Sightseers’ Delight: Georgia Edition

ATLANTA – State Rep. Matt Dubnik, R-Gainesville, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, and State Sen. Drew Echols, R-Gainesville, today announced their intention to reestablish the Lake Lanier Caucus to focus on the immediate concerns caused by reported taste and odor issues in Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River.

A Georgia state lawmaker has confirmed that lawmakers are considering funding the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, Georgia, with tax dollars. Click here to read more.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who is running for governor this year, is calling on the Georgia General Assembly to ensure only citizens vote in Georgia elections by requiring voters to show a Real ID before casting their ballots. To obtain a Real ID, proof of U.S. Citizenship is required, such as a birth certificate or passport.

Karen L. Bennett, who resigned from her position as an elected member of the Georgia House of Representatives on Jan. 1, has pleaded guilty to making false statements to fraudulently obtain thousands of dollars of emergency pandemic unemployment assistance payments.

Georgia Sen. Tim Bearden, R–Carrollton, was appointed chairman of the Senate Committee on Government Oversight and secretary of the Senate Committee on Judiciary by Lt. Governor Burt Jones and the Senate Committee on Assignments.

Senator RaShaun Kemp, D-Atlanta, has introduced Senate Bill 381, which adds a poverty weight to Georgia’s educational funding formula, a move proponents said would account for students from low-income families. The bill was cosponsored by Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II, D-Atlanta; Senate Minority Whip Kim Jackson, D-Atlanta; Senate Caucus Chair Elena Parent, D-Decatur; and Senator Jaha Howard, D-Smyrna.

Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Elena Parent, D-Decatur, introduced Senate Resolution 558, proposes an amendment to the Georgia Constitution that bars changes to the apportionment and districts of the General Assembly and Congress that don’t occur during the first odd-numbered year after each United States decennial census, whilc alowing for additional changes outside of this period but only when necessary to comply with a court order. The resolution was cosponsored by Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II, D-Atlanta, Senate Minority Whip Kim Jackson, D-Atlanta, Caucus Vice Chair Sonya Halpern, D-Atlanta, and Senator Nikki Merritt, D-Grayson.

NFIB State Director Hunter Loggins says Georgia’s small business owners look forward to hearing Republican Gov. Brian Kemp expand on the legislative priorities he outlined in a speech to business leaders on Wednesday. Kemp is expected to provide additional details when he delivers his final State of the State address today.

Earlier this week, Georgia Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, filed Senate Resolution 563, a resolution urging Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to comply with multiple requests by the U.S. Department of Justice to securely produce Georgia’s complete voter roll, in compliance with Georgia’s obligations under the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1960.

State Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome, announced today that she will continue her work in the Georgia House of Representatives rather than run for the open 14th Congressional District seat, which Marjorie Taylor Greene previously held