We’re halfway through Georgia’s legislative session. So why does it feel like the real work has hardly started?
After a sleepy opening, state lawmakers have a heavy lift ahead during the next 20 days they’re in session.
Major debates await on legislation to legalize gambling, stiffer penalties for violent crimes, an effort to punish prosecutors who aren’t cracking down on serious offenses and the state’s $32.5 billion budget.
And then there are the plethora of culture wars measures that have surfaced, including proposals to restrict how sex and gender are taught in classrooms, block medical treatments for transgender kids and the revival or a running battle over “religious liberty” measures.
We still don’t know how serious lawmakers are about changing runoff rules, adding a Clarence Thomas statue to the statehouse grounds or banning TikTok from state devices.
And we’ll have to see whether Gov. Brian Kemp will forge ahead with his plan to loosen local housing regulations and the GOP-backed plan to strengthen tenant rights spurred by an AJC investigation.
Buckle up. The next 20 days might feel like 200 days by Sine Die.
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GRAND JURY. The snippets of the Fulton County special grand jury report didn’t reveal any earth-rattling news about the nearly eight month-long probe into whether then-President Donald Trump or his allies broke laws by trying to overturn the 2020 election.
But legal experts say there could be more than meets the eye with the report’s recommendation that prosecutors should pursue perjury charges against at least one witness they believe lied under oath in the testimony.
Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor, said that the perjury charges could give Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis more “leverage” to compel other witnesses to cooperate.
One of the few targets of the probe who spoke out after the report’s release was Trump, who sent out a message on the Truth Social platform.
“Thank you to the special grand jury in the great state of Georgia for your patriotism and courage,” he wrote. “Total exoneration. The USA is proud of you!”
While there wasn’t a lot of information in the portions of the report that we saw Thursday, we can confidently say that “total exoneration” was not in there.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
LISTEN UP. We’ve got a special crossover episode of the Politically Georgia and Breakdown podcasts ready for you this morning.
The two reporters at the center of the special grand jury beat from the beginning, the AJC’s Bill Rankin and Tamar Hallerman, join Politically Georgia to go through everything we learned from the report of the special grand jury, what we didn’t learn, what’s still to come.
Listen and subscribe to Breakdown for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or your favorite podcasting platform.
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UNDER THE GOLD DOME:
The state House and Senate will be dark Friday as planned and again on Monday for the President’s Day holiday.
Work resumes Tuesday, Feb. 21.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE:
- Democratic lawmakers and the NAACP held a news conference at the Capitol on Thursday to call on Gov. Brian Kemp to consider a package of three police accountability bills they’ve introduced. Kemp’s primary focus so far this session has been on boosting police funding and passing stricter criminal penalties.
- The state Senate passed SB 12 to increase mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes committed by gang members and to add civil courts as a venue for some gang-related offenses.
- The Senate also passed Senate Bill 93 from state Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, to ban TikTok from state devices, along with any other platforms connected to foreign adversaries, Mark Niesse reports.
- The state House Ways and Means committee passed House Bill 162, which would give $1 billion in tax rebates to Georgia filers. That was a top priority of Gov. Brian Kemp heading into this session.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
NEW ROLE. When U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff was sworn in to the U.S. Senate, he was quickly named chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, a coveted panel with a long history of high-profile investigations.
We got word yesterday that Ossoff will no longer serve as chairman because a lawmaker with more seniority, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, requested the post instead.
Ossoff announced Thursday that he will instead serve as chair of the Human Rights Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. That post will give him a few resources, but a similar oversight role, including the potential to continue his years-long look at issues with federal prisons and lock-ups as he did as head of the Investigations panel.
Ossoff said he plans to partner with the top Republican on the Human Rights Subcommittee, Tennessee’s Marsha Blackburn, to launch inquiries from his new position.
“I look forward to working alongside Senator Blackburn to investigate abuse, misconduct, and malpractice that hurts my constituents in Georgia and Americans nationwide,” Ossoff said in a statement.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- The U.S. Senate and House are out until Feb. 27.
- President Joe Biden has no public events scheduled as he prepares for a trip to Poland.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
GOP TRAILBLAZERS. Two Republicans from Georgia were among the honorees of this year’s Republican National Committee celebration in honor of Black History Month.
CJ Pearson, who launched to fame as a conservative activist during his pre-teen years and is now 20, received the Emerging Leader Award. Pearson’s former boss, Democrat-turned-Republican Vernon Jones, who lost a bid for a seat in Congress in 2022, was the recipient of the Pioneer Award.
Both men were celebrated among other Black Republicans during the Trailblazers Reception in Washington on Thursday night.
Pearson in his acceptance speech struck a hopeful tone while Jones railed against the media and said Black Republicans are treated harsher.
“Many of you in this room have been called ugly names,” Jones said, “because you happen to be Black and you’re a Republican and you’re a conservative.”
Pearson made news two weeks ago when he announced in the the New York Post that he is dropping out of college at the University of Alabama, convinced that all higher education is now “an institution more fixated on teaching students what to think than how to think.”
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Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
OPEN HOUSE. Freshman U.S. House member Mike Collins, a Republican, is inviting constituents to attend the grand opening of his district office in Monroe.
The 10th Congressional District lawmaker’s open house will be held next Friday, Feb. 24, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The office address is 100 Court Street, the same location as former U.S. Rep. Jody Hice’s old office.
There will be a ribbon cutting, and members of Collins’ staff will be on hand to answer questions and meet visitors.
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Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
FOR THE RADAR. The Georgia Bar Media and Judiciary Conference on Feb. 24 features a standout lineup.
Among the speakers: Former Gov. Nathan Deal, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, the AJC’s Kevin Riley, Tamar Hallerman, Chris Joyner, and Maya T. Prabhu, and a number of lawmakers, scholars and additional reporters.
And for the lawyers among you — the day counts for 7 hours of approved CLE credits.
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Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
PRESIDENT’S DAY. They say people may not always remember exactly what you said, but they’ll always remember how you made them feel.
That’s certainly true for former President Jimmy Carter, who is continuing to make people around the country feel special, even at the age of 98.
The latest example came this week when Drew Hinshaw, a senior reporter for the Wall Street Journal, posted a photo of a note from Carter along with this caption.
“My dad, who died last month, was a freelance cameraman. He shot interviews with many celebrities — the Dalai Lama, Monica Lewinsky, Gorbachev, Ludacris, Jane Goodall, many more. Exactly one took the time to learn his name, strike up a yearslong relationship. Deeply appreciate this.”
The post generated hundreds of responses from people, including many who had also met the former president.
“I am also a freelance cameraman who has shot the Dalai Lama, Gorbachev, and many others, including Jimmy Carter,” wrote C.T. Million. “Mr. Carter took the time to go around the room and spend a few minutes with each crew member, asking their names and chatting for a bit.”
Another from London wrote, “He did the same with my Dad, a freelance photographer. Even his daughter wrote to thank him for some photographs he’d taken of her.”
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Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
DORTCH REMEMBERED. Members of the state House, led by state Reps. Roger Bruce, D-Atlanta, and Al Williams, D-Midway, spoke from the well to remember Tommy Dortch, the larger-than-life Atlanta business and civic leader who passed away this week.
“Well done, thou great and faithful servant,” Williams said.
Dortch was also remembered by former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn. Dortch worked on Nunn’s Senate staff for 15 years before heading into the private sector, including years as Nunn’s top state aide and state director.
“Tommy Dortch was a trusted friend and an outstanding human being,” Nunn wrote in a statement. “(He) made a difference in the lives of so many, and his contributions to Georgia and our nation will not be forgotten.”
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
CALLING ALL DOGS. Jolt Nation, starting next week, we’ll be bringing you the Jolt Dog of the Day, the pooch belonging to any politically adjacent Georgian, including Jolt readers, to include each morning. Send us your pups of any political persuasion (and cats on a case-by-case basis) to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us on Twitter @MurphyAJC.
We’ve already heard from loads of readers, lawmakers, a mayor, and a few sources who had been dark for the last six months, but emerged to send along their beloved best friends.
Keep them coming! You’ll start meeting your fellow Jolt readers’ politi-pets next week.
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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
