Gov. Brian Kemp
Calls for transparency during Georgia redistricting tour a common refrain – and a longshot
When lawmakers from the Georgia committees tasked with the once-a-decade redrawing of Congressional and legislative district lines came to Columbus Wednesday, Martha Saunders made the trek down from Carroll County with two other women to share their worries about transparency when lawmakers sharpen their mapmaking pencils. “Like many others, we are concerned about how the […]
Klobuchar: Senate Dems ‘very close’ to a deal on revised voting rights bill
WASHINGTON—Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Thursday that lawmakers attempting to negotiate a compromise elections overhaul bill are “very close to an agreement” on legislation, as Democrats struggle to respond to restrictive voting laws passed in Georgia and other Republican-led states. Klobuchar, the chairwoman of the Senate Rules & Administration Committee, has been meeting with other […]
Feds side with Black voters in suit that says rights violated by at-large PSC elections
The U.S. Department of Justice has waded into a voting rights lawsuit that challenges how Georgia elects its utility regulators. “This case presents important questions regarding enforcement of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965,” wrote Acting U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Georgia Kurt R. Erskine in the agency’s Wednesday filing. […]
CDC says the vaccinated should wear masks indoors in areas with high infection rates
WASHINGTON — Federal health officials on Tuesday urged Americans in areas of the country with the highest surges in COVID-19 infections to once again wear masks when they are in public, indoor settings — even if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The updated recommendations marked a sharp shift from the agency’s guidance in May that Americans fully vaccinated against […]
State Democratic lawmakers want Medicaid expansion on special session agenda
State Democrats are trying to hitch full Medicaid expansion onto the agenda for this year’s special session when lawmakers gather to draw new district lines. State Rep. Matthew Wilson, a Brookhaven Democrat, hand-delivered a letter Tuesday to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp urging him to open the door for state lawmakers to consider expanding the state’s […]
COVID relief helps students, teachers get ready for school days back in class
Children across Georgia are counting down the remaining days of summer freedom as they prepare to head back to school for what parents and educators hope is a year free of pandemic interruptions. Students in some of the state’s largest districts will be back at the bus stop Monday, Aug. 2, including Cobb, DeKalb, Clayton […]
Top Georgia leaders pitch plans to tap state treasury to spend on police
The sharp uptick in violent crime around Atlanta is prompting state leaders to create new ways to pay for more police officers on the streets and provide other resources for law enforcement. Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan Thursday said he would ask the General Assembly to create a $250 million tax credit program for donations […]
Bookman: Ralston’s Fulton elections letter a cynical way to stir mistrust
It takes a special kind of cynicism to piously bemoan declining faith in American elections while you actively feed and nurture that very same, destructive mistrust. It’s particularly special when you create that mistrust out of fantasies and lies, with absolutely no basis in fact. We got yet another example of that hypocrisy last week, […]
Bourdeaux joins congressional Dems backing Medicaid look-alike option
More Democrats are lining up behind a plan to create a federal Medicaid look-alike option for low-income adults in Georgia and other GOP-led states that have not expanded the government-run insurance program. Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux has filed a House version of a proposal introduced in the Senate earlier this month by U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock. Georgia U.S. […]
Kemp picks new PSC member as Eaton leaves for superior court judgeship
This story was update at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. The head of a state board that regulates Georgia’s public utilities is set to become a superior court judge this summer, and the governor appointed a Cobb County businessman to the panel to replace him Wednesday. Gov. Brian Kemp tapped commission Chairman Chuck Eaton for a judgeship […]
Kemp names Verda Colvin to fill Georgia Supreme Court seat
Gov. Brian Kemp picked a Georgia Court of Appeals judge to become his newest appointee to the state Supreme Court, making Verda Colvin the second Black woman to serve on the state’s highest court. The Republican governor announced Tuesday that Colvin will fill the vacancy of the former Chief Justice Harold Melton, whose departure early […]
Governor wants lawmakers to take on crime in special session this fall
Gov. Brian Kemp wants lawmakers to take on crime around Atlanta this fall when they meet for a special session. At a special House public safety committee hearing Monday, the panelists said lawmakers could also increase the budget for state police around Atlanta, restrict local governments from establishing more moderate prosecution policies and institute better […]