Gov. Brian Kemp calls for vulnerable residents to take precautions as coronavirus spreads in Georgia. (Photo by Beau Evans)
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp urged Georgia residents to “come up with a game plan” for protecting their elderly loved ones and those with chronic health issues as concerns mount over a potential outbreak of coronavirus in the state.
The governor’s advice came as public schools and
universities closed across the state and the Georgia General Assembly was set
to press pause in the middle of the ongoing legislative session.
New cases have been confirmed in several counties including
Lee, Floyd, Barton, Lowndes, DeKalb and Cobb counties. Two people in Lowndes
County may have contracted the virus at a local church, Kemp said.
On Thursday, the governor and other state leaders working to
curb the virus’ spread emphasized the need for people most vulnerable to the
virus – those over age 60 and chronically ill – to avoid contact with crowds
and prepare to remain in their homes in the event of an outbreak.
“There is no need for people to panic,” Kemp said. “But
we’re also not going to sugar-coat it.”
Concerns heightened at the State Capitol in Atlanta Thursday
following confirmation of the first death in Georgia traced to the respiratory
virus, which has swelled to 31 confirmed or presumptive cases statewide in
recent days. A 67-year-old man who had an “underlying medical condition” died
after being hospitalized for COVID-19 at WellStar Kennestone Hospital in
Marietta last Saturday.
The novel strain of coronavirus is thought to spread largely
by “respiratory droplets” when someone coughs or sneezes after symptoms are
present, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Symptoms appear within two to 14 days of contraction and include fever,
coughing and shortness of breath.
Dr. Kathleen Toomey, the state public health commissioner,
said the state lab has been testing about 50 people a day for the virus and
expects to increase that rate to 100 a day with the arrival of more testing
equipment. She expects more private companies like LabCorp will start offering
their own coronavirus tests to help supplement state efforts.
Toomey, speaking Thursday, urged people experiencing
symptoms of nausea and malaise associated with the common cold to call their
medical providers first, instead of going straight to a hospital for testing.
She also said people with those symptoms should stay home.
“Please don’t go out if you are ill,” Toomey said. “We have
seen cases of people known to be ill who have gone out into the community.”
For now, Kemp said he is not ordering public schools,
universities and technical colleges to close as concerns grown over a potential
outbreak. He said he will support any decisions by local school districts, day
cares, colleges and businesses that choose to shut down.
“At this point, we believe local decision-making is the
right action,” Kemp said.
Classes at the University of Georgia, Georgia Southern,
Georgia State and all other schools in the University System of Georgia will be
cancelled for two weeks starting Monday. Atlanta Public Schools will also be
closed for at least two weeks. State government employees will also begin
largely working from home next week on orders from the governor.
The General Assembly will wrap up work Thursday and Friday,
then break until “a future date to be determined,” according to a joint
statement from Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and House Speaker David Ralston.
Speaking from the Senate floor, Duncan said he and Ralston
will decide when to resume the session after lawmakers have completed work on
Friday, Day 30 of the 40-day session.
“This decision was made out of an abundance of caution,”
Duncan said. “We will resume the people’s work once we determine a way to move
forward.”
A handful of bills have passed out of the legislature so far
this session, but the vast majority await consideration from one legislative
chamber or the other. The fiscal year 2021 budget also has not been settled yet
by both chambers. The General Assembly’s only legal requirement is to pass a
budget each year.
“Our hope and prayer is we are overreacting,” Ralston said
from the House floor. “But I’d rather do it this way than under-react.”
ATLANTA – Three
bills imposing additional regulations on the disposal of coal ash in Georgia
cleared the state House of Representatives Thursday.
Measures
requiring Georgia Power Co. to notify local government officials when the
utility drains nearby coal ash ponds and closing a loophole in current state
law that encourages coal ash to be brought into Georgia from out of state
passed overwhelmingly.
But the
third bill requiring long-term monitoring of closed ash ponds ran into criticism
from opponents concerned that the General Assembly’s overall response to the
coal ash problem doesn’t go far enough.
Coal ash is
the residue left behind after burning coal to fuel power plants. It can contain
a number of toxic chemicals, including lead, selenium and arsenic.
Much of
Georgia’s coal ash is stored in ponds around coal-fired power plants owner by
Georgia Power. While the company is planning to excavate and close all 29 of
its coal ash ponds, it intends to leave the ash in place at 10 of the ponds,
using technology it says is safe.
Legislative
Democrats have been pushing for a bill that would require Georgia Power to install
impervious liners under every closed ash pond that will not be excavated.
On Thursday, House Minority Leader Bob Trammell complained that the Democrats’ bill isn’t moving forward and accused majority Republicans of a “missed opportunity.”
“You test to
find out if something is wrong,” said Trammell, D-Luthersville, referring to
the House bill requiring long-term monitoring of closed ash ponds. “When you
know there’s something wrong and don’t do anything about it, that’s inaction.”
Trammell
cited the community of Juliette, located in Monroe County near Georgia Power’s
Plant Scherer, whose residents came to the state Capitol last month to advocate
for lined ash ponds. Trammell said he recently bought property in Juliette a
half mile from the pond.
“I’ve come to fear for the water in my house,” he said. “Nobody should have to live with these fears.”
Rep. Vance Smith, R-Pine Mountain, sponsor of the bill requiring increased monitoring, noted that the fiscal 2021 state budget the House adopted this week provides $500,000 to add environmental engineers to the state Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to conduct the monitoring. He said the agency will inspect ash ponds annually until they are closed and every five years after that.
The House
ended up passing the monitoring bill 113-52.
The legislation
targeting out-of-state coal ash would raise the fee for disposing of coal ash
to the same rate landfills charge for other garbage.
“This bill
would deter coal ash from being dumped in landfills around our state,” said
Rep. Trey Rhodes, R-Greensboro.
Five
landfills in Georgia have taken in millions of tons of coal ash since 2017,
with much of it originating from power plants in Florida and North Carolina,
according to EPD records.
The three
coal ash bills now are headed for the state Senate.
Georgia senators huddle after Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan announced plans to suspend the legislative session over coronavirus concerns on March 12, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
ATLANTA – Georgia lawmakers are set to suspend the current legislative session indefinitely amid concerns over coronavirus following the state’s first death traced to the disease.
The General Assembly will wrap up work
Thursday and Friday, then break until “a future date to be determined,”
according to a joint statement from Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and House Speaker
David Ralston.
News of the session’s suspension came
shortly after Gov. Brian Kemp held a press conference Thursday afternoon urging
Georgia residents to “come up with a game plan” for protecting their elderly
loved ones and those with chronic health issues, who are most at risk of
contracting COVID-19.
Speaking from the Senate floor, Duncan
said he and Ralston will decide when to resume the session after lawmakers have
completed work on Friday, Day 30 of the 40-day session.
“This decision was made out of an
abundance of caution,” Duncan said. “We will resume the people’s work once we
determine a way to move forward.”
A handful of bills have passed out of the
legislature so far this session, but the vast majority await consideration from
one legislative chamber or the other. The fiscal year 2021 budget also has not
been settled yet by both chambers. The General Assembly’s only legal
requirement is to pass a budget each year.
“Our hope and prayer is we are overreacting,”
Ralston said from the House floor. “But I’d rather do it this way than
under-react.”
The decision followed confirmation of the first death in Georgia traced to the respiratory virus, which has swelled to 31 confirmed or presumptive cases statewide in recent days. A 67-year-old man who had an “underlying medical condition” died after being hospitalized for COVID-19 at WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta last Saturday.
Classes at the University of Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia State and all other schools in the University System of Georgia will be cancelled for two weeks starting Monday. Atlanta Public Schools will also be closed for at least two weeks. State government employees will also begin largely working from home next week on orders from the governor.
New cases have been confirmed in several
counties including Lee, Floyd, Barton, Lowndes, DeKalb and Cobb counties. Two
people in Lowndes County may have contracted the virus at a local church, Kemp
said.
On Thursday, the governor and other state
leaders working to curb the virus’ spread emphasized the need for people most
vulnerable to the virus – those over age 60 and chronically ill – to avoid
contact with crowds and prepare to remain in their homes in the event of an
outbreak.
“There is no need for people to panic,”
Kemp said. “But we’re also not going to sugar-coat it.”
The novel strain of coronavirus is
thought to spread largely by “respiratory droplets” when someone coughs or
sneezes after symptoms are present, according to the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Symptoms appear within two to 14 days of contraction
and include fever, coughing and shortness of breath.
Dr. Kathleen Toomey, the state public
health commissioner, said the state lab has been testing about 50 people a day
for the virus and expects to increase that rate to 100 a day with the arrival
of more testing equipment. She expects more private companies like LabCorp will
start offering their own coronavirus tests to help supplement state efforts.
Toomey, speaking Thursday, urged people
experiencing symptoms of nausea and malaise associated with the common cold to
call their medical providers first, instead of going straight to a hospital for
testing. She also said people with those symptoms should stay home.
“Please don’t go out if you are ill,”
Toomey said. “We have seen cases of people known to be ill who have gone out
into the community.”
For now, Kemp said he is not ordering
public schools, universities and technical colleges to close as concerns grown
over a potential outbreak. He said he will support any decisions by local
school districts, day cares, colleges and businesses that choose to shut down.
“At this point, we believe local
decision-making is the right action,” Kemp said.
Concerns stemming from coronavirus were
not limited just to public health Thursday. One lawmaker, Sen. David Lucas,
rose shortly after the announcement that the session will be suspended to
express worry about state law that forbids fundraising activities while the
legislature is in session.
“How do we deal with the election and the
raising of money for a campaign?” asked Lucas, D-Macon.
“Senator,” said Duncan, “that’s not my
concern right now.”
ATLANTA – The
Georgia House of Representatives voted unanimously Thursday to prohibit the
burning of railroad ties treated with creosote used to fuel two biomass plants
in Northeast Georgia.
Neighbors of
the two plants in Madison and Franklin counties began complaining when the plants
started operating last year that the burning was fouling their air and
contaminating their water.
“The people
who lived in close proximity were highly impacted,” Rep. Alan Powell,
R-Hartwell, the creosote bill’s chief sponsor, said during a brief floor
debate. “Some of them had to move out of their homes.”
Powell said
local elected officials were told the plants were going to burn wood chips when
Birmingham, Ala.-based Georgia Renewable Power filed permit applications for
the facilities in 2015. But one year later, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency lifted a federal ban on burning creosote-treated railroad ties, clearing
the way for the plant operators to switch fuels.
Creosote has
been linked to cancer and some respiratory problems.
House Bill
857 includes a provision carving out of the legislation’s provisions a
manufacturing plant near Dublin operated
by WestRock. While the plant’s permit allows it to burn railroad ties
treated with creosote, an official with the state Environmental Protection
Division assured members of a state Senate committee considering a similar bill
last month that the Dublin facility is not doing so.
Powell’s
bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
ATLANTA – Georgia voters could see local precincts split into more than one location and gain new protections against their absentee ballots being tossed for faulty signatures under a bill that passed the Georgia Senate Thursday.
Senate Bill 463 would allow precincts
that serve more than 2,000 voters or experience wait times of more than one
hour to be split into smaller precincts for the next election cycle. The
Georgia Secretary of State’s office would further be tasked with determining
whether precincts should have more voting machines and booths in subsequent
elections.
The bill would also prohibit absentee
ballots from being rejected if they possess signatures that do not exactly
match the signatures shown on a voter’s identification document like a driver’s
license, voter ID card or employee card.
Sen. John Kennedy, the bill’s sponsor,
said the changes aim to expand voter access in Georgia by reducing precinct
wait times and accepting more absentee ballots. He said the bill would give
voters a better experience at the polls and boost the chances for having their
votes counted.
“It moves things in a positive way,” said
Kennedy, R-Macon.
The bill passed by a 35-19 vote along
party lines. It now heads to the Georgia House of Representatives.
Voting precincts in Georgia and across the
country have experienced lengthy wait times on election day in recent election
cycles, raising alarms among voting rights advocates that long lines could
deter people from voting.
In Georgia, voting rights advocates
called foul after thousands of absentee ballots were rejected in recent
elections for having signatures that did not strictly match a person’s
identification document. The Democratic Party of Georgia sued the Secretary of
State’s office in federal court to change how absentee ballots are handled,
claiming the practice disenfranchises many voters without certain kinds of
identification.
Opponents of the bill, particularly
Democratic lawmakers, worried the proposed changes could end up curbing voter
turnout in areas where precincts have been split. They criticized Kennedy and
Republican lawmakers for the bill’s sudden appearance and sprint to the Senate
floor, having been filed less than two weeks ago.
Several Democratic senators complained
they were unable to propose amendments to the bill after Republicans mustered
enough votes Thursday to “engross” the measure, meaning it could not be altered
on the Senate floor.
“We’re dealing with something that is so
fundamental to what we know as far as voting is concerned,” said Sen. Harold
Jones II, D-Augusta. “Why are we rushing this through?”
