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Meanwhile lets just say that we are proud Sally Harrell contributed a whooping 145 entries.
Not for the Faint of Heart High Alert Security was on the minds of those who entered the Georgia Capitol Monday morning for the 2024 legislative session. Greeted at the door by a State Trooper, Sen. Josh McLaurin and I were asked to walk through the metal detectors, despite flashing our “Senator” badges which would […]
Bomb Threat at the State Capitol Yesterday six State Capitol buildings, including Georgia, received bomb threats. Although building searches determined the email messages were hoaxes, the threat is real. Since Christmas, several of my colleagues in the Senate have been “swatted,” which means someone called the police reporting a horrible crime, giving an elected official’s […]
The Close of Special Session & What’s Around the Corner Maps Update The train rolled into the station with no time to spare as maps were signed by the Governor last Friday — the deadline set by federal Judge Steve Jones. Republicans say their new maps meet the court order because they create the required […]
Redistricting Redux 2023: Week One The halls of the Georgia Capitol may be decked with boughs of holly, but the atmosphere of the Special Redistricting Session has not been merry. TL;DR A federal judge ruled in late October that Georgia’s 2021 maps violate the 1965 Voting Rights Act by diluting Black voters (see last week’s Snapshot for background […]
Redistricting Redux 2023 Traveling Theater: Next week legislators from all over Georgia will pack their bags and head to Atlanta for a Special Session of the Georgia General Assembly. It won’t last long, as there is a hard-stop curtain call of December 8th, the deadline set by a Federal District Court to produce new State House, […]
Action item: Call (404-656-1776) or write Governor Kemp to let him know we need a technical college next to the Doraville MARTA station in North Dekalb. I have once again secured $4 million in the Senate budget to purchase the land for an expansion of Georgia Piedmont Technical College, but the Governor has the power […]
Political Hijinks “It’s that time at the Capitol when bills are flying so fast that sometimes lawmakers don’t even know what’s in them.” — Axios Atlanta End of Session Escapades Last year just before midnight on Sine Die, Republicans waived their own rules, forcing Senators to vote on a bill no one had laid eyes […]
Chamber Theatrics Late this week, the curtain came down on Legislative Day 35, which means there are only five more Legislative Days until Day 40 — Sine Die. At this point, the Senate and House have begun their traditional backstage brawl — fighting over how many Senate bills the House has passed, and how many […]
Hurricane Crossover-Day The speed at which bills move through the legislative process in the Georgia General Assembly has averaged around 2 – 5 bills per day (bpd) since January. However, the pace increased considerably last Thursday, when we experienced a gust of 26 bpd. Monday, with Hurricane Crossover in full force, we hit 75 bpd. […]
It’s a Numbers Game Sometimes numbers stick in my brain and sometimes they don’t. This year alone, legislators have filed 955 Bills and 662 Resolutions. So if you bring a bill to my attention just by its number, I’m going to say, “Tell me what the bill does.” After Crossover Day this Monday, some bills […]