ATLANTA – Georgia lawmakers again are considering whether to legalize casino gambling in the Peach State.
A constitutional amendment introduced in the Georgia House of Representatives Tuesday calls for a statewide referendum to authorize a limited number of “casino resorts” across the state.
A portion of the proceeds would go toward the HOPE Scholarship and other tuition and grant programs at both public and private colleges and universities as well as Technical College System of Georgia campuses. The money also would help cover the casinos’ operating expenses and fund programs for prevention and treatment of addictive gambling.
The legislation is sponsored by several longtime supporters of legalizing casinos, including Republican state Reps. Ron Stephens of Savannah, and Alan Powell of Hartwell, and Democratic Rep. Calvin Smyre of Columbus.
Stephens argued Georgia voters should have the right to decide whether to legalize casino gambling, which has drawn strong public support in numerous polls.
“Georgians support the economic opportunities presented by casino resorts, especially jobs and revenue that they would bring to local communities,” he said.
Legalizing casino gambling has long enjoyed the backing of the private sector. Officials at Atlanta Motor Speedway floated a plan last year to build a $1 billion casino resort adjacent to the racetrack in Hampton.
But interest in casinos goes far beyond the metro region. The developers who built The Battery, a mixed-use development that includes the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park in Cobb County, have released renderings of proposed casino resorts on the Chattahoochee River near Columbus, on Lake Hartwell in Lavonia and in Midway south of Savannah.
“While it may seem that metro Atlanta would be an obvious location, rural Georgia may very well have better locations,” said Rick Lackey, founder of Atlanta-based City Commercial Real Estate, which recently announced it has more than 5,000 acres of potential casino resort sites under leasing agreements.
“Generally, successful destination resorts with casinos draw customers that can easily travel by car and are within 2-to-5-hour drive times of major population centers,” Lackey said.
Passing casino legislation will be a heavy lift for Georgia lawmakers. Constitutional amendments require two-thirds majorities in the state House and Senate, a hurdle that has been impossible to clear in past sessions amid opposition to legalized gambling mounted by religious conservatives.
The measure was assigned to the House Economic Development & Tourism Committee, which Stephens chairs.
The casino legislation is the second legalized gambling proposal to hit the General Assembly during the early days of the 2021 legislative session. Stephens introduced a bill earlier this month that would legalize online sports betting in Georgia.
ATLANTA – The Georgia Board of Natural Resources Tuesday approved nine parks, renovation and land acquisition projects worth about $20 million, the second round of funding through the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act.
Georgia voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment in 2018 creating a dedicated fund for outdoor recreation projects. The funding comes from a tax on purchases of sporting goods.
After considering 51 project proposals submitted by state agencies, local governments and nonprofit conservation groups, board members unanimously approved the following projects:
$4.6 million for the second phase of the planned state acquisition of the 16,083-acre Ceylon property, the largest undeveloped tract of coastal Georgia, located along the Satilla River in Camden County.
$3.2 million to reconstruct the visitor center at Wormsloe State Historic Site near Savannah.
$2.6 million in renovations to the campground at Vogel State Park in Blairsville.
$2.6 million in repairs to the approach trail entrance at the Amicalola Falls State Park Visitor Center near Dawsonville.
$2.1 million for construction of the first phase of the Firefly Trail Southern Segment in Greene County.
$2.0 million for acquisition and restoration of the Dugdown Corridor in Paulding and Polk counties.
$1.8 million for the Oakfuskee Conservation Center at West Point Lake.
$997,501 for a boardwalk and connection bridge at the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell.
$635,620 to purchase a conservation easement at the Birdsong Nature Center in Thomasville.
Before gaining the final approval to move forward, the projects must go before two legislative appropriations subcommittees, one run by the Georgia House and the other by the state Senate. Those votes are expected to take place next month.
The first round of funding through the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act last year generated $20 million for 14 projects.
State Rep. David Clark (R-Buford) speaks to reporters without a mask after being ejected from the Georgia House floor on Jan. 26, 2021. (Photo by Beau Evans)
ATLANTA – Georgia House Speaker David Ralston ejected a Gwinnett County lawmaker from the House floor Tuesday for refusing to take a COVID-19 test.
Rep. David Clark, R-Buford, hasn’t taken a single test for the virus since the 2021 General Assembly convened on Jan. 11, a violation of rules the House adopted at the start of the session, said Kaleb McMichen, Ralston’s spokesman. The rule requires lawmakers to undergo testing twice a week, whether or not they are at the Georgia Capitol.
“I don’t know how long [the coronavirus pandemic] is going to last,” Ralston declared from the House rostrum. “But it behooves us to do whatever we can to be safe … rather than go out there and get media attention for standing up to authority.”
Speaking with reporters after being escorted off the House floor by Capitol Police, Clark accused Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, of overstepping his authority to limit members of the House from being present in the chamber. He also said the General Assembly’s COVID-19 testing program lacks teeth and is there for show rather than any effective safety practice.
“It’s dumb how we’re doing things telling everybody to do tests to make everybody feel comfortable,” Clark told reporters while not wearing a mask.
Clark and Ralston have clashed in the past. Clark introduced a resolution two years ago calling on the speaker to resign, charging Ralston – a lawyer – with abusing his power by taking advantage of legislative leave policies to delay court cases on behalf of clients accused of various violent crimes.
The flap led to the passage of legislation tightening the rules governing when a legislator who is a lawyer can obtain a delay in a case citing his or her legislative duties.
On Tuesday, Ralston said he’s simply looking out for the health and safety of House members during a pandemic that has killed nearly 12,000 Georgians.
“I’ve been to too many funerals,” he said. “I get tired of going to them.”
While Ralston was enforcing the COVID-19 testing rule in the House, Georgia Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan returned to the upper legislative chamber Tuesday after quarantining since testing positive two weeks ago. He urged lawmakers to comply with the twice-weekly testing requirement both the House and Senate have adopted.
“You’re all too valuable to have someone slip up and pass on [the virus] unknowingly,” Dugan, R-Carrollton, said from the Senate floor.
McMichen said Clark will be allowed to return to the House chamber upon complying with the testing policy.
ATLANTA – The Georgia Ports Authority Monday reported modest growth for 2020 despite the economic slowdown brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Port of Savannah moved more than 4.68 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) last year, up 1.8 percent over its 2019 total of 4.59 million. Total cargo crossing all docks in 2020 reached 38.4 million tons.
The growing container trade in Savannah during the last five months of the year followed five consecutive months of lower volumes.
In fact, the Port of Savannah achieved its busiest December ever, handling 447,525 TEUs, an increase of 24% over December 2019.
“Savannah’s capacity to take on additional trade as well as its diversified cargo portfolio – including ecommerce and strong export markets – helped to drive business gains,” said Griff Lynch, the ports authority’s executive director.
“Additionally, a housing boom has translated into strong demand for furniture, appliances and other home goods crossing our docks,” he said. “We remain optimistic that the conditions for growth will continue, but it is too early to know if the pace of cargo expansion will carry on as it has.”
During a time when manufacturers around the world were shuttering plants, Georgia exports held steady over the calendar year at 2.3 million TEUs. Export container volumes were led by food, forest products, cotton, clay, automotive goods and chemicals.
The Port of Savannah maintained a near-even trade balance of 51% import and 49% export, rare for the industry.
While the container trade ended 2020 in positive territory, the auto industry was harder hit, with both manufacturing and sales experiencing a difficult year related to the pandemic.
As a result, Roll-on/Roll-off cargo for 2020 at the Port of Brunswick fell by 8% to 602,748 units.
However, momentum has increased in recent months, with Ro/Ro trade between August and December up 15,000 units compared to the same period in 2019.
University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley
ATLANTA – The University System of Georgia will conduct a national search for a successor to retiring Chancellor Steve Wrigley, the system announced Monday.
Seven members of the system’s Board of Regents will form an advisory group to help with the search. The group will be chaired by Regent Kessel D. Stelling Jr., chairman and CEO of Columbus-based Synovus.
The group will work with the Atlanta-based firm Parker Executive Search to put in place a search process that will include input gathered during listening sessions and from a publicly accessible website.
Wrigley announced earlier this month that he will step down on July 1 after 36 years in public service, including more than four years as chancellor.
Joining Stelling on the advisory committee will be Board of Regents Chairman Sachin Shailendra and regents Erin Hames, C. Everett Kennedy III, Neil L. Pruitt Jr., Sarah-Elizabeth Langford-Reed and Harold Reynolds.
