Politics is easy in an election year. Actual policy – not so much.
The state Senate on Thursday was a prime example. There was this:
The Georgia Senate unanimously approved a resolution Thursday condemning the National Football League's "hypocritical actions" a year before Atlanta hosts the Super Bowl.
The measure, proposed by Republican state Sen. David Shafer, urged Georgians to stand during the national anthem and denounced the league's decision to deny a veterans group advertising space in the official program for Sunday's Super Bowl in Minneapolis.
Shafer, who is running for lieutenant governor this year, humbly congratulated his Senate colleagues for their support with a Twitter billboard:
Democrats, on the other hand, say they were duped. And then we have this from the AJC's Maya Prabhu:
A Brunswick senator has introduced legislation that would allow adoption agencies to decline to place children with same-sex families based on their religious beliefs.
The Senate inserted similar language into House Bill 159 last legislative session, a move that killed the measure for the year.
Now, state Sen. William Ligon, R-Brunswick, is bringing the issue back with the introduction of Senate Bill 375.
The measure stands a good chance of passing the Senate, but its reception in the House would be much cooler. Speaker David Ralston and Gov. Nathan Deal have warned against fights over anti-LGBT legislation while the state is in the hunt for a second Amazon.com headquarters that promises up to 50,000 jobs.
Still, as we said, policy is another animal entirely when a primary is less than four months away. Which brings us back to HB 159, the adoption bill that has never found firm footing in the Senate. From our AJC colleague Mark Niesse:
A major effort to make it easier to adopt children in Georgia fell short Thursday.
The Georgia House of Representatives voted unanimously, 168-0, on a compromise bill that sought to overhaul the state's adoption laws.
But when the legislation then returned to the Senate, it didn't receive a vote. Some senators object to a part of the bill that would make it legal to reimburse birth mothers' basic living expenses in private adoptions, saying it could make them more expensive — or even result in the buying and selling of babies.
Now the adoption legislation is in limbo. The Senate could vote on the bill or try to further amend it.
The Senate demanded at least the weekend to study the changes. You can do the same. Here's your copy – start reading:
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These were the Twitter-fueled thoughts running through head of President Donald Trump early this morning:
But Christopher Wray, the Atlanta attorney who is now director of the FBI and in a public fight with Trump over that House Republican memo, is anything but a Democratic shill, our AJC colleague Bill Rankin asserts:
Wray is unquestionably a Republican. Over the past decade, he has contributed more than $30,000 to GOP candidates in state, local, congressional and presidential races. (He did not contribute to Trump's presidential campaign, according to federal filings.)
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Don't be surprised if this bit of news gets injected into the coming debate over incentives for Amazon's second headquarters. Three different lawmakers have already forwarded us variations of this story. Here's the NPR piece:
In the last three months of 2017, Amazon saw its profit more than double to reach a record of $1.9 billion. The company's sales continued to soar during the holiday quarter as more people signed up for its fast-delivery Prime program and bought its voice-activated device Echo.
You can read more about the incentives package Georgia could be dreaming up right here.
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Republican newcomer Clay Tippins is set to make some waves with his financial disclosure.
A campaign source said he’s amassed roughly $2 million since entering the race late last year, though it’s unclear how much of his own money is being pumped into the effort.
Nonetheless, the sum will be enough to show that the business executive -- who’s trying to carve out a lane as an outsider in the crowded GOP race -- has the means to make a mark in the next four months. (GB)
