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.
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.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Under the Gold Dome Today – Legislative Day 38
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
TBD Senate Rules Upon Adjournment (LD 38) – 450 CAP
7:00 AM Senate Natural Resources- canceled – 125 CAP
7:30 AM Senate Special Judiciary – canceled – 307 CLOB
8:00 AM Senate Regulated Industries – 450 CAP
8:00 AM Senate Ethics- canceled – 307 CLOB
8:00 AM Senate Insurance and Labor – canceled – 310 CLOB
8:00 AM Senate Higher Education- canceled – 450 CAP
8:00 AM HOUSE TRANSPORTATION – 403 CAP
8:00 AM CANCELLED – HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS – 406 CLOB
8:30 AM HOUSE Ways and Means Public Finance and Policy Sub – 406 CLOB
9:00 AM HOUSE RULES – 341 CAP
10:00 AM Senate Floor Session (LD 38) – Senate Chamber
10:00 AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD38) – House Chamber
1:00 PM Senate Public Safety – canceled – Mezz 1
1:00 PM HOUSE JUDICIARY NON CIVIL – 132 CAP
2:15 PM Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs – canceled – Mezz 1
2:15 PM Senate Transportation – 450 CAP
3:30 PM Senate Regulated Industries – 450 CAP
4:45 PM Senate Government Oversight- canceled – 450 CAP
SENATE RULES CALENDAR
HB 567 – Newborn Screening and Genetics Advisory Committee; create(Substitute)(H&HS-11th) Cooper-43rd
HB 346 – Jarom’s Act; enact (Substitute)(H&HS-7th) LaRiccia-169thHB 146Public officers and employees; paid parental leave for eligible state employees and eligible local board of education employees; provide(Substitute)(I&L-49th) Gaines-117th
HB 44 – State government;Georgia shall observe daylight savings time year round; provide (Substitute)(GvtO-1st) Cantrell-22nd
HB 286 – Local government; restrict ability of county governing authorities to reduce funding for county police departments (Substitute)(PUB SAF-29th) Gaines-117th
HR 183 – Congress; pass Recovering America’s Wildlife Act; urge (NR&E-7th) Knight-130th
HB 173 – Retirement and pensions; eligible large retirement system’s assets that may be invested in alternative investments; increase percentage (RET-52nd) Benton-31st
HB 34 – Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact Act; enact (H&HS-34th) Belton-112th
HB 141 – Criminal procedure; requirements for awards made from Georgia Crime Victims Emergency Fund to medical service providers; provide(Substitute) (Rules-53rd) (Substitute)(H&HS-1st) Gaines-117th
HR 24 – Lucci, Dominic Brian; compensate (APPROP-1st) Mallow-163rd
HR 25 – Jones, Mark Jason; compensate (APPROP-1st) Mallow-163rd
HR 26 – Gardiner, Kenneth Eric; compensate (APPROP-1st) Mallow-163rd
HB 631 – Georgia Crime Information Center; develop a system to collect information on an individual’s ability to communicate with law enforcement or emergency responders; provisions (Substitute)(PUB SAF-56th) Cheokas-138th
HB 611 – State government; definition of small business; change (Substitute)(FIN-14th) Cheokas-138th
HR 282 – Sydnie Grace Jones Memorial Intersection; dedicate (TRANS-51st) Gunter-8th
HB 68 – Professions and businesses; certain military certifications; extend time to qualify (Substitute)(VM&HS-14th) Clark-147th
HB 98 – State government; conditions for meetings and public hearings to be held by teleconference in emergency conditions; provide (Substitute)(S&T-27th) Lumsden-12th
HB 205 – Insurance; framework for regulating the offering or issuance of travel insurance; provide (I&L-28th) Williams-148th
HB 268 – The Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact Act; enact (H&HS-1st) Werkheiser-157th
HB 353 – Motor vehicles; clarify what constitutes an obstruction for purposes of exceptions to when a vehicle is to drive on the right side of roadway (PUB SAF-56th) Jones-25th
HB 354 – State Board of Cemeterians and Funeral Service; report suspected unlawful activity to the sheriff’s office and the Attorney General; require (Substitute)(SJUDY-23rd) Williams-145th
HB 363 – Crimes and offenses; protection of elder persons; revise definitions (JUDY-17th) LaHood-175th
HR 119 – Senator Johnny Isakson Bridge; Chatham County; dedicate (TRANS-53rd) Ralston-7th
HB 370 – Health; term limits for members of joint hospital authorities; provide (H&HS-32nd) Jones-47th
HB 453 – Special license plates; certified, volunteer, and retired firefighters; provide standards for proof of eligibility (PUB SAF-56th) McDonald-26th
HB 459 – Local government; prohibit annexations of county operated airport property (SLGO(G)-56th) Martin-49th
HB 465 – Local government; imposing civil penalties upon an alarm systems contractor for a false alarm that occurs through no fault of alarm systems contractor; prohibit (Substitute) (Rules-53rd) (GvtO-29th) Gullett-19th
HB 553 – State government; participation in hearings by electronic communications; provide (Substitute)(JUDY-50th) Gunter-8th
HOUSE RULES CALENDAR
Modified Structured Rule
SB 28 – Juvenile Code and Domestic Relations; provisions relating to the protection of children; strengthen, clarify and update (Substitute)(JuvJ-Reeves-34th) Hatchett-50th
SB 75 – Termination of Residential Lease; victims of stalking; provide (Judy-Gaines-117th) Jackson-41st
SB 95 – State Government; conditions for meetings and public hearings to be held by teleconference in emergency conditions; provide (Substitute)(GAff-Lumsden-12th) Ginn-47th (Rules Committee Substitute LC 47 1062S)
SB 165 – Motor Vehicles; autonomous vehicles from certain vehicle equipment requirements; exempt (Substitute)(MotV-Hogan-179th) Gooch-51st (AM 43 0198)
SB 193 – Ad Valorem Taxation of Property; requiring that mobile homes procure and display decals; grant counties the option (GAff-Cameron-1st) Mullis-53rd
SB 202 – Elections and Primaries; persons or entities that mail absentee ballot applications shall mail such applications only to eligible registered electors; provide (Substitute)(SCEI-Fleming-121st) Burns-23rd(Rules Committee Substitute LC 28 0339S)
SB 218 – Vacation of Office; suspension of compensation for certain public officers who are suspended because of indictment for a felony; provide (Judy-Efstration-104th) Walker III-20th (Rules Committee Substitute LC 28 0335S)
SB 234 – “Georgia Uniform Mediation Act”; enact (Judy-Leverett-33rd) Kennedy-18th
Governor Brian Kemp yesterday visited the state’s mass vaccination site in Columbus, according to WTVM.
The clinic set up at the Columbus Civic Center is one of five that was opened up by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency last week, bringing the total of state-run mass vaccination sites to nine.
Muscogee County EMA Director Chance Corbett confirmed that this site would be giving out approximately 1,100 doses of the Pfizer vaccine per day.
This comes just one day after Gov. Kemp announced that the vaccine will be available for all adult Georgians beginning this week.
Governor Kemp also cut the ribbon for two new mobile wellness clinics at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, according to the Albany Herald.
These custom-built units are full-service clinics, with two exam rooms, a waiting area, bathroom, lab equipment and telehealth capabilities.
“One year ago today, March 24, 2020, we were entering our most challenging days of COVId-19,” Phoebe Health System President and Chief Executive officer Scott Steiner said as officials at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital prepared to unveil the mobile unit. “We were caring for 109 COVID patients right here in this hospital, another 18 at Phoebe Sumter and one at Phoebe Worth. We had just turned our post-anesthesia care unit into an ICU for our non-COVID patients so we could use our other three normal ICUs for COVID-only patients and all those beds were full.”
“I told the media that day that COVID-19 is now a crisis in our region, and the required response will quickly exceed the resources of any one health system. Winning the battle against this pandemic will require a coordinated and cooperative response. Thankfully, the response we needed was the response we got.”
Kemp praised the hospital for its work during the pandemic.
“Phoebe has been a critical partner in our fight against COVID-19 in southwest Georgia, and I’m honored to join them to cut the ribbon for these mobile wellness clinics,” the governor said. “As we continue our effort to expand access to quality health care in rural Georgia, these clinics will be a game-changing resource to ensure Georgians in every zip code have the care they need. My thanks to Scott Steiner and the team at Phoebe for all they continue to do for Albany and the surrounding region.”
Gov. Kemp will deliver the keynote address at the Cobb Chamber of Commerce annual luncheon on April 12, according to the AJC.
Presented by Wellstar Health System, the luncheon will highlight the contributions and achievements of the Cobb Chamber’s most engaged members.
The luncheon will take place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 12 at the Cobb Galleria Centre, 2 Galleria Parkway SE, Atlanta.
Costs are $250 for a single ticket for a Cobb Chamber member, $750 for a table of three and free for online viewing.
The 2021 Annual Meeting luncheon will be sponsored by Wellstar Health System, Superior Plumbing, Lockheed Martin, Brasfield & Gorrie, Georgia Power, LOUD Security Systems Inc., Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Cobb EMC and Renasant Bank.
House Bill 317, by State Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) which aims to streamline hotel/motel tax collection from short term rentals like found on AirBNB, and was recommended for passage by the entire Senate by the Senate Finance Committee, according to the Albany Herald.
House Bill 317 would require online short-term rental companies such as Airbnb to collect hotel and motel excise taxes and pay them to local governments.
Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) Legislative Director Clint Mueller said the measure would make the tax collection process more efficient for cities, counties and short-term rental owners.
Short-term rental owners currently owe the tax, but Mueller said many of them have failed to pay the tax on time, increasing the administrative burden for local governments, which then would have to charge back taxes or other penalties.
HB 317 also adds the $5 a night excise tax on all lodging facilities and rooms except for accommodations that do not provide shelter. The fee would increase tax revenue by $12 million, said Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, who presented the bill to the Senate Finance Committee.
Senate Bill 115 by state Senator Randy Robertson, which will require a state course on how to submit to behave with law enforcement during traffic stops as a condition of licensure, passed the House Motor Vehicles Committee, according to The Brunswick News.
Senate Bill 115 was approved 36-13 by the state Senate with most Democrats voting against it and no Republicans opposing it. Four of the Senate’s 21 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, with one abstention and three absences, while no Republicans opposed it, including Sen. Sheila McNeill, R-Brunswick.
The course would include instruction as to “the best practices of what a driver should do during a traffic stop initiated by a law enforcement officer,” “recommendations for interacting with law enforcement officers during traffic stops,” “the consequences associated with continuous citations and habitual violations” and “understanding officer discretion and legal precedents which provide the grounds for a law enforcement officer’s actions, which may include, but not be limited to, requesting identification, use of force, detainment, pursuits and legal warnings.”
SB 115 would require the course to be used as part of other driver education programs offered by the DDS and other driver training schools licensed by the state.
For instance, knowing to ask the officer in advance before reaching under the vehicle seat or into the glove box would eliminate nervous moments for all, he said.
“That’s going to make an officer uncomfortable,” [Brunswick Police Chief Kevin] Jones said. “If a person knows that they should ask before they do something like that, it could make a routine traffic stop just that. If each knows what the other is doing, it makes both more comfortable.”
Most Democrats in the capital were not pleased with the bill.
State Sen. Randy Robertson, a Cataula Republican and a former police officer, said he filed the bill in response to traffic stops that end in violent interaction between drivers and law enforcement. Senate Bill 115 comes less than a year after Rayshard Brooks, a Black man, was killed by an Atlanta police officer who had questioned him for being asleep and intoxicated in his car.
Republican members of the House Motor Vehicles Committee rejected a proposal from Democratic state Rep. Kimberly Alexander of Hiram to include teaching drivers about their constitutional rights, such as their right to refuse an unreasonable search and seizure.
“I don’t think that is the intention of this bill … to have a college course on constitutional rights,” [Republican State Rep. Martin] Momtahan said. “This is just to give these kids that are taking driver’s education the basics. I would appreciate if we don’t politicize driver safety in this state.”
House Bill 605 by State Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta) passed out of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Rome News Tribune.
A Senate health committee narrowly passed out a bill Tuesday that promotes the use of cameras in rooms of residents of long-term care facilities to prevent neglect or abuse.
The split vote reflected the panel’s vigorous debate over the differences between cameras that are hidden, and those that would be visible and known to the facility and its staff.
Some advocates for seniors oppose House Bill 605 because they say it limits the use of hidden cameras in a civil case or administrative procedure if abuse or neglect occur in nursing homes or other facilities.
Sen. Ben Watson, R-Savannah, chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, cast a tie-breaking vote in favor of the “granny cam’’ legislation after panel members deadlocked 6-6 on the bill.
The measure would set up a process whereby a resident or family member would have the right to install a camera to monitor a room after disclosing the move to the long-term care facility.
The lead sponsor, Rep. Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta, told the Senate committee Tuesday that the legislation is “a compromise bill’’ that would promote open and transparent monitoring of a person’s care. “We want to prevent harm in the first place,’’ Cooper said. “I want to prevent bad care that leads to accidents.’’
But Mike Prieto of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association told the panel that the bill “attempts to fix a problem that doesn’t exist in the state of Georgia.’’
“Open cameras are a great thing,’’ he said. But the bill’s limit on hidden devices, he added, “takes away a lot of rights of the people we’re hoping to protect.’’ It’s often up to the civil court system “to bring people to justice,’’ Prieto said.
Online sports betting moved closer to reality, with Senate Resolution 135 and Senate Bill 142 passing out of the House Economic development and Tourism Committee, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Rome News Tribune.
The state House of Representatives’ Economic Development & Tourism Committee voted 14-6 Tuesday in favor of a constitutional amendment asking Georgia voters whether to legalize sports betting.
The state Senate passed the measure earlier this month by a margin of 41-10, three votes more than the two-thirds majority needed for constitutional amendments.
“We’re not creating something new,” Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, the House committee’s chairman, said following Tuesday’s vote. “If we make it legal, we’ll get revenue out of it.”
If the constitutional change passes the General Assembly and voters ratify it next year, 20% of the net proceeds from online sports betting would go to the state, up from 16% in the version of the legislation passed by the Senate.
Of that amount, 40.5% would go to Georgia’s HOPE Scholarships and pre-kindergarten programs and 20.5% would be set aside for need-based scholarships. The Senate had added a need-based component to the mix to benefit low-income Georgians in order to gain votes from minority Democrats.
Another 12.5% of the proceeds would be used to expand broadband deployment in rural Georgia, while 12.5% would be earmarked for mental health services. Three percent would go to help the Georgia Sports Commission attract major sporting events to the state.
Stephens said the committee also agreed to remove a provision in the legislation that would have allowed betting on college sports. The version the panel passed Tuesday would limit betting to pro teams.
The committee also agreed to scrap a proposal to establish kiosks at sports venues for betting and limit betting instead to online devices.
The panel also approved a separate “enabling” bill outlining how sports betting would operate in Georgia.
My concern about online sports betting is that it will add all the addictive power of Twitter and Facebook onto the already addictive disease of gambling. Why not require the same level of proof of age and identity that legislators talk about adding to the right to vote?
What happens when some 14-year old gambles away his single mother’s or father’s mortgage or rent payment? Ask your friends if they’ve had kids “accidentally” spend money on in-game purchases on smartphone apps.
We’re talking about people’s phones pinging constantly with an opportunity to wager lose more money on proposition bets during the game, and not just simple winner/loser and over/under. We’re talking about allowing intoxicated people who would be kicked out of any casino to continue playing from home.
House Bill 272 by State Rep. Mandi Ballinger (R-Cherokee County) would raise the age for offenders to be tried in Superior Court for some crimes and is moving in the Senate, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Rome News Tribune.
Sponsored by Rep. Mandi Ballinger, R-Canton, the bill would make it so 17-year-olds would no longer be tried in court and jailed with adult offenders for misdemeanor charges. Teenagers would still be tried as adults for violent crimes like murder and rape.
Ballinger, who has brought the age-raise bill several times in recent legislative sessions, noted Georgia is currently one of just three states that prosecutes 17-year-olds for low-level crimes in adult court.
The bill passed by 5-3 in the Senate Judiciary Committee and now heads to the full Senate. It cleared the state House of Representatives earlier this month by a 113-51 vote. Floyd County’s delegates — Republican Reps. Katie Dempsey of Rome, Eddie Lumsden of Armuchee and Mitchell Scoggins of Rydal — supported it.
Supporters pointed out more than 13,000 17-year-olds were arrested in 2020, mostly for minor crimes like theft. With Ballinger’s bill, those teens would not be forced into cells with violent adults and would not carry criminal records when applying for college or jobs.
“By far, it’s the lower-level kids who are 17-years-old that won’t come away with a record,” said Jill Travis, executive director of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. “What this bill will do is change how you treat the shoplifters and the many misdemeanors.”
Martha Zoller with WDUN in Gainesville has posted audio of interviews with United States Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta) and Georgia State Senator (and President Pro Tem) Butch Miller (R-Gainesville).
Former State Rep. Brooks Coleman will head the Southeastern Railway Museum’s Fast Track to the Future fundraising campaign, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Brooks Coleman, the former state representative, is chairing the initiative’s Campaign Leadership Council that is raising funds to underwrite the museum’s five-year, $1 million program to expand and enhance the Duluth attraction.
“Over the last fifty years, the Southeastern Railway Museum has provided an educational atmosphere to bring to life the cultural, technological and historical importance of railroads and land transportation to our region,” Coleman said. “This is an extraordinary venue for children, youth and adults to see and touch and understand how transportation transformed our country and its economy.”
“I’m excited to play a role in helping to revitalize this one-of-a-kind museum in Gwinnett County and North Metro Atlanta.”
Joining Coleman on the Campaign Leadership Council are Duluth Mayor Nancy Harris, Explore Gwinnett Executive Director Lisa Anders, Marbury Creative Group President Rob Marbury, District 3 School Board Membder Mary Kay Murphy and Connor Poe, who is the regional vice president of government relations for Norfolk Southern Corporation. The council also includes 20 other corporate and community leaders from the region.
The Fast Track to the Future campaign has a five-year goal of $1 million to be raised from corporate and community leaders in the Gwinnett County and north metro Atlanta region.
Albany City Commissioners will interview two applicants for City Manager and may vote today on an interim manager, according to the Albany Herald.
Georgia residents received $190 million in COVID-relief aid through food programs overseen by the US Department of Agriculture, according to the Center Square via the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Pandemic-related benefits issued to Georgia low-income households through electronic cards issued by the federal Food and Nutrition Service totaled $189,686,306 during fiscal year 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported.
The average number of Georgia households participating in the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) was not available, according to the USDA. The benefits were provided through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 and related appropriations that allow the agriculture secretary to sign off on state plans to administer the program.
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