s At-Large Post 2 seat.
She currently has one challenger for the 2023 election in longtime educator Pat Rossiter.
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