Today’s newsletter highlights:
- House amends security bill to exempt private schools.
- Former Atlanta city council member can practice law again.
- Atlanta voting rights group hit with another campaign finance violation.
One voter urged U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams to try to impeach President Donald Trump a third time. Another questioned whether there will ever be another election. A third wanted Democrats to more aggressively combat GOP policies.
“I’ve moved from concerned to appalled to pissed,” Michael Beach of Druid Hills told Williams at her town hall Tuesday in southwest Atlanta.
Voters infuriated with Trump’s ongoing war with the federal bureaucracy have packed GOP town halls, including one held by Republican U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick in Roswell that quickly went off the rails.
But many also want to vent their frustrations at Democrats, too, as Williams’ event proved.
Attendees were mostly respectful to the liberal lawmaker, who waited patiently as some launched into lengthy monologues. Some groused that Democrats need to more stridently oppose Trump’s plans to shrink the federal government and realign the international order.
“It’s not normal times,” said John Morris, an Atlanta consultant. “And we shouldn’t be acting like these are normal times.”
Williams urged Democrats to stay engaged — and not to tear each other apart.
“We cannot let them overwhelm us and start fighting each other,” said Williams, who also chairs the state Democratic Party.
“Because we know that we’re fighting for the people of our country. We’re fighting for our Constitution. And we’re fighting for our democracy. We can’t let them pit us against each other.”
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Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
GOOD MORNING! Georgia politicos will let off a little steam this afternoon in a kickball game pitting the House against the Senate. The fun starts at 5 p.m. over at Center Parc Stadium, home of the Georgia State football team. There will be food.
Here are four other things to know for today:
- The state Supreme Court will hear arguments today about whether it should block a series of rule changes that impact the counting and certification of ballots, the AJC’s Mark Niesse reports.
- Barbara Rivera Holmes will be the first Latina to hold statewide constitutional office after Gov. Brian Kemp appointed her as the next labor commissioner, replacing the late Bruce Thompson, Greg Bluestein reports.
- Gov. Brian Kemp has agreed to concessions in his litigation overhaul proposal, including broadening exceptions for victims of sex trafficking to file civil lawsuits against businesses accused of turning a blind eye to the crimes, Bluestein reports.
- The Georgia Senate has approved hundreds of millions of dollars in tax relief to timber producers and farmers affected by Hurricane Helene, the AJC’s David Wickert writes.
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Credit: John Amis/AP
Credit: John Amis/AP
GEORGIA 2026. A pair of developments shows how Attorney General Chris Carr is working to shore up his support with the GOP base — and how much work still lies ahead as he ramps up his campaign for governor.
Carr joined 14 other state attorneys general praising a task force launched by President Donald Trump’s administration to crack down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses.
“Federal law is clear — you cannot come to our country, engage in violence, harass Jewish students, and support Hamas. You can and will be held accountable,” Carr said.
Around the same time Carr issued his comment, state Sen. Brandon Beach, R- Alpharetta, leveled a challenge at the attorney general from the Senate floor. He wanted to know why Carr wasn’t seeking charges against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over an open records violation. He read aloud from a letter he directed at Carr.
“Either the District Attorney is lazy or arrogant, but it is obvious she has no respect for the Georgia Open Records Act,” read the letter. “Either way she does not comply with the law and you being the State’s top law enforcement officer, I am requesting you act now.”
Of note: Beach is a close ally of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who also is expected to run for governor.
Carr’s office said Tuesday it hadn’t received the correspondence.
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SCHOOL SAFETY. House lawmakers on Tuesday voted to exempt private schools from having to install mobile panic alert systems despite objections from Gov. Brian Kemp’s administration.
The bill the Senate passed on Crossover Day earlier this month would have required all public and private schools to install the systems that can instantly alert authorities of a shooting.
These systems are expensive. While the state budget includes millions of dollars in grant money to help public schools pay for security upgrades, lawmakers on the House Education Committee worried that money wouldn’t be available for smaller private schools with tight budgets.
Alisha Wright, deputy executive director for the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority, warned lawmakers that private schools could become targets if would-be shooters know they are less likely to have the systems installed.
“Our preference would be to make sure students, regardless of what school they are attending, are equally protected,” she said.
But that wasn’t enough to convince the committee. State Rep. Matt Dubnik, R-Gainesville noted he’s a board member for a private school that has had to make tough financial decisions.
“We don’t have financial resources coming from the state,” he said.
***
Credit: AP, AJC
Credit: AP, AJC
KEMP’S PLEDGE. Gov. Brian Kemp’s push to have more state authorities enforce federal immigration law comes as the Trump administration is battling U.S. courts over his policies.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg questioned whether the Trump administration defied his order to return three flights of deportees to U.S. soil. Trump said Boasberg should be impeached, prompting a rebuke from U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
It all raises the question of whether Georgia law enforcement officials could get swept up in extrajudicial deportation actions now that Kemp is moving to have them more directly involved in immigration enforcement.
A spokesman for Kemp said that won’t happen. “The governor’s record is clear that he’ll uphold the law of the state and country and the U.S. Constitution.”
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BACK IN BAR. Over a three-year period, H. Lamar Willis lost what he said were the three most significant accomplishments of his life: his marriage, his law license and his seat on the Atlanta City Council.
On Tuesday, Willis learned he might be getting one of those back.
The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously agreed to let Willis practice law again, provided he can pass the bar exam. Willis was disbarred in 2013 because after he won a settlement for an injured child, he deposited the money — $30,000 — into a bank account that he controlled.
The disbarment turned out to be a key moment in Atlanta’s political history as it possibly helped launch the career of Mayor Andre Dickens. The disbarment happened just one month before the 2013 City Council elections, giving Dickens a boost as he ousted Willis, who at the time had been on the council for more than a decade.
Willis told the court he paid back all the money he owed while reflecting on his life through things like prayer, meditation and journaling. He started a business with his son and got appointed to the Atlanta Beltline Technical Advisory Board, which AJC columnist Bill Torpy wrote about in 2023.
***
Credit: Adam Beam/AJC
Credit: Adam Beam/AJC
UNDER THE GOLD DOME. Sine Die is 16 days away. The state Legislature isn’t meeting today so lawmakers can hold committee hearings. Some happenings:
- 6 a.m.: Senate Public Safety Subcommittee meets to consider House Bill 651, which would revise rules around speed cameras in school zones, and House Bill 225, which would outright ban those cameras.
- 9 a.m. House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee meets to discuss Senate Bill 42, which would make sure people convicted of child trafficking offenses receive stiffer sentences.
- 9 a.m.: House Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee meets to discuss Senate Bill 28, which would give lawmakers more power to block state regulations.
- 11 a.m.: Senate Judiciary Committee meets to consider House Bill 177, which would add pets to both family and dating violence protective orders.
- 4 p.m.: Senate Health and Human Services Committee meets to consider House Bill 428, which would protect in vitro fertilization procedures.
- 5 p.m.: Senate Judiciary Subcommittee meets to consider House Bill 267, which would ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
LISTEN UP. Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast, Wall Street Journal trade reporter Gavin Bade joins hosts Tia Mitchell and Patricia Murphy for a deep dive on the Trump tariffs that are already roiling global trade.
You can listen and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Have a question or comment for the show? Call the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 770-810-5297. We’ll play back your question and answer it during our next listener mailbag segment.
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Credit: Melanie Mason via TNS
Credit: Melanie Mason via TNS
FEC VIOLATION. Black Voters Matter PAC, the Atlanta-based voting rights organization, recently agreed to pay a $16,000 fine to the Federal Election Commission after failing to adhere to the 24-hour rule for expenditures made on Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s behalf during his 2022 runoff against Republican Herschel Walker.
In the days leading up to an election, political organizations must report within 24 hours money they spend to help a candidate. Black Voters Matter spent a total of $158,018 roughly a week prior to the Dec. 6 election. But the organization didn’t report the activity until a post-election report dated Dec. 8.
Black Voters Matter agreed that the failure to report the spending on Warnock’s behalf within 24 hours was a violation of federal laws and the fine was part of a negotiated settlement. The organization also agreed to send its staff to FEC compliance training.
This is the second time Black Voters Matter has been cited by the FEC for such a violation. In 2022, the organization agreed to pay a $45,000 fine after it did not file timely disclosures related to its support of Warnock and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s runoff campaigns in January 2021.
In a statement, Black Voters Matter said that it is working to fix its mistakes but pointed out that the most recent violations represent a fraction of its overall spending.
“The three expenditures at issue in the settlement agreement constituted a small percentage of the Committee’s independent expenditure activity in 2021-2022, and Black Voters Matter Action PAC is confident that the measures it has implemented will prevent such reporting delays in the future,” the statement said.
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Credit: Richard Drew/AP
Credit: Richard Drew/AP
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Donald Trump will receive an intelligence briefing at the White House.
- The House and Senate are out for the week.
- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will hold a news conference and announce any decisions on interest rates.
***
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
SHOUTOUTS. Today’s birthday:
- State Rep. Viola Davis, D-Stone Mountain.
Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that! Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
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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.
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