Georgia teachers might get the same benefits as police officers

Now, state lawmakers want to do the same thing for teachers.

Earlier this month, the Georgia House voted 168-0 to double how much money to pay the families of teachers who are killed while on the job. If it becomes law, it means the state will pay teachers' families $150,000 — the same amount it offers families of public safety officers killed on the job.

And this week, House lawmakers amended a bill to expand a scholarship fund to include the spouse and children of teachers who are killed or permanently disabled “by an act of violence in the line of duty.”

These efforts come a few months after two teachers and two students were killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County. And they have enjoyed unanimous support so far. But they’ve also highlighted the deep rift between Republicans and Democrats about gun violence.

“It is an admission that teachers — yes, teachers — are dying in the line of duty,” said state Rep. Mekyah McQueen, a Democrat from Smyrna who is a former public school teacher. “For firefighters, for law enforcement officers, this makes sense. It is understood that their professions come with inherent risks. But for educators? … This should not be so. This cannot be so.”

Republicans have put forward several school safety proposals this year, but few deal with guns directly. Gov. Brian Kemp wants to increase school safety grants. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones wants to require schools to install mobile panic alert systems. And House Speaker Jon Burns has backed a school safety package that includes a statewide database for districts to share security information.

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GOOD MORNING! Starting Monday, you’ll find the AJC’s “Politically Georgia” podcast exclusively on AJC.com and wherever you get your podcasts. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution partnered with 90.1 FM WABE in 2023 to deliver essential political coverage during a historic presidential election. For longtime listeners who’ve spent the past year listening to the live radio program, we’re grateful for your support.

Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell and Patricia Murphy will continue to bring you important insights and analysis. New podcast episodes are available almost every day. If you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to “Politically Georgia” for free at apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcast platform.

Credit: Bob Andres/AJC

Credit: Bob Andres/AJC

Here are four other things to know for today:

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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

HOLD ON. Is a Georgia congressman holding a state lawmaker’s bill hostage? That’s what it seemed like during a legislative committee hearing this week.

State Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, was presenting a bill before the Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee — one of several related to artificial intelligence that Albers has introduced this year.

But before the committee could vote, Chair Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, said he was holding the bill in part because of a phone call he received from U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee.

“I got a call from congressman McCormick asking us not to do anything on AI, saying they were going to do it at the federal level,” Beach told Albers.

This was surprising to Albers, who noted his bill would address standards for state and local governments and create a board of experts to advise the state moving forward.

“I don’t believe either of them actually read the bill,” Albers told us Thursday. ”I spoke with Rep. McCormick today, and while we agree that the federal government has a role to play at the national level, my bill does not fall under that scope. While I’m more optimistic now than in previous years, we all recognize that Congress struggles to pass even the basics of a budget — let alone comprehensive policy on artificial intelligence.”

Beach left open the possibility of advancing the bill at a later hearing. But time is running out. Senate bills must be out of committee by Monday to be considered before Thursday’s crossover deadline.

Democratic state Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, offered his support.

“If we need to change the congressman’s mind, I’m always ready to pack out a town hall in Roswell,” he said, a reference to McCormick’s recent meeting where the audience booed him.

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Credit: Adam Van Brimmer/AJC

Credit: Adam Van Brimmer/AJC

WAITIN’ ON BUDDY. Far-right firebrand Kandiss Taylor shook the coast earlier this week in announcing her candidacy for a U.S. House seat in the 2026 midterms. But other would-be contenders have yet to signal they’ll challenge her, saying the current office holder, five-term Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, has frozen the field.

Carter has $3 million in his campaign fund and has talked about a statewide run in the next election cycle, either for the U.S. Senate or governor. Carter has been mum since Taylor announced though, and several potential successors have said they’d consider a run only if Carter seeks another office.

The interested parties hail from locations that stretch the length of the coast, from Brunswick to Waycross to Jesup to Savannah. Even so, several agree on this reality: the GOP nominee will need to raise $2 million minimum to win a primary and a general election. That kind of money can only be found in Savannah, the district’s population center.

Taylor, for the record, is an educator from rural Baxley, located 90 miles southwest of Savannah and where AJC Savannah bureau chief Adam Van Brimmer once had a close encounter with an eight-point buck that nearly totaled his car.

Estimates on how much Taylor could raise for her run ranged from $2 to $20,000, according to several Republican power brokers. Even so, they said her candidacy will make for a spicy primary.

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TORT TIME. Gov. Brian Kemp’s push to overhaul Georgia’s legal system has sparked plenty of partisan fights, but the latest piece of his litigation rewrite sailed through the Senate without a single dissenting vote on Thursday.

Senate Bill 69, which now heads to the House, cracks down on third-party litigation financing by requiring funders to register with the Department of Banking and Finance.

It also bans foreign adversaries from investing in lawsuits and limits how much finances of litigation can influence civil cases. But it doesn’t outlaw all third-party litigation, which paved the way for the overwhelming support.

While Democrats have fiercely opposed other parts of Kemp’s legal overhaul — the broader bill drew only one Democratic vote last week — this measure garnered unanimous support.

Next up, the measure will head to a special bipartisan Rules subcommittee designed by Speaker Jon Burns to give GOP leaders more direct control over the contentious legislation. An initial hearing was held Thursday on the broader package.

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Credit: AJC

Credit: AJC

WHAT’S ON FIRE? Former Vice President Kamala Harris' failure to appear on the Joe Rogan podcast was the decision that launched a thousand hot takes about how Democrats struggled to reach a key audience during the 2024 presidential election campaign.

Two Georgia Democrats have taken that to heart. State Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, and Rep. Ruwa Romman, D-Duluth, have launched a weekly show called “What’s On Fire?” It’s available on their respective Instagram accounts — @ruwa4georgia and @joshmclauringa. The show features the lawmakers bantering about various emergencies — in their view — caused by the Trump administration and its allies in state government.

“Sometimes we set a bar so high of what voters expect that it leads to paralysis on an institutional level when the reality is they just want to literally see our faces,” Romman told the “Politically Georgia” podcast this week.

That sometimes means going against their instincts, like repeating the same message again and again.

“That other media environment that we are losing has been pounding the pavement with the same information over and over and over again,” McLaurin said. “Democrats have been sheepish and a little shy about messaging with the discipline that Republicans have been messaging with.”

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Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

UNDER THE GOLD DOME. It’s the 25th day of the legislative session. Some happenings:

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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens joins the show. You’ll also hear from AJC President and Publisher Andrew Morse.

This is our last episode broadcasting live on 90.1 FM WABE. But the show will continue as a podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or other platforms. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297. Episodes are uploaded by noon each day, just in time to have lunch with us.

On Thursday’s show, Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones discussed key bills moving through the state Legislature and took questions about his political future.

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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

REGULATION ROLLBACK. Federal clean energy rules that went into effect in the final days of President Joe Biden’s tenure made a specific kind of gas-powered water heater illegal.

The Rinnai America Corporation’s water heater factory in Griffin is the only place in America that made the now-illegal water heaters. The Japanese company’s leaders have said they might have to shut down the plant if the law is allowed to stand.

But congressional Republicans are now attempting to roll back the regulation. The U.S. House passed a resolution Thursday that would repeal the water heater rules, and the Senate is expected to take up the bill next week.

U.S. Rep. Brian Jack, the Peachtree City Republican whose district includes the plant, spoke ahead of the vote encouraging his colleagues to support the resolution.

“Ultimately, under this regulation the American consumer would suffer, and in my congressional district hundreds of hardworking Georgians would be without a job,” he said. “And that is why I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this critical legislation.”

The resolution was approved with the support of every Republican and 11 Democrats. Georgia’s delegation split along party lines with all five Democrats opposed.

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, a New Jersey lawmaker who serves as the top-ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said there are American companies who chose to update their facilities to adhere to the green energy regulations but Rinnai refused.

“It’s estimated it would cost them about $10 million to retrofit their plant so that they could produce more efficient tanks,” he said. “And they don’t want to do it. They don’t want to make that investment, which would create more jobs.”

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Credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

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AS ALWAYS, send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.