Gov. Brian Kemp typically waits until the end of the 40-day signing period to veto legislation. But this year brought a legislative session more tense than expected — and the Republican, just starting his second term, sent a rapid rebuke less than a week after Sine Die.
Kemp on Tuesday rejected a bill that would require legislative approval before state universities could raise tuition or fees by more than 3%. That power typically belongs to the Kemp-appointed state Board of Regents.
The veto means that it will continue to be the executive branch, not lawmakers, that make the final call on the University System of Georgia decision.
And it’s part of a broader feud between state senators and the higher education system that intensified this year over backlash involving the $105 million taxpayer-funded tech upgrade for the Medical College of Georgia that could benefit Wellstar Health System.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones saw the spending as a giveaway and led the Senate to slash $66 million from the higher ed budget. He had his own beef with Wellstar, too, since the medical system objected to a proposed private hospital that could have benefited Jones’ family.
The Day 40 Senate debate on the state’s $32.4 billion budget, which passed easily, focused almost entirely on the massive state budget for Georgia colleges and universities — and who gets to make major decisions about it.
Kemp’s veto Tuesday cited the separation of powers established by the state constitution and its rejection didn’t surprise legislators. But the quick timing seemed meant to send another sort of signal- that the governor is ready to rein in even fellow GOP lawmakers if he thinks they’ve overstepped his executive powers with their own.
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NO LOVE IN NEW YORK. Videos of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s brief appearance at a pro-Donald Trump rally in New York City yesterday showed that Greene wasn’t the only person in town to have her voice heard.
As Greene attempted to deliver a speech using a bullhorn, she was drowned out not only by the sound of drums and whistles, but multiple New Yorkers who had come out to her appearance apparently just to show her down.
“Go back to Georgia,” one screamed, along with other expletives we can’t print in the newspaper. But the message from him and many others was clear: Greene wasn’t welcome there.
Also on hand was one of Greene’s New York counterparts, U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman. The Democrats said he felt compelled to come out because Greene’s brand of politics isn’t in line with the values of his hometown.
“I’m from here, born and raised and went to schools here,” he told your Insider Tia Mitchell. “I cannot and we cannot allow her hateful rhetoric to become commonplace in New York City. So I was just here to push back on that.”
Greene spoke for about 10 minutes in the middle of a chaotic scene before the decision was made to bail out.
There had been a number of fellow Trump supporters at the park to greet Greene. But they were drowned out by anti-Trump protesters. The massive media scrum outnumbered them all.
Greene was escorted back to her waiting vehicle and whisked away, but we caught up to her a few minutes later as the SUV idled around the corner.
She said she was saddened by the negativity from some in the crowd and blamed it partially on New York Mayor Eric Adams, who had called Greene out by name on Monday when he warned her that he wouldn’t tolerate any violence at her protest.
“He doesn’t know me. He’s never met me,” she told the AJC. “I’m an elected member of Congress. I’ve never broken a law in my life. I certainly would not come here to create any kind of problem or violence.”
Later in the evening, Greene tweeted a picture she took with Trump after his speech in Mar-a-Lago. She had flown to Florida after the rally. Trump flew back to his home there shortly after spending two hours at a New York courthouse for his arraignment.
“President Trump is THE leader of the Republican Party and I’m honored to be with him on this historic night!” Greene wrote.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez for the AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez for the AJC
LISTEN UP. The big national headlines may be coming out of New York, but today’s Politically Georgia episode is focused squarely here at home. In an exclusive interview with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. Greg Bluestein, Riley Bunch, and Jeremy Redmon take a deep dive into plans for the Public Safety Training Center, the controversy around it, and Dickens’ case for why it needs to happen.
Listen and subscribe at at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher.
And come back on Friday for a special crossover episode with the AJC’s Breakdown podcast team of Tamar Hallerman and Bill Rankin, the leading reporters in the country when it comes to the Fulton County probe of former President Donald Trump.
If you have a question about the Fulton case, you can call the Politically Georgia 24-hour Podcast Hotline at (770) 810-5237 and record your questions. We will play your recording and answer your question on Friday’s special crossover episode.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
CABINET VISITS. The recess week in Washington means Biden Administration officials are hitting the road to talk up Democrats’ work with their “Investing in America” tour. The nationwide effort is meant to highlight local projects made possible by the Biden-approved measures like the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill and Inflation Reduction Act, which also included an array of renewable energy and health initiatives.
On Monday, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge toured Good Samaritan Health Center with U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath in Gwinnett. The AJC’s Alia Malik spoke with Fudge about basic tenant protections and the factors that discourage even federal efforts to enforce them in subsidized housing.
On Tuesday, McBath hosted U.S. Small Business Administrator Isabella Guzman for a roundtable and tour of businesses in downtown Norcross.
And tomorrow, Vice President Kamala Harris will be in U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s territory for a visit to Dalton’s soon-to-expand Qcells solar plant.
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VOUCHER VOTE. A late-in-the-session standoff over school vouchers seemed to come up out of nowhere and, just as quickly, go down in defeat in a Day 40 House vote. But the perennial conservative favorite had a long road to becoming one of the most surprising and controversial issues this year.
One of your Insiders has the backstory on Gov. Brian Kemp’s late public push for the bill, the collateral damage to other member’s unrelated measures, and why the bill’s failure caught even GOP leaders off guard.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
MORE MAINOR. Speaking of collateral damage, state Rep. Mesha Mainor infuriated many of her more progressive colleagues when she became the lone Democrat to vote for the voucher measure, which would have given $6,500 per student to pay for private or home schooling expenses.
This year’s bill was narrowed to include only children in the lowest performing 25% of schools in the state, a detail that Mainor said would have focused help on families like those in her Bankhead-based district.
In a blistering statement Tuesday, Mainor wrote, in part:
“Democrat lawmakers will cry about abortion rights, wail for transgender rights, demand AAPI protections and create legislation to address antisemitism. All of these are important issues. However, when a Black, independent, female Democrat legislator who grew up in poverty wants to give the bottom 25 percent of children attending failing schools a second chance at education, this infuriates some of my fellow Democrats to the point they are soliciting my opposition. That's exactly the problem."
After detailing more reasons for supporting the bill, she concluded, “My heart is to help those who have elected me, and I will always put those voices above a party’s political agenda.”
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PROGRESSIVES WIN FURTHER NORTH. We’ve been keeping an eye on the Chicago mayor’s race, if for no other reason than to monitor Atlanta’s competition for the 2024 Democratic National Convention, which the Windy City and Atlanta are both finalists to host.
Progressive Cook County commissioner Brandon Johnson defeated Paul Vallas, a more moderate former superintendent, in the city’s Tuesday runoff.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin voters elected Janet Protasiewicz in a state Supreme Court election, flipping control to liberals. It breaks the GOP grip on the judiciary and could have implications for legal feuds over abortion rights and other polarizing issues in that state and nationwide.
FiveThirtyEight’s Nathaniel Rakich writes about the implications of both.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden has not announced any public events, and U.S. House and Senate are on an Easter and Passover recess.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. If the last few weeks’ political dramas have you feeling tense, may we introduce you to Anna Graves, the extremely chill first dog of Elberton?
This sweet rescue from Wilkes County calls Elberton Mayor Daniel Graves her person. Mayor Graves, who is also a Jolt subscriber and Politically Georgia podcast listener, reports that the “decidedly non-partisan” Anna has found peace living in the minority in her home. She is the only dog among three “very grumpy cats who are not as accepting.”
Maybe it’s her pretty pink collar. Maybe it’s the backyard naps. But we’re hoping Anna’s moment of Zen can give you one of your own today.
Send us your pups of any political persuasion — and cats, on a cat-by-cat basis — to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us on Twitter @MurphyAJC. We’ve got lots more coming.
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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
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