On March 4, 1762, legislation was passed by the Georgia General Assembly requiring church attendance on Sundays.
The first Session of the United States Congress was held on March 4, 1789 at Federal Hall in New York City. Congress would not have a quorum for another month.
On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as President of the United States.
In his inaugural address, Lincoln promised not to interfere with the institution of slavery where it existed, and pledged to suspend the activities of the federal government temporarily in areas of hostility. However, he also took a firm stance against secession and the seizure of federal property. The government, insisted Lincoln, would “hold, occupy, and possess” its property and collect its taxes. He closed his remarks with an eloquent reminder of the nation’s common heritage:
“In your hand, my fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect, and defend it… We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
Also on March 4, 1861, the Confederate Congress adopted a first national flag.
This flag is depicted with varying numbers of stars – originally adopted with seven stars, by December 1861, a version with thirteen stars was flying.
Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis were married on March 4, 1952 in Los Angeles, California.
This weekend, Brunswick will observe the 162d anniversary of “The Weeping Time,” a massive sale of people who were enslaved, according to The Brunswick Times.
Amid the wails and lamentations from more than 400 enslaved people being torn apart from family and friends during a harrowing 1859 slave auction in Savannah, it is said that God also wept.
Like teardrops from heaven, rain fell continuously over Ten Broeck’s racehorse track — from the inhuman auction’s opening gavel on March 2 to the last cold-blooded transaction of humans selling humans on March 3. The auction that saw 429 men, women and children sold off from the Butler Plantation in McIntosh County and the Hampton Point Plantation on St. Simons Island has been imparted to us by history as The Weeping Time.
The events can be followed on Facebook Live by going to The Weeping Time’s Facebook page. These include a commemoration ceremony beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday. The one-hour ceremony includes the reading of the names of those enslaved people who were sold. Additionally, there will be a libation ceremony, the traditional African observance that revers the ancestors. Shouter Griffin Lotson, local African American historian Amy Roberts and others will speak as well.
At 11 a.m. Sunday, the service from Solomon Temple Church of God in Christ in Savannah will be broadcast virtually on the Weeping Time’s Facebook page. The sermon and the service will be geared toward remembrance of The Weeping Time.
Additionally, at 5 p.m. Friday some 436 candles will be lit at the site of the Butler Plantation on Butler Island in McIntosh County.
Here’s the Facebook link for The Weeping Time.
Apparently, we missed yesterday’s birthday of Herschel Walker, who was born March 3, 1962 in Augusta, Georgia.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Today is a Committee Work Day in the Georgia General Assembly with no session.
7:30 AM HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS – 341 CAP
9:00 AM HOUSE JUDICIARY – 132 CAP
9:30 AM HOUSE Special Committee on Election Integrity Blackmon Subcommittee – 403 CAP
10:00 AM HOUSE INDUSTRY AND LABOR – 406 CLOB
10:00 AM HOUSE Public Safety and Homeland Security Subcommittee B – 606 CLOB
10:30 AM Senate Rules – 450 CAP
11:00 AM HOUSE RULES – 341 CAP
11:30 AM HOUSE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT – 506 CLOB
12:00 PM HOUSE PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY – 406 CLOB
12:00 PM HOUSE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM – 341 CAP
1:00 PM HOUSE EDUCATION – 606 CLOB
1:00 PM HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION – 341 CAP
1:30 PM Senate Public Safety – Mezz 1
1:30 PM HOUSE JUDICIARY NON CIVIL – 132 CAP
2:00 PM HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTH CARE – 515 CLOB
Governor Brian Kemp says he’d still back Donald Trump for President in 2024, according to The Hill.
Pressed by Fox News’s Neil Cavuto in an interview on Wednesday about whether he would support Trump if he became the party’s nominee in 2024, Kemp said: “Absolutely, I’m going to support the nominee.”
“As I said, again, I worked very hard for the president. I think his ideas … will be part of our party for a long time in the future,” Kemp said. “And Republicans, we need to have a big tent. I mean, there’s a lot of great ideas out there.”
“We’re not always going to get along, but I think the president deserves a lot of credit,” Kemp continued. “And he’s not going away.”
Governor Brian Kemp announced two new vaccination sites, according to The Brunswick News.
The first drive-thru sites in Albany, Macon, Hapeville and Clarkesville were touted as being able to each administer 1,100 doses of COVID vaccine a day for a total of 22,000 a week between the four.
“(GEMA’s) efforts are designed to address the vaccination needs of underserved populations that have been hardest hit by COVID-19,” GEMA Director Chris Stallings said at the time. “The four sites selected all have surrounding populations with high percentages of minorities and individuals with incomes below the poverty line.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, Kemp announced that on March 17 five more state-operated vaccination sites are slated for Savannah, Waycross, Sandersville, Cartersville and Columbus.
“Specific details of that expansion will be announced in the coming days,” Kemp said.
Stallings said at the press conference that the Chatham County site would be housed in a Gulfstream Aerospace facility in Savannah while the Ware County location will be opened in the Waycross Mall.
“With the opening of the additional mass sites, we’ll have the ability to administer a minimum of 20,000 more doses a week,” Stallings said.
Eligible residents can sign up to receive a notification when the sites open at myvaccinegeorgia.com.
Whatever you believe about the virus and the pandemic, this is surely part of Gov. Kemp fulfilling his promise to keep rural Georgia atop his priority list.
Pam Kirkland, spokesperson for the West Central Health District, said the Columbus site will be located at the Civic Center. It will be FEMA funded and run by GEMA, identical to Georgia’s other mass vaccination sites.
The nearest mass vaccination site to Columbus is nearly 90 miles away in Albany’s Dougherty County. The three other existing sites are located in Fulton County, Bibb County, and Habersham County. Each one has capacity to administer about 1,100 doses each day, or 5,500 per week.
“They’re targeting a thousand people a day (in Columbus),” Kirkland said. It’ll help the health department vaccinate the 19,000 Georgia residents that are currently registered and waiting for their first dose, she said.
The Georgia Senate Committee on Education and Youth recommended passage of Senate Bill 266, the “Save Girls Sports Act,” by State Sen. Marty Harbin (R-Tyrone), according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
The measure, sponsored by Tyrone Republican Sen. Marty Harbin, is known as the Save Girls Sports Act which opponents say is blatant discrimination against transgender youth.
The bill bans transgender girls from competing in single-gender sporting events if it does not align with their gender at birth. Harbin said it is what “they’re born with at birth” that will determine what sports they can play.
“It’s important that we create a level playing ground for every young person to fairly compete,” he said Wednesday. “Unfortunately, boys have certain biological advantages, when it comes to sports. That makes it impossible competition to be fair if both genders are competing in the same sport.”
Jen Slipakoff, a Kennesaw mother of a transgender girl, said there is a “misunderstanding about what trans athletes look like.” Slipakoff’s daughter plays sports at her private school in the state, she said.
“I’m left wondering if she doesn’t belong on the boys team and she doesn’t belong on the girls team, where exactly do you think she belongs?” Slipakoff asked lawmakers. “Can you tell me she belongs anywhere? Or do you think that she doesn’t belong anywhere? Because that’s what passing this bill will tell her.”
The State House passed legislation for COVID-related tax breaks, according to the Athens Banner Herald.
Lawmakers voted unanimously to raise the standard deduction Georgia taxpayers can declare on their state income taxes, then overwhelmingly approved two packages of tax credits and sales tax exemptions.
The income tax bill would let married taxpayers filing jointly add $1,100 to the state’s standard deduction, which would increase from $6,000 to $7,100. Single taxpayers would be allowed to deduct an additional $800, and married couples filing separately would get an additional deduction of $550.
“This will affect the most Georgians possible,” said Rep. Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta, one of the bill’s cosponsors.
The tax credit bill, which passed 157-14, would provide new state tax credits to Georgia manufacturers of medical devices and pharmaceuticals and to “high-impact” aerospace projects.
The sales tax exemption bill, which passed 164-6, would extend the sunset date on an exemption on sales of materials used in construction of “projects of regional significance” in Georgia.
The state has only used the exemption for nine projects since 2012, but that work has generated 8,700 jobs, said Rep. Sam Watson R-Moultrie, the bill’s chief sponsor.
The bill also includes a tax exemption on the sale of tickets by performing arts venues across the state, which have lost the vast majority of their business to the pandemic.
It’s not always clear when newswriters don’t specify which bill number they’re discussing. Three big tax bills passed the State House yesterday, here they are:
House Bill 586 – the Georgia Economic Recovery Act of 2021, addressing primarily sales and use tax exemptions
House Bill 587 – the Georgia Economic Renewal Act of 2021, addressing a tax credit for medical equipment and supplies manufacturers and pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturers
House Bill 593 – the Tax Relief Act of 2021, addressing the state income tax
I think you can match up what the article says about each bill with the actual legislation if you’re interested in reading about it.
House Bill 2, the “Georgia Constitutional Carry Act of 2021” by State Rep. Emory Dunahoo (R-Gillsville) would broaden the ability to carry a weapon without a permit, according to the Gainesville Times.
[U]nder new legislation titled the Georgia Constitutional Carry Act of 2021, lawmakers are proposing that “lawful weapons carriers” would not need a license to carry a firearm and would have the same rights to carry as any licensed gun owner in the state.
“Guns are not inherently evil, they are not an evil object, the person possessing them (can be) evil,” Dunahoo said. “Therefore, we always focus on the person who’s handling the gun.”
The bill defines a “lawful weapons carrier” as a person who is not prohibited by law from possessing a weapon or long gun or is licensed to carry.
Concealed or not, legislation would still not allow firearms to be carried in police stations, day care centers, preschools and polling locations.
Additionally, the bill would remove restrictions on gun owners without licenses to carry in state parks, memorials and historic sites.
Georgia code prohibits the possession and use of firearms in recreational areas including parks, historic sites and memorials for those without licensure.
Legislation authorizing a referendum for a Constitutional Amendment to legalize gambling has been introduced in the State House, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
A Georgia House subcommittee approved a constitutional amendment Wednesday that would ask voters whether to legalize casinos, sports betting and pari-mutuel betting on horse racing in the Peach State.
While efforts to legalize casinos and horse racing haven’t made it through either legislative chamber despite years of trying, backers of legalized gambling have long cited polls that show most Georgians would support legalized gambling if they ever get a chance at a statewide referendum.
“Let folks vote on it,” said Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, chairman of the House Regulated Industries Committee, which is expected to take up the new resolution later this week. “They’re the only ones who can make the decision.”
The new version of the measure would broaden legalized gambling to include horse racing and sports betting. And instead of going to HOPE, the state’s share of the proceeds from casinos and horseracing would be dedicated to health care, while the sports betting proceeds would go toward needs-based scholarships.s
House Bill 94 by State Rep. Bonnie Rich (R-Gwinnett) passed the House and would make porch piracy a felony, according to the AJC.
The House voted 101-67 to approve House Bill 94, which now advances to the state Senate.
State Rep. Chuck Efstration said the legislation would target criminals who are stealing packages from multiple homes and trespassing on their property.
“What if you’re inside the home, waiting for your medication inside that package? What if you don’t get it because someone took it off your porch?” said Efstration, a Republican from Dacula. “This is a real-world impact for Georgians.”
The bill’s critics said there are better ways to respond to crime than tougher prison sentences, including investments in health care and education.
Under current law, stealing a package would normally be charged under theft statutes.
The legislation that passed Wednesday would make porch piracy a distinct crime.
Chatham Area Transit will not reinstate former CEO Bacarra Mauldin while a suit against the agency continues, according to the Savannah Morning News.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division is accepting comments on a proposal to mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, according to The Brunswick News.
The Biden administration is conducting an administrative review that could reverse some of the weakening of federal regulations protecting waterways. Environmentalists are hoping it will cast new attention on the Okefenokee Swamp.
Opponents of the rule changes under the Trump administration say the plans by Twin Pines Minerals for a 740-acre tract near the swamp create too many unknowns about potential impacts to the environmentally sensitive area.
Gwinnett County Commissioners are asking the General Assembly to give the Commission Chair a pay raise, according to AccessWDUN.
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners are asking for a raise in salary for the commission chair. On Tuesday, they unanimously approved a resolution to adjust the salary from $74,266 to $136,011.
In a press release from the commissioners on Tuesday, they say that the salary should reflect cost of living adjustments and to reflect the growth of the county. They believe the salary should be more in line with positions that serve larger communities.
The commission chair, currently held by newly elected Nicole Love Hendrickson, is the only position that is full time, and it often requires night and weekend work.
Gwinnett Commissioner Ben Ku said Hendrickson is “severely underpaid,” and that she took a pay cut when she quit her county job to run for commission chairwoman. He called that “appalling.”
Both Ku and Commissioner Kirkland Carden said they hoped the legislature would pass the raise so it would take effect more quickly. If the county commission passes it, the additional salary would begin after the November 2022 elections. Lawmakers could set the effective date if they approve the raise.
Rep. Sam Park, D-Lawrenceville and chair of the Gwinnett County delegation, said legislators would back the proposal. He said Hendrickson’s salary was disparately low.
Clint Mueller, legislative director for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, also said Hendrickson’s salary sounded low for a county with nearly 1 million people and a $1.91 billion budget.
Personally, I’m okay with that level of pay for a county elected official who is full-time and under the conditions present in Gwinnett. But, I think the Commission can make the pay raise effective themselves and should be required to do so. For years, Republican commissioners came to the legislature asking for a raise because they were unwilling to vote for it themselves, and the General Assembly rebuffed them. I think Democratic commissioners doing the same thing should be treated the same way.
Gwinnett Commissioners also voted to authorize a bond issue to finance the purchase of most of Gwinnett Place Mall, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
County commissioners voted Tuesday to issue $23.5 million in 20-year revenue bonds to buy 39 acres of property at the 36-year-old mall. The purchase does not include the Macy’s, Mega Mart, Beauty Master or old Sears anchors since those properties were owned separately from the main part of the mall.
The part of the mall that Gwinnett County is buying includes the interior retail storefronts, the former Belk anchor and the old food court.
“Redevelopment of the Gwinnett Place Mall area has the potential to reap tremendous benefits for the entire county by generating new businesses and jobs and increasing the county tax base,” commission Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson said. “I want to thank the previous Board of Commissioners for leaving us in such a great financial position that we can take on this project.”
The University of Georgia plans to resume in-person instruction in the fall, according to AccessWDUN.
A press release posted this afternoon on the university’s website states that the change is due to the increase of the COVID-19 vaccine, which should help contain the spread of the virus.
The release also states that all research and public service operations are expected to resume no later than fall 2021.
Columbia County School District will require a financial literacy course for graduation, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
Next year’s freshman class will be the first that will be required to take a financial literacy course before graduating. The semester-long course will be offered their senior year along with economics, which is also a semester long.
“That will be two good financial courses before going into the next phase of life whether it’s college, work or whatever they may choose to do,” associate superintendent Penny Jackson said.
Statesboro will hold groundbreaking ceremonies to kick off renewal of two parks, according to the Statesboro Herald.
Statesboro City Council modeled an ordinance after the International Property Maintenance Code to govern private property upkeep, according to the Statesboro Herald.
In fact, 18 inches had been the suggested maximum height for grass and weeds when city officials discussed the ordinance in detail, with input from some property owners, beginning in November. The allowed height of vegetation in yards was one of several blanks in the IPMC that needed to be filled in locally. Other than these specifications, the code for how homes and other buildings and grounds are to be maintained was approved here exactly as endorsed by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for adoption by Georgia cities and counties.
But in the local specifications included with the IPMC when City Council voted it forward from a first reading Feb. 16, the maximum height for grass and weeds was stated as 12 inches.
Former State Representative Louise McBee (D-Athens) has died, according to the Athens Banner Herald.
McBee was one of UGA’s most respected officials in a period of significant growth and change. She came to UGA in 1963 as dean of women and worked under four university presidents before retiring in 1988 as acting vice president for academic affairs, the second-highest position at UGA at the time. She also held appointments as associate professor of psychology and associate professor of higher education.
McBee served in top positions at UGA in both student affairs and academic affairs — a rarity in university administration — and was a favorite of students and faculty for her accessibility and fairness. The University System Board of Regents later named McBee vice president emeritus for academic affairs, and UGA recognized her legacy in 2018 by unveiling her portrait in the UGA Administration Building.
As a six-term member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1992 to 2004, McBee used her experiences at UGA to help set state higher education policy. Among her legislative responsibilities, she was chair of the House Higher Education Committee and vice chair of the Retirement Committee. McBee was key to establishing the successful Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program. She championed a bill that allowed teachers and University System employees to count their unused sick leave as service creditable toward retirement, and she helped to ensure the financial stability of the HOPE Scholarship. McBee also worked to strengthen the school breakfast program for low-income children.
Voting Rights
The federal government is considering voting rights legislation that might contradict Georgia’s election reform legislation, according to the Associated Press via AccessWDUN.
House Resolution 1, which touches on virtually every aspect of the electoral process, was approved Wednesday night on a near party-line 220-210 vote. It would restrict partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, strike down hurdles to voting and bring transparency to a murky campaign finance system that allows wealthy donors to anonymously bankroll political causes.
This bill “will put a stop at the voter suppression that we’re seeing debated right now,” said Rep. Nikema Williams, a new congresswoman who represents the Georgia district that deceased voting rights champion John Lewis held for years. “This bill is the ‘Good Trouble’ he fought for his entire life.”
“Democrats want to use their razor-thin majority not to pass bills to earn voters’ trust, but to ensure they don’t lose more seats in the next election,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said from the House floor Tuesday.
The measure has been a priority for Democrats since they won their House majority in 2018. But it has taken on added urgency in the wake of Trump’s false claims, which incited the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol in January.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court appeared ready to uphold voting restrictions in Arizona, which could make it harder to challenge state election laws in the future.
When asked why proponents sought to uphold the Arizona laws, which limit who can turn in absentee ballots and enable ballots to be thrown out if they are cast in the wrong precinct, a lawyer for the state’s Republican Party was stunningly clear.
“Because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage relative to Democrats,” said attorney Michael Carvin. “Politics is a zero-sum game.”
Local Democrats say they arent worried about potential new state voting restrictions, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
“They may be thinking they are hurting us, but we’re going to fight through whatever obstacles they put in our faces,” Rep. Wayne Howard, D-Augusta, said at a town hall meeting Tuesday..
“All they are doing is motivating us more. They cannot stop us from voting.”
While Republicans have introduced some 60 bills seeking to restrict access to voting, of chief concerns are two omnibus bills, House Bill 531 and Senate Bill 241, said Saira Draper, director of voter protection for the Democratic party of Georgia.
“All are based on this false premise that there is an election security issue or an election integrity issue,” she said.
House Bill 531 requires ballot drop boxes be stored only in advance voting sites while they are open. It bans external grants some 40 counties received to help fund last year’s costly elections and recounts, a move intended “just to be able to serve less people,” Draper said.
Senate Bill 241 eliminates no-excuse absentee voting, a Republican policy in effect since 2005, she said.
Rep. Gloria Frazier, D-Hephzibah, said House Bill 531 “is a voter suppression bill” and that “voter suppression is racism.”
National Public Radio brings us this money quote from U.S. Representative Buddy Carter (R-Pooler).
Today, Carter acknowledges reality, telling NPR: “President Biden was the victor in the state of Georgia,” and “I don’t believe that there was voter fraud.” Yet he still voices concern about how Georgia applied its election laws.
“Absentee voting needs to be cleaned up. It needs to be tightened up,” he said. “What other state is there, aside from Georgia, where if you vote in person you have to have a photo ID, but if you vote absentee, all you have to have is a matching signature? That’s not right.”
Carter’s claim is not entirely true. Of the six states that strictly require a photo ID to cast a vote in person, only two — Wisconsin and Kansas — mandate a photo ID for absentee ballots. Tennessee and Indiana will let you submit other documents, such as a copy of a utility bill, to establish residency. Mississippi requires a witness, such as a notary public.
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