Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for March 7, 2025

On March 6, 1857, the United States Supreme Court published its opinion in Sanford v. Dred Scott.

the Court held that African Americans, whether slave or free, could not be American citizens and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court,and that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories acquired after the creation of the United States. Dred Scott, an African American slave who had been taken by his owners to free states and territories, attempted to sue for his freedom. In a 7–2 decision written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, the Court denied Scott’s request and in doing so, ruled an Act of Congress in this case—the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which prohibited slavery north of the parallel 36°30′ north—to be unconstitutional for the second time in its history.

The decision would prove to be an indirect catalyst for the American Civil War and was functionally superseded by the post-war Reconstruction Amendments. It is now widely regarded as the worst decision ever made by the Supreme Court.

One member of the Court that decided Dred Scott was Associate Justice James M Wayne, who was born in Savannah and served in Congress from Georgia from 1829 to 1835.

On March 7, 1861, delegates to the Georgia Secession Convention reconvened in Savannah to adopt a new state Constitution. A resolution offering to host the Confederate Capitol did not pass.

On March 9, 1866, Governor Charles Jones Jenkins signed two pieces of legislation dealing with African-Americans, one recognized their marriages, the other legitimized children born to African-American couples prior to the act and required parents to maintain their children in the same way whites were required.

March 8, 1862 saw the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia at Hampton Roads, VA, take ninety-eight hits from Union warships without sinking. Virginia sank USS Cumberland after ramming it, blew up USS Congress, and ran USS Minnesota aground. It was the worst day in US Naval history at that time.

On March 9, 1862, CSS Virginia and USS Monitor, a Union ironclad, fought to a draw in the Chesapeake Bay.

Bobby Fischer, the Eleventh World Champion of Chess, was born on March 9, 1943 and is considered by many the greatest player of all time.

Governor Ellis Arnall signed two important pieces of legislation on March 9, 1945. The first created the Georgia Ports Authority, with its first project being the expansion of the Port of Savannah. The second authorized the placement of a referendum to adopt a new state Constitution (in the form of a single Amendment to the Constitution of 1877) on the ballot in a Special Election to be held August 7, 1945.

On March 6, 1946, the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals ruled in King v. Chapman that Georgia’s all white Democratic Primary violated the 14th, 15th, and 17th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Primus E. King of Columbus, Georgia brought the lawsuit against the Muscogee County Democratic Party Executive Committee Chair Joseph E. Chapman.

On March 8, 1946, a conference convened on Wilmington Island, near Savannah, that would lead to the creation of the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, commonly called the World Bank.

On March 8, 1946, a special train arrived at Savannah’s Union Station from Washington, holding nearly 300 delegates, government officials, technical experts and reporters from 35 nations. Thousands of Savannahians watched as a 100-car motorcade rolled along flag-bedecked streets to the General Oglethorpe Hotel on Wilmington Island.

Treasury Secretary Fred M. Vinson headed the American delegation; the British were led by John Maynard Keynes, “the father of modern macroeconomics.”

The stakes were enormous.

Two years earlier, as World War II neared its murderous end, the winning Allies pondered the nature of the postwar global economy. The United States was emerging as the leader of the free world, largely supplanting the British Empire, gravely weakened by the war.

The IMF and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (better known as the World Bank) were born at a July 1944 conference in Bretton Woods, N.H., where 44 countries established rules for the global monetary system.

The IMF was intended to promote international economic cooperation and secure global financial stability, providing countries with short-term loans. The World Bank would offer long-term loans to assist developing countries in building dams, roads and other physical capital.

The Bretton Woods agreements were ratified internationally by December 1945. Vinson, seeking a site for the new organizations’ inaugural meetings, sent Treasury agents around the country. “They made some fine reports on Savannah,” he later told the Morning News. He had never visited the city.

On March 7, 1965, a group of marchers led by Martin Luther King, Jr., met Alabama State Troopers on the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

“I was hit in the head by a state trooper with a nightstick… I thought I saw death.”

—John Lewis, SNCC leader

John Lewis, longtime United States Congressman from the Fifth District, now deceased, was in the front row wearing a light-colored overcoat and backpack.

GaVoice talked to Lewis about what was in his backpack on that day.

On March 9, 1970, Governor Lester Maddox signed legislation setting the Georgia minimum wage at $1.25 per hour.

On March 8, 1982, President Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union “an evil empire” for the second time, in an address to the National Association of Evangelicals.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Governor Brian Kemp signed the Amended FY 2025 State Budget, according to a Press Release.

Governor Brian P. Kemp, joined by First Lady Marty Kemp, Lt. Governor Burt Jones, Speaker Jon Burns, House and Senate Appropriations Chairmen Tillery and Hatchett, constitutional officers, and members of the Georgia General Assembly, today signed the Amended Budget for Fiscal Year 2025.

Excerpt of Governor Kemp’s Remarks

…

I want to start by thanking the great legislative partners you see behind us and those next to me, including Lt. Governor Burt Jones, Speaker Jon Burns, Chairman Blake Tillery, Chairman Matt Hatchett, and the members of the General Assembly from both chambers and parties who overwhelmingly voted for this budget.

We’re also glad to be joined by the Constitutional Officers here with us today and the nation’s best First Lady, Marty Kemp!

I also want to thank OPB Director Rick Dunn and his team for all the time and hard work they put into the budget process each year alongside our partners in the House and Senate Budget Offices and all the time and effort they still have left to give as we work on the big budget. Let’s give his team a round of applause.

Today, I’ll sign the amended budget for Fiscal Year 2025… a budget that gives relief to Georgians devastated by Hurricane Helene… makes our schools and communities safer through strategic investments… and yet again returns hard-earned money to the taxpayers.

…

All of this investment is designed to benefit our local communities but it’s also going to keep Georgians working in all parts of the state during these uncertain economic times.

As we all know too well, inflation may have come down, but high prices haven’t. And that’s why this budget includes 1 billion dollars for another one-time refund for hardworking taxpayers!

And as just a reminder to you all behind me, we still need the General Assembly to pass the enabling legislation.

I’m sure some of these men and women up here will help us out with that later today!

And as soon as we pass the second tax cut acceleration measure, we’ll be able to keep even more of Georgians’ money in their pockets… because they know how to spend it better than the government does!

My goal working with the members of the General Assembly who have been such strong supporters in these measures has been to help Georgians fighting through 40-year-high inflation.

To give them a chance during these challenging times to keep their businesses going and provide for their families by putting more money in their pockets. And to help them and their children have good-paying jobs by developing an environment that attracts business and opportunity.

That’s what people voted for in November of 2024; that’s what we’ve all been doing; and that’s what we’re going to keep doing!

So, thank you, legislators, for helping us keep Georgia the best place to live, work, and raise a family through budgets like this.

…

You can watch Governor Kemp’s full remarks and the signing of the budget here.

“This budget includes critical midyear adjustments for Georgia’s education system, economic development projects, transportation infrastructure and public safety,” said Lt. Governor Burt Jones. “Additionally, over $250 million is included for Georgia’s agriculture and timber communities impacted by Hurricane Helene, along with relief for our fellow Georgians and local communities for recovery and cleanup efforts. I want to thank Governor Kemp, Speaker Burns, Chairman Tillery, and all members of the Senate Appropriations Committee for their hard work to ensure we passed a balanced and fiscally conservative budget, as we prepare for fiscal year 2026. Georgia is a shining example of how to budget efficiently and effectively, while putting Georgian’s hard earned dollars back in their pockets. I look forward to our continued work to appropriate taxpayer dollars in a fiscally, conservative manner.”

“This budget reaffirms Georgia’s commitment to making strategic investments that strengthen and uplift every community, family, and citizen across our great state—all while putting money back in the pockets of taxpayers,” said Speaker Jon Burns. “As we look ahead, the House is looking forward to working alongside Governor Kemp to continue prioritizing fiscally responsible and measured investments that secure the future success of our state for generations to come.”

In addition to investments in healthcare, public safety, education, and returning $1 billion to taxpayers through a third one-time special tax refund, the amended budget includes investments and allocations for:

Hurricane Helene Relief: More then $867 million for response costs and relief, including but not limited to, one-time grants to public rural and critical access hospitals included in the major disaster declaration area to assist in financial stabilization and recovery efforts, disaster relief assistance to impacted farmers and timber producers, and grants to non-profits for Hurricane Helene rebuilding and recovery efforts.

Education and Workforce Development: $140 million in additional allocations to fully fund QBE and support our local school systems to help us build an unrivaled workforce as we work to make Georgia the Top State for Talent.

Public Safety and Corrections: More than $434 million in new funding for the Department of Corrections to fortify state facilities, invest in Corrections Officers, and equip them with the tools they need to be effective and efficient.

Fighting Human Trafficking: $3.5 million to design a recovery center for victims of human trafficking – an effort championed by First Lady Marty Kemp – and over $187,000 to expand the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit to the Macon and Augusta regions.

School Security: An additional $50 million in one-time funds for another round of security grants to all K-12 public schools.

Coastal Water Infrastructure: $501.7 million in funding for the development and construction of water infrastructure in Georgia’s coastal region to meet the growing demand due to historic economic development.

Local Water and Sewer Infrastructure: Over $266 million in funding for the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority to support water and sewer infrastructure development projects across Georgia.

Local Road Infrastructure: $265 million into the local maintenance and improvement grant program and $46 million to the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank’s grant and loan program.

Combating Wildfires: $4.7 million for the Forestry Commission to purchase a new fire suppression helicopter.

From the Capitol Beat News Service via Savannah Morning News:

Gov. Brian Kemp signed a record $40.5 billion mid-year budget Thursday that prioritizes hurricane relief and invests heavily in school safety and Georgia’s prison system while providing relief to the state’s taxpayers.

The spending plan, which the General Assembly passed earlier this week, includes $867 million in response and recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene, which devastated large swaths of South Georgia and the eastern half of the state last September.

Another $434 million will go toward a pay raise for state prison guards and additional correctional officers for a prison system that came under fire in a federal audit released last fall for failing to protect inmates from violence. The prisons also will receive funding to repair deteriorating infrastructure inside the lockups and give guards more tasers and drone detection equipment to combat the smuggling of cellphones and other contraband.

The mid-year budget, which covers state spending through June 30, also includes an additional $50 million in school-safety grants to all public schools.

The state is putting $501 million into improving water infrastructure in Coastal Georgia to serve the huge electric-vehicles plant under construction west of Savannah and the residents who will work there, as well as $266 million for water and sewer projects across the state.

Another $500 million will go toward highway improvements aimed at accelerating the movement of freight throughout Georgia, while $28 million will be used for workforce housing in rural areas and $20 million will boost economic development in rural communities.

“All of this investment is designed to benefit our local communities,” Kemp said during a bill-signing ceremony at the state Capitol. “But it’s also going to keep Georgians working in all parts of our state during these uncertain economic times.”

The mid-year budget also takes advantage of a $16 billion state surplus to return $1 billion to taxpayers in the form of a one-time rebate. The Georgia House approved the rebate later Thursday as well as a separate bill reducing the state income tax rate.

“We’ll be able to keep more of Georgians’ money in their pockets,” the governor said. “They know how to spend it better than the government does.”

With work completed on the mid-year budget, the state House of Representatives is expected to take up Kemp’s $37.7 billion fiscal 2026 spending plan next week.

From WTOC:

Local leaders, like Democratic Representative Carl Gilliard who’s been involved in that push, says a lot of the funding will go to Effingham County, Bryan County and Chatham County.

He says Savannah could get more than $140 million, Effingham County more than $300 million and Bryan County more than $36 million.

With rapid growth happening in the area between the ports, the Hyundai site in Bryan County and agriculture, Gilliard says it calls for clean water and better infrastructure.

And right now, that supply just isn’t here.

“You look at where the water is coming from. We’re pulling it from different sources, we’re pulling it from the river, we’re pulling it from here, this gives us an assurity that we’re going to have quality water, and I repeat that again, quality water, pure water, good drinking water. And an opportunity not to have a burden on the taxpayer because we don’t have the water supply where there’s not an increase in someone’s water bill,” said Rep. Carl Gilliard, D-Chatham County.

Rep. Gilliard says he’s been a part of the push in recent years to purify water in the region, because of its rapid growth.

“The growth of Hyundai, the rural areas that are going through some changes like Garden City, it’s going to help the longevity of not having to worry about water and also the purity of the water.”

Now that the budget has been signed, Ronald Feldner, the chief of Water Resources for the City of Savannah, says it will support their water master plan, first presented in September of 2024.

Some of those goals are to enhance the city’s water treatment plant, increase surface water supply, and add water transmission facilities in Bryan and Effingham counties.

“This is going to be more than just a few years of a project, this is going to involve many years and really secure our capacity for the next 25 plus years going forward,” said Feldner.

He says it’s something the city council supported from the beginning, and now that they have the state funding, they’re able to start the first phase of the plan.

The shot clock ran out for sports betting proponents. From WRDW:

Efforts to send a state constitutional amendment to voters failed Thursday in the state Legislature, as neither the amendment nor a bill laying out details ever came to a vote in the House.

Thursday was a key deadline after which it’s very hard to get legislation through the process.

Thursday was the deadline for each Georgia chamber to pass its own legislation to the opposite chamber. The measures still could be revived in the last month of the session, but it much less likely. Lawmakers could still consider the measures in the 2026 half of Georgia’s two-year session.

“It came in late and I guess people just weren’t there yet,” said House Higher Education Committee Chairman Chuck Martin, an Alpharetta Republican, referring to a bill and constitutional amendment that were introduced only last week.

“We’ll keep working with people and trying to do what’s in the best interest of the state,” Martin said, saying a referendum was still possible in on the November 2026 ballot.

Sports wagering is backed by Atlanta’s professional sports teams, business groups and Republican Lt. Gov Burt Jones. But those powerful proponents have struggled to pass a law in the seven legislative sessions since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 struck down a federal law that banned commercial sports betting in most states.

Without Democratic votes in Georgia, a constitutional amendment couldn’t achieve the two-thirds majorities needs to pass the state House and Senate.

Republicans in the state are far from unified. Some GOP lawmakers oppose sports betting, warning that legalizing sports betting will provide a pathway to addiction, especially for younger gamblers.

House Minority Whip Sam Park, a Lawrenceville Democrat, said Wednesday that his party wants to prioritize use of any tax money for prekindergarten. That was part of the constitutional amendment proposed by Martin’s committee.

Supporters have argued that Georgians should get a chance to vote, arguing many already bet on sports illegally.

“I believe strongly — and Georgians by wide margins agree with me — that this change will not only bring in much needed revenue to educate our youngest learners but also provide consumer protections that don’t exist in today’s black market,” State Rep. Marcus Wiedower, the Watkinsville Republican who sponsored the measure, said in a statement

House Bill 340, the “Distraction-Free Education Act” by State Rep. Scott Hilton (R-Peachtree Corners) passed the House , according to 13WMAZ.

If approved, the bill would require students from kindergarten through eighth grade to keep their phones stored away throughout the school day. However, students with disabilities or medical needs could still have their devices.

The Baldwin County School District has already had a no cell phone policy in place for more than five years.

Administrators said its helped minimize distractions and improve student engagement.

“We found that there was a struggle with teachers trying to keep students attentive and engaged in the task when they’re constantly distracted by cell phones,” Clayton said.

Other Central Georgia school districts, including Bibb and Peach counties, also have no-phone policies in place. If House Bill 340 becomes law, the policy would take effect statewide starting in July 2026.

United States Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA) opened a fundraising exploratory committee to run for Governor in 2026, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, filed paperwork Wednesday creating an exploratory committee for a potential race for governor next year.

“Georgians deserve a governor who understands what’s at stake because they’ve lived it,” McBath wrote in a prepared statement.

“As a mom and breast cancer survivor, I’ve seen first hand how regular people are too often left out of the political process. I look forward to continuing this conversation with my neighbors and fellow Georgians.”

McBath was elected to Congress in 2018 and reelected in 2020, 2022 and again last year, despite repeated attempts by the General Assembly’s Republican majorities to redraw her congressional district in a way that would favor GOP candidates.

She entered politics after her teenage son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed by a man objecting to the music he and his friends were playing in their car. She has been a leading advocate for gun safety legislation during her years in the House.

McBath is the only Democrat thus far to take steps toward running for governor in 2026. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is term limited.

On the GOP side, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is the only candidate thus far to enter the race. Others – notably Lt. Gov. Burt Jones – are expected to follow.

Senate Bill 120 by State Sen. Marty Harbin (R-Tyrone) was tabled and did not pass; the bill addresses DEI programs, according to Atlanta News First via WALB.

State Sen. Marty Harbin, R–Tyrone, says any Georgia educational institution, kindergarten through college, that receives state funding is subject to losing it under Senate Bill 120.

“The DEI initiative actually ostracizes some people because they don’t believe in the philosophies that are there,” said Harbin at a committee hearing for the bill this week. “For too long DEI initiatives have moved beyond their original intent and have become ideological filters that stifle free speech, enforcement of group identity over individual merit and promote a culture of division rather than unity.”

Harbin said DEI programs also lead to unfair hiring practices based on “quotas and identity politics” rather than qualifications.

On Wednesday, a group of lawmakers and DEI supporters rallied at the Capitol asking constituents to call their senators about the bill.

“I really want to call on those people that are sponsoring this bill to tell us what’s really bothering them,” said former state Rep. Roger Bruce. “What’s really wrong? Because it can’t be this.”

“We cannot be great if we embrace hate,” said state Rep. Carolyn Hugley, the House minority leader. “And Senate Bill 120 is about embracing hate.”

State Sen. Nikki Merritt, D–Grayson, said disparities in Georgia’s university system are already glaring; 8% of Georgia Tech’s student population is Black, and at the University of Georgia, it’s even worse at 6%.

“Cutting back DEI programs that help recruit and retain students and faculty will only make the disparity worse,” said Merritt.

Many opponents of the bill said the proposed legislation was too vague. They wondered if a cultural sorority or fraternity, or a cultural student organization, would count as DEI.

Harbin said it was simply an effort to combat group-think and an ironic narrowing of diversity.

“Defunding these programs does not mean that we do not support diversity, it means we support true diversity of thought where students and faculties are engaged in open dialect without fear of reprisal,” he said. “It means that every student in Georgia has a fair shot based on their abilities, not on arbitrary quotas and identity politics.”

“If you want to make things actually equal, then you need to be able to make sure that everyone is on the same playing field,” said state Rep. Ruwa Romman, D-Duluth. “And the reality is that a lot of these programs are leveling the playing field, but it seems to be making a lot of people in these hallowed halls very uncomfortable.”

House Bill 112 by State Rep. Lauren McDonald, III (R-Cumming) passed the House and would refund up to $500 to Georgia taxpayers, according to 11Alive via 13WMAZ.

The Georgia House on Thursday passed the newest round of proposed state surplus tax refund payments.
The $1 billion in refund payments to Georgia taxpayers — always structured the same way: $250 to a single tax filer, $375 to the head of a household, $500 to married couples filing jointly — were passed on Crossover Day, the last day possible to send the legislation to the state Senate.

The bill to authorize the latest round of payments, HB 112, passed in a 175-0 vote. The bill is all but certain to pass in the Georgia Senate.

Kemp had announced back in October his intention to propose this round of the payments.

Several rounds of similar payments have been issued during Gov. Brian Kemp’s tenure.

“We’re also proud of our partners in the State House for unanimously supporting this year’s special income tax refund, helping hardworking families fight through sky-high prices,” Gov. Kemp wrote on X. “Looking forward to its final passage in the State Senate!”

The payments come out of Georgia’s budget surplus, which was last reported at more than $11 billion by the Associated Press. Drawing from that surplus, he submitted an amended fiscal year 2025 budget at the start of the new legislative session with an increase in $4.4 billion spending, which he signed on Thursday at the state Capitol.

According to the AP, the additional spending comes to about $3.1 billion from Georgia’s roughly $16 billion in cash reserves (the $11 billion surplus along with a $5.5 billion rainy day fund.)

From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Athens Banner Herald:

House Bill 112, which cleared the chamber 175-0, would provide $1 billion in one-time income tax rebates to Georgia taxpayers.

House Bill 111, on the other hand, drew substantial opposition from Democrats before passing 110-60. The legislation calls for reducing Georgia’s income tax rate from 5.39% to 5.19% retroactive to the beginning of the current tax year.

Rep. Saira Draper, D-Atlanta, said she supported a similar tax cut the General Assembly passed last year because it was tied to certain financial benchmarks that would only allow it to take effect if the state’s finances were strong.

“I was good with that approach because it was thoughtful and conservative,” she said.

Draper said she opposed HB111 because Gov. Brian Kemp and legislative Republicans are going ahead with additional tax cuts even though the state’s revenue estimate for this year is lower than last year.

Other House Democrats complained the tax cut would benefit primarily the wealthy while the state is failing to support essential services including health care and education adequately.

But House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire, said reducing taxes would help all Georgia taxpayers. Under the bill, a family of four wouldn’t pay any taxes on its first $32,000 of income, he said.

“This measure allows Georgians to keep more of their money – not the government’s – and reduces the tax burden for every family that pays taxes,” Blackmon said.

Both bills now head to the state Senate.

Senate Bill 254 by State Sen. Bill Cowsert passed the Senate and would ban drinks containing THC, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Athens Banner Herald.

The Georgia Senate adopted a measure Thursday that would ban drinks containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Senate Bill 254, which passed 42-14, originally intended to limit the amount of Delta-9 (a form of THC) per serving in gummies, tinctures and drinks. But an amendment on the Senate floor would ban all drinks with THC.

Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, sponsored the bill out of concern about the impairing effect of THC on driving and other activities.

“We are putting loaded guns in people’s hands in the form of a can or a gummy,” he said, “and we need to protect them.”

His bill originally limited the amount of Delta-9 to 10 milligrams per consumable, which, he noted, was roughly equivalent to four servings of alcohol.

SB 254 also limited the amount of Delta-9 in tincture and drinks, until Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, upped the ante with his amendment, saying Georgia was on a “bullet train” with marijuana consumption.

Robertson, the Senate majority whip, introduced his amendment to ban all beverages containing THC.

The amendment barely passed, 29-27, with several Republicans voting against it. The Senate chamber filled with chatter at the unexpected new trajectory for the bill. A maneuver to reconsider the motion failed, and then the Senate passed the amended bill with a large bipartisan majority.

Afterward, Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones, II, D-Augusta, said he was stunned by what had just occurred and by the impact on companies that make beverages containing THC should SB 254 become law.

“It basically destroys a whole industry,” Jones said.

The legislation now moves to the Georgia House of Representatives.

I respectfully disagree. When the late Mrs. GaPundit was dying of ALS, she had a feeding tube and her medical low-THC oil card. All medication and nutrition went through the tube. A pourable form would have made it easier to give her the meds prescribed by her physicians and authorized under state law.

Senate Bill 61 by State Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-Forsyth County) passed the Senate and would enhance the penalties available against teens convicted of threatening their schools, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Augusta Chronicle.

Legislation that would enhance criminal penalties for students who threaten their school passed the Georgia Senate Thursday.

Senate Bill 61 was pushed by Republicans and passed 33-22 in a party-line vote.

It would allow children aged 13 to 17 to be tried as adults for terroristic threatening. They could also land in superior court for attempting to commit, or for conspiracy to commit, terroristic threatening.

The legislation also would allow prosecutors to move other serious crimes into superior court, including aggravated assault with a gun or armed robbery.

SB 61 is among several measures GOP senators have offered in reaction to the mass shooting last fall at Apalachee High School in Barrow County.

The chief sponsor, Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, called it a school safety bill.

But Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, said he saw it as criminalizing kids.

At a committee hearing last week, critics said children’s brains are not fully developed and they sometimes do “dumb things.” If one of those things is phoning a threat to their school, it could land them in superior court, with a lifelong criminal record, they said.

Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, told reporters that SB 61 was necessary to confront “heinous” crimes like the mass shooting at Apalachee High. He noted that the legislation gives prosecutors discretion about whether to try children as adults.

“We just have to give the district attorneys the tools in order to protect the citizens of Georgia,” Gooch said.

The bill now moves to the Georgia House of Representatives.

Senate Bill 244 by State Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) passed the Senate and might allow the Fulton County Trump defendants to sue District Attorney Fani Willis, according to the Associated Press.

The bill passed unanimously by state legislators Thursday would enable compensation from counties for attorneys’ fees and other legal costs in criminal cases in which a prosecutor has been disqualified.

Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted in Fulton County in August 2023. The accusations included asking Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to find enough votes for Trump to win the battleground state, harassing an election worker and attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of electoral college electors.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from the election interference case by a state appeals court based on a romantic relationship she had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom Willis hired to lead the case.

Georgia Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II, an Augusta Democrat, posed a different hypothetical.

“If you have that young person, possession of marijuana, whatever it may be, and the prosecutor has done something wrong and that case is dismissed because the prosecutor did something wrong, they’re entitled to have their attorney’s fees back,” Jones said. “That’s actually something that we probably would have pushed many years ago.”

Another bill passed the Senate Thursday that would give subpoena powers to State and House committees.

Both bills come a year after the state Senate passed a bill creating a special committee to investigate “various forms of misconduct” by Willis, including her relationship with Wade. The committee tried to subpoena Willis for a hearing last year but she did not appear. A judge later ruled the committee was allowed to subpoena her.

Speaking of subpoenas, State Senator Colton Moore (R-Extreme NW GA) issued subpoenas to State House leadership, according to the AJC.

A northwest Georgia senator said he has subpoenaed the House speaker and other top Republicans in the chamber as he seeks criminal charges against a staffer who pushed him to the ground in a January scuffle at the state Capitol.

The legal move from state Sen. Colton Moore continues a yearslong conflict with members of his own party in the House. Moore was banished from the House last year after disparaging deceased former House Speaker David Ralston, and the feud culminated in a physical altercation in January as he sought to enter the chamber.

Moore is seeking criminal charges against Keith Williams, general counsel for current House Speaker Jon Burns, after Williams pushed Moore to the ground to stop him from entering the House chamber to hear Gov. Brian Kemp deliver his State of the State address.

In his warrant application filed Jan. 27 — 10 days after the incident, Moore requested that charges be brought against Williams. Moore wrote that “Keith Williams grabbed and tackled me and threw me to the floor injuring my hand causing purple swelling and causing bleeding. Video is available upon request.”

In addition to Burns, Moore has subpoenaed House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration and Burns’ chief of staff Terry England for an initial hearing at Fulton County Magistrate Court on Friday. England is in a rehabilitation facility recovering from a back injury he incurred in February during a heavy machinery incident and subsequent surgery. England was served while receiving care in the intensive care unit, Moore said.

Moore was arrested in January after the scuffle and charged with “willful obstruction of law enforcement officers,” a misdemeanor.

While most House members fumed at Moore’s altercation, Senate Republicans have both supported and joked about the matter. The day after the incident, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones said the scuffle was “an embarrassment for the Legislature as a whole.”

“Moore showed a lot of restraint … in his efforts to really do what he felt like was his obligation as an elected official,” said Jones, who presides over the Senate.

Earlier Thursday, Moore presented his first bill in five legislative sessions. Senate Bill 163 would allow anyone to sue a municipality for up to $50,000 if they are penalized for leaving weapons in an unlocked vehicle.

Though typically reserved for first-term lawmakers, senators roasted Moore as he presented his bill since it was the first time a piece of his legislation made it to the floor for a vote.

“For this bill to become law, it has to physically go from this chamber into the House chamber. Is that correct?” said state Sen. Brian Strickland, a Republican from McDonough.

“That’s correct. I’ve made the same constitutional argument that I’ve got a right to do that,” Moore said. “They burned the constitution down over there a couple weeks ago and hopefully they’ve learned their lesson and we don’t have those problems anymore.”

House Bill 238 by State Rep. Eddie Lumsden (R-Armuchee) passed the House and would create an Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia training course for first responders, according to WALB.

The Alzheimer’s Association announced March 6 that House Bill 238 has passed unanimously in the Georgia State House of Representatives.

The bill, championed by the Alzheimer’s Association’s Georgia Chapter, would require the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council to create an Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD) training course for first responders, according to a press release.

This would include police, sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics responding to 911 calls involving people with ADRD.

The course would be optional for local agencies to implement, but would require that the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council write the course.

“Ultimately this not only ensures the safety and well-being of individuals living with dementia in the community but the confidence of our first responders to handle these critical situations,” said Alzheimer’s Association Director of Government Affairs, Nancy Pitra.

The bill will now head to the State Senate for a vote. This is just one of the bills voted on by the Georgia General Assembly during Crossover Day.

I think this is a great idea. A family member who had dementia often ended up coming to the attention of the local police, who responded very well to the issues. But some of those events includes the person with Alzheimer’s threatening other family members. Fear of how first responders might deal with a family member with Alzheimer’s could prevent them from calling 911 when needed.

Two African-American voters joined a lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice over voting in Georgia, according to the Macon Telegraph.

The DOJ filed the lawsuit against Houston County and its commissioners, Dan Perdue, Shane Gottwals, Gail Robinson, Tal Talton and Mark Byrd on Jan. 16. The two voters were added to the lawsuit Tuesday, court records show. The suit argues the county’s current election method “dilutes the voting strength of Black citizens,” which violates the Voting Rights Act, court records show.

On Jan. 25, Courtney Driver and Mike Jones, Black voters living in the county, requested to be included in the court proceedings, which federal Judge Marc Treadwell agreed to on Tuesday.

“The Court finds that Driver and Jones seek to offer evidence that could shed a different light on issues before this Court,” Treadwell ruled Tuesday.

Once the two were formally brought into the action, they sued the Houston County Board of Elections and its chair, Pamela Morgan.

The two new plaintiffs have offered more remedies to fix Houston County’s alleged issues. They also said in their complaint that a “history of discrimination that extends beyond Houston County,” court records show.

The DOJ filed a lawsuit against Houston County’s election board because, despite a growth in the Black population, “Black-preferred candidates (that) have run for the Board of Commissioners … have routinely lost,” the agency said in its lawsuit.

Houston County has geographically and socially distinct Black and white communities, with the Black community being concentrated in north and east Warner Robins, the DOJ says in its lawsuit. Churches and other community organizations reflect racial separation, the agency said.

Baldwin County Commissioners voted to seek a state review of the county tax assessors, according to 13WMAZ.

Baldwin County commissioners are asking the Georgia Department of Revenue to review the operations of the county’s tax assessors’ office, following concerns from property owners about rising property taxes.

The move comes after months of discussions. In November, the county commission discussed requesting a review but did not approve it. However, following continued concerns from residents, commissioners revisited the issue on Tuesday and voted in favor of requesting the state to conduct a performance review of the tax assessors.

“People are concerned their taxes are too high,” said Andrew Strickland, chairman of the Baldwin County Commission. “There is no harm in asking for a performance review.”

Strickland said the county board does not believe the tax assessors are doing anything wrong, but they feel that a third-party review could help address growing concerns about the fairness and accuracy of the tax assessments.

Strickland said the decision to request the audit is about transparency. He noted that some residents, particularly those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, have expressed fears that rising taxes could force them out of their homes.

“We had a reevaluation done, and now some people have reached out to me, particularly those who are disadvantaged, telling me they’re going to be taxed out of their homes,” Strickland said. “The minimum this board can do is give them some solace that the way their taxes are calculated is fair.”

Pam Peacock, a Baldwin County resident living on Lake Sinclair, says she is concerned about the rising property taxes.

“They went up drastically this past year, like 35% just on my property,” she said. “I’ve had no upgrades to my property, no additional buildings.”

Whitfield County Commissioners voted unanimously to name Shannon Whitfield as Deputy County Administrator, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.

The members of the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 Wednesday to name Shannon Whitfield, who headed the Walker County government for the past eight years, as deputy county administrator. Robert Sivick is the county administrator.

Board of Commissioners Chairman Jevin Jensen typically votes only when there is a tie.

“But I do vote on the budget, taxes and naming a county administrator or, in this case, deputy administrator,” he said.

The Georgia State Bar recommended a public reprimand for former Hall County Solicitor General Stephanie Woodard, according to AccessWDUN.

Woodard stepped down in August of last year amid an indictment of 24 felony counts of theft by taking and giving false statements.

On Aug. 31, Woodard accepted a plea deal that dropped the 24 charges and she pleaded guilty to one count of unprofessional conduct, a misdemeanor.

Woodard’s attorney, Dennis Cathey, submitted a petition for voluntary discipline on Jan. 29.

In it, Cathey makes the argument that Woodard should be punished for the actual offense of unprofessional conduct and not for the “incendiary news stories” or the “overcharged 24-count felony indictment.”

Cathey attributed the vagueness of the Local Victim Assistance Program (LVAP), the COVID-19 pandemic, the intense workload, and Woodard’s own “physical and emotional challenges” for the mistakes she reportedly made in office.

Cathey did go on to say in the petition that Woodard is not without fault, though.

“This is not to say that Ms. Woodard is blameless, and the above is not proffered as an excuse for conduct that involved moral turpitude,” the petition reads.

Cathey ultimately requested a public reprimand so that Woodard can retain her license to practice.

In a response on Feb. 21, the State Bar said that the false statements portion of Woodard’s indictment was likely due to negligence.

“Because the evidence…showed that Respondent’s false statements regarding reimbursements were more likely caused by negligence rather than knowing deceit, ABA Standard 4.6 would tend to support a reprimand rather than a suspension for the ‘false statements’ component of this case,” the response reads.

The State Bar did consider an argument for disbarment.

“It would be absurd to suggest that misrepresentation, misrepresentation, or theft by the very person who had the job of prosecuting (and even jailing) others who did the same as she did not ‘adversely reflect on [Respondent’s] fitness to practice law.’ Thus, ABA Standard 5.11 suggests that disbarment might be appropriate in this case,” the response reads.

Ultimately, however, the State Bar did recommend a public reprimand as opposed to disbarment or suspension.

The Georgia Supreme Court will make the ultimate ruling in the case, with no timetable for a decision as of yet.