ATLANTA — Millions of dollars of out-of-state campaign money flowing into Georgia could soon be more strongly policed in the wake of mysterious political TV ads and big spending on recent elections.
A bipartisan state Senate voted 50-1 to pass a bill Thursday that allows the Georgia Ethics Commission to seek subpoenas against groups or individuals located in other states who are suspected of breaking Georgia campaign finance laws, such as contribution limits or transparency requirements.
“We will now have the tools to hold people outside our state accountable,” said state Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, before the vote in the state Senate. “This bill is just making certain that those from outside our state that are coming in and pouring money into elections play by the same rules.”
The bill received a vote following a barrage of TV ads and billboards by a shadowy Delaware-based group called Georgians for Integrity, which has launched attacks on Republican gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Burt Jones without disclosing its backers or registering in Georgia.
Democratic candidates have often received more outside money than Republicans in recent high-profile elections.
For example, during the 2022 race for governor, about 78% of Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams’ donations came from outside Georgia, according to a Capitol Beat review of campaign contribution records that included an address through October 2022. By comparison, just 15% of Republican Brian Kemp’s campaign money came from elsewhere.
State Sen. Randal Mangham, D-Stone Mountain, said he worried the Ethics Commission could weaponize its investigatory powers for political purposes.
“I am a little concerned that this not be used as a political pawn to publicize if you’re investigating someone because you don’t like their political views,” said Mangham, who voted in favor of the bill.
Ethics Commission Executive Director David Emadi told a Senate committee earlier this week that groups and individuals who are influencing Georgia elections should be required to comply with state campaign finance laws.
“We’d like to be able to take immediate action if we see these outside actors, outside the state, sending money in unregulated, unreported, attack ads,” Emadi said.
Under House Bill 414, the Ethics Commission would have the authority to ask a Georgia superior court judge to issue a subpoena for documentation or information from outside of the state. Failure to respond to the subpoena within 30 days would result in a default judgment against the out-of-state individual or group.
The bill passed the state House last year, but the state Senate made minor changes to it. The bill now returns to the House for a final vote.
ATLANTA — Billionaire Republican health care executive Rick Jackson’s entry into the Georgia governor’s race this week could shake up a contest that has so far been dominated by three statewide GOP officeholders.
Jackson, 71, pitched himself as an outsider and loyalist to President Donald Trump who can challenge Attorney General Chris Carr, Lt. Gov Burt Jones and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for Georgia’s top job.
“I don’t need this job for money or power. It’s not about me,” Jackson said in his introductory campaign video. “No more free rides for people who refuse to work. If you want to sit on your butt, binge watch Netflix and scarf down Cheetos, do it with your own money.”
Rick Jackson is a Republican contender for Georgia governor in 2026 (Photo credit: rickjackson.com)
Jackson, the founder of Jackson Healthcare, says he plans to spend tens of millions of dollars of his own money on his candidacy, ensuring he can make himself more of a household name before this May’s Republican primary.
His run for office could split the field and increase the likelihood of a runoff, which would be held in June if none of the candidates wins a majority in May.
If elected, Jackson said he would prioritize deportations, cutting taxes, and banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
The winner of the Republican field will advance to the November election. The Democratic contenders for governor include former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Rev. Olu Brown, former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, former state Sen. Jason Esteves, state Rep. Derrick Jackson, state Rep. Ruwa Romman, and former DeKalb County CEO Mike Thurmond.
ATLANTA — Georgia homeowners’ property values couldn’t rise faster than the inflation rate, putting a brake on annual property tax increases, according to a bill that passed the state Senate on Tuesday.
Property taxes pay for most local services, including schools.
The bill would eliminate a part of state law that allowed school systems and local governments to continue levying taxes on property values that increase more than the inflation rate. Property taxes are based on assessed home values and local tax rates.
About 71% of Georgia’s 180 school systems opted out of the cap last year, along with 29% of city and county governments. Voters approved the tax limit in 2024.
If the bill is approved, homeowners whose properties rise in value would save money on their taxes, while local school systems and governments would lose that tax revenue.
“We had seen property taxes being increased on homeowners by double digits,” said state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, who sponsored Senate Bill 382. “We’ve heard from homeowners who say they can’t afford a massive increase in their own taxes.”
Opponents of the bill said it reduces education funding and falls short of providing real relief to struggling families.
State Sen. Derek Mallow, D-Savannah, said state legislators should raise the minimum wage, eliminate tax breaks for big businesses and help the homeless.
“If we truly wanted to help the least of these among us, we have the power through a budget to appropriate it and do something about it if we were serious about it. Now the question becomes, where does our moral compass actually lie?” Mallow said.
The bill cleared the Senate on a 31-19 vote, with one Democrat, state Sen. Jaha Howard, D-Smyrna, crossing party lines to vote with Republicans in the majority. SB 382 will next be considered by the state House.
ATLANTA — It could soon become a serious crime in Georgia to use AI apps to create obscene, computer-generated images of real people.
State senators considered a proposal Monday to create the crime of “virtual peeping” by using artificial intelligence to virtually undress people.
The technology would have been viewed as science fiction several years ago but now it has become a “nightmare” for victims whose privacy is violated, said state Sen. Bo Hatchett, R-Cornelia, the sponsor of Senate Bill 398.
“You shouldn’t have to be afraid to post an image of yourself online. You shouldn’t be afraid to have a picture of yourself in a yearbook and have that photograph used in the ways that people are using them now,” Hatchett said. “There needs to be some protections in the law, and I think they need to be harsh punishments.”
Under the bill, using AI to generate an obscene image of an adult without their consent would be a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. Obscene AI images of minors would come with imprisonment up to 20 years and a $100,000 fine.
Several people told a Senate Judiciary subcommittee Monday they support the intent of the bill, but they were concerned it could be too broad.
“Sixteen-year-old boys are dumb. You have a tool that will very easily create a naked image, and you’re telling a 16-year-old boy whose brain is barely fully formed, certainly not their frontal lobe, that they cannot do that thing,” said Cindy Battles, policy director for The Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, a civil rights group. “I don’t think a 16-year-old child should be charged with a felony for having an image that they created using AI.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia told senators the bill should be revised to target harmful images while protecting satire, political commentary, artistic expression and parody.
“This is what we ought to be doing with our time because technology is getting beyond our criminal justice system,” said Minority Leader Harold Jones II, D-Augusta.
Legislators said they will continue working on the bill, and it didn’t receive a vote Monday. Hatchett said he plans to present a new version of the bill next week.
ATLANTA — The Republican-controlled Georgia Senate voted along party lines Monday to urge Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to turn over the state’s unredacted voter list — which includes 8 million voters’ personal information — to the Trump administration.
The vote came five days after the FBI seized ballots from the 2020 presidential election in Fulton County, which Democrats called another example of federal interference.
Raffensperger, a Republican running for governor, and Democrats opposed the nonbinding resolution, saying state law protects voters’ Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers and full birth dates from disclosure.
The resolution is a symbolic show of support for the U.S. Department of Justice’s nationwide effort to collect voter lists, saying it wants to ensure accurate registration information.
“If we have only valid voters in our system, then what’s there to hide?” said state Sen. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth. “We should share our voter list with valid government entities to make sure there’s nothing wrong with the data.”
Democrats said the resolution undermines public trust in elections ahead of this year’s midterms, blaming President Donald Trump and his Republican supporters in the Senate.
“Here’s the setup to start interfering with Georgia elections,” said state Sen. Nikki Merritt, D-Grayson. “He can’t accept losing 2020 like he did. He can’t accept the loss. And now we keep relitigating it, and voters are paying attention.”
Prior to the Senate resolution, the Department of Justice sued Georgia for the statewide voter list last month.
Raffensperger’s office previously provided the DOJ with a public version of Georgia’s voter list that redacted voters’ personal information.
Raffensperger is a candidate for governor in the Republican primary in May against Attorney General Chris Carr and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is supported by most Republican state senators.
