It was easy to overlook in a State of the State speech full of big news. But tucked into a passage on education policy, Gov. Brian Kemp said he hoped to sign legislation “to ensure fairness in school sports.”
Neither Kemp nor his office would elaborate on what that means, but activists with close ties to Kemp filled the void.
Cole Muzio, a Kemp ally who heads Frontline Policy Action, applauded the governor for backing the movement to ban transgender women and girls from playing on female teams.
Muzio praised the governor for “pledging to save girls sports” and said, ”A brighter day is ahead for Georgia students and a restoration of authority is set to be given back to parents where it belongs.”
The governor will be wading into new territory in Georgia. Legislation that would require students to participate in high school sports according to their birth gender has bubbled up before, but never earned the backing of powerful leaders.
Opponents of the effort have warned it could lead to mental anguish and increased suicide attempts by transgender children, along with jeopardizing large sporting events that could boycott the state because of its stance.
“The governor made clear today that Georgia school kids are his newest political football,” said Democratic state Rep. Matthew Wilson.
“The only reason why he’s leaning into far-right conspiracy theories about CRT and transgender athletes is because he lost President Trump’s endorsement.”
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UNDER THE GOLD DOME:
* 9:00 a.m.: Committee hearings begin;
* 10:00 am: The House gavels in;
* 10:00 a.m.: The Senate convenes.
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IN WASHINGTON
There won’t be a vote on federal election bills by Martin Luther King Day after all.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer decided to send members home on Friday, meaning he will miss his self-imposed deadline.
Senate Democrats met privately with President Joe Biden on Thursday, part of the White House’s outreach in hopes of convincing the final holdouts to agree to a rules-change so the voting proposals can pass without Republicans’ support.
Schumer came out of the meeting raving about a speech from Georgia’s U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff gave. Ossoff told us that he has been pointing out to colleagues that the Constitution gives Congress the power to create federal election guidelines and he believes senators should use it.
“Allies of the former president are passing legislation and filing new legislation to selectively disenfranchise voters and to empower partisan officials to subvert legitimate election results,” Ossof said. “And we have a historic obligation to protect the sacred franchise and to secure the integrity of American elections faced by this threat to the integrity of American elections.”
Democrats would need every member present to change Senate rules to avoid a filibuster of the election proposals.
But between a positive COVID test for Hawaii Democrat, Sen. Brian Schatz, and a D.C. forecast for snow, Schumer said there was no use keeping senators around when the Capitol is likely to be shut down this weekend.
Instead, the Senate will start debating the election proposal Tuesday. But remember there is still no clear path to its passage; Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema remain opposed to changing filibuster rules.
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On the same subject, check out the approach U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock took to sell a federal voting rights law to a skeptical audience.
Rather than equate opponents to notorious segregationists, the Georgia Democrat made an economic argument to the Georgia Chamber’s Eggs & Issues breakfast.
“Restricting access to the ballot is not good for Georgia. And it is certainly not good for Georgia business,” he said. As an Insider on hand noted, mild applause followed.
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Georgia’s U.S. Rep. David Scott is pushing back on an article by Politico that questions whether he is fit to lead the powerful House Agriculture Committee.
The report is largely based on anonymous sources questioning the 76-year-old Atlanta Democrat’s capacity to keep up with the demanding job, which he has held for a year.
Scott’s office declined to make him available to the AJC for an interview, but in an interview with Politico, he said he is “strong and vibrant as a roaring lion” and said the questions about his capacity are coming from fellow Democrats who want the chairmanship for themselves.
A Scott spokesman also pointed out that House leadership, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn all remain supportive of Scott.
There was competition for the Ag Committee chairmanship, but members of the Congressional Black Caucus lobbied for Scott to become the first Black person to lead the panel. He hired new staff to assist with both administration and public relations, but the Politico article says struggles at times to stay on message and also has done a poor job managing the committee’s many priorities.
Scott spent a significant portion of 2021 focused on debt relief for Black farmers after decades of discrimination inside the USDA’s loan program.
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The U.S. Supreme Court sided with Republican-led states and conservative business groups Thursday in a challenge to one President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates and ruled against them in another.
Georgia is among the states that filed lawsuits to stop the Biden administration from requiring large businesses to implement vaccine or testing requirements for employees. The Supreme Court on Thursday put a temporary hold on that policy while lower courts consider whether federal agencies overstepped their authority.
But the Court also said Thursday that vaccine mandates for employees working in federally funded healthcare facilities could remain in place.
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POSTED: An Effingham County man is among 11 charged by the Department of Justice Thursday for seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6th Capitol attack.
Prosecutors allege Brian Ulrich, of Guyton, Ga., used encrypted texts with members of the Oath Keeper militia to plan an armed assault on the Capitol.
Charging documents describe training sessions, a reconnaissance trip to D.C., and efforts to acquire weapons and tactical gear.
On Jan. 6th, the group entered the Capitol in two military formation “stacks,” with one group heading to the House in search of Nancy Pelosi and the second going to the Senate chamber.
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AT THE STATE CAPITOL
Just before Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan announced he would send Buckhead cityhood legislation to a Democratically led committee for consideration, we spotted Buckhead’s top booster, Bill White, in the Capitol basement cheerfully making his way upstairs to see lawmakers.
White had Buckhead City swag in hand and, to our surprise, a Capitol access badge on his lapel. The security badges are usually reserved for members of the General Assembly and staff and White did not return a request for details about the badge.
He does, however, have a direct tie-in to state government as a Brian Kemp appointee to the Georgia Board of Corrections, which oversees the Georgia Department of Corrections.
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Buckhead City may have hit a speedbump, but the proposed City of East Cobb cleared a House Committee Thursday, getting one step closer to a referendum on 2022 ballots for East Cobb residents to decide.
Unlike Buckhead, East Cobb is part of unincorporated Cobb County and does not require splitting an existing city to incorporate.
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They’re back: Former state Reps. Terry Rogers and Scot Turner have registered as lobbyists, so if you see them in the halls of the Gold Dome, ask them to buy you dinner.
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ON THE TRAIL
State Sen. Jen Jordan is consolidating endorsements now that she’s the only Democrat in the Attorney General race. On Thursday her campaign announced former Gov. Roy Barnes, former Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin, and a host of Charlie Bailey’s former supporters are now backing her bid.
Bailey dropped his AG bid earlier this week, saying he’ll run for lieutenant governor instead.
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Look for State Bar of Georgia President Elizabeth Fite to announce her campaign Friday for the Georgia Court of Appeals. Fite will challenge Judge Andrew Pinson, who was recently appointed by Governor Brian Kemp.
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If you can’t get enough of your Insiders, be sure to listen to our Politically Georgia podcast every Friday (and occasional special episodes) when we recap the week in politics and what it all means.
This week we talk about President Joe Biden’s visit to Georgia and Gov. Brian Kemp’s agenda-setting State of the State address. Listen HERE or on your favorite podcast platform.
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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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