Gov. Brian Kemp has a decision to make over whether to close state government agencies for the new federal Juneteenth holiday commemorating the end of slavery. Then again, so does the Legislature.
Though the Republican governor signed a proclamation recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday, it wasn’t a paid day off for state employees this year.
A Kemp spokesman cited Georgia law limiting state office closures to 12 public and legal holidays. This year, the state already has 12 in place. Ten of them are set in stone for holidays like Christmas and New Year’s, but two are flexible.
Here’s where it gets complicated. Both of the flexible holidays once specifically honored two events with a freighted, divisive past: The Confederate Memorial Day — April 26 — and Rebel war leader Robert E. Lee’s birthday — on Jan. 16.
In 2015, then-Gov. Nathan Deal decided to quietly change the names of both to the less controversial “State Holiday” amid increased scrutiny of Georgia’s embrace of Confederate symbols after the massacre of nine black worshipers at a Charleston church by a suspected white supremacist.
Since then, the two holidays have been floated to different parts of the calendar. This year, they took place on Good Friday and the Friday after Thanksgiving. The next state calendar is expected to be issued in August, and Kemp could replace one of those floating holidays with Juneteenth. Or he could go a different route.
One suggestion came from the ACLU of Georgia, which called on the state to add Juneteenth to that list and drop Columbus Day. Another option is a legislative one: To amend the law during the next session and add Juneteenth as an official 13th state holiday.
A proposal to do just that was pushed this year by House Democrats. It went nowhere, but could find some newfound support from Republicans next session.
One hint came from Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan, one of the most powerful Republicans in the Legislature. He told us Sunday it was a “positive day in our nation’s past — I think it warrants remembrance.”
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The AJC’s editorial board doesn’t weigh in on every issue of the day. So when it does publish an editorial, we know it’s something to pay attention to.
Writing under the headline, “Mayor Bottoms, your city still needs you,” the board wrote over the weekend about the crime wave sweeping across Atlanta and the retiring mayor, who appears disengaged from the emergency.
“Leadership is about being present – fully visible and accounted-for – particularly in times of crisis.
And crisis is where the city of Atlanta finds itself right now.The city is enduring a steep spike in violent crime while its CEO – Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms – seems absent from the fight."
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U.S. House Democrats are embracing a new proposal that would allow counties and cities to work directly with the federal government to expand healthcare coverage for the poor, bypassing hesitant leaders in states like Georgia.
Georgia is one of 12 Republican-led states that have not taken advantage of provisions under the Affordable Care Act that would allow them to make more people living in poverty eligible for Medicaid coverage.
The Washington Post reports that the new proposal, called the COVER Now Act, is sponsored by Texas Democrat Lloyd Doggett and cosponsored by all but three Democratic members in the 12 affected states. Bill text hasn’t been filed, so we aren’t sure if any of the three who haven’t signed on are in Georgia.
We do know U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux, D-Suwanee, is one of the supporters. She stood with Doggett during a news conference last week when he introduced the proposal.
“It’s time to expand Medicaid. And if our states won’t act, we need to let our counties take action — not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s good policy,” Bourdeaux said in a statement later.
Republicans in Georgia have long argued that even with the feds covering a significant portion of the cost, the state’s share to expand Medicaid locally would eventually run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Gov. Brian Kemp proposed an expansion to cover a small portion of the state’s uninsured population last year, which has not been approved by the Biden administration.
When Biden proposed further boosting the federal shared of coverage to 95% for two years, Kemp turned that down as well.
The latest proposal in Congress was introduced the same day the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act in the face of a third major GOP-led attempt to dismantle it.
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A bipartisan group of Georgia lawmakers, led by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, is asking President Joe Biden to reform a business travel waiver program that is affecting Georgia’s film and television industry.
In a letter to Biden, the group writes that a recent decision to process visa under the National Interest Exception through overseas embassies and consulates, instead of through U.S. Customs and Border Protection staff, has led to long waits and shifting standards for applicants like film and television crews headed for Georgia-based productions.
Overseas offices are still operating with reduced staff under COVID-19 protocols. But the resulting delays, the members write, are “impeding Georgia’s post-pandemic economic recovery.”
“Production delays and cancellations harm not only their employees — including the dozens or hundreds of Georgia workers that each of these projects employ directly—but also local businesses in hospitality, restaurants, catering, construction, and more,” the letter said.
Along with Ossoff, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter, Sanford Bishop, Drew Ferguson, Hank Johnson, Nikema Williams, Lucy McBath, Carolyn Bourdeaux, Austin Scott and David Scott also signed on to the letter.
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From the “politics makes strange bedfellows” file: Georgia U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was among 49 Republicans who voted with Democrats last week to repeal the 2002 resolution that authorized the use of military force against Iraq.
This war power measure allowed then-President George W. Bush to invade Iraq.
The group of 49 includes not only Greene but several more of the House’s most outspoken conservatives, such as Arizona’s Andy Biggs and Ohio’s Jim Jordan.
Georgia’s other seven Republicans all voted against the repeal, along with the majority of the members of their party. All six Georgia Democrats were in favor.
The House vote repealing the authorization was 268-161, and the measure is now headed to the Senate. President Joe Biden says he supports the repeal.
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Look for a possible addition to the list of Republicans looking to unseat U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath in the Sixth Congressional District next year.
Jake Evans, the son of GOP bigwig Randy Evans, resigned Monday from his post leading the Georgia Ethics Commission, saying in a statement he has “trust in God’s plan for me and my family.”
More from an Insider report:
Evans, an attorney active in GOP politics, was tapped by then-Gov. Nathan Deal in 2016 to serve on the ethics commission. His father, Randy, was one of Deal's lawyers and a close adviser to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He later served as an ambassador in the Trump administration.
Already, at least two other Republicans have entered the contest for McBath's seat: Eric Welsh, a retired U.S. Army colonel; and Harold Earls, a U.S. Army veteran with a vast YouTube and Instagram following who also plans to highlight his outsider appeal.
Since potential candidates still don't know what the district boundaries will be, and the maps won't be redrawn until the end of the year, Evans and other formidable contenders are still on the sidelines. They include state Sen. Brandon Beach and former state Rep. Meagan Hanson.
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Albany’s Phoebe Putney Health System marked an encouraging milestone Friday when it announced its lowest COVID-19 numbers since the pandemic began last year, with just nine patients hospitalized, WALB-TV reports.
“This is the first day of the entire pandemic that our number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has been in single digits,” said Scott Steiner, Phoebe President and CEO.
Steiner also stressed the importance of continued vigilance and called the progress proof of the effectiveness of vaccinations.
The Southwest Georgia health system was overwhelmed by patients in the spring of 2020, when a local COVID outbreak led to one of the worst positivity rates anywhere in the country.
A New York Times headline at the time described the area as having been “hit like a bomb” by the deadly virus.
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If Seersucker is not your cup of iced tea, please look away as we memorialize U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s participation in National Seersucker Day in the Senate last week.
With the hashtag #hotsummersuit, Warnock posted a photo of himself partaking in one of the great Senate traditions of wearing an entire suit of seersucker, while other senators curiously opted for a seeksucker jacket with black pants, or in Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s case, tennis shoes.
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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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