Capitol Recap: In New York, the talk was probably about Eagles Landing

The Bond Buyer, an industry publication, writes that taking away a significant share of Stockbridge’s tax base adds risk that the city won’t be able to pay $14.5 million in unrated bonds.

Larry Kidwell, the president of Brentwood, Tenn.-based Kidwell & Co., a firm that offers municipal advice and is registered with the state to work in Georgia, told The Bond Buyer that the legislation had the potential to damage the credit ratings of cities across the state.

The Bond Buyer quoted a letter Kidwell wrote in November to Stockbridge city attorney Michael Williams.

“If Stockbridge can be broken up by the Georgia Legislature, what would prohibit the Legislature from doing the same thing to other cities of the state?” Kidwell wrote. “The passage of the proposed legislation would set the precedent for further destabilization to occur within the state.”

Deal has until May 8 to decide whether to sign SB 262 into law or veto it.

Vogtle stirs tea party: Forces within the state Republican Party often collide — that's part of what comes with being a dominant party.

But a Public Service Commission race seems like an odd place for a high-profile skirmish.

It’s really about the people behind the candidates.

Notable tea partyer Debbie Dooley has devoted a lot of effort in the past trying to unseat House Speaker David Ralston. This time, however, her target appears to be the governor.

More specifically, its his choice for a seat on the commission, Tricia Pridemore.

Deal and Pridemore are tight. He once backed her in a failed bid to become the state GOP chairwoman. Now, she’s running for election to the seat on the commission she first filled as a Deal appointee. Stan Wise vacated the position, but not until after he could vote to permit Georgia Power to continue construction of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle, a project plagued by cost overruns, broken deadlines and the bankruptcy of its lead contractor, Westinghouse Electric.

The troubled nuclear plant plays a big part in this GOP showdown. Dooley is backing John Hitchins III in this turf battle. He has declared solar power to be his cause — also a big issue for Dooley, whose interest in the sun fueled a profile piece in The New York Times. But Hitchens also reserves a sneer for Vogtle and all those associated with it.

On his website, he says, “Georgia does not need a handpicked Georgia Power puppet who will continue making the same bad decisions we’ve witnessed in the past.”

Besides the support of the governor, Pridemore has another big plus in her column: She has raised $222,225 for the contest, much of it coming from big players in the energy business.

Hitchins may have Dooley in his corner, but he has little in his pockets. His campaign finance report — which was turned in a week late, netting him an ethics complaint — shows he has raised about $5,000 and has less than $1,000 on hand.

Plugged in: So is Georgia Power a name or a boast?

In case you're wondering just how much power the utility has in state politics, consider this recent set of moves by the governor:

Deal just named Georgia Power’s chief executive, Paul Bowers, to a prized position on the board of the Georgia Ports Authority.

That, however, required Bowers to give up a prized position on the Board of Regents, which oversees the University System of Georgia.

So how did the governor fill this vacuum? He tapped Chris Cummiskey, currently a Georgia Power vice president and once Deal’s commissioner of economic development.

Fat cats take on Tiger legislator: One way to measure a man is by looking at who's lining up against him.

State Rep. Matt Gurtler, a Republican from Tiger, appears to be pretty big.

Gurtler has drawn attention for a number of votes — “no” votes.

This year, he voted against the transit bill that would expand commuter rail in metro Atlanta. He also voted against efforts to extend broadband connectivity to rural Georgia.

In 2017, he cast the one vote opposing a bill to provide additional insurance to firefighters who are diagnosed with certain types of cancer related to their line of work.

His big negatories have won him some fans — most notably, Alex Johnson, who has run several times to become the state’s GOP chairman.

“Just about any honest person would agree he’s one of the most, if not the most, Republican legislator in Georgia,” Johnson writes in a newsletter he puts out.

But Johnson also noted that House Speaker David Ralston and Rules Committee Chairman John Meadows — both Republicans and very likely the biggest kahunas in the state House — have made campaign donations to Gurtler's opponent in the GOP primary, Mickey Cummings.

Cummings, the manager of a farmer’s market from Blue Ridge, the speaker’s hometown, received the maximum $2,600 from Ralston. Meadows contributed $2,500.

State Rep. Matt Hatchett, the chairman of the House Republican caucus, gave Cummings $1,500. State Rep. Alan Powell, the Republican chairman of the House Public Safety Committee, also gave $1,500.

A lawmaking speed bump:State Sen. Michael Williams, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor and is not the attorney for Stockbridge, advanced an idea aimed at halting the late rush of bills as the General Assembly's session comes to an end, a witching hour of sorts that has yielded many tales of legislative mischief.

Speaking to Monica Matthews of News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB, Williams suggested dividing the 40-day session into two parts, sparing us from the lawmaking equivalent of Last Call.

“If we could have the first 25 days, you get to what we call ‘Crossover,’ where the House and the Senate pass out all their bills and they cross over to the other chamber,” Williams said.

“Then you take off for a couple months, so the public can see what has crossed over, so the senators and House members can actually read what’s crossed over,” he said. “And then you pick it up again in September or October.”

Backswing vote: You can count Jeff Fusile, the chief executive of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, among the state business leaders backing Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle's bid for governor. Fusile was scheduled to hold an all-day golf fundraiser for Cagle this past week. But then a scheduling conflict came up when the governor set a deadline the same day for Blue Cross and Piedmont Healthcare to reach an agreement on coverage affecting about 600,000 Georgians or he would step in.

Candidates, endorsements, etc.:

— Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, in his run for governor, pulled in an endorsement from former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr. It's an important catch for Kemp because Barr sits on the board of the National Rifle Association. Kemp had tried hard but unsuccessfully to persuade the NRA not to back Cagle.

— Planned Parenthood is backing Democrat Stacey Abrams in the race for governor. Her opponent in the May 22 primary, Stacey Evans, tried to persuade the group, which numbers about 113,000 members in Georgia, to stay out of the contest.

Abrams also picked up an endorsement from the state's most prominent advocacy group for gay rights, Georgia Equality.

— The Family Policy Alliance of Georgia, a social conservative organization with ties to Jim Dobson and the Family Research Council — has endorsed Williams' bid for governor and Republican state Sen. David Shafer in his campaign for lieutenant governor.

— The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence is backing Democrat Lucy McBath, who's well known among supporters of gun control, in her bid for the 6th Congressional District seat now held by U.S. Rep. Karen Handel, R-Roswell.

Capitol Recap

Here's a look at some of the political and government stories that The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's staff broke online during the past week. To see more of them, go to http://www.myajc.com/georgia-politics/.