Over the first few weeks of the session, the pro-gambling forces in the Legislature seemed relatively quiet. Too quiet.
Not anymore. State Sen. Burt Jones, one of the more influential Republican senators, introduced legislation on Thursday to legalize online sports betting. Atlanta's sports franchises are rallying behind it.
And next week could bring another key moment in the perennial battle over casinos: A Feb. 27 debate hosted by Atlanta Young Republicans between two staunch supporters and two outspoken opponents of legalized gambling.
In one corner, state Sen. Brandon Beach and former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour will advocate for an expansion of gambling. State Sen. Bruce Thompson and Cole Muzio of the Family Policy Alliance represent those opposing the idea.
With plenty of time left in the legislative session - and powerful figures aligned in support of letting voters decide whether to expand gambling - there's a chance this issue picks up steam over the next few weeks.
***
The big U.S. Senate news of the day, in case you've been on a smartphone sabbatical:
Another major headline in the ongoing Senate saga: Loeffler jet a Georgia campaign trail asset, but also fuel for critics
***
It was a surreal scene: Gov. Brian Kemp was feted early Thursday at a meeting sponsored by the Georgia Association of Educators, the same group that backed Stacey Abrams in the 2018 campaign and Jason Carter before that.
Kemp urged the organization’s members to rally behind his call for a $2,000 pay hike for teachers, even as House leaders favor using those funds to further cut the state’s income tax and negate other proposed funding cuts.
“I’m all for cutting taxes. My priorities this session are in my budget. If they want to work on a tax cut, I stand ready to do that,” the governor said of House Speaker David Ralston and others who tap the brakes on his pay hike plan.
“I think it’s kind of hard to work on tax policy during the session, but I do think there are things we could potentially look at. Everybody’s got their priorities, and they’ll be fighting for them. I’m fighting for mine.”
He had sharper words for Democrats who have criticized Kemp for trying to secure the salary increase while also proposing cuts of roughly $500 million to the state budget this fiscal year and next.
“Democrats used to give us a hard time about not raising teacher pay. Now they’re not even talking about that and complaining about other things. They need to work on being consistent and supporting our educators.”
Some Democrats suggest Kemp look no further than the state’s rainy day fund to float the budget, an idea that both Kemp and his predecessor, Nathan Deal, said could risk Georgia’s sterling bond rating.
“We restored some of the proposed budget cuts —but why cut services at all?” said state Rep. Bee Nguyen, D-Decatur. “We have a healthy economy and nearly $3 billion in the Georgia Revenue Shortfall Reserve.”
***
As for Gov. Brian Kemp's relationship with House Speaker David Ralston? The governor was asked to put the feud between the two in context:
“I don’t think it’s all that bad. I think people are making more to do about it than they need to. I talked to the speaker twice the other day about different issues that had nothing to do with the budget or any other fight. I’m not going to get too bogged down in that.”
A few hours later, several of the speaker's most visible House critics stood with a victim of one of Ralston's legal clients to unveil legislation that would further limit the ability of attorney-lawmakers to postpone certain criminal cases.
Asked for comment on the legislation, Kemp's office sent a message that soon ricocheted around the Capitol. "Omg" texted one veteran GOP hand. "Whoah" sent another. The statement:
“Governor Kemp had the opportunity to meet with Hailie earlier today and thanked her for her bravery. The Kemp family believes that all victims deserve justice, and Hailie’s story is tremendously powerful.”
***
U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler's campaign released a list of endorsements on Thursday that included Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, Attorney General Chris Carr, Insurance Commissioner John King and about a dozen state lawmakers.
It also served as a reminder of the 130 or so other Republican legislators who have not taken sides yet in the race between Loeffler and U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, as well as several statewide officials still sitting the race out.
Among them: U.S. Sen. David Perdue, Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, Schools superintendent Richard Woods and members of the Public Service Commission.
***
Six people from the Democratic Party of Georgia have arrived in Nevada to assist with the state's caucuses on Saturday.
Their goal: to help ensure what happened in Iowa doesn’t happen again.
The Iowa caucuses were plagued by failing technology, overwhelming local Democratic officials were overwhelmed. The Georgia folks will be trained in Las Vegas and assigned to various precincts.
By the way, results from the Iowa caucuses are still in dispute. Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg have asked for recounts of various precincts.
***
U.S. Rep. John Lewis's 80th birthday is today, and longtime friends have been dreaming up ways to pay tribute to the civil rights leader who is now dealing with a serious cancer diagnosis.
The AJC's Ernie Suggs has more:
“For all that he has achieved, his friends are using the occasion of his birthday to celebrate what they say has been a constant throughout his life — his courage.
“John has always had incredible determination, even when the odds were against him and there was no reason to expect a successful outcome,” said Bernard Lafayette, one of his oldest friends. “He never gave up the possibility of succeeding.”
Lewis turns 80 on Friday.
It’s an age that many of his civil rights contemporaries — Martin Luther King Jr., Jimmy Lee Jackson and Medgar Evers — never reached. At times, like when he was being beaten by Alabama state troopers on Edmund Pettus Bridge during a march for civil rights in 1965, he wondered if he would.
***
Our condolences to state Rep. Lynn Smith, R-Newnan, whose husband Charlie died early Friday after suffering an apparent brain hemorrhage.
