Word arrived this morning that Gov. Nathan Deal will sign the legislature's $900 million transportation bill Monday.
The signing ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. at the state Capitol's Liberty Plaza. Expect grins all around from the Chamber of Commerce crowd that helped push the bill through.
Here's a refresher course from March, via AJC colleagues Aaron Gould Sheinin and Kristina Torres, on
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Eliminating tax breaks for Delta Air Lines and other commercial air carriers.
Ending the popular $5,000 state income tax credit for the purchase of an electric vehicle and creating a new $200-per-year registration fee for drivers of electric cars. Owners of electric vehicles used for commercial purposes would pay $300 per year.
Charging a $50 to $100 fee on heavy trucks and big rigs, depending on the vehicle's weight. This provision is also new.
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Before he is expected to hit the Georgia GOP convention in Athens, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will be raising money in Atlanta on May 15.
House Speaker David Ralston is hosting Christie for a luncheon (the "eon" is when you know it'll cost you). According to an invite secured by our friends at Peach Pundit $1,000 to Christie's PAC gets you in, while $5,000 gets you in the VIP portion.
Another presidential hopeful, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, is also doing the Atlanta fundraiser-convention speech combo that day. Just watch out for that midday traffic (see above).
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Tyrone Brooks Jr. has plenty of competition in his campaign to claim his father's seat in Georgia's House.
The Atlanta entrepreneur is one of seven candidates running in the special election to succeed Tyrone Brooks Sr., whose 35-year career in the Legislature abruptly ended in April just before he pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges.
The others are Alysia Brown, a project manager; John Guest Jr., an interior designer; Marie Metze, a retired educator and community organizer; Michael Fitzgerald, a small business owner; Raghu Raju, an attorney who owns Mahamosa Gourmet Teas, Spices & Herbs; and Shelitha Robertson, an attorney who has twice run for a Fulton County judgeship.
The district leans solidly to the left, and six of the candidates are Democrats. Guest is running as a nonpartisan candidate.
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Among the pieces of legislation Gov. Nathan Deal is set to sign Friday is a measure that requires greater transparency from the state Board of Pardons and Paroles.
The governor will travel to Dawsonville this morning to sign House Bill 71, which for the first time requires the secretive board to notify a victim whenever an offender has petitioned for a pardon or parole. Prosecutors would only have to be notified for the most egregious crimes.
The board would also have to issue a statement explaining its decision when it grants pardons, another first-of-its-kind change.
Lawmakers approved the changes after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in 2014 that the board's decision-making and deliberations are done in secret and that the agency often grants offenders' freedoms without notifying victims.
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Gov. Nathan Deal has already said as much, but now its official: He signed an executive order Thursday that appointed House Majority Leader Larry O'Neal as chief judge of the Tax Tribunal.
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U.S. Rep. Jody Hice's effort to block the government from paying employees for the time when they do union work fell short in the House on Thursday night.
The Monroe Republican's amendment to a veterans spending bill, which had been backed by the conservative group Heritage Action, lost, 190-232, as 49 Republicans -- including Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton -- sided with all the chamber's Democrats.
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Lots of juicy details in this Politico story on members of Congress living the high life. The gist:
Disgraced former Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) resigned after a firestorm of criticism over his use of campaign dollars to underwrite a lavish lifestyle, among other alleged misdeeds. But the truth is, while Schock was by all accounts an extreme case, he is far from the exception. It fact, elected officials routinely tap their campaign accounts to pay for things that appear to have little to do with seeking another term in Congress, according to a POLITICO review of campaign documents.
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Civil rights activist and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta, weighed in on the Baltimore unrest with the Daily Caller's Kerry Picket:
Lewis, known for his 1960's civil rights activism, explained, "Before we went on any protest, whether it was sit-ins or the freedom rides or any march, we prepared ourselves and we were disciplined. We were committed to the way of peace—the way of non-violence—the way of love—the way of life as the way of living." ...
"It was gratifying yesterday or this morning to see the mother chasing down her son and taking the hood off his head and I would have loved to have heard the words she was using," he said. "But he was embarrassed, because his friends saw, no doubt, his mother saying, 'What are you doing? What are you doing?'"
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