by Dave Williams | Oct 22, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The Georgia Supreme Court Tuesday denied an expedited appeal of a Fulton County Superior Court ruling that invalidated a series of election law changes approved by the Republican-controlled State Election Board.
Tuesday’s unanimous decision means none of the rules changes opposed by Democrats and some Republicans will be in effect for the Nov. 5 elections.
Last week’s decision in the Fulton County case came in a lawsuit filed by Eternal Vigilance Action, a Georgia-based advocacy group headed by former Republican state Rep. Scot Turner.
“The quick decision by a Fulton County judge followed closely by a unanimous vote of the state Supreme Court should erase any doubt about the merits of our arguments,” Turner said Tuesday. “I’m a Republican and this is a conservative policy organization. I do not like fighting my friends, but in this instance, fealty to the Georgia Constitution demands it.”
The most consequential of the rules changes would have required counties to hand-count the number of ballots cast at polling places on Election Day and allow local election officials to delay certifying results of an election in order to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” if they suspect voter fraud.
The five-member State Election Board’s three Republican members have approved the rules changes during several meetings since August, arguing they were trying to restore public confidence in the electoral process after many Republicans in Georgia and around the country questioned the results of the 2020 elections. Dozens of court cases in the Peach State and across the nation concluded there was no widespread voter fraud.
Opponents countered that the new rules were aimed at sowing chaos and confusion by delaying next month’s election results, potentially allowing former President Donald Trump to claim victory in Georgia even if Vice President Kamala Harris wins more votes.
“Today’s ruling is a huge win for Georgia voters and the rule of law,” said Lauren Groh-Wargo, CEO of Fair Fight, a voting-rights organization founded by two-time Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams. “This is a critical victory in the ongoing fight to protect independent elections.”
by Dave Williams | Oct 22, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia Chief Justice Michael Boggs Tuesday announced the formation of an ad hoc committee that will assess the risks and benefits of using artificial intelligence in the state’s court system.
The committee, to be chaired by Justice Andrew Pinson, will look for ways to maintain public trust and confidence in Georgia’s judiciary as the use of AI increases during the coming years.
“We recognize that, while there is much discussion around this subject, many of the opportunities and threats associated with AI are unknown at this point,” Pinson said. “We hope the work of this committee will educate and guide the judiciary as we explore this new technology.”
The committee will include representatives of the various classes of state courts as well as partner agencies that work within the judicial system.
The Judicial Council of Georgia, which serves as the policymaking body for the judicial branch of state government, will support the committee’s work.
The potential impacts of AI technology are being examined throughout state government. The State Bar of Georgia has created its own committee to explore the subject.
The Georgia House and Senate also have separate study committees addressing the topic.
by Dave Williams | Oct 22, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – For the second time in three years, Gov. Brian Kemp is giving Georgians a tax rebate worth more than $1 billion.
Kemp said Tuesday he will include the rebate in the mid-year budget he introduces to the General Assembly in January. He said the extra money will come in handy, particularly for Georgians who suffered losses from Hurricane Helene.
“We all know that even if inflation has fallen, high prices haven’t,” he said. “Families see that every day when they go to the grocery store or the gas pump. … People shouldn’t have to deal with that added burden, especially in the wake of tragedy.”
Tuesday’s announcement was the second tax relief measure the governor has issued in recent weeks. Kemp temporarily suspended collection of the state sales tax on gasoline and other motor fuels shortly after Helene struck large portions of South Georgia and the Augusta region.
The governor proposed a similar tax rebate two years ago worth about $1 billion. The General Assembly approved that rebate during the 2023 legislative session.
Under the new tax rebate, single tax filers will receive $250. A single filer who is the head of his or her household will get $375, and married couples filing jointly will receive $500.
Kemp said the state can afford the rebate because conservative budgeting has helped the state build up a huge budget surplus. He said he’d rather send that money back to taxpayers instead of pouring it into new government programs.
“This is one-time money … a way for us to use our excess surplus to get it back to the people we believe know how to use it best,” he said. “The worst mistake the state could make would be to grow government with one-time money.”
by Dave Williams | Oct 22, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Investigators interviewing witnesses to Saturday’s tragic gangway collapse on Sapelo Island and examining evidence won’t have a quick answer to what caused the structure to give way, Georgia Commissioner of Natural Resources Walter Rabon said Tuesday.
“This could go for a week if not months,” Rabon said after updating members of the state Board of Natural Resources on the incident at their monthly meeting in Atlanta.
As many as 40 people may have been on the gangway late Saturday afternoon preparing to take a state-operated ferry from the island’s Marsh Landing Dock back to the mainland when the 80-foot aluminum structure buckled and collapsed.
About 700 people were on the island that day for the annual Sapelo Cultural Day celebration of the Georgia barrier island’s Gullah Geechee community, Rabon said Tuesday.
Of up to 20 people who went into the water, seven died and several were injured.
Two of the injured are still hospitalized, Rabon said
“There’s no telling how many lives were saved thanks to the actions of first responders and Good Samaritans,” he said.
Rabon said the gangway passed its most recent inspections, one by manufacturer Crescent Equipment Co. last December and another by Department of Natural Resources (DNR) staff after Hurricane Helene struck the area late last month.
“It showed no damage, topside and bottom side,” he said.
Rabon said the number of people on the gangway shouldn’t have caused the collapse.
“It should have been able to support a much larger number,” he said.
Rabon declined to speculate on what did cause the collapse.
“We’ve got multiple staff there interviewing witnesses,” he said. “This is an ongoing investigation.”
Families of some of the Black victims have hired a team of civil rights law lawyers, who vowed Monday to conduct their own investigation that could lead to a lawsuit.
The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus also weighed in on the tragedy.
“This unnecessary loss of life is heartbreaking, and as representatives of the community, we owe it to the victims and their families to seek answers and advocate for accountability,” said state Rep. Carl Gilliard, D-Savannah, the caucus’ chairman.
On Tuesday, Board of Natural Resources members observed a moment of silence for another of the victims, Charles Houston of Darien, who served as a chaplain on the island for the DNR.
by Dave Williams | Oct 21, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – State House speakers in six Southeastern states affected by three hurricanes in recent months – including Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns – sent a letter to congressional leaders Monday asking for disaster relief funds.
Significant portions of Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee sustained heavy damage from hurricanes Debbie, Helene, and Milton, devastating communities and farms.
In a letter to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the state legislative leaders suggested Congress send block grants to the affected states, as was done following Hurricane Michael in 2018.
“Timely delivery of disaster assistance is extremely important as farmers will be unable to secure financing for planting next year’s crop without this support,” the letter stated. “The groundwork Congress laid after Hurricane Michael was extremely beneficial through providing block grants to the affected states.”
The letter also asked Congress to provide a special supplemental appropriation through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that could be used to help states with long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure, housing, and economic development.
A third request seeks funding through the Federal Highway Administration to rebuild roads and bridges destroyed along the paths of the hurricanes.
“These historic storms have left countless citizens, farmers, and businesses facing generational impacts on their way of life and the places they call home,” said Burns, R-Newington. “This aid will be critical to ensuring the timely assistance of our most heavily impacted states.”
by Dave Williams | Oct 21, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – A Georgia man has been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that disrupted the counting of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election.
Cylester Maxwell, 42, of Alpharetta was taken into custody in Georgia on Friday and charged with assaulting law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon and civil disorder, both felonies. He also faces misdemeanor charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds and engaging in physical violence in a Capitol building or grounds.
According to court records, Maxwell was identified in video footage marching with a crowd of rioters away from the “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse toward the Capitol building. Maxwell then entered the restricted grounds of the Capitol and positioned himself near the front of a crowd confronting a police line on the West Plaza.
A short time later, he joined others in the crowd in shoving a giant metal-framed “TRUMP” sign into the line of police like a battering ram. A few seconds later, he let go of the sign and pulled a barricade away from the police line.
Maxwell later joined the front of the mob as it broke through the police line. He then remained on or near the West Plaza as rioters flooded the Capitol’s Lower and Upper West Terraces.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Atlanta and Washington field offices and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section.
