As the House prepares to vote today on the $1 billion transportation bill today, Grover Norquist's Americans For Tax Reform is steaming from the attacks leveled at it from the bill's Republican supporters.
ATR state affairs manager Paul Blair
to compare the group's GOP accusers to -- gasp! -- liberals:
Soon after, we received an email, fax, and overnighted letter by one of the founders of GeorgiaLink Public Affairs Group, accusing us of violating the law. We did not release this letter. The following day, however, the Speaker of the House accused us of illegally lobbying in Georgia. It is reasonable to assume the lobbyist and Speaker had discussed this tactic.
This strategy came after both parties realized that their quest to raise the gas tax in Georgia was falling on deaf ears.
This is how the left operates. When their message and policy proposals fail, they employ scare tactics to bully opponents of their big government agenda.
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It's not as if Grover Norquist isn't having his intended effect. From our AJC colleague Aaron Gould Sheinin:
Several individuals with direct knowledge of the situation, but who were not authorized to speak on the record, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that House Bill 170 will be sent back to the Rules Committee after the House convenes at 10 a.m. Rules will reconvene and hear three new amendments.
Among the amendments:
Lower the excise tax charged on diesel fuel. The current would levy a 33 cents per gallon excise tax on diesel. It was not immediately clear how low the amendment would set the tax.
Another: State Rep. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, will introduce language to allow voters in individual counties to veto any state effort to expand passenger rail. That will be a controversial one.
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Georgia Democrats who want to require the Department of Transportation to send more of its work to companies owned by women or minorities seem at ease with the agency's promise to investigate the issue.
State Rep. Keisha Waites, D-Atlanta, who pushed to codify that promise said on GPB's "Lawmakers" that she was satisfied by a letter from DOT Commissioner Russell McMurry vowing to conduct a “disparity” study to investigate the issue.
"This is a big deal, a huge step," she said.
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The first religious liberty bill of the session – S.B. 129, authored by Josh McKoon, R-Columbus, hits the Senate floor today. Passage is nearly guaranteed, but many are still rushing to get in a last word on the topic:
-- Chris Clark and Hala Moddelmog, leaders of the Georgia Chamber and Metro Atlanta Chamber, respectively, gave a shout-out to Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, for his attempts to ease their concerns that the bill would be used to discriminate against gays and lesbians. They're statement:
"We will continue to work constructively with stakeholders to address lingering concerns over the potential implications of this legislation as it works its way through the process."
-- The New York Times takes a look at Michael Bowers, the former attorney general who has become Georgia Equality's counsel – in opposition to the measure:
"I know I've changed," said Mr. Bowers, a silver-haired West Point graduate with a truck driver son's drawl and a fondness for salty language, adding that he was not sure why or how. "But I know I'm different. I'm not as mean as I used to be. I know that."
The kicker in the article:
At the end of an interview last week, Mr. Bowers expressed regret for the pain he had caused. He flipped open a Bible and pointed to what he says is a guiding principle: Jesus's commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.
-- Meanwhile, the Georgia Voice, a newspaper and website aimed at Atlanta's gay and lesbian community, does a deep-dive into Bowers' reboot on gay rights. The reporter reached out to Robin Shahar, who in the 1990s was offered a job with the attorney general's office. It was rescinded when Bowers learned she was about to marry her lesbian partner. From the article:
She says Georgia Equality contacted her in advance of the announcement to give her a heads-up about their plans to hire Bowers.
"I respond from two different perspectives. From my perspective as an LGBT rights advocate and a human rights advocate in general, I thought the information was exciting. It's amazing when people who have been across from each other in the courtroom, Mr. Bowers and gay rights advocates, years down the road are able to stand side by side. That felt powerful and exciting to me," she says.
"From a personal perspective, my lawsuit with Mr. Bowers was an emotional experience and the outcome was devastating. So from a personal perspective I need to spend time processing those difficult feelings."
-- Also, a letter signed by more than 200 clergy – of all stripes – who oppose the religious liberty bills appears in the AJC today, as well as the Marietta Daily Journal, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, and the Athens Banner-Herald. From the ad:
We oppose this proposed legislation. First, it would put an individual's religious beliefs ahead of the common good. Second, it could unleash a wave of costly lawsuits that will add burdens to both the courts and taxpayers alike. Third, it is unnecessary because our freedom of religion is already guaranteed and protected by the U.S. Constitution and Georgia's State Constitution.
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The House hasn't taken up H.B. 218, the religious liberty bill authored by state Rep. Sam Teasley, R-Marietta. But the general topic of religion in the workplace hit the chamber floor on Wednesday, when House Speaker David Ralston introduced James Phillips, one of his north Georgia constituents. From the Fox5 website:
Earlier this year, after a customer complaint, James' manager briefly told him he had to cut the "blessed" part out of his greeting. But a firestorm of online support turned into rallies outside the store and management quickly changed their minds. Since then, James has gotten support from all over the world.
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Don't be surprised to hear state Rep. Allen Peake start relying more on an economic argument to sell his medical marijuana proposal in the Senate.
The stricter Senate proposal, pushed by Lindsey Tippens, R-Marietta, calls for a Georgia Regents University study that could cost millions each year. His measure, Peake tells audiences, costs zip.
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Be on the lookout for former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. He's the latest presidential candidate to visit Atlanta. We're told he will be at the Georgian Club for a meeting with donors at noon today.
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U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta, will be one of three recipients of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation medal next month, the highest honor granted by the University of Virginia.
Lewis will be honored as “a civil rights activist, lifelong public servant and central player in America’s struggle for equal rights” at a luncheon April 13 in Charlottesville, Va., according to the university. Lewis will give a lecture and then have dinner at Monticello along with fellow winners, Dutch architect Herman Hertzberger and Judge Joan E. Donoghue of the International Court of Justice. Lewis also will speak that morning at a ceremony honoring Jefferson’s birthday.
The medals honor achievement in Jefferson’s favorite fields: law, architecture and citizen leadership. Among the past winners is former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, a Georgia Democrat.
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The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a case that has the potential to eradicate Obamacare health insurance subsidies in all states that do not have their own exchanges -- including Georgia.
The Obama administration has predicted chaos if the Supreme Court rules against the law. Rep. Tom Price, R-Roswell, has introduced a bill designed to step into the breach by allowing states to create their own exchange alternatives.
The full text is not yet available and no co-sponsors are listed yet, but Price -- an orthopedic surgeon and chairman of the Budget Committee -- has been deeply involved in health policy and crafted his own Obamacare replacement bill that has not yet been embraced by leadership. Here's how Price summarizes his patch bill in a press release:
"That is why I have introduced the Medical Freedom Act – legislation to allow states the freedom to offer within their jurisdiction health plans, health savings accounts, and other arrangements that are currently restricted under Obamacare. This type of flexibility within the states to regulate their markets would be a strong first step toward mitigating the fallout from this disastrous law.
"When coupled with other patient-centered reforms like individual member associations, medical liability reform, and tax credits for the purchase of health coverage, we can do more than just respond to this court ruling; we can put in place health care reforms that will put patients, families and doctors in charge of medical decisions, not Washington."
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It was not as high-profile as the homeland security funding fight, but a U.S. House bill to reauthorize passenger rail subsidies split establishment and more-conservative Republicans as it passed Wednseday with unanimous support from Democrats.
The only Georgia Republican to support the bill was Rep. Rob Woodall of Lawrenceville, who also is the only Georgian on the House Transportation Committee.
The Associated Press points out the win for the Northeast:
The bill, approved by a vote of 316 to 101, authorizes $7.2 billion in federal subsidies for passenger rail, including $1.7 billion a year over four years in subsidies for Amtrak. That's nearly the same as current spending levels, disappointing Amtrak supporters who had urged a significant increase to help the railroad address its deteriorating infrastructure and aging equipment.
But in a compromise between Democrats and Republicans, the bill separates Amtrak's Northeast Corridor service between Boston and Washington from its long distance routes. That would allow Amtrak to use profits from the money-making corridor for improvements that could speed up trains and enhance service on the route. Amtrak officials have long complained that they've had to use Northeast Corridor profits to subsidize 15 unprofitable long-distance routes around the country.
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The latest log to be thrown on the immigration fire, courtesy of the Washington Post:
The special travel permission, known as "advance parole," is one of the benefits that as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants could apply for under the president's executive action offering a three-year reprieve from deportation.
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