Advocates for sexual assault survivors warn that SB 68, the centerpiece of Governor Kemp's push for "tort reform," will make it virtually impossible for survivors to seek justice against businesses that expose them to abuse.
CW: discussion of sexual abuse https://georgiarecorder.com/2025/03/18/human-trafficking-emerges-as-new-front-in-georgia-legislative-tension-over-lawsuit-limits/
#politics #legislation #GAPol #GAGeneralAssembly
SB 36, the Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act, has passed the Senate, but needs a corresponding anti-discrimination law to counterbalance the extra consideration is mandates that state courts give to religious considerations. https://capitol-beat.org/2025/03/georgia-senate-republicans-pass-religious-freedom-law-raising-concerns-about-discrimination/
#legislation #GAGeneralAssembly #GAPol #religiousFreedom #civilRights #ChurchAndState
Georgia committee that has pursued Fani Willis now wants to investigate Stacey Abrams
https://apnews.com/article/georgia-republicans-senate-stacey-abrams-61b39a394df9ba53ad2ebb7e8e329d16
My sincere wish for Georgia is that voters in and around Atlanta pay attention to this newly announced special election set for November: https://capitol-beat.org/2025/02/new-georgia-psc-elections-set/
PSC is an extremely important post in this state, and it never draws as much attention as it should. There are big political fights over utilities coming in the next 5 years, and this is the first step toward ensuring that they go our way.
#politics #GAPol #utilities #elections
From CNN.com: GOP congressman faces criticism and several boos at Georgia town hall
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/21/politics/rich-mccormick-georgia-trump?cid=ios_app
Georgia Senate Bill 39 would bar state insurance plans from paying for trans-affirming health care. https://roughdraftatlanta.com/2025/02/06/georgia-senate-bill-trans-healthcare/ #politics #legislation #Georgia #GAPol #transRights #healthcare
SB1 would extend Georgia's de facto ban on transgender athletes to middle school, private school, and college sports, under penalty of losing public funding. It allows parents to file complaints against student athletes, which would open to door to gendered harassment. The bill has just passed committee, so there's time to let your senator and representative you want them to vote against the bill. https://capitol-beat.org/2025/01/transgender-sports-bill-advances-to-georgia-senate/ #politics #USPol #GAPol #transgender
"In Georgia, if judges announce they’ll quit at some point before the end of their term, they hand the governor the ability to choose their replacement for the next two years. Even if an election was about to be held for their seat, that race gets canceled and kicked years down the road. Even if an election for their seat has already happened, a judge could still resign after they’ve lost, giving the governor the power to make an appointment that would nullify the result." It's time to close that loophole. https://boltsmag.org/georgia-judicial-elections-loophole-scrutiny/ #politics #GAPol #elections
Almost all the funding to fight homelessness in Georgia is federal, so the Trump administration's freeze on federal grants threatens to altogether halt services in the state. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/28/atlanta-homelessness-trump-federal-funding #politics #USPol #GAPol #homelessness
"Repealing the state's rent-regulation ban would go a long way toward curbing the adverse effects from AI-driven rent-pricing in an already strained rental market, said [Taylor Shelton, a Georgia State University geographer and housing expert]." https://atlantaciviccircle.org/2025/01/08/realpage-artificial-intelligence-spikes-atlanta-rent-prices/ #politics #GAPol #Atlanta #housing #AI
This group of amazing kids from the New Georgia Project have knocked on a staggering 835,000 doors in Georgia this year!!! #GaPol #Georgia #ElectionDay #Vote.
There’s already been several bomb threats in Atlanta.
Destiny Thomas, a Law Student and Voter Protection Volunteer, tells me: “The effect of them, to suppress, to intimidate, to make people scared to come vote — that effect has already been felt.”
Via Stephen Fowler:
Whoa - #Georgia Sec of State Brad Raffensperger says more than half a million people have already voted in Georgia as of noon
That's on track to potentially have ~1.2 million Election Day votes. #gapol
One thing that keeps creeping in from turnout reports today in GA & other swing states:
It appears that that some of the GOP turnout shift to early vote earlier/cannibalized from Election Day is also accompanied by D-inclined voters that did mail in 2020 shifting to E Day.
Via Stephen Fowler:
At the end of in person early voting, 4.01 million Georgians have voted early! #gapol
~1.54 million voted earlier in 24 than 20
~1.62 million voted same/later in 24 than 20
~846k did not vote in GA in 2020 but voted early in 24
~339k voted on E Day in 20 but voted early in 24
Carry Smith wrote her PhD thesis on the Voting Rights Act and challenges to the right to vote in Georgia. Now dig this: Smith, the expert on challenges to voting rights, nearly lost her vote because a GOP vigilante challenged her registration — along with 900 other Savannah voters — forcing her to make an appearance in front of her local Elections Board to get it restored.
Full story: https://www.gregpalast.com/savannah-vigilante-attack-on-phd-brthousands-of-black-voters-face-ballot-block/
Carry Smith wrote her PhD thesis on the Voting Rights Act and challenges to the right to vote in Georgia. Now dig this: Smith, the expert on challenges to voting rights, nearly lost her vote because a GOP vigilante challenged her registration — along with 900 other Savannah voters — forcing her to make an appearance in front of her local Elections Board to get it restored.
Full story: https://www.gregpalast.com/savannah-vigilante-attack-on-phd-brthousands-of-black-voters-face-ballot-block/
