by Ty Tagami | May 18, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — A Georgia agency that investigates complaints of ethical misconduct by judges says two candidates for the Georgia Supreme Court may have violated its code of conduct by stating their positions in favor of a woman’s right to abortion.
The Judicial Qualifications Commission, which oversees judicial ethics under state Supreme Court rules, published the notices on its website Monday after sending copies to the two candidates, Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin, on Sunday night.
That was immediately after an emergency order by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals that blocked a district judge’s pending order to temporarily silence the commission on the grounds that its code might violate the First Amendment rights of candidates.
Jordan is running against Justice Sarah Warren while Rankin is seeking Justice Charlie Bethel’s seat.
The incumbents, Warren and Bethel, first reached the state’s high court through appointment by former Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican.
Two of the three Eleventh Circuit judges who ruled Sunday in favor of the commission’s release of public statements against the candidates were appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term. The third, who dissented, was appointed by President Joe Biden.
The campaigns of Jordan and Rankin argue that the commission’s action was unconstitutional.
“The JQC has called into question my efforts to educate Georgians about who I am and what I believe, violating my First Amendment right to free speech,” Rankin said in a statement, referring to the commission by its initials.
“Georgians have made it clear that they care deeply about abortion rights and women’s health,” Jordan said in a statement. “It is both my responsibility and my First Amendment right to keep talking about these serious issues that affect every person in our state, because voters deserve the truth.”
The Democratic Party of Georgia’s chairman, Charlie Bailey, called the commission’s disclosures “a cynical attempt by a mere bureaucratic arm of the Georgia Republican establishment” to silence Jordan and Rankin.
The commission’s statements say Jordan and Rankin might have violated a rule against publicly endorsing others’ campaigns, noting they openly supported each other. The statements also say the candidates’ positions on abortion could be a violation of a rule that “prohibits judicial candidates from making statements or promises that commit candidates with respect to issues” that could come before the court.
The Jordan and Rankin campaigns say they plan to seek intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Eleventh Circuit ruling said a district judge’s order that would have prevented the commission from enforcing its code “will irreparably harm the state.”
In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Minnesota Republican Party’s lawsuit against that state’s judicial conduct board when it tried to bar judicial candidates from stating their views on disputed legal and political issues, writing that “avoiding judicial preconceptions on legal issues is neither possible nor desirable” and that pretending otherwise to preserve an appearance of impartiality “can hardly be a compelling state interest either.”
by Ty Tagami | May 15, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Georgians and people visiting or just passing through the state will get a 33-cent per gallon break at the gas pump while traveling for Memorial Day.
Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday used his authority under state law to declare a state of emergency due to spiraling fuel prices. That in turn allowed him to re-suspend collection of the motor fuel excise tax a minute after the current suspension expires Tuesday night.
The renewed suspension goes into effect at midnight Wednesday. It will remain in effect for two weeks, until 11:59 p.m. on June 2.
On March 20, Kemp signed the current gas tax suspension, which expires at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, just hours after the General Assembly approved it.
The U.S. conflict with Iran has continued to drive up oil prices.
“Global markets remain unstable and are subjecting Georgians to unpredictable price shocks on basic goods and services,” Kemp wrote in his executive order. It noted that futures on Brent crude, a global benchmark for oil prices, had spiked 3% for the day.
The order prohibits price gouging. It also suspends collections on the 37.3-cent per gallon tax on diesel fuel.
Diesel factors into the cost of groceries and any other product that must be hauled.
“As Georgia families prepare for the Memorial Day travel weekend, they should not feel blindsided by prices at the gas pump,” Kemp said in a statement.
His office said AAA predicts 39.1 million Americans will travel by car this Memorial Day weekend, topping last year’s record.
The release said the average cost of a gallon of regular gas in Georgia is $4.02, half a dollar less than the national average. It said Georgia is one of only two states with a motor fuel tax suspension.
by Ty Tagami | May 15, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Among Gov. Brian Kemp’s $300 million worth of vetoes this week were money for reforestation, land conservation, historic building restoration, the arts and live performances and short-line railroads.
The reason he gave in most instances: “The General Assembly failed to account for this loss of revenue in the appropriations process, instead prioritizing general taxpayer relief.”
Kemp was referring to the income tax cuts he signed into law on Monday.
He had called for a reduction of the state income tax to 4.99% from 5.19% this year, building that into the budget. But the General Assembly went further.
House Bill 463 not only drops the rate to 4.99% this year but will continue dropping it an eighth of a percentage point each year for eight years, if state revenues continue to grow.
The new law, which Kemp supported despite the impact on the budget, also increased standard deductions. They rise 25% this year and are scheduled to go up an eighth as much each year over the next eight years. The law also waived some overtime pay and cash tips and increased the amount of retirement income excluded from taxation for Georgians 65 and older.
All of this affected the budget lawmakers passed for the fiscal year that starts in July. They wanted to spend at least $1 billion more than the state is expecting to collect.
So on Tuesday Kemp used his line-item veto authority to cut $300 million in new spending.
“We had to do a little fine-tuning to make sure that we can pay for all those tax cuts,” he said before he signed the 156-page budgeton Tuesday.
Kemp’s budget team expects increasing revenue collections to close some part of the rest of the gap. If not, Georgia’s next governor and Legislature will have to balance the budget with cuts or by spending down some of the billions in remaining reserves.
That’s a worry for down the road.
But there was an immediate impact of those income tax cuts in the newly passed tax credits and exemptions that Kemp vetoed.
House Bill 376 would have doubled to $60 million the cap in tax credits for restoring historic buildings.
House Bill 1070 would have increased the tax credit for maintenance of short-line railroads that connect industrial sites with major railways. The current $3,500 credit per mile of track expires at year’s end, and the legislation Kemp deleted would have extended it through 2027 while increasing it to $5,000.
Efficient railways drive shipping costs, so deferred maintenance could eventually affect consumers.
House Bill 1077 would have extended for five years the existing sales tax exemptions for fine arts performances and museum exhibitions that expire at the end of 2027.
This could affect ticket prices for the symphony, art exhibits and other events, including the Georgia National Fair at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter, which the bill sought to include in the exemption.
Senate Bill 478 would have increased to 60% from the current 40% the amount of sales tax revenue from outdoor recreational equipment sales that go to the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund.
Money from the fund helps to acquire lands that are critical to wildlife and clean water and for outdoor recreation. And it pays for parks and trails.
Kemp also vetoed House Bill 14, which would have established a Georgia Music Office to promote the growth of the industry. And he struck out House Bill 519, which would have created a $10 million annual taxpayer credit to match the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Kemp wrote that the federal tax credit does not yet exist, so Georgia does not need HB 519.
Among the large line items he vetoed was Senate Bill 59. The measure sought to further buttress the state’s efforts to address timber lost from Hurricane Helene in 2024.
Georgia had allocated $200 million toward that project, but timber producers have already absorbed the money. SB 59 would have added another $50 million for them, raising the cap to $250 million.
by Ty Tagami | May 14, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Alleging racism, Black Georgia lawmakers assailed Gov. Brian Kemp’s call for a special session to redraw election maps, saying Republicans want to drag the state back to the era before the civil rights movement.
“It’s despicable that Georgia is following this racist playbook and taking us back to Jim Crow,” said Sen. Nikki Merritt, D-Grayson, chair of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus.
The Democratic lawmakers who met outside the Capitol Thursday were reacting to the Republican governor’s signing of a proclamation Wednesday that calls lawmakers back to the Capitol on June 17.
They will contend with two election-related issues.
Kemp asked them to address the July 1 deadline they set two years ago to cease using QR codes for tallying votes. Despite meeting for two regular legislative sessions since passing that law, the Legislature has neither authorized nor funded an alternative process.
Kemp also is convening them to redraw voting districts after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a new majority-Black district in Louisiana. The April ruling in Louisiana v. Callais raised questions about future legal interpretations of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a legacy of civil rights protests.
The Black leaders gathered at Liberty Plaza, next to the Gold Dome and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Christopher Bruce, with the ACLU of Georgia, referenced the road’s namesake along with others who had marched with him and had beaten and bloodied for it.
“Our ancestors did not die for us not to fight now,” he said.
Merritt and the others called for protesters to fill the streets and to turn out for upcoming elections. The primary is May 19 and the general election is Nov. 3.
She also called on leading businesses and the chambers of commerce to rally against the redistricting, recalling the historic alliance between white and Black leaders and business interests in Atlanta.
Atlanta was known as “the city too busy to hate,” she noted, setting it apart from the rest of the South and putting it on a prosperous path that she said was now in jeopardy. The state’s image and its ability to attract international investors are at risk, she said.
Sen. Harold Jones II, D-Augusta, the state Senate minority leader, said Republicans see the electoral tide turning against them, have run out of ideas, and are “dusting off the same playbook of racial hate, fear, and racial divisiveness.”
He observed that lawmakers will be returning to the Capitol amid the throngs of soccer fans who will come to Atlanta for the World Cup.
The Republican-led General Assembly will be on a world stage, he said. Viewers “will see that the Republicans have opted to continue racial oppression,” he said. “And they will see protests and they will see stories about the old South and racial divisions.”
by Ty Tagami | May 14, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Democrats reacted angrily to Gov. Brian Kemp’s call Wednesday to rewrite electoral district lines after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in April.
Kemp, a Republican, ordered a special legislative session for June 17 to redraw election maps after the high court ruled last month in Louisiana v. Callais that a new majority-Black legislative district in Louisiana was unconstitutional.
That raised questions about future legal interpretations of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, which strengthened protections for Black and other minority voters by barring practices that diluted their votes.
Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and other Southern states moved to redraw district lines after the ruling.
Democrats in Georgia said Kemp’s decision to join the rush is further evidence that Republicans fear they can no longer win elections.
“When Republicans can’t win elections, they first lie about fraud,” Sen. Harold Jones II, D-Augusta, the Georgia Senate minority leader, said in a statement. “Then they beg Republican judges to save them from democracy’s verdict. Finally, they make new rules to help them win next time.”
He called Republicans “drunk-on-power bullies” who “don’t give a damn what voters want.”
Earlier this week, Kemp also signed House Bill 369, which will require five metro Atlanta counties — Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett — to hold nonpartisan elections for county commissioners, district attorney, and other county offices.
Democrats saw that as a move to undercut the increasing Democratic vote in those counties.
On April 1, Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett wrote Kemp asking him to veto the bill. Fulton commissioners hold undeniably partisan offices, she reasoned, since they both fund the county elections board and appoint members to it.
“Because our work absolutely has political implications, it is critical that voters understand the party affiliations of the county commissioners on their ballot,” she wrote.
Barrett noted that Kemp had rejected President Donald Trump’s call in 2020 to help overturn the election results in Georgia that had Trump narrowly losing to Joe Biden: “Governor, you stood up for the will of the people in 2020, I’m asking you to stand up for the will of the people again.”
The Georgia General Assembly’s failure to address a deadline of its own making played into Kemp’s decision. The special session he called is also supposed to address a July 1 deadline to stop using Quick Response (QR) barcodes when tallying votes in Georgia elections.
State Republicans created the deadline when they passed a 2024 law banning the QR codes. In the subsequent two legislative sessions, they did not adopt an alternative.
The death last month of U.S. Rep. David Scott, a metro Atlanta Democrat, triggered a special election in July, leaving little time to address the issue.
The Georgia House Democrats’ caucus issued a press release that accused Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a GOP candidate for governor, of ensuring a special legislative session by failing to allow a vote on legislation that would have addressed the July 1 deadline.
The House passed a bill that would have moved that deadline back two years. The Senate did not vote on it as the legislative session came to an end in the early morning hours of April 3.
Now, the GOP is using the issue to justify a special legislative session, House Democrats said, adding that the rush before the upcoming elections illustrates why the Voting Rights Act was passed by Congress six decades ago.
“The speed and urgency that Republicans have moved to redraw maps to lock-in single-party rule, indefinitely, shows why the Voting Rights Act was needed in the first place,” the House Democrats wrote.
The QR code issue will not be an easy one to fix. Groups such as the Coalition for Good Governance have sued Georgia in the past over the way the state conducts elections. They contend that the voting machines violate federal and state laws that predate the 2024 law banning QR codes.
The Coalition recently petitioned the State Election Board to mandate the use of hand-marked paper ballots for the November general election. The board rejected the petition.
Local election officials have said that they do not have enough time to switch from the current digital system.
The Legislature will have even less time to address the issue when they meet in July.
“These things should have changed long ago,” said Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Coalition.
