Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for March 31, 2026

On March 31, 1776, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John Adams, asking that he and his colleagues “remember the ladies” in the fight for Independence.

The future First Lady wrote in part, “I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”

On March 31, 1870, Thomas Mundy Peterson became the first African-American to vote after the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The iconic vote was cast in a local election in Perth Amboy, New Jersey for the town’s charter.  Gary Sullivan of the News Tribune stated, “Exercising his right to vote in a local election on March 31, 1870.  Peterson became the first black man in the United States to cast a ballot.  The amendment had been ratified on February 3, 1870, and within just two months the Fifteenth Amendment was put to use.

An interview with Peterson showed who encouraged him to vote, “I was working for Mr. T. L. Kearny on the morning of the day of election, and did not think of voting until he came out to the stable where I was attending to the horses and advised me to go to the polls and exercise a citizen’s privilege.”  Peterson also revealed his vote in this election, “As I advanced to the polls one man offered me a ticket bearing the words “revised charter” and another one marked, “no charter.” I thought I would not vote to give up our charter after holding it so long: so I chose a revised charter ballot.”

On March 31, 1889, the Eiffel Tower opened in Paris.

The Eiffel Tower remained the world’s tallest man-made structure until the completion of the Chrysler Building in New York in 1930. Incredibly, the Eiffel Tower was almost demolished when the International Exposition’s 20-year lease on the land expired in 1909, but its value as an antenna for radio transmission saved it. It remains largely unchanged today and is one of the world’s premier tourist attractions.

On March 31, 1999, The Matrix opened in theaters.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Words that come in handy today: Penultiatum – a threat made on Legislative Day 39 of the Georgia General Assembly

Legis de main – sleight of hand perfomed by an elected member of the Georgia General Assembly

Early voting opened yesterday in the Special Runoff Election for House District 130, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

Early voting began on March 30 in the runoff election to decide who fills the unexpired term of Lynn Heffner, representing eastern Richmond County in the Georgia House.

The election will be on April 7, the same day as the Masters’ second practice round and the annual Champions Dinner honoring 2025 winner Rory McIlroy.

Democrat Sheila Clark Nelson and Republican Thomas D. McAdams won the top two vote totals on March 10 in a special election to replace Heffer, a Democrat, in state House District 130.

Nelson and McAdams won 33.49% and 20.08% of the vote, respectively, in a jungle primary pitting all six candidates against one another instead of staging separate party primaries.

Heffner resigned in early January after announcing that her recent change of address outside the district rendered her ineligible to continue serving.

Under the Gold Dome Today

Tuesday – March 31, 2026

8:00 AM HOUSE TRANSPORTATION 406 CLOB
8:30 AM HOUSE SPECIAL RULES 515 CLOB
9 AM HOUSE RULES 341 CAP
10 AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD39) House Chamber
10 AM Senate Floor Session (LD 39) Senate Chamber
1 PM HOUSE WAYS & MEANS 406 CLOB
2 PM JOINT APPROPRIATIONS CONFERENCE 403 CAP

Sine Die, the final day of the legislative session, is Thursday, April 2. From 13WMAZ:

Georgia lawmakers are racing against the clock as the state’s legislative session nears its end Thursday, April 2 — known as Sine Die — with several high-profile bills still awaiting final votes.

Among the measures still in play is Senate Bill 410, which would repeal the sales and use tax exemption that data centers currently receive on equipment purchases. The bill would also require those facilities — not Georgia Power customers — to cover the cost of any new power infrastructure their operations demand. The bill passed the Senate but still needs a House vote before the session ends.

House Bill 947, which began as a proposal to restrict what Georgians receiving food assistance could purchase at the grocery store, was significantly overhauled in committee. The version that passed the House would instead tighten eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program altogether. About one in eight Georgians currently rely on SNAP benefits. The bill passed the House but has seen little movement in the Senate ahead of Thursday’s deadline.

House Bill 651, which stalled in 2025, has been revived this session. The bill would limit when school zone speed cameras can issue tickets — restricting enforcement to a one-hour window around school start and dismissal times and only when a driver exceeds the speed limit by more than 10 mph. The bill cleared a major hurdle last week and is awaiting one final vote before heading to the governor.

A separate bill sponsored by Rep. Dale Washburn, R-Macon, would eliminate the cameras altogether.

House Bill 1116 would cap annual property tax increases at 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is higher, and allow local governments to use sales tax revenue to offset homestead property taxes. The bill passed the House but still needs Senate approval before Thursday’s deadline.

Two bills have already cleared both chambers. Legislation extending Georgia’s existing bell-to-bell cell phone ban from K-8 schools to high schools has passed both chambers and is headed to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature. House Bill 945, which would allow banks to place a temporary hold on accounts belonging to elderly or disabled adults if financial exploitation is suspected, has also passed both chambers and is awaiting the governor’s signature.

Sine Die is scheduled for Thursday, April 2.

Much of today’s action will take place in the Joint House-Senate Appropriations Conference Committee, where members of each chamber will attempt to hash out differences between two versions of the FY 2027 budget. From Atlanta News First via WTOC:

Georgia lawmakers are headed into the final days of the legislative session with a public clash over the one bill they are required to pass: the state budget.

The fight spilled into the open on Friday after the Senate advanced its version of the spending plan, and the House quickly voted to reject it.

Rep. Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin) made the motion to disagree.

“I move that this House disagree to SB 974,” Hatchett said.

House members responded with loud chants of “Send it back” that echoed through the chamber.

House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) later said, “I can’t control what comes back from the Senate.”

Senate budget chair Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia) said the Senate plan increases overall spending but redirects money in ways House leaders oppose. He described the proposal as roughly a $38.5 billion budget, about 4% higher than last year.

“There are over 265 pages in the budget. And each line matters,” Tillery said.

The Senate plan includes several high-profile differences that are now headed for negotiation.

For Georgia’s public colleges, Tillery said the Senate changes the funding formula tied to online instruction, an adjustment he estimated at roughly $123 million.

The Senate also adds roughly $20 million for about 1,200 new NOW/COMP waivers, which fund services for Georgians with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Tillery said the money is aimed at the urgent-needs planning list, though he acknowledged provider availability could affect how quickly slots are filled.

On literacy, a House priority this session, the Senate backs roughly $70 million for literacy coaches while also cutting positions it characterizes as bureaucratic.

Gov. Brian Kemp downplayed the dispute, saying budget negotiations typically go down to the wire.

“It’s on the normal track,” Kemp said, noting lawmakers usually pass the budget on the last day of session.

The budget now moves to a conference committee, where House and Senate negotiators will try to reach a final deal before Thursday’s deadline.

From Georgia Recorder:

Lawmakers have debated sweeping changes to how Georgians cast a ballot. They’ve considered varying proposals for how best to respond to a surge in data center proposals across the state. And they’ve locked horns over everything from tax cuts to strategies for improving literacy rates.

Now it’s decision time for the many proposals that have been percolating under the Gold Dome during a legislative session that has been dominated by election-year politics.

Any bills left behind after Thursday, which is the final day of the session, will have to start over next year, when lawmakers – and a new lieutenant governor and governor – return for a new two-year cycle of lawmaking.

Many questions will be answered on issues ranging from access to contraception to a proposal to limit access to police body cam footage, and lawmakers will also decide whether Georgia should escape the annual tradition of leaping forward an hour in the spring and then falling back again in the fall.

And of course they still need to finalize the spending plan for the new budget year, which starts July 1. The Senate passed its version of the $38.5 billion budget Friday, but the chambers will likely now hash things out behind the scenes.

Also, will there be a late push from supporters of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to block candidates with state contracts from running for statewide office? That bill stalled in the House but could find an alternative path to the governor’s desk in these final days of the session. According to a Healthbeat analysis from February, wealthy health care executive Rick Jackson’s companies had been paid nearly $1 billion by state agencies since fiscal year 2020. Jackson has threatened Jones’ frontrunner status in the GOP primary ever since his surprise late entrance into the race.

Ballot QR code conundrum  

Lawmakers have put forward a number of proposals to change Georgia’s election system.

But with only two formal work days left until the end of the session, they have yet to finalize a plan to remove QR codes from Georgia’s ballots, which current state law says must be done by July.

On Friday, the Senate approved House Bill 960, which includes a controversial proposal to institute hand-marked paper ballots statewide ahead of the general election in November. A previous version of the bill failed earlier on the floor of the Senate, but a revised measure passed in a 32-21 vote along party lines.

But the House is pushing its own election overhaul proposal, Senate Bill 214. The bill would postpone the deadline for removing QR codes from ballots to 2028 and direct the state to begin the process of procuring a new election system this upcoming February. The House has yet to bring it to the floor for a vote, and the Senate will need to agree to its changes before the bill can be sent to the governor’s desk.

Data center tax credits 

The session started with a wide range of legislative proposals to rein in the rapid growth of data centers across the state, from a statewide moratorium to measures to protect utility ratepayers from paying for infrastructure built for data centers. But with just a couple days left, the focus has turned to winding down tax breaks for the gargantuan, energy-hungry facilities.

The Senate passed three bills with language aimed at phasing out tax breaks for new data center developments and computer equipment ahead of their original expiration dates, but they are still stuck in committee in the House.

Pending in the House is a proposal to accelerate an income tax reduction to 4.99% while sunsetting a wide range of corporate tax breaks, including the state’s data center tax credit. Another House bill was scrapped in the Senate Finance Committee last week and replaced with language to sunset the data center tax break. However, it kept a tax break for the computer equipment these facilities buy, but senators in the committee suggested that could still be amended on the floor.

Senate Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte said at the committee hearing that he hopes lawmakers “figure out a way to come together” to repeal the data center tax breaks, adding that collecting that tax revenue could help settle disagreements on some budgetary priorities.

“These companies are still going to come here,” Anavitarte said. “We’ve already had so much debate on this. With all the data, with all the studies, these data centers are gonna come here, and so when we talk about something that has grown to over a billion dollars, with a B, I think the citizens expect more of us.”

Tax cut debate to be settled? 

Lawmakers have had competing visions for tax relief all session, and now they’re down to the wire on deciding which tax cut plans to send to the governor.

So far, they’ve already signed off on one-time tax breaks for homeowners and another round of income tax rebates. But where will lawmakers land on long-term tax cuts to the income tax rate and proposed changes to how local governments can tax homeowners?

The governor’s preferred income tax cut route – an accelerated reduction to the income tax rate, bringing it down from 5.19% to 4.99% – is up for a final vote in the Senate. But lawmakers could still back other moves toward trimming the rate.

The debate is a little messier when it comes to what should be done about local property taxes, with proposals still pending in both chambers. Republican leaders have insisted that state officials must intervene and stop the escalating taxes homeowners pay, but their push has collided with concerns that such changes would destabilize a vital local funding source that pays for essential services.

Chambers differ on literacy plan

Lawmakers want to hire an army of specialized educators to make sure Georgia’s youngest learners get a head start in reading. But a key literacy bill could get tangled up in the legislative gears in the race toward adjournment.

The House and Senate have each produced their own versions of House Bill 1193, a literacy overhaul that’s been a top priority for House Speaker Jon Burns this session. Both chambers’ versions seek to fund more than 1,300 new literacy coaches, one for each school in the state with students between kindergarten and third grade.

Literacy coaches are educators who special expertise in reading acquisition. The planned hiring spree is projected to cost in excess of $100 million.

But the details of the chambers’ plans differ. The House version contains nearly twice as many pages and contains a number of provisions not found in the Senate’s.

Presenting the bill to a Senate Committee last week, Senate Appropriations Chairman Blake Tillery described the Senate version as more streamlined and “focused on the classroom.”

Tillery rejected the idea that the debate over the bill represents gamesmanship between the chambers.

“Any comments from the peanut gallery that this is anything more than legislative process and folks trying to work together to make things happen is not productive,” he said.

In a statement following the Senate committee’s approval of the bill, Burns’ office said the speaker expects the House version to make it to the finish line.

“We certainly appreciate the Senate’s commitment to funding literacy coaches in the FY 2027 budget; however, without the proper framework in place to deploy those coaches, prepare our future educators, and teach our children, we risk maintaining the status quo, which has failed countless Georgia students and teachers across the state,” said Burns’ spokesperson Kayla Green.

Divisive topics

This year’s session has been largely free of the type of hot button divisive issues that have dominated debates in recent years, such as restrictions on transgender rights or on diversity, equity and inclusion in schools.

But largely free doesn’t mean completely free. A few bills on contentious cultural issues still linger.

One of these is Senate Bill 74, which would remove an exemption for librarians from Georgia’s law against distributing harmful materials to minors. That bill passed the Senate last year and a House committee in February, teeing it up for a potential House vote.

Supporters say it’s a necessary step to remove materials from library children’s sections that they compare to pornography. Opponents say it opens up librarians to potential criminal charges in order to discourage them from shelving books dealing with LGBTQ or racial issues.

Another lingerer: House Bill 54, which originally dealt with home health care services but was amended in the Senate to restrict puberty blocking medication for transgender minors in Georgia, which doctors say can aid in the treatment of children with gender dysphoria, and to stop transgender state employees or their family members from receiving gender-affirming care on the state health plan.

Both bills need a House vote to land on Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk.

Senate Bill 463 by Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-Alpharetta) would have limited corporate ownership of rental homes and passed the Senate but was dismembered in the House, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.

In a rare bipartisan moment during this year’s legislative session in Georgia, Democrats and Republicans agreed on how to do something about what they said was a core cause of Georgia’s housing affordability problem.

The state Senate passed a bill that sought to punish institutional investors with more than 500 single-family rental homes.

Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, accused investors of exacerbating the housing crisis by outbidding regular purchasers trying to buy a house, thus driving up prices and forcing many would-be homebuyers to rent instead.

“I have a grave fear that we are becoming a nation of renters and not homeowners,” Dolezal said at a Senate committee hearing last month. The Senate went on to pass his legislation 49-3.

Senate Bill 463 would have enforced the ownership cap by allowing lawsuits against these companies and by withdrawing their tax credits and deductions.

But Dolezal’s bill fell apart Thursday, when a committee of the state House deleted the language, replacing it with another measure.

The legislative session ends Thursday, so time is running out.

Something similar happened last year. Legislation that sought a 2,000-home cap for institutional owners failed to exit a House committee after the industry raised constitutional concerns, as happened with SB 463.

The lawmakers were pursuing a popular cause.

An Atlanta Regional Commission survey in 11 metro Atlanta counties last summer found housing affordability was the No. 1 concern. The 2025 Metro Atlanta Speaks Survey said 44% blamed developers and 35% blamed investors buying up homes to rent.

Last spring, U.S. Sen. John Ossoff announced an investigation into “large, out-of-state companies driving up home prices in Georgia.”

A news conference at the Democrat’s Atlanta office featured renters complaining about unsafe conditions. One reported dangerous debris embedded in his backyard. Another reported gas leaks that she said went unaddressed for weeks.

In a demonstration of bipartisan frustration, President Donald Trump, in January, penned an executive order titled “Stopping Wall Street from Competing with Main Street Homebuyers.”

Two weeks later, Dolezal, who is running for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor, introduced SB 463.

A 2024 report by Georgia State University and Rutgers University found that three companies collectively owned more than 19,000 rental homes in metro Atlanta. The report said corporate landlords were drawn to the area by cheap housing and lax tenant protections.

One of them, Amherst, told Capitol Beat that the industry provides housing to families that cannot qualify for a mortgage.

“We understand that we’re easy scapegoats,” said Dagney Gomez del Campo, an Amherst spokeswoman. But she pointed to data about the service her company provides: Amherst spent over $526 million renovating more than 8,300 homes during at least 14 years of operations in Georgia when it housed about 57,000 renters.

Renters’ credit scores were typically in the 600s, below the 700s common among first-time homebuyers with a government-sponsored mortgage, according to Amherst.

Sharon Franklin, a renter through Amherst subsidiary MainStreet Renewal, described an idyllic home she and her two older sisters, both retired, are renting in Stockbridge.

It is a quiet street with wildlife roaming the property, she said, and the company has been responsive to repair requests.

At 61 and nearing retirement herself, Franklin said she had no interest in buying a house with a 30-year mortgage.

If lawmakers penalize companies like Amherst, she said, “who are we going to rent from?”

Industry fights back

Former Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, now working for the National Home Rental Council, helped the industry attack SB 463 at a House committee hearing two weeks ago.

It was a repeat performance of his efforts against the legislation for a 2000-home cap last year.

He said Dolezal’s bill had “numerous constitutional infirmities” and was “a gift to lawyers to sue.”

The assumption of the bill — that renters would be homeowners if the investors did not already own the houses — was false, he said. The reality is that they cannot qualify for a mortgage and there is “an abject shortage” of housing, he added.

Others from the industry who spoke at the hearing contended that such a law would lead to less rehabilitation of dilapidated housing and fewer rental options.

“Good policy should be grounded in facts and data, not assumptions and misleading narratives,” said Stephen Davis, a lobbyist for Progress Residential, a multistate rental home company. “SB 463 creates serious unintended consequences: mass evictions, higher rents, lower home values, and greater school turnover.”

Jason Parker, president of rental home construction company Two Resi Build, pointed to a foundational problem. He said his company builds 100 to 150 houses a year.

“If we could build more homes, it would absolutely reduce the average house price,” he said. “Our biggest challenge is the land cost.”

Why houses got so expensive

Institutional investors bought up large swaths of housing stock when prices cratered during the Great Recession.

As of June 2022, they owned a quarter of Atlanta’s single-family rental home market, according to a 2024 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

The report said these investors may have contributed to rising rents and home prices. This may have helped “stabilize” neighborhoods, the report said, adding that it was unclear whether this affected homeownership opportunities.

The rate of institutional ownership of single-family homes in Atlanta is six times the national average, said Alex Horowitz, project director of the housing policy initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts.

But institutional investors own just 3% of all Atlanta single-family houses, he said. “Nothing that’s 3% of the market is driving the market. … And most research on single-family rentals suggests that they lower rents by adding new supply to the market overall.”

Pew’s research indicates that one main driver of housing unaffordability is the tightening of mortgage lending rules after the recession, when so many owners went into foreclosure. The standards increased while their credit ratings fell.

Another big driver is government development policy, and it is something state lawmakers could do something about, Horowitz said.

Pew released a report in mid-March that showed how Austin, Texas, reduced housing costs by implementing policies to encourage denser development, such as allowing large apartment buildings near jobs and transit and reducing minimum mandated lot sizes and parking space requirements.

Median rents fell from $1,546 in December 2021 to $1,296 by January 2026 even though Austin had added 18,000 residents.

The city added 120,000 housing units between 2015 and 2024, a 30% increase that was three times the national average, Pew reported.

Pew’s findings in Austin echoed its findings about similar policies in four other cities: Minneapolis; Portland, Or.; New Rochelle, N.Y.; and Tysons, Va.

Horowitz said Texas enacted seven laws last year that should result in a lot of new housing, such as allowing apartments on commercially zoned land and homes on smaller lots, and expanding use of manufactured housing.

A path forward for Georgia

One Georgia bill would have taken the state in the direction of Texas.

Senate Bill 508 sought to offer financial incentives to encourage Georgia communities to reduce minimum lot sizes and parking requirements and to take other steps to increase density.

Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, the main sponsor, said it is difficult for local elected officials to make such changes because existing residents tend to push back. Not in my backyard, or “NIMBYism,” is a powerful force, she said.

Lawmakers are more insulated from local pressure, she said, so if zoning is to change, the push can more easily come from the Legislature.

Her legislation probably never had a chance because all the other sponsors were Democrats, and the General Assembly is controlled by Republicans.

But Parent and every other Democrat present voted for Dolezal’s corporate homeownership cap when it reached the Senate floor. It’s a good bill, she said.

Next year, Republicans should reintroduce her bill and call it their own, said Parent, who is not running for re-election.

“I think it is something they should hop on and pass it themselves,” she said. “It isn’t really a partisan issue.”

“Georgians for Integrity,” the ironically named dark money group funding attacks on Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones (R-Jackson) may face ethics charge, according to Atlanta News First via WRDW.

The Georgia State Ethics Commission has found probable cause that an organization behind millions of dollars in attack ads on Lt. Gov. Burt Jones has violated state law.

On Monday, the commission voted 4-1 to find probable cause of lobbying violations, then voted 3-2 to find probable cause for three campaign finance violations.

The attack ads have been airing for months on Georgia’s airwaves from a Delaware-based group called Georgians for Integrity. However, Jones – once thought to be a shoo-in for the state GOP gubernatorial nomination but who is now facing a bitter electoral and legal challenge from billionaire health care CEO Rick Jackson – claims Jackson is behind the ads.

“When you look at almost $20 million have been spent, I don’t know who else it would be,” Jones said in a recent interview.

Jackson recently sued Jones for defamation. Asked whether the rhetoric in the race should cool, Jones said he has been attacked “by the right and the left” and accused his opponents of using lawsuits instead of campaigning directly to voters. Jones said multiple rivals have sued him over his campaign activity, calling it “lawfare.”

The legal fights include challenges to a leadership political action committee Jones has used to raise and spend money. A judge had placed a temporary restraining order limiting his ability to raise unlimited funds, but that ability has been temporarily restored.

From the AJC:

The State Ethics Commission on Monday found probable cause that Delaware-based Georgians for Integrity should have registered as an independent political committee and disclosed its spending on thousands of ads targeting Jones. It also accused the group of failing to register and report lobbying activities.

Monday’s action means the ethics commission investigation will continue toward an administrative trial on 10 alleged violations. It came over the objections of Georgians for Integrity’s attorney, James Tyrrell III, who told the commission the political group has done nothing wrong and called the investigation “a waste of government resources.”

Ethics Commission Executive Director David Emadi said he was pleased with the board’s decision.

“Despite GFI’s crocodile tears today, the fact is spending millions of dollars in dark money to influence elections and legislation is illegal and violators should be held accountable,” Emadi said.

The group’s ads have accused Jones of profiting from legislative decisions, including boosting lawmaker pensions and supporting a $10 billion Butts County data center and hospital development on property owned by Jones’ father. The ads urge Georgians to call Jones’ office to stop such actions.

But the ads have not explicitly mentioned the governor’s race or encouraged people to vote for specific candidates. Nor have they explicitly mentioned pending legislation.

Tyrrell argued that means Georgians for Integrity has not violated lobbying or campaign finance laws.

“Merely promoting civic engagement and public discussion of issues is not lobbying under Georgia law,” he told the commission.

Emadi said the group is involved in indirect lobbying on the issues cited in its ads.

“If you spend money to shape the debate with the public and urge them to influence public policy, that is lobbying,” he told the commission.

But he was less certain Georgians for Integrity has violated laws requiring it to register as an independent political committee seeking to influence elections. Emadi noted the ads did not use “magic words” that courts have identified as campaign advocacy — such as “vote for” or “vote against” — or even mention the governor’s race.

The commission voted 4-1 to find probable cause of seven lobbying-related violations. It voted 3-2 to find probable cause for three campaign finance violations. The votes amount to permission for Emadi’s staff to continue investigating the charges.

Georgia Administrative Law Judge Kimberly Schroer will decide whether State Rep. Patty Stinson’s stated residence makes her ineligible for reelection, according to 13WMAZ.

A state hearing in Atlanta on Monday examined whether Rep. Patty Marie Stinson legally resides at the address she used to qualify for re‑election in House District 150, a dispute that could affect the fall ballot.

The roughly hourlong proceeding at the Office of State Administrative Hearings closed the record without an on‑the‑spot ruling. Administrative Law Judge Kimberly Schroer said she would issue an expedited written decision, but no timeline was given.

The challenge was filed earlier this month by Michael Mixon, a Unadilla businessman and Food Network personality. Mixon alleges the qualifying address listed by Stinson — 133 Railroad Street in Butler — is the Jefferson Stinson Memorial Funeral Home, a commercial property, not the residence state law requires.

“The basis of the challenge is we want our representative to actually reside in an address that is residential in our district,” Mixon said.

Mixon’s attorney, Brian Tyson, pointed to county tax records showing parcels at 133 Railroad Street classified as commercial and listed in the names of Butler Aid Society Inc. (now inactive) and the estate of Stinson’s late husband. Tyson argued zoning, ownership records and the absence of a documented legal interest should weigh against Stinson’s claim of residency.

Stinson’s attorney countered that Georgia law looks to where a person actually lives and intends to remain. The defense entered county tax photos and parcel numbers indicating two structures on the property and presented Stinson’s Georgia driver’s license and voter registration listing 133 Railroad Street, along with testimony about utilities, insurance and a separate tax bill for a tiny home on the property.

Stinson testified she moved into the tiny home after her husband’s death in 2021 and said she intends to remain there.

“This is my only home. 133 Railroad Street is where I live. I intend to remain at 133 Railroad Street,” Stinson said.

Mixon acknowledged under questioning that he did not personally inspect the property and relied on information from others, including his brother, a Dooly County commissioner.

House District 150 includes Taylor, Dooly and Macon counties and parts of Peach County. Stinson, a Democrat first elected in 2013, is seeking an eighth term and is expected to face Republican Cary Lee Moore, a Sumter County insurance agent, in the fall.

Outside the hearing, Stinson also noted she supported Senate Bill 215 in 2023 — legislation that passed unanimously to shield certain personal information of elected officials — citing past threats as part of her rationale.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R-Cobb County) spoke in Gainesville in his campaign for Governor, according to AccessWDUN.

“We need to have someone that knows the job and should be governor,” Carr told AccessWDUN after the meeting. “This has to be about winning in November, and I’ll tell you who’s not going to win in November: It’s the person that raises their hand and says “I got the most money, and I have one endorsement.’”

Carr was referring to healthcare executive and billionaire Rick Jackson and current Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, who are both running in the Republican Primary.

Both Jackson and Jones have traded blows over the last few weeks, with Jackson releasing an advertisement attacking Jones as using his political power for self gain and Jones accusing Jackson of being a “Never Trumper.”

“I’m about my record and my vision for Georgia,” Carr told AccessWDUN. “We were never going to have the money that they did … If you are tired of watching those two guys just go at each other and be negative, I am the alternative that people are looking for.”

Carr’s record includes working as the commissioner for the state’s Department of Economic Development and being the Deputy Chief of Staff for former U.S. Senator for Georgia Johnny Isakson (R).

“If you’re going to run, you need to be out there, you need to answer people’s questions,” Carr said. “Over the years … it really has come down to who can appeal to that independent, persuadable voter.”

With U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers being a hot-button topic, especially in Oakwood and Social Circle, Carr said we “shouldn’t be forcing it down that community’s throat.”

“We would cooperate [with ICE], because the primary role of state government is to protect its citizens,” Carr said. “We would work with them particularly as it relates to violent criminals.”

Carr added that he is confident there are communities that would welcome a facility.

“If there’s a community that doesn’t want an ICE facility, we shouldn’t be forcing it down that community’s throat,” Carr said. “I’m confident that there are communities in Georgia that would love to have been considered.”

Former State Sen. John F. Kennedy (R-Macon) spoke in Augusta, campaigning for Lieutenant Governor, according to WRDW.

Former Georgia Sen. John F. Kennedy visited Augusta on Monday as part of his campaign for lieutenant governor.

Kennedy met with voters at T-Bonz on Washington Road from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Kennedy, a Republican, served 11 years representing the 18th District, which includes six counties in middle Georgia around Macon.

He served as President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the chamber’s second highest position, for three years before resigning in December to focus on his campaign.

Kennedy said 2026 is a critical election year for Georgia.

“All of our top constitutional officers are going to be new,” Kennedy said. “We’re going to have a new Governor, a new Lieutenant Governor, a new Attorney General, a new Secretary of State. So it’s a big year for us politically.”

Kennedy said he wants to maintain the pro-business environment Georgia has had under Gov. Brian Kemp.

“I want to keep Georgia growing and making sure that we have a good base of business and that folks have good paying jobs and can take care of their family,” Kennedy said. “When we can do that and folks can live independent like that, it works for Georgia.”

Kennedy addressed concerns about data centers, a topic that has drawn attention in the Augusta area, particularly in Columbia County.

He said decisions about where data centers are located should remain with local governments.

“Those decisions need to be made locally,” Kennedy said. “They need to be made by the people that may or may not be impacted by the site selection, where they’re going to go. So whether it’s the county commission making the decision or a planning and zoning body making the decision, those decisions need to be made locally.”

Kennedy said data centers should bear the cost of infrastructure and power generation they require.

“The added costs need to be borne by the data centers,” Kennedy said. “They don’t need to be paid for by the rest of us in Georgia with our regular house electric bill or our business electric bill.”

Kennedy launched his campaign for lieutenant governor in June 2025.

He was elected to the senate in 2014 and became a floor leader for Kemp.

Like Georgia’s 2026 governor’s race, the campaign to become the state’s 14th lieutenant governor is wide open. Kennedy joins Republican state senators Steve Gooch from Dahlonega, Blake Tillery from Vidalia and Greg Dolezal from Cumming, along with Republican state Rep. David Clark from Buford.

Democratic state Sen. Josh McLaurin from Sandy Springs has also announced he is running for lieutenant governor.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster (R) spoke in Savannah, according to WSAV.

The governors of Georgia and South Carolina teamed up in Savannah Monday to discuss how the environment impacts their respective states.

The meeting between governors Brian Kemp (R-GA) and Henry McMaster (R-SC) was a first for the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS).

The purpose of ECOS is to improve the capability of state environmental agencies to protect and improve human health and the environment of the country.

“You can’t have one without the other and that’s been demonstrated,” said McMaster.

Governors Kemp and McMaster said the quality of life in Georgia and South Carolina is enhanced when state and local parks are well cared for. They said it also spurs economic growth.

Tourism makes up one-third of the economy in South Carolina, and it’s the second-largest economic contributor in Georgia.

“We have great state parks, a lot of natural resources that we’re protecting and preserving… it’s a big part of our economy,” said Kemp.

McMaster said, “They want to get out in the woods, they want to get on water, they want to go fishing.”

Representatives for environmental services of both states said protecting the environment boosts their bottom line.

“A healthy, prosperous economy and a healthy, prosperous environment go hand in hand,” said Myra Reece with the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services.

State representatives want to do the same thing: work together to strengthen the environment and the economy.

“We work very hard with our leaders, our different state agencies to make sure we bring in good economic development that protects the environment and brings good jobs for our children and grandchildren,” said Jeff Cown with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

McMaster said, “Everybody wants to be here, and that just highlight’s the importance of being very careful on how be work together, not only across state lines, but amount counties, cities, everything.”

The governors said the partnership they have helps them to be leaders for the country in relation to the environment and the economy.

Chatham County Courts are clogged by large numbers of traffic tickets, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The growing backlog is driven by a combination of factors, Chatham County DA Shalena Cook Jones says, such as population growth and aggressive traffic enforcement.

Chief of State Court Geoffrey Alls said the Chatham County court system has seen an increase in traffic citation cases within the past four years, from 26,000 to 33,000.

“We’ve noticed that there was a great influx of traffic cases coming up to State Court and into the Recorder’s Court system once the sheriff started his new unit,” Jones said. “So, of course, it requires extra resources to some extent… human resources and staff to man those dockets.”

To help manage the increasing caseload, the court system has created a Pretrial Diversion Program, allowing some eligible defendants to resolve certain traffic-related offenses without proceeding through a full trial process.

The program is available to those who are charged with speeding, running a red light, failing to yield, improper lane changes, failure to signal, vehicle equipment violations and document violations. The driver must also be a first-time offender or not have participated in the program in the prior 36 months. Motorists must also not have any outstanding arrest warrants or a criminal history that would disqualify them.