Georgia wants to get ahead of possible Department of Education closure

Hours after the federal agency announced plans to fire half of its roughly 2,600 employees, a Georgia House panel advanced legislation by Republican state Sen. Bo Hatchett to help the state grapple with the aftermath.

Senate Bill 154, which cleared the Senate by a 37-17 vote last week, adds three words to each mention of the federal agency in Georgia law: “Or its successor.”

But Hatchett, a lawyer from Cornelia, said those three words could leave Georgia better prepared for the agency’s demise. That’s because state law now requires dentists, nurses, optometrists and other high-skilled workers to be licensed by schools that have been accredited by the department.

“Obviously if the Department of Education is disbanded,” he said, “then this summer when these professionals start graduating, technically we would not recognize them for being accredited and eligible for license.”

Hatchett received some pushback from state Rep. David Wilkerson, D-Powder Springs, who worried the proposal amounts to “encouraging behavior” to prod Trump into abolishing the decades-old department that was started by the late President Jimmy Carter. Trump has repeatedly called for the elimination of the department, calling it a “con job.”

Wilkerson persuaded Hatchett to agree to changes in a House Education subcommittee that make clear the law wouldn’t take effect unless the federal agency is formally eliminated.

“Do we want Georgia to be prepared or not?” Hatchett said before his bill passed unanimously. “This will help Georgia to be prepared if and when the U.S. Department of Education is disbanded.”

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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

GOOD MORNING! We’re 22 days away from Sine Die, or the final day of Georgia’s legislative session. Here are three things to know for today:

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Credit: Courtesy photo

Credit: Courtesy photo

MUSK MAN. The Georgia bureaucrat in the middle of Elon Musk’s war on the federal bureaucracy is now in a legal battle of his own.

A judge ordered Charles Ezell, the acting head of the Office of Personnel Management, to testify at a court hearing on Thursday in a lawsuit over the White House’s mass firings of federal employees.

But the Trump administration informed U.S. District Judge William Alsup late Tuesday that Ezell wouldn’t testify in the case, a move that could set the stage for an order to pause the layoffs.

“The problem here is that Acting Director Ezell submitted a sworn declaration in support of defendants’ position, but now refuses to appear to be cross-examined, or to be deposed,” wrote Alsup, a San Francisco judge.

A longtime data analyst in Macon, Ezell has said even he was surprised when he got the call from senior Trump advisers to head the OPM, the federal government’s human resources arm.

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Credit: Screenshot

Credit: Screenshot

MULBERRY SHOWDOWN. Mulberry is only three months old, but already it’s flexing its muscles.

The city of about 41,000 people has been locked in a bitter dispute with Gwinnett County, which went to court last year in an unsuccessful attempt to block the city from forming or holding elections.

Since then, Mulberry Mayor Michael Coker says the county has refused to provide services to the city during a two-year transition period, resulting in canceled building permits for backyard pools and a speed bump near a local high school — outcomes Coker said would continue unless the city capitulated.

“I feel like I’m in a Mafia movie,” Coker said.

Today, the Republican-controlled state Legislature is scheduled to vote on two bills that would force Gwinnett County to provide services to the city as well as hand over some of its commercial land.

Both bills have already passed the Senate over the objections of some Gwinnett County Democrats, who argue the state is setting a bad precedent by getting involved in a local dispute.

Gwinnett County Attorney Mike Ludwiczak urged lawmakers last month to give both sides time to work out an agreement before passing these bills, a plea echoed by state Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, D-Duluth.

“If this chamber really cared about local control, it would allow Mulberry and Gwinnett County to sit down at the table and negotiate,” she said.

But state Sen. Clint Dixon, a Republican from Gwinnett and the author of the legislation, noted county officials would not communicate with Mulberry until after his bills started moving through the Legislature.

“They simply would like to see the city to go bankrupt and be starved out,” Dixon said.

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Credit: AJC file photo

Credit: AJC file photo

NOT DEAD YET. A bill requiring colleges and universities to keep medicine available to treat opioid overdoses failed to pass before last week’s crossover deadline.

But the bill might not be dead yet. State Rep. Chuck Martin, the Republican chair of the House Higher Education Committee, said he is looking for a suitable Senate bill that could be amended to revive the proposal.

It’s a reminder that nothing is ever truly dead in the state Legislature — as long as you have the right recipe of public opinion and political will.

House Bill 419 fits both categories. Opioid overdose deaths have been steadily increasing in Georgia and across the country, prompting a slew of responses from public policymakers.

Last year, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a law requiring government agencies to keep medicine available in some public buildings. But lawmakers agreed to exempt colleges and universities at the request of former Gov. Sonny Perdue, who is now the chancellor of the University System of Georgia.

This year’s bill offers liability protections to the schools if someone snatches an opioid-overdose antidote from a dispenser. And it requires the schools to stock the medicine only if funding is available from community sources.

“Nobody was trying to kill the bill,” said Martin, saying lawmakers ran out of time to get the bill passed before the deadline. “It just happens like that sometimes.”

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NOT SO FAST. A popular program that helps maintain local parks and hiking trails is facing a significant budget cut because of a drop in sales tax collections.

Every time you buy some outdoor recreation equipment, a portion of the state sales tax goes to the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program. Approved by voters in 2018, the program has awarded $117 million to 62 projects over the last five funding cycles.

This past year, sales tax collections on outdoor recreation equipment fell by more than 1% and triggered a 20% reduction to the program. That’s more than $7 million. If it happens again this year, it would trigger a 50% cut.

The cut worries lawmakers as current funding already isn’t enough to meet the demand. Last year, 36 applicants requested $69 million. The Board of Natural Resources approved 12 projects for $24.5 million.

That’s why the 2026 budget that passed the Georgia House of Representatives on Tuesday included a 5% cut for the program — not 20%.

“I think this is something we may need to look at,” said state Rep. Marcus Wiedower, a Republican from Watkinsville who chairs the appropriations subcommittee that oversees the program.

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Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

UNDER THE GOLD DOME. It’s the 31st day of the legislative session. Some happenings:

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Credit: Jason Getz/ACJ

Credit: Jason Getz/ACJ

LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley joins the show to talk about how she got into politics — and how Democrats are approaching the remaining weeks of the Legislative session.

Be sure to download the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297.

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Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

COUNTDOWN TO SHUTDOWN. Democrats in the U.S. Senate say they will not vote for the bill passed in the House that boosts defense dollars but requires spending cuts at most other federal agencies while funding the government through the end of September.

“Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate” to advance the House funding legislation, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday.

This new line in the sand increased the possibility of a partial government shutdown at midnight on Friday. Democrats want the Senate to instead amend the House bill to change it to a one-month extension that keeps agencies’ funding mostly flat.

“There’s a potential bipartisan solution on the table for a 30-day stopgap to allow a bipartisan budget to be properly written, and that is the best solution that’s presently available,” said U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.

It is unlikely that Republicans, who hold the Senate majority, will vote for the Democrats’ amendment during a vote expected on Friday morning. So the real question is what Democrats will do after that.

Ossoff has not taken a position on the House bill, saying he has been evaluating its potential effects in Georgia and beyond. At least eight Senate Democrats would need to vote with Republicans to overcome a filibuster and avoid a shutdown.

Democrats have been hearing an earful from constituents, activists and various stakeholders worried about the effects of the House bill’s required spending cuts. But they don’t want to be blamed for withholding votes and forcing agencies to shutter all together.

It’s put them in a tough spot, and Senate Republicans know it.

The Senate GOP’s account on X posted a photo of Ossoff on Wednesday with the caption: “Sen. Jon Ossoff is devastated that Biden lost. Is he mad enough to shut down the government?”

The post was later deleted, although similar memes targeting Schumer and at least one other Democrat were not.

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Credit: Armin Durgut/AP

Credit: Armin Durgut/AP

TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

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