ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp named former state Rep. Kevin Tanner Wednesday to head Georgia’s mental health agency.
Tanner, a Republican from Dawsonville, will become commissioner of the state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities on Dec. 16, succeeding the retired Judy Fitzgerald.
“Kevin Tanner is a capable and dedicated leader who has made significant contributions to both the state and his community over more than three decades of public service,” Kemp said.
“It is thanks to his forward-thinking approach as head of the Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission that Georgia is now implementing meaningful improvements in how we address mental health. The department will be in good hands under his leadership.”
After serving in local government as Dawson County manager, Tanner was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2012, where he served a two-year stint as chairman of the House Transportation Committee.
In 2019, he was named chairman of the Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission, which laid the groundwork for passage of legislation this year overhauling the delivery of mental-health services in Georgia.
Tanner left the General Assembly in 2020 in an unsuccessful bid for Congress. He then was appointed to the administrative post of Forsyth County manager early last year.
Monica Johnson, a division director at the mental health agency, will serve as interim commissioner until Tanner takes up the post.
Kemp also announced Wednesday that Robyn Crittenden, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Revenue, has accepted a position in the private sector effective Nov. 25.
“Over the past two decades, Robyn has ably led three state agencies and served as the 28th secretary of state,” the governor said. “As the first African-American woman to serve as a statewide constitutional officer in Georgia – along with her many other achievements – Robyn has both made history and made our state better.”
Frank O’Connell, the revenue agency’s general counsel, will serve as interim commissioner until a new head is appointed.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Opponents of a proposed titanium mine near the Okefenokee Swamp filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging a decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to turn jurisdiction over permits for the project to the state.
The federal agency suspended the Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s (EPD) review of the proposed mine last June, declaring that Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals (TPM) had not consulted the Muscogee Creek Nation about the project. The Okefenokee is culturally significant to the tribe.
But after the company sued in federal court, the Corps agreed in an out-of-court settlement in August to let the EPD resume its consideration of the permits.
The Atlanta-based Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) suit filed Tuesday on behalf of four conservation groups argues the Corps’ decision would open to strip mining almost 600 acres of wetlands near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge that are critical to the swamp.
“The Corps’ decision to reinstate the jurisdictional determinations runs counter to its internal guidance, reasoned decision-making, and common sense,” said Megan Huynh, a senior attorney at the SELC.
“Not only are the at-risk wetlands valuable in their own right, but they are important to the health of the irreplaceable Okefenokee Swamp. To comply with the [federal] Clean Water Act, the Corps must require Twin Pines to obtain a federal permit and complete a full environmental review of the mining project.”
Twin Pines officials say the mine does not threaten the environment, noting the proposed site for the project is three miles from the southeast corner of the Okefenokee at its closest point and 11 miles from the nearest canoe trail used by visitors.
The company also maintains the land will be restored to its original contours and native vegetation after mining activity is completed.
The SELC is representing the National Wildlife Refuge Association, National Parks Conservation Association, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Center for Biological Diversity in the lawsuit.
“The Corps’ failure to follow the law and the science, which overwhelmingly shows the TPM project as an existential threat to the Oke, has exposed the swamp to unacceptable risk,” said Josh Marks, a lawyer who has led the opposition to the current mining project as well as a mining proposal near the swamp during the 1990s that was eventually abandoned.
“It’s just the opposite of the type of leadership we need from the federal government, especially at a time when the Biden administration is putting such a premium on protecting natural carbon sinks that are critical to fighting climate change.”
The Okefenokee Swamp is one of the largest remaining intact freshwater ecosystems in North America. In addition to its ecological significance, the mine’s opponents say the refuge supports more than 750 jobs and nearly $65 million in annual economic output.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and his Democratic allies have filed a lawsuit challenging the absence of Saturday early voting ahead of next month’s Georgia runoff against Republican opponent Herschel Walker.
Warnock held a slight lead over Walker after votes from the Nov. 8 general election were counted. But neither candidate gained more than 50% of the vote, sending the two into a Dec. 6 runoff.
In the immediate aftermath of last week’s election, the secretary of state’s office indicated one weekday day for early voting likely would be set for Saturday, Nov. 26.
But Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger subsequently announced there would be no early voting that day, citing a state law that prohibits early voting on any day that immediately follows a state holiday.
Thursday, Nov. 24, is Thanksgiving Day, and Friday, Nov. 25, is a state holiday originally set aside for the observance of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s birthday. While Lee’s name has been removed, the state holiday remains in effect.
In a motion to restore the early voting Saturday, Warnock’s campaign, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the Democratic Party of Georgia argue the law cited by the secretary of state applies only to primary and general elections, not to runoffs.
The plaintiffs charge the real motivation on the part of Republicans is to suppress the vote.
“Illegal attempts to block Saturday voting are another desperate attempt by career politicians to squeeze the people out of their own democracy and to silence the voices of Georgians,” Quentin Fulks, Warnock’s campaign manager, said Tuesday.“We’re aggressively fighting to protect Georgia voters’ ability to vote on Saturday.”
“The secretary of state’s guidance regarding Saturday runoff voting is deeply concerning for anyone who believes in the right to vote, and it clearly contradicts Georgia law,” added Rebecca DeHart, executive director of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “We will use every legal tool at our disposal to ensure that Georgia counties can offer voters ample opportunity to cast their ballot as laid out in state law.”
Raffensperger criticized the lawsuit as poorly timed, with an indirect reference to former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
“If recent elections prove one thing, it’s that voters expect candidates to focus on winning at the ballot box – not at the courthouse,” Raffensperger said.
“Senator Warnock and his Democratic Party allies are seeking to change Georgia law right before an election based on their political preferences. Instead of muddying the water and pressuring counties to ignore Georgia law, Senator Warnock should be allowing county election officials to continue preparations for the upcoming runoff.”
The Dec. 6 runoff will be the second for Warnock. The Democrat won the Senate seat in a runoff in January of last year, defeating then-Republican incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – The Port of Savannah experienced its second busiest month on record in October, the Georgia Ports Authority reported Monday.
The port handled 552,800 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containerized cargo last month, an increase of 9.8% over October of last year. That put Savannah’s total for October below only the 575,500 TEUs the port moved in August.
“There has been downward pressure on the total U.S. container trade related to inflation and a shift in consumer spending toward services such as restaurants and travel,” said Joel Wooten, the authority’s board chairman. “However, the Port of Savannah continues to outperform relative to the national market, driving new business for Georgia.”
The Port of Brunswick also had a strong October. Colonel’s Island Terminal handled 70,233 units of roll-on/roll-off cargo last month, an increase of 22,045 units over the same month a year ago, or nearly 46%.
“Greater availability of computer chips has allowed carmakers to increase production,” said Cliff Pyron, chief commercial officer for the ports authority. “This, combined with manufacturers’ traditional end-of-year push, yielded strong results for our October auto volumes.”
Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch said the Port of Savannah is continuing to make progress reducing the backlog of ships at anchor waiting to enter the port.
Additionally, Savannah and other East and Gulf Coast ports have been gaining market share relative to the West Coast.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Georgia House Republicans nominated Majority Leader Jon Burns Monday to become the next House speaker.
Burns, R-Newington, defeated Rep. Barry Fleming, R-Harlem, by secret ballot in a vote by the 97 House GOP lawmakers who attended Monday’s Republican Caucus meeting at the state Capitol.
If Burns is elected speaker by the full House on the first day of the 2023 legislative session in January, he would succeed Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, who is stepping down from leadership because of health concerns.
Before Monday’s vote, Burns pledged to build on Ralston’s successes leading House Republicans during the last two-year term protecting the rights of gun owners and the unborn, making elections “more accessible and secure,” increasing funding for law enforcement and public safety and cutting taxes.
“All of these were House priorities I worked on as a member of your leadership team,” Burns told his GOP colleagues.
Fleming, a lawyer and former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, led the House in the fight over a controversial election-reform bill the General Assembly passed last year in the wake of the 2020 elections. The legislation passed over complaints of voter suppression from minority Democrats.
“We had to make some changes in our election law because of abuses that took place during the pandemic,” Fleming said.
Both Burns and Fleming paid tribute to Ralston, who has served as speaker since 2010.
“He was a mentor to me,” Fleming said.
“We owe him a debt of gratitude for his leadership and service,” Burns added.
Burns, a retired educator and farmer, was elected to the House in 2004 after a brief stint as a member of the State Transportation Board. He was elected majority leader in 2015.
Burns represents the 159th House District, which includes all of Screven County and parts of Bulloch and Effingham counties.
House Republicans also re-nominated Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones, R-Milton, to return to the post. The full House also will elect its speaker pro tempore in January.
The GOP caucus then elected Rep. Chuck Efstration, R-Dacula, to succeed Burns as House majority leader over three other candidates; unanimously elected Rep. James Burchett, R-Waycross, majority whip; elected Rep. Bruce Williamson, R-Monroe, over one opponent to serve as caucus chair; chose Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, as caucus vice chair; and elected Rep. Ginny Ehrhart, R-Marietta, as secretary/treasurer.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
