This year’s legislative session might be remembered more for what didn’t pass than what did cross the finish line.
The latest push to legalize sports betting faltered. A new expansion of mental health care legislation fell apart. A school voucher measure backed by Gov. Brian Kemp went down in flames. And a revived push to define antisemitism as a hate crime was never called for a vote in the Senate Wednesday night.
Still, dozens of other big-ticket measures received final passage as two new legislative leaders — House Speaker Jon Burns and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — navigated their new roles.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
WHO’S UP:
- College students. Ever since a bipartisan coalition led by former Gov. Nathan Deal cut the award to HOPE scholars more than a decade ago, Democrats have vowed to restore the full amount of the Georgia-based scholarships. With broad support from both parties, next year’s budget will provide 100% tuition coverage for HOPE recipients.
- Public school advocates. Proponents of vouchers that would have sent $6,500 to students for private school tuition came closer than ever to clearing the Legislature. But a coalition of more than a dozen Republicans and nearly all Democrats in the House rejected the measure, to the relief of local mayors and school boards, who worried the measure would undercut their public schools. The cheers in the House chamber following the defeat were so loud they could be heard from the Senate chamber.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
- First-term lawmakers. The newbies made an immediate impact. State Reps. Soo Hong, R-Lawrenceville, and Matt Reeves, R-Duluth, played major roles on judiciary measures. State Rep. Esther Panitch, D-Sandy Springs, pressed for new protections against antisemitism. State Rep. Saira Draper, D-Atlanta, advocated against new election changes. State Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, was a leading voice against Buckhead cityhood.
- Lobbyists. The most lucrative phrase in the Capitol for a lobbyist may be, “not this year,” meaning their clients will need their help pushing their interests well into the future. With so many issues tabled for now, Capitol lobbyists can count on plenty of work ahead.
WHO’S DOWN:
- Mental health care advocates. After a 163-3 vote in the House, the follow-up to last year’s landmark mental health overhaul never got a committee vote in the Senate. Caught up in a GOP power struggle over an unrelated Senate bill, state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, called the overall measure’s demise “pure politics.”
- Sports bettors and track ponies. The effort to expand gambling in Georgia failed yet again, despite at least a half-dozen bills and a maneuver to swap out a completely different bill for sports betting.
- Georgia Public Broadcasting. The statewide public broadcaster got a 10% cut to its annual budget. That was less than an earlier proposal for a 26% cut, but still a blow to the nonprofit that largely relies on those public dollars for its educational programming in schools.
- The City of Buckhead City. The end came early for the effort to split Atlanta apart to create a new city from its wealthy northern neighborhoods. The biggest reason for the loss was Gov. Brian Kemp, who squashed the effort by raising its dubious legal and constitutional effects.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
MIXED BAG:
- Gov. Brian Kemp. The governor got most of what he wanted in the first session of his second term. He secured most of his requests in spending blueprints, including tax rebates and teacher pay raises. And he successfully lobbied for new state oversight of local prosecutors and limits on medical treatment for transgender youth. But he didn’t win every battle. He failed to secure the passage of school vouchers and couldn’t protect the higher education system from Senate-backed cuts.
- Culture warriors. As expected, proposals to restrict abortion, revive “religious liberty,” expand gun rights and tackle other perennial favorites of social conservatives went nowhere. But conservatives also celebrated a new law that limits health care treatments to transgender youth and the defeat of a sports betting measure.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
- Wellstar Health System. The health care giant found a fast enemy in Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, whose father has been pushing for a new hospital in Jones’ Butts County near a Wellstar facility. A statewide measure to scrap new rural hospital regulations, hotly opposed by Wellstar, failed. But the fight brought new heat from state senators about the company’s planned role with Augusta University Health System, and a roughly $40 million cut to a new records system there. This isn’t over.
- Lyons, Georgia. State Rep. Leesa Hagan’s bill to make Lyons’ Southeast Georgia Soapbox Derby the official derby of Georgia was hijacked mid-session to make way for yet another sports betting bill. Even though Hagan’s bill didn’t make it to final passage, the maneuver focused the entire Capitol’s attention on Lyons’ favorite event. Look for this bill again next year.
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Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
SPEAKER TALK. Minutes after banging the final gavel of the session, House Speaker Jon Burns repeatedly vented about his “disappointment” that Senate lawmakers blocked a mental health care expansion.
“I’m disappointed that the value that we saw in the mental health legislation was not shared in the Senate. It wasn’t able to move forward,” said Burns.
On the failed voucher bill:
“That was a tough vote. That was a tough vote for me and my members, balancing the needs in our education system. I’m sure you’ll see that issue come again in some form.”
On why he brought the voucher bill for a vote:
“I didn’t know (it was going to fail). We wanted everyone to have an opportunity to express exactly where they were. … We wanted to see where people were. We wanted to give them a chance to express their thoughts.”
On whether he would have supported it:
“I would have voted for it. … It was a great opportunity to have a very robust discussion among members all over the state.”
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Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
WHAT IF? Just after the Senate approved the state’s budget on Wednesday afternoon, state Sen. Josh McLaurin made a surprise motion, mostly in jest, to call it quits for the day. But when Lt. Gov. Burt Jones ruled the motion in order, it seemed for a moment that Senate leaders were seriously considering it.
After a brief huddle and some back-and-forth on the Senate floor, McLaurin withdrew his motion. But several lawmakers from both chambers say the move had a real chance of passing had he moved forward.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
HOLED UP. Gov. Brian Kemp turned heads in a speech late last night to the state Senate, expressing concern about “significant holes” in the state budget and suggested that he must work with lawmakers to fill them after the session.
We caught up with state Sen. Blake Tillery, who chairs the Senate’s budget-writing committee, moments after the session ended. Tillery chose his words carefully.
“I have the utmost respect for the governor,” Tillery said. “He’s a personal friend. I look forward to working with him personally to address what holes he sees.”
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
UNDER THE GOLD DOME:
- It’s all over but the shouting. Barring an unexpected special session, the General Assembly is out until 2024.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
LISTEN UP. We have a special Thursday edition of the Politically Georgia podcast, with the behind-the-scenes view from the Capitol as Sine Die unfolded Wednesday.
Listen and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher.
And you’re invited to join us at 5 p.m. today as we tape our end-of-the-week edition with a live, virtual audience. You can join the audience and submit all of your Sine Die and #gapol questions by registering now.
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Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
BACK FOR MORE. Former state representative Derrick Jackson, a Democrat from Tyrone, announced Wednesday that he’s running to join the House again.
Jackson said he’ll be a candidate for the special election in House District 68, which became vacant after the untimely passing of State Rep. Letitia “Tish” Naghise, D-Fayetteville, earlier this month.
Jackson represented the same district until 2022, when he announced he’d run for lieutenant governor instead. Naghise won the vacant seat in November, but was able to serve just a few months.
Election Day is May 16, with early voting set to begin April 24.
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FLORIDA IN GEORGIA: Is it 2024 already? You know it’s fast approaching with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an assumed presidential hopeful, heading to Atlanta today for an event at Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna. Read more about the Floridian’s Georgia adventure and his book tour/ pre-presidential campaign.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- The U.S. House is expected to take a final vote on Republican-led energy legislation meant to boost domestic oil and gas production.
- The U.S. Senate is working on public safety legislation and Biden administration confirmations.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
MCBATH’S WRATH. U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., rose to national prominence as a gun safety advocate after her son was shot at a Florida gas station. So it’s no surprise that the death of three 9-year-olds and three adults at a Nashville grade school has McBath speaking out again.
“Our children should not be forced to live in a war zone where bullets may murder a classmate in a moment’s notice,” she said during a news conference Wednesday morning. “What will it take? How much blood must be spilled? How many children must be killed until we do the right thing?”
And McBath is hammering Gov. Ron DeSantis’ visit today to the gun store near her Marietta home, accusing him of being “beholden to the NRA.”
“Governor DeSantis talks a lot about ‘law and order’, so I ask the Governor directly: What about allowing repeated massacres in our classrooms to continue is ‘law and order?’” McBath said in a follow-up news release. “What about refusing to follow the recommendations of law enforcement? Is that ‘law and order’? What weapons of war in our streets contribute to ‘law and order?’”
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Credit: Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Credit: Kenny Holston/The New York Times
JAN. 6 RE-INVESTIGATION. U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk’s reinvestigation of the House select committee probe of Jan. 6, 2021, is out with some initial findings, which focus largely on Loudermilk himself.
The congressman, who chairs the House Administration Committee’s Oversight Subcommittee, announced Tuesday that a review of Jan. 6 committee materials, including letters, subpoenas and security footage, confirmed what he has said all along: There was nothing improper about tours he gave on Jan. 5, 2021, the day before the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. It was cold and dark Wednesday night as lawmakers finally called it quits for the 2023 session.
So we’re sending the entire Capitol crew home with this image until next year — Baby Rhett Hughes, living his best life on a summer day in at a pool on Isle of Hope.
Rhett calls Capitol regular Lee Hughes his person — and he comes by his water-loving ways honestly. As a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Labrador Retriever, he is a distinguished-sounding “Goldador.”
May all our days ahead be as enjoyable as Baby Rhett’s days by the pool.
And even though the session is over, the Dog of the Day most definitely is not. 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.
An earlier version of the Jolt stated that Rhett was photographed in McRae. He is from McRae, but lives, and was photographed, on the Isle of Hope, which sounds fabulous.
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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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