Coronavirus has sickened thousands of people and killed hundreds in Georgia. (Image: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
ATLANTA – Ahead of an April 30 end to the state’s shelter-in-place order, Gov. Brian Kemp urged Georgians to continue social distancing and to seek testing if they experience common coronavirus symptoms like coughing, fever and shortness of breath.
At a news conference Monday, Kemp did not say whether he will extend the statewide shelter-in-place order beyond Thursday, when it is set to end. The order has already been extended once since it was first issued on April 3.
He noted only that the order is currently scheduled to end after April 30 and that he plans to make a decision later this week on what to do next.
“I just haven’t made those decisions yet,” Kemp said.
The governor did say, however, that elderly persons and those with chronic health issues will likely need to continue sheltering-in-place well into mid-May, and perhaps for longer than that.
Georgia’s shelter-in-place order has required people to remain at home except for essential errands like grocery runs and to exercise, and for most businesses to limit their operations only to levels that will keep them financially afloat.
As businesses start slowly reopening, Kemp and the state’s public health commissioner, Dr. Kathleen Toomey, stressed that anyone in Georgia who is experiencing common coronavirus symptoms can now receive a diagnostic test. On Monday, Kemp called on those with symptoms to “take us up on this offer.”
“We have the tests, we have the physicians, we have the sites and we have the bandwidth,” Kemp said. “What we need right now is to have more Georgians participate.”
Testing was previously limited to the state’s most vulnerable populations, including the elderly and those with chronic health issues, as well as health-care workers and first responders. In recent weeks, state health officials along with Georgia National Guard members have ramped up testing through mobile clinics and partnerships with companies like Walmart and CVS.
Now, everyone can be tested who shows symptoms including fever, coughing, difficulty breathing, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and loss of taste or smell.
“We have plenty of testing capacity,” Toomey said Monday. “And we are ramping up our contact tracing capacity.”
As of 3 p.m. Monday, nearly 24,000 people in Georgia had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel strain of coronavirus that sparked a global pandemic. It had killed 971 Georgians.
Kemp has faced fierce criticism for his decision to allow several close-quarter businesses to reopen this week and last following weeks of mandatory closures. Those businesses include dine-in restaurants, movie theaters, barbershops, gyms and more.
Other establishments like bars, nightclubs and amusement parks will remain close for the time being, Kemp said Monday.
Many health experts and local elected leaders have criticized the reopening decision in light of Georgia’s relatively low testing data compared to other states and a lack of so-called “contact tracing,” which helps officials better pinpoint where outbreaks may be occurring.
Kemp defended his approach as “a measured step forward” that is an option, not a requirement, for struggling businesses to reopen under a host of operational restrictions like physical distancing and routine sanitizing.
“I didn’t order anybody to open any business,” Kemp said Monday. “I simply gave people the opportunity that literally were on the verge, many of them, of losing everything they’ve got.”
Kemp also brushed aside scrutiny over comments made last week by President Donald Trump, who said he was “not happy” with the governor’s reopening plan, specifically mentioning spas as problematic.
Kemp said the state largely has been following federal guidelines for deciding when to let businesses reopen, while also weighing input from local health officials as well as the dire financial situation facing many business owners who have been shuttered for weeks.
“We are looking at depression-like unemployment,” Kemp said. “It has all tumbled off a cliff like it has in every state. But we will come back, and we will come back even stronger.”
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan outlines his agenda for the 2020 legislative session at the State Capitol on January 13, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Disagreement has emerged between Georgia House and Senate leaders on when to resume the 2020 legislative session as many local businesses are poised to possibly reopen after weeks of closures prompted by coronavirus.
House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, has called for reconvening the session on June 11 to give state lawmakers more time to wrangle the state budget before June 30, the legal deadline for the 2021 fiscal year budget to be passed.
In a letter Friday, Ralston told House lawmakers the June 11 date would give them the most updated financial picture for the state, given that tax revenue collections for April will not be available until the end of May.
“It is a given that substantial cuts will need to be made in the budget,” Ralston said. “I do not believe it is sound practice to make these difficult decisions without the best and most current information.”
However, his counterpart in the Senate, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, prefers a May 14 date for the General Assembly to resume work. Doing so would help state agencies and school districts start planning for the upcoming fiscal year sooner, said Duncan’s chief of staff, John Porter.
“We owe it to the teachers and students of our state not to wait until the last minute,” Porter said Friday afternoon.
The earlier date also figures as a show of support for businesses like restaurants, gyms and barbershops that Gov. Brian Kemp has given the green light to reopen after weeks of statewide mandatory closures.
“Our chamber is ready to get back to work for the people,” Porter said. “We can abide by the same safety guidelines we have asked Georgia’s businesses to adhere to.”
The legislative session has been suspended since March 13, leaving hundreds of bills and critical budget negotiations in limbo. Georgia is also under a statewide shelter-in-place order issued by Kemp that runs through the end of April.
How many bills the legislature would consider upon reconvening remains up in the air. Per state law, the General Assembly’s only legal requirement is to pass a balanced budget for the upcoming fiscal year by June 30.
Restarting the session on June 11, as Ralston wants, would give Georgia hospitals and health officials more time to curb the spread of coronavirus. But it would also give lawmakers less time to hand in a budget that will be heavily influenced by an expected nosedive in tax revenues, due largely to the coronavirus-prompted economic slowdown.
In his letter Friday, Ralston said House Appropriations Chairman Terry England, R-Auburn, will start scheduling budget committee meetings “over the next couple of weeks.”
Last week, Ralston tapped five state lawmakers and several key Capitol staffers to serve on a committee tasked with looking at how to close out the remainder of the session. That committee has not met yet, according to an official with direct knowledge of its activities.
When they do meet, the committee members will dive into the logistics of how to hold the session in a way that reduces the risk of exposure to coronavirus. Some officials have already reached out to the National Conference of State Legislatures for insight on what other state legislatures are doing to hold their sessions safely and transparently.
Nearly half of the country’s state legislatures have postponed their sessions or rewritten rules for convening amid coronavirus, according to the national conference. Several have met in unorthodox circumstances to conduct business in recent weeks, such as in sports arenas or outdoor tents.
In some cases, lawmakers in other in-session states have voted by proxy. For instance, lawmakers in Kentucky changed rules for the state’s House of Representatives to let members located outside the chamber text photos of their votes to a few members inside the chamber.
The story was updated to include additional comment from House Speaker David Ralston.
Rep. Vernon Jones (R-Lithonia) has sparked controversy following his endorsement of President Donald Trump. (Official House of Representatives photo)
State Rep. Vernon Jones backtracked Thursday on plans to resign from his General Assembly seat, a day after announcing he would step down in the wake of fierce criticism for his endorsement of President Donald Trump’s reelection bid.
“That was emotional and that was motivational,” Vernon said, shortly before noting he will remain in the primary to hold his state House seat.
The remarks came a day after Jones said he is tired of “being attacked and harassed by the Democrat Party” in the wake of his public show of support for the firebrand Republican president.
“Turn the lights off, I have left the plantation,” Jones said in a statement announcing his resignation Wednesday. “Someone else can occupy that suite.”
Jones is angling for a third consecutive term in staunchly Democratic House District 91, based in east metro Atlanta. He drew one opponent, Rhonda Taylor, a community activist who owns a consulting company in Conyers and ran unsuccessfully against Jones in 2016.
He is on his second stint in the Georgia House of Representatives that began in 2016, following a longer House tenure from 1993 to 2001. The outspoken Jones was also DeKalb County’s CEO from 2001 to 2009.
In recent comments, Jones criticized the Democratic Party as a stifling influence on conservative black Americans. He also hailed Trump’s economic record, his support for historic black colleges and universities, and for signing legislation to release low-level federal prisoners.
Jones has also lashed out against Democratic lawmakers for their stances on immigration, noting he prefers the crackdown approach Trump takes on illegal border crossings.
In a radio interview Wednesday morning, Jones said he plans to remain a Democrat despite the fact his statements of late have met with intense criticism from Georgia Democratic leaders.
“What are they going to do, spank me?” Jones said on The Rashad Richey Morning Show. “I don’t care what the Democratic Party is going to do.”
Georgia Democratic leaders were quick to denounce Jones after his endorsement of Trump’s campaign last week, framing his public comments as a decisive break with the party.
State House Minority Leader Bob Trammell, D-Luthersville, promptly backed Taylor’s campaign to unseat Jones. And state Sen. Nikema Williams, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, called Jones “an embarrassment” to the party who “does not stand for our values.”
“Never has that been clearer than this moment, when he chose to stand with the racist president who has made an all-out assault on black Americans, who has tried to rip away American health care, and who has failed our country in its greatest time of need during the most important election in our lifetimes,” said Williams, D-Atlanta.
Georgia Democratic lawmakers are urging Gov. Brian Kemp to roll back his decision to reopen several categories of businesses including gyms and restaurants as coronavirus continues to sicken and kill people in the state.
Democratic caucuses in both the state House and Senate have asked Kemp to rescind his reopening orders, which will allow many businesses like dine-in restaurants, gyms, barbershops and bowling alleys to resume operations by Monday.
The governor has framed the phased-in reopening as a “measured action” that will help businesses get back on their feet after weeks of financial turmoil brought on by forced statewide closures.
In an unusual turn of events, many Georgia Democratic leaders also found their views on the matter aligned with one of their most ardent foes, President Donald Trump.
The president said Wednesday night Kemp’s decision was “just too soon” in light of federal guidelines that call for reopening businesses only after a decline in positive coronavirus cases has been seen for 14 consecutive days, which has not happened yet in Georgia.
“I think the president said exactly what we said on Tuesday, which is it’s too much, too soon,” said Georgia House Minority Leader Bob Trammell, D-Luthersville.
Kemp and state officials have also taken heat for not having a robust enough system for testing and contact tracing to quickly pinpoint where outbreaks may occur once people go back to work.
Many of those points against a swift reopening were made by members of the House Democratic Caucus, who held a video news conference Thursday to criticize Kemp’s approach to reopening businesses.
“Given what we know, this decision to reopen is a bad decision and we need to not go forward with it,” said Rep. Roger Bruce, D-Atlanta.
The live meeting followed a letter penned earlier this week asking the governor to reverse course and keep the mandatory business closures until the state has seen a 14-day decline in cases.
The letter also urged Kemp to allow city and county governments to impose their own economic restrictions, which they cannot do under the governor’s statewide order.
On Thursday, Rep. Karla Drenner said municipal governments should intervene by imposing strict local rules if they want, regardless of Kemp’s overriding order.
“I call upon our mayors, our county commissioners, to step forward with bold safety plans that protect our businesses and the least among us,” said Drenner, D-Avondale Estates. “We as a community need to intervene and take care of each other.”
Thursday’s news conference by House Democrats followed a separate letter sent Wednesday by the Senate Democratic Caucus, which also pressed Kemp to “immediately rescind” his reopening order.
On top of health concerns and limited testing, the letter by Senate Democrats warned reopening businesses too soon might backfire if a second coronavirus wave hits and customers lose confidence that they can be safe in public.
“History shows that reopening these businesses too soon will slow our efforts to create healthy communities,” the Senate letter says.
Meanwhile, many Republican state lawmakers and officials have come to Kemp’s defense, including House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan.
The governor’s backers point out businesses are not being required to reopen but may do so if they choose in order to start recovering from the economic toll the closures have had on Georgia over the past month.
“I’m very proud of Gov. Brian Kemp’s leadership throughout this whole [coronavirus] situation!” Rep. David Clark, R-Buford, said on Facebook. “He and the experts know what’s best for GA and I stand with him 100%!”
Georgia senators huddle after Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan announced plans to suspend the legislative session over coronavirus concerns on March 12, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Top state lawmakers in Georgia are eying June 11 as a possible return date for the General Assembly to wrap up the 2020 legislative session, which was put on hold as concerns grew in March over coronavirus.
The June 11 date is being discussed as a possibility among several officials involved in talks over when to reconvene the session, according to several people with direct knowledge of those talks. Resuming the session on May 15 is also being discussed as an option.
Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, favors reconvening the session on June 11, his spokesman confirmed. That date would give lawmakers more time to wrangle the state budget.
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, the state Senate’s presiding officer who shares authority with Ralston in deciding when to resume the session, has not yet said what day he would like to reconvene.
The legislative session has been suspended since March 13, leaving hundreds of bills and critical budget negotiations in limbo. Georgia is also under a statewide shelter-in-place order issued by Gov. Brian Kemp through the end of April.
How many bills the legislature would consider upon reconvening remains up in the air. Per state law, the General Assembly’s only legal requirement is to pass a balanced budget for the current and upcoming fiscal years by June 30.
Restarting the session on June 11 would give Georgia hospitals and health officials more time to curb the spread of coronavirus. But it would also run close to the deadline for lawmakers to hand in a budget that will be heavily influenced by the economic impacts of coronavirus-prompted business closures.
Last week, Ralston tapped five state lawmakers and several key Capitol staffers to serve on a committee tasked with looking at how to close out the remainder of the session. That committee has not met yet, according to an official with direct knowledge of its activities.
When they do meet, the committee members will dive into the logistics of how to hold the session in a way that reduces the risk of exposure to coronavirus. Some officials have already reached out to the National Conference of State Legislatures for insight on what other state legislatures are doing to hold their sessions safely and transparently.
Nearly half of the country’s state legislatures have postponed their sessions or rewritten rules for convening amid coronavirus, according to the national conference. Several have met in unorthodox circumstances to conduct business in recent weeks, such as in sports arenas or outdoor tents.
In some cases, lawmakers in other in-session states have voted by proxy. For instance, lawmakers in Kentucky changed rules for the state’s House of Representatives that let members located outside the chamber text photos of their votes to a few members inside the chamber.
This story was updated to note Speaker David Ralston publicly supports reconvening on June 11.
Rep. Vernon Jones (D-Lithonia) announced he will resign his Georgia House seat on April 22, 2020. (Official Georgia House photo)
State Rep. Vernon Jones announced Wednesday he will resign his seat effective immediately following his endorsement of President Donald Trump’s reelection bid last week.
Jones, D-Lithonia, said he is tired of “being attacked and harassed by the Democrat Party” in the wake of his public show of support for the firebrand Republican president.
“Turn the lights off, I have left the plantation,” Jones said in a statement Wednesday. “Someone else can occupy that suite.”
The resignation marks the end of Jones’ second stint in the Georgia House of Representatives that began in 2016, following a longer House tenure from 1993 to 2001. The outspoken Jones was also Dekalb County’s CEO from 2001 to 2009.
Before his resignation announcement Wednesday, Jones was angling for a third consecutive term in the staunchly Democratic District 91, based in east metro Atlanta. He drew one opponent, Rhonda Taylor, a community activist who owns a consulting company in Conyers and ran unsuccessfully against Jones in 2016.
In recent comments, Jones criticized the Democratic Party as a stifling influence on conservative black Americans. He also hailed Trump’s economic record, his support for historic black colleges and universities, and for signing legislation to release low-level federal prisoners.
Jones has also lashed out against Democratic lawmakers for their stances on immigration, noting he prefers the crackdown approach Trump takes on illegal border crossings.
In a radio interview Wednesday morning, Jones said he plans to remain a Democrat despite the fact his statements of late have met with intense criticism from Georgia Democratic leaders.
“What are they going to do, spank me?” Jones said on The Rashad Richey Morning Show. “I don’t care what the Democratic Party is going to do.”
Georgia Democratic leaders were quick to denounce Jones after his endorsement of Trump’s campaign last week, framing his public comments as a decisive break with the party.
State House Minority Leader Bob Trammell, D-Luthersville, promptly backed Taylor’s campaign to unseat Jones. And state Sen. Nikema Williams, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, called Jones “an embarrassment” to the party who “does not stand for our values.”
“Never has that been clearer than this moment, when he chose to stand with the racist president who has made an all-out assault on black Americans, who has tried to rip away American health care, and who has failed our country in its greatest time of need during the most important election in our lifetimes,” said Williams, D-Atlanta.
