Members of the Georgia State Senate Friday passed SB 200, which would, if enacted into law, protect businesses and churches against government shutdowns during a COVID-19-like pandemic or other health emergency. Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R-Cumming) emailed a press release Friday and said this bill “provides businesses and churches with common-sense protections against government shutdowns.”
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A new bill in the Georgia General Assembly would provide the State Election Board with greater powers to suspend, appoint, and replace superintendents who oversee elections at the city or county level. The Georgia General Assembly’s website identifies State Rep. Barry Fleming (R-Harlem) as the sole sponsor.
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Members of the Georgia House of Representatives this week passed four pieces of legislation that they said will cut taxes for Georgia families and businesses and create jobs and expand economic opportunity across the state. These measures include the Tax Relief Act of 2021, the Georgia Economic Recovery Act of 2021, the Georgia Economic Renewal Act of 2021, and the reauthorization of the House Rural Development Council.
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A Georgia legislator has filed a bill that would provide that students — other than nonimmigrant aliens — are classified as in-state for tuition purposes. State Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton), sponsored the bill. Carpenter’s bill also, if enacted into law, would authorize the state Board of Regents and the…
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Late last week a group of activists who were angry over a voter integrity bill disturbed the peace at the Georgia General Assembly. Law enforcement officials did not arrest them.
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Officials at the Georgia General Assembly this week proposed what they said were new methods to reform Georgia’s elections. House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) proposed that the Georgia Department of Driver Services offer state ID cards, free, to all eligible Georgians.
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Georgia State Rep. Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock) has defended voter integrity legislation she’s filed that would require non-U.S. citizens to have “BEARER NOT A U.S. CITIZEN — NOT VOTER ID” printed on their driver’s licenses, permits. This, even though Georgia officials said at an Election Integrity Committee hearing late last week that they already have a system in place to stop illegal immigrants from voting.
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Democrats in the Georgia General State Senate have proposed certain resolutions for this current session, all of which support politically left-leaning causes, one of which cites influence from the United Nations. Georgia State Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) and 15 other state senators filed a resolution that urges the U.S. Congress to grant statehood to Washington, D.C.
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A former state representative said the Georgia Chamber of Commerce influences the agenda of House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge), even though that agenda favors large corporate entities and sometimes frustrates average Georgians’ best interests. As The Georgia Star News reported last week, former State Rep. Jeff Jones said “the Georgia Chamber of Commerce is not the friend of the average Georgia citizen.”
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Six members of the Georgia House of Representatives filed a bill last week that would regulate third party entities who distribute absentee ballots applications. The Georgia General Assembly’s website identifies State Rep. Rick Williams (R-Milledgeville) as the primary sponsor.
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Georgia’s chamber of commerce interests have donated $4,250 to Georgia State Rep. Bonnie Rich (R-Suwanee) since 2018, shortly before she took office. As reported this week, Georgia State Rep. Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock) said she suspected members of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Atlanta Chamber are working behind the scenes to kill Byrd’s Voter ID legislation. She said Rich is working to block Byrd’s legislation in a Special Committee on Election Integrity subcommittee.
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A 1998 Georgia law authorized the state to have mobile voting facilities, but voters in the Peach State’s most recent presidential election who voted at such places acted against that law’s original intent. State Sen. Mike Dugan (R-Carrollton) said this Thursday as he spoke to members of the State Senate’s Ethics Committee. Dugan said this as he discussed a new bill he’s sponsoring to reform the state’s election systems.
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Two former state legislators said Georgia Chamber of Commerce members, not unexpectedly, have tremendous influence at the State Capitol, but those two men also said Chambers’ members sometimes work against political conservatives’ best interests.
Former State Rep. Jeff Jones, who represented District 167 from 2015 until last month, told The Georgia Star News this week that he never hesitates to speak freely, and he didn’t even when he held office. And he said he won’t hold back now.
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Georgia legislators filed a bill this week that, among other things, would limit the ability of the State Election Board and the secretary of state to enter into certain consent agreements. “The State Election Board, the members thereof, the Secretary of State, and any of their attorneys or staff shall not have any authority to enter into any consent agreement with any other person that limits, alters, or interprets any provision of this chapter without obtaining the approval of the General Assembly through a joint resolution,” according to the language of the bill.
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Former U.S. Republican Congressman Doug Collins is scheduled to launch his own talk radio program Monday, March 1, and the show will feature guests local to Georgia as well as guests who hold national stature. The Doug Collins Show will broadcast from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday on the Georgia-based WMLB (1690 AM). People outside of the Atlanta-listening area may also listen to the show through the John Fredericks Radio Show app.
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Georgia State Rep. Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock) said this week that she suspects certain of the state’s business interests are working behind the scenes and trying to kill her Voter ID legislation. As The Georgia Star News reported Tuesday, that legislation, if enacted into law, would require non-U.S. citizens to have “BEARER NOT A U.S. CITIZEN — NOT VOTER ID” printed on their licenses, permits and/or identification cards. Byrd said State Rep. Bonnie Rich (R-Suwanee) is working to block Byrd’s legislation in a Special Committee on Election Integrity subcommittee.
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Georgia State Rep. Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock) said Monday that a Republican colleague is holding up Voter ID legislation that Byrd said will help prevent fraud in the state. As reported, that legislation, if enacted into law, would require non- U.S. citizens to have “BEARER NOT A U.S. CITIZEN — NOT VOTER ID” printed on their licenses, permits and/or identification cards.
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Georgia legislators have submitted a bill that would require the secretary of state create a far more detailed election reporting system for general primaries, general elections, and runoffs from general primaries and general elections. “Such system shall provide for the entry of the number of ballots cast by type in each precinct, the results of state and federal races by precinct, the number of absentee ballots issued and returned, the number of absentee ballots certified, the number of absentee ballots rejected, the number of provisional ballots cast, and such other information which the Secretary of State deems relevant and useful to the citizens of this state,” according to the language of the bill.
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Sixteen Democrats in the Georgia State Senate have filed a bill calling on Georgia to enact the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. According to the language of the bill, this agreement calls on states “to join together to establish an interstate compact to elect the president by national popular vote.”
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Five state senators in the Georgia General Assembly filed legislation late last week that would, if enacted into law, provide people the right to a hearing when government officials challenge whether they may legally vote. The Georgia General Assembly identified State Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas) as the bill’s primary sponsor.
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Georgia legislators have filed a bill that would require that government officials mail absentee ballot applications only to registered voters. The Georgia General Assembly’s website identified State Sen. Max Burns (R-Sylvania) as the bill’s primary sponsor.
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A new bill in the Georgia General Assembly would, if enacted into law, help individuals who relocated from out-of-state obtain a license to practice certain professions and occupations. State officials could grant expedited licenses to those people — other than dentists, physicians, and osteopaths. This, according to a bill that 12 Georgia legislators filed late last month.
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Georgia State Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R – Dallas) this week introduced legislation that he said supports a church and a business owner’s rights to keep their establishments open during a pandemic like COVID-19 or other health emergency. This, only if the business can abide by all of the mandated safety precautions that local and state governments issue, Anavitarte said.
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A new bill in the Georgia General Assembly wants to define limits on the governor’s emergency powers. This, nearly one year after the COVID-19 pandemic first affected the United States.
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Six members of the Georgia House of Representatives have responded to the “Defund the Police” movement and filed a bill that would prohibit local governments in the state from cutting more than 5 percent of their police budgets. State Rep. Houston Gaines (R-Athens), the bill’s primary sponsor, said Tuesday that his legislation would, if enacted into law, exempt local governments that lose more than 5 percent of their budget revenues.
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Georgia State Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Cataula) has filed legislation that would provide an instructional course and educate drivers on how best to interact with law enforcement officers, especially during traffic stops. According to the language of the bill, members of the Georgia Department of Public Safety would offer the lesson.
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Georgia State Sen. Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) has filed legislation that would, if enacted into law, make it a crime for an adult to knowingly have unsecured or unsafely stored firearms around minors. Six other state senators are co-sponsoring Parent’s bill, according to the Georgia General Assembly’s website.
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Nearly 40 Georgia state senators from both political parties might change certain aspects of the state’s tax system, and whatever they agree to may force you to pay higher taxes on certain commodities. Those state senators filed a bill late last week to create a Special Council on Tax Reform and to also create a Special Joint Committee on Georgia Revenue Structure.
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Georgia State Rep. David Clark (R-Buford) has introduced a bill that, if enacted into law, would repeal the state’s film, gaming, video, and digital production income tax credits. The language of Clark’s bill says little else.
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Eight members of the Georgia General Assembly have filed legislation that would, if enacted into law, increase penalties for election fraud within the state. Specifically, the bill would make it illegal to “tamper with, alter, destroy, modify, or falsify the electronic data constituting the official returns or votes cast in a primary, election, or runoff.”
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Exactly 25 Georgia legislators have proposed adding an amendment to the state constitution that would create a state-wide panel of grand jurors to investigate or indict people for alleged election law violations. This, according to a bill that primary sponsor State Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) introduced Thursday. Under the…
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Members of the Georgia House Democratic Caucus are displeased that their colleagues in the state house passed a bill that waives liability for employers if and when an employee contracts COVID-19. State house members passed the bill, HB 112, this week by a vote of 99 to 69.
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In Georgia, the political candidate who gets the most votes is not always the person who gets sworn into office. Sometimes the candidate who got the least number of votes is the one who ultimately prevails.
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Fifteen members of the Georgia General Assembly have filed a bill that, if enacted into law, would require that election officials immediately count and tabulate ballots when the polls close. “After the close of the polls on the day of a primary, election, or runoff, the board of registrars shall notify the election superintendent of the total number of absentee ballots received by the close of the polls that were certified by the board of registrars, and the election superintendent shall post such information publicly,” according to the language of the bill.
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Georgia legislators have put forward a bill to create a nine-member citizen-review panel to investigate law enforcement after officer-involved shootings and also after someone complains about an officer’s alleged inappropriate use of force. State Sen. Nikki Merritt (D-Grayson), the lead sponsor, refers to this as the Georgia Law Enforcement Citizen Review Council.
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One year into COVID-19, Georgia State Rep. Jodi Lott (R-Evans) has introduced a bill that she says will incentivize people to manufacture medical devices within state lines. Sponsors say that this legislation, if enacted into law, would limit Georgia’s need to compete with other states or foreign nations for critical supplies.
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Georgia Republican Party Chair David Shafer has not yet declared he will seek a second term for that position, but Cobb County GOP Chair Jason Shepherd wants Shafer’s seat. Shafer has told allies that he plans to seek a second term and will announce shortly.
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Six legislators want their colleagues in the Georgia General Assembly to declare, by resolution, that racism in the state is a public health crisis. Those legislators proposed the resolution this month.
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Georgia State Rep. Billy Mitchell (D-Stone Mountain) is sponsoring legislation that seeks to remove Stone Mountain Park’s 90-foot tall Confederate memorial. This memorial, carved into the mountain, depicts Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, according to the park’s website. Members of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association manage the park, which is state-owned, according to their website.
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Georgia State Rep. Phillip Singleton (R-Sharpsburg) has submitted legislation that he said will preserve female-only sports in Georgia. Specifically, Singleton’s bill would outlaw schools from allowing students whose gender is male from participating in an athletic program designed for females.
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Georgia State Rep. Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock) this week introduced Voter ID legislation that she said would prohibit people from using certain types of identification for in-person voting. That bill, HB 228, would, if enacted into law, require Georgia residents who are not U.S. citizens to have “BEARER NOT A U.S. CITIZEN — NOT VOTER ID” printed on their licenses, permits and/or identification cards. People who present a license, permit, and ID with this information on it could not present them to a poll worker to vote, according to Byrd’s legislation.
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Seven members of the Georgia General Assembly have filed a bill that would call on members of the State Election Board to appoint a chief elections assistance officer. According to the language of the bill, this person would work for the secretary of state to help manage and oversee elections.
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Georgia State Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) has introduced seven bills that he said will reform Georgia’s election system. Mullis did not return The Georgia Star News’ request for comment Wednesday.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday proposed a plan that he said will “recruit, prepare, mentor, and retain the best educators” and give teachers more power to influence the state board of education. Kemp unveiled his proposal at the Georgia State Capitol. Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R-Cumming) and Speaker Pro-Tempore Jan Jones (R-Milton) stood alongside Kemp to show their support.
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The people who work for Georgia’s film and television studios are not only working again but working more frequently than their counterparts at competing studios in California and the United Kingdom. That’s because officials in Georgia’s state government have a more lenient COVID-19 policy. Those studios opened back up not long after the start of the pandemic.
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Sixteen Democrats in the Georgia General Assembly want to add an amendment to the state constitution that would mandate workers have a Family Medical Leave Fund. The Georgia General Assembly’s website identifies State Sen. Gloria Butler (D-Stone Mountain) as the primary sponsor.
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Members of the Georgia General Assembly this week proposed a bill that would, if enacted into law, give certain legislators enough power to audit up to five of the state’s tax credit programs. State Sen. John Albers (R-Roswell) is sponsoring the bill, along with 16 other state legislators.
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Georgia residents who vote absentee in future elections would have to produce photocopies of their identification before they could vote, according to a bill that state legislators will soon consider. State Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas), the sponsor, did not return The Georgia Star News’ request for comment Friday.
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Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said he entered into the controversial Compromise Settlement Agreement and Release with Stacey Abrams because members of the Georgia Attorney General’s Office Chris Carr recommended he do so. In a letter dated January 6, Raffensperger told former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) that the agreement strengthened Georgia’s signature verification system.
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Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R-Cumming) said this week he wants legislators to discuss “serious, meaningful election reform” during the current legislative session, and he suggested state officials require a photo ID if people vote absentee. Duncan, during a press conference at the Georgia State Capital in Atlanta, also pitched the idea of a statewide grand jury to monitor possible election fraud.
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