Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for March 9, 2021

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

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 white were required.

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

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Glynn County voters continue early voting ahead of the March 16, 2021 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) referendum, according to The Brunswick News.

A total of 2,739 people had cast a ballot at the end of week two of early voting in the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax 2021 referendum.

On the ballot are the SPLOST 2021 referendum and another referendum to declare a SPLOST IV and V project, the Oglethorpe Conference Center, infeasible.

Of the total, 105 cast their ballot by mail, 503 at the Ballard Community Building, 30 Nimitz Drive; 423 in the Office Building, 1815 Gloucester St. in Brunswick; and 1,708 in Glynn County Fire Station No. 2, 1929 Demere Road on St. Simons Island.

Under the Gold Dome Today – Legislative Day 29

8:00 AM Senate Appropriations- Human Development subcommittee – 450 CAP
8:00 AM HOUSE MOTOR VEHICLES – 606 CLOB
8:00 AM HOUSE Governmental Affairs General Government Subcommittee – 406 CLOB
10:00 AM Senate Rules – 450 CAP
11:00 AM HOUSE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT – 506 CLOB
1:00 PM Senate Floor Session – Senate Chamber
1:00 PM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD29) – House Chamber
1:00 PM Senate Insurance and Labor- canceled – Mezz 1
1:00 PM Senate Higher Education- canceled – 450 CAP
2:00 PM HOUSE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES – 606 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS – 406 CLOB
2:15 PM Senate Public Safety – Mezz 1
2:15 PM Senate Health and Human Services – 450 CAP
3:00 PM HOUSE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS CANCELLED – 403 CAP
3:00 PM HOUSE Insurance Life and Health Subcommittee – 506 CLOB
3:30 PM Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities – 450 CAP
4:30 PM Senate Appropriations- Judicial subcommittee – Mezz 1
4:45 PM Senate Transportation – 450 CAP

Governor Brian Kemp announced that Georgia has vaccinated more than 900,000 seniors, according to a press release.

The Georgia Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 vaccine dashboard reported Sunday afternoon that over 900,000 Georgia seniors had received at least one vaccine dose and 81% of all state-controlled doses had been administered. According to American Community Survey population estimates, with a total of 1.4 million people over the age of 65, Georgia has vaccinated 64% of its senior population. The national average of seniors receiving at least one dose, according to CDC and American Community Survey data, is 58%.

“Georgia continues to beat the national average when it comes to vaccinating our most vulnerable citizens,” said Governor Kemp. “Due to those over the age of 65 accounting for 77% of Georgia deaths due to COVID-19, our vaccination distribution plan prioritized them early – before the CDC recommended doing so – in order to save more lives with the limited doses the state received from the federal government.”

“Starting tomorrow, given the expanded supply of vaccines and the significant progress we have made in protecting our most vulnerable, more high-risk Georgians will be eligible to receive the vaccines. Please go to myvaccinegeorgia.com to register for an appointment with one of our four state-operated mass vaccination sites, connect with your local public health department, or view appointments offered by over 2,000 private healthcare providers at dph.georgia.gov.”

Governor Kemp accused Atlanta Public Schools for politicizing educator vaccinations, according to the AJC.

Gov. Brian Kemp praised Gwinnett County Public Schools for getting hundreds of employees vaccinated Monday, the first day they were eligible, after a tour of the county’s mass vaccination site near Duluth.

Kemp said APS played politics when the school board in early February called on the state to prioritize vaccines for teachers. Now that teachers are eligible for vaccines, APS isn’t holding an event until later this month.

“Atlanta Public Schools board sent me a letter demanding that teachers needed to be vaccinated when they knew dang well I couldn’t do that. We didn’t have the supply to do that,” he said. “It was pandemic politics at its best, and now they’re going to wait two or three weeks. I believe that they’re doing a disservice to their teachers.”

The discovery of more contagious variants of the coronavirus adds urgency to the vaccination efforts. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution learned Friday that the state confirmed its first case of the coronavirus variant that first emerged in South Africa. By Monday, the total number rose to three.

From the Gwinnett Daily Post:

Monday was the first day that all teachers in Georgia were eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine as the state expanded the pool of people who can get vaccinated.

As the first 600 Gwinnett County Public Schools teachers and staff who had appointments to get vaccinated on Monday showed up to get their doses at the former Sears location at Gwinnett Place Mall, Gov. Brian Kemp stopped by to see how the mass vaccination site has been working.

The site — which has the ability to vaccinate up to 3,000 people a day once enough vaccine doses are available — is currently administering more than 1,800 doses a day.

“We’re so excited to be vaccinating teachers today, 600 of them just at this site, so this is a great day for our state in the fight against this invisible virus,” Kemp said.

“We had a great walk-though inside,” Kemp said. “It’s very impressive what this team is doing. There are school nurses working in conjunction with the regular folks who have been here the last several weeks to help the expanding criteria to help get our teachers vaccinated as well as those other eligible Georgians.”

“(There’s a) very impressive process that they have here, much like what I saw earlier this morning in Habersham County at our mass vaccination site up there.”

From Now Habersham:

Governor Brian Kemp looked on this morning and applauded as healthcare workers administered their ten-thousandth shot at the state’s mass vaccination site in Clarkesville. Kemp was in town to tour the facility at the Habersham County Fairgrounds. It was his first visit to the site since it opened on February 22.

“This facility just gave its ten-thousandth dose a second ago which is very exciting, especially in a part of rural Georgia like Habersham County,” Kemp said during a press conference after the tour. “This site’s moving the needle just like they are in downtown Atlanta.”

Senate Bill 241 by State Senator Mike Dugan (R-Carrollton) passed the Senate and will eliminate no-excuse absentee voting for most Georgians, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The bill, which was approved by a vote of 29-20, includes many broad-stroke changes to absentee voting. Of these, the most restrictive would be the age requirement. Currently, anyone can request an absentee ballot, but the bill would make it so only those over the age of 65 are eligible.

Beyond that, absentee voting would only be available for those with a physical disability, those required to be outside their voting precinct during the three weeks of in-person voting, those who have religious holidays on election days, military and overseas voters, and those who work or volunteer at an elections office.

Georgia’s no-excuse absentee voting laws were put on the books 16 years ago by the same party that now aims to take it away, following former President Donald Trump’s surprising loss in the state during the 2020 general election.

Brian Strickland (R-McDonough), John Albers (R-Roswell), Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome), and Kay Kirkpatrick (R-Marietta) were the only Republicans who did not co-sponsor the bill, excusing themselves from the vote.

Monday marked the 28th day of the 2021 Georgia Legislative Session, known as “Crossover Day.” It’s called this because it’s the last day for bills to pass, or “crossover” from the House to the Senate with a viable path toward becoming law.

The House passed a separate 66-page omnibus, HB 531, that would raise different hurdles for absentee voting by requiring more identification, shortening the time between a general election and a runoff, placing more restrictions on absentee ballot drop boxes and restricting hours for weekend voting.

From the Valdosta Daily Times:

It was Republicans who voted to institute no-excuse absentee balloting in 2005, but now GOP lawmakers voted to repeal the same thing — sparking outrage from Democrats and voting rights advocates.

The measure passed the Senate, with a one-vote majority, and limits absentee voting to Georgians who are 65 years or older, have a physical disability or are out of town to be eligible to vote by mail.

Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan — Georgia’s second highest Republican official — was not in the room during debate on the bill. Duncan’s office said the state official refused to participate in the proceedings because he opposes the legislation that restricts absentee voting.

“The lieutenant governor has been crystal clear that he does not support the roll-back of absentee voting,” Macy McFall, Duncan’s director of communications told CNHI. “…Because the provision rolling back no-excuse absentee voting is still in the bill, and because he does not have a vote, he felt this was the best way to show his opposition.”

Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan of Carrollton, the sponsor of the legislation, argued that when no-excuse absentee ballot voting was adopted by Republicans years back when it was only utilized by a small number of voters.

“That has changed. The increase of burden on local elections offices and increase cost on each of our counties has risen significantly,” he said. “…This is not preventing anyone from voting by mail-in, absentee, all it is doing is creating some of the groundwork to help relieve some of the stresses we see in the future as we continue to grow.”

“This is not about the process,” Jonesboro Democrat Gail Davenport, said. “This is about suppressing a certain group of people — who look like me. And I take it personally.”

Dawson Democrat Freddie Sims said that rural voters, too, would be left behind if the omnibus bill passes — both Democrats and Republicans alike who live in isolated areas and where shrinking populations would lead to poll closures.

“Taking away absentee voting for rural Georgias mean longer drives to the polling places — many of those citizens rural citizens lack transportation to get anywhere,” she said. “…Please remember, rural voters helped to elect our present governor and many Republican legislators in this Capitol. And now the same voters worry about how they’re going to access the voting booth.”

From the AJC:

The Senate measure to roll back no-excuse absentee voting is one of the most restrictive election measures in the nation, and it drew protests inside and outside the Capitol and fiery broadsides from Democrats and civil rights advocates.

After roughly three hours of emotional debate, the measure passed by the slimmest of margins — it earned just 29 votes, the exact number needed for passage, all from Republicans. Four GOP senators excused themselves and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan refused to preside over the vote, so disgusted by the measure.

“This bill smells like voter suppression,” said state Sen. Lester Jackson, D-Savannah. “This smells like Jim Crow laws — and it stinks like the smell of a deer carcass on I-16.”

“This is not preventing anyone from voting,” Dugan said. “All this is doing is laying the groundwork to release some of the stresses we’ll see in the future as we continue to grow.”

House Bill 479 by State Rep. Bert Reeves (R-Marietta) passed the State House and repeals the existing citizens’ arrest statute, according to 13WMAZ.

House members voted 173-0 Monday for the bill, which would generally bar bystanders and witnesses from making arrests. It now goes to the Senate.

Last month, Gov. Brian Kemp announced proposed legislation to overhaul Georgia’s citizen’s arrest statues. While it would eliminate any potential legal loopholes that could be used to justify vigilantism, Kemp said the bill does not infringe on the “sacred protection” for Georgians to defend themselves or others.

In a statement Monday, he praised the House’s vote.

“With broad, bipartisan support, our overhaul of the citizen’s arrest statute strikes a critical balance between protecting the lives and livelihoods of our families, our friends, and our neighbors, and preventing rogue vigilantism from threatening the security and God-given potential of all Georgians,” he said.

From the Valdosta Daily Times:

The measure would repeal the old law completely but still offers a number of protections for Georgians defending themselves or their property.

It clarifies when business owners, security officers, private investigators, weight inspectors and off-duty law-enforcement officers outside of their jurisdiction can “reasonably” detain an individual when they have knowledge that a crime was committed.

Rep. Al Williams, D-Midway, said when he first stepped foot under the Gold Dome, it would be “impossible” for a bill like the repeal of the citizen’s arrest to get to the floor.

“As sad as it is, how it looks like there is no light, out of his death comes this day,” Williams said. “We have the opportunity to say to America: this is not the Georgia of old.”

From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Rome News Tribune:

“Ahmaud’s death was not in vain because we’re going to bring change,” Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, the bill’s chief sponsor, said on the House floor before Monday’s vote. “Every single one of us has an opportunity to take part in Ahmaud’s legacy.”

Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus, the House’s longest serving member, said the citizen’s arrest legislation is the natural next step to the hate crimes law.

“Last year, Georgia removed a dark cloud from over the state,” he said. “Now, is the time for us to remove that cloud again.”

Reeves’ bill would do away with a state law in effect since 1863 that lets private citizens arrest someone who commits a crime in their presence or during an escape attempt. It still would permit off-duty police officers and business owners to detain suspects they believe to have committed a crime on their property.

The legislation would not affect Georgia’s self-defense and stand-your-ground laws, which require different legal standards for allowing people to use reasonable force to protect themselves.

Georgia State Senators voted against Senate Bill 252, which would have provided pay raises for many elected officials, according to the Associated Press via AccessWDUN.

The Senate voted 33-20 to reject Senate Bill 252, with Republicans saying lawmakers didn’t need a raise.

“I do think that our salaries are too low, but I do think that moving us to a salary that is in line with full-time Georgians is not reflective of the work that we do in three months at the Capitol,” said Sen. Greg Dolezal, a Republican from Cumming.

The House could have taken up a similar measure, House Bill 675, but did not, even though Republican House Speaker David Ralston had voiced support for pay raises last week.

Base pay for the 180 House members and 56 senators would have risen from $16,200 a year to $29,908.

The Georgia Senate passed two bills to revoke the pay for elected officials who are indicted, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Legislation to clamp down on paying suspended state officials comes after it was recently revealed former state Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck has continued receiving his salary for nearly two years since being suspended following his indictment on felony fraud charges.

The two measures sponsored by state Sen. Larry Walker III, R-Perry, would prevent suspended officials awaiting trial on felony abuse-of-office charges like Beck from receiving pay.

[Senate Resolution 134] would put to voters whether to bar pay for statewide officials like Georgia’s governor, secretary of state and insurance commissioner. [Senate Bill 218] would apply the same ban on pay for county and city elected officials.

“As elected officials we have a duty to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money,” Walker said. “In the business world, we would not pay two employees to do one job, and you wouldn’t pay someone convicted of a felony to do a job.”

Walker’s two measures passed in the Senate with only one opposing vote from Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens. They now head to the state House of Representatives.

State law currently allows suspended officials to keep their salaries if they have not yet been convicted on the felony indictments they face.

Beck has denied the charges and pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. His trial is scheduled to begin next month.

Senate Bill 156 by State Sen. Marty Harbin (R-Tyrone) would create a new state Chief Labor Officer to distribute unemployment checks, and passed the Senate, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Under the bill, the chief labor officer would be appointed by the governor, pending approval from a Senate committee. The law creating the new position would be repealed in January 2023.

The legislation also would require the labor chief to produce reports on the progress of fulfilling unemployment claims, as well provide Georgians with access to unemployment information.

Opponents warned installing a governor-appointed labor chief could allow partisan leaders to strip powers away from the elected commissioner of labor as well as open the door for workarounds to create other administrators to handle various elected jobs in the executive and legislative branches.

“We have ways of changing how the Department of Labor is run, and we do that every four years in November with an election,” Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, said last Friday. “I feel that this is a dangerous precedent.”

House Bill 114 by State Rep. Bert Reeves (R-Marietta) passed the State House without opposition, according to the Center Square via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

House Bill 114 increases the annual tax incentive for adopting a foster child from $2,000 to $6,000. Proponents of the bill, including Gov. Brian Kemp, hope the legislation encourages more Georgians to adopt foster children.

The bill cleared the House, 158-0, without debate.

HB 114 increases the tax credit to $6,000 for only the first five years after a child’s adoption. Parents would continue to receive a $2,000 tax credit until the child turns 18 years old. The credit cannot be more than what the taxpayer owes during the tax year. The bill also eliminates the carry-forward of new credits under current law.

Both chambers passed legislation aimed at reducing street racing, according to the AJC.

House Bill 534, endorsed by Gov. Brian Kemp, aims to crack down on the illegal races. The bill passed 130-39. The Senate also passed a similar version of the legislation, Senate Bill 10.

At a press conference at the Capitol last month, the governor said he has “watched in horror” as street racing proliferates in Atlanta. Flanked by local sheriffs, Kemp said he couldn’t stand by as “our streets, highways and parking lots have become a free-for-all speedway for criminals.”

HB 534 would allow authorities to suspend the licenses of some violators for up to a year and calls for penalties as high as $5,000. Repeat offenders could face additional prison time under the proposal. It creates crimes for promoting drag racing and reckless stunt driving.

House Bill 575 passed the Georgia House of Representatives and will allow a consolidated municipal and county government, like Macon-Bibb County, to levy a one-cent joint county and municipal sales and use tax, subject to a referendum, according to 13WMAZ.

The Georgia House of Representative passed the “other local option sales tax” (OLOST) bill Monday night within the last two hours of Crossover Day, the deadline for a bill to pass one of the legislative chambers.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Robert Dickey, passed unanimously with 162 representatives voting in favor. OLOST had to pass the House Monday night to survive this legislative session.

“I think it’s a win for Macon-Bibb County. Still has a little ways to go, got to get through the Senate next. The biggest thing I’m impressed by is seeing Democrats and Republicans work together for Macon-Bibb County to get this thing passed unanimously,” Mayor Lester Miller told 13WMAZ after the vote Monday night.

The tax is meant to help Bibb County property owners by rolling back the millage rate, but in exchange, people will have to pay an extra cent on the dollar for taxable items. Miller says around 70 percent of the county’s sales tax is paid by people who live outside of Bibb County.

With the proposed bill, Mayor Lester Miller and Rep. Dale Washburn says they’re estimating property taxes will be cut by about 7 mills in 2022.

Even if the bill passes the Georgia Senate this session and is signed by Gov. Kemp, the majority of Bibb County voters will have to vote in favor of the change.

Bulloch County will open drive-thru vaccinations for teachers, later opening to all public school employees, according to the Statesboro Herald.

The Bulloch County Schools system will offer drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinics on Friday and March 19 that will be open to all employees of the school system, including substitute teachers and temporary workers.

“While there is no requirement for school district employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, it is one more important way that we can help keep them safe, mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and help prevent possible quarantines if they are directly exposed to someone with the virus,” said Charles Wilson, superintendent of schools.

Oconee County public schools is offering vaccinations for all employees in partnership with Piedmont Healthcare, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

Piedmont Oconee Health Campus vaccinated approximately 750 teachers, bus drivers, custodians, and other staff members on Monday following the announcement that teachers in Georgia could receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Anyone who works in the school system was eligible to receive the vaccine on Monday, not just educators. This includes full-time and part-time employees, substitutes, and student teachers.

Monday was a previously scheduled teacher workday, where students would not be in classes. This allowed the hundreds of teachers and staff to step away from the classrooms to receive their shots.

“We all want to defeat the virus, we all want to make sure that we’re healthy and our staff has been in school since August, doing great work for students in our community and so this is the least we can do for them,” said Superintendent Jason Branch.