Category: Battleground State Report

Freedom WMLB Radio Station Launch Party Gears Georgia Conservatives Up to Inspire Passion, Win Votes

Chris Butler

  KENNESAW, Georgia — Georgia conservatives will only win hearts and minds if they fight, display passion, and testify how their ideas and policies can and will shape and impact voters’ personal lives — for the better. That was the message that several speakers relayed Wednesday night at a launch party at Kennesaw’s Marietta Country Club for the new Freedom WMLB 1690. The station broadcasts to Atlanta audiences through the John Fredericks Radio Network (JFRN). JFRN is based out of Richmond, Virginia. David Shafer made news and told attendees that former U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed him for another term as chair of the Georgia Republican Party. Trump endorsed Shafer in a statement late Wednesday afternoon. “David Shafer did a phenomenal job as chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, recruiting and training a record number of volunteers,” Trump wrote. “No one in Georgia fought harder for me than David. He NEVER gave up! He has my complete and total endorsement for reelection.” Shafer told The Georgia Star News Wednesday that under his leadership the Georgia GOP recruited and trained 13,000 volunteers and raised millions of dollars. Meanwhile, former U.S. Republican Congressman Doug Collins sidestepped questions about his own political future and…

Read the full story

Using Boulder Tragedy, Klobuchar Promises Action on Gun Control

Peter D'Abrosca

The morning after a mass shooting that left 10 dead in Colorado, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is using the tragedy to push a left-wing gun control agenda. 

“Since we announced a hearing on gun safety, there have been two mass shootings. That doesn’t include the hundreds affected by gun violence every day. Thoughts & prayers aren’t enough. We need to act & it starts with a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing I’m heading to right now,” Klobuchar said Tuesday morning on Twitter

Read the full story

Georgia Legislators Want to Require Law Enforcement and 911 to Speak Languages Other Than English

Chris Butler

Members of the Georgia General Assembly filed various bills this week that would, if enacted into law, require law enforcement agencies to speak in languages other than English when working with members of the public. The first bill, SB 308, calls on the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority (GECA) and the state’s 911 systems to have a statewide system of language translation services. The Georgia General Assembly’s website identifies State Sen. Sheikh Rahman (D-Lawrenceville) as the bill’s primary sponsor. Nineteen other state senators, all Democrats, are co-sponsoring the bill.

Read the full story

Georgia Secretary of State Official Who Sourced False WAPO Story About Donald Trump Explains Her Actions

Chris Butler

The Georgia Secretary of State investigator who was the anonymous source for a Washington Post story about former U.S. President Donald Trump — that people now discredit — said Tuesday the paper got the story correct. This, aside from a few minor mistakes, said Georgia Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs, the anonymous source.

Read the full story

Georgia House Democrats Want to Expand TANF Benefits, Repeal Drug Felony Ban for Recipients

Chris Butler

Six Democrats in the Georgia General Assembly filed a bill this week that calls on state officials to expand access to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. According to that bill, HB 741, those Democrats also want to make eligible people convicted of felony drug charges. The bill also would, if enacted into law, increase the lifetime maximum for TANF benefits and stipulate that the government could disregard a person’s assets when determining eligibility.

Read the full story

Leftists Tell Georgia’s Biggest Corporations, Like Coca-Cola, to Stand with Them Against Voter Integrity Bills

Chris Butler

Left-leaning groups have demanded that Georgia’s largest corporate entities, including Coca-Cola and Home Depot, fight two bills in the Georgia General Assembly, which they describe as racist. Members of this coalition made their demands in a full-page ad in The Atlanta Journal Constitution last week. The coalition called out Delta Airlines, Coca-Cola, Southern Company, Home Depot, UPS, Aflac, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and the Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce.

Read the full story

Georgia Legislation to Suspend Compensation of Indicted Public Officials Passes out of Committee

Chris Butler

Members of the Georgia State Senate Government Oversight Committee this week passed two pieces of legislation that they said will restrict public officials from certain privileges if and when any court officials indict them on felony charges. State Sen. Larry Walker (R-Perry) sponsored both bills, according to the Georgia General Assembly’s website.

Read the full story

Georgia Senate Passes Business and Religious Institution Protection Act

Chris Butler

Members of the Georgia State Senate Friday passed SB 200, which would, if enacted into law, protect businesses and churches against government shutdowns during a COVID-19-like pandemic or other health emergency. Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R-Cumming) emailed a press release Friday and said this bill “provides businesses and churches with common-sense protections against government shutdowns.”

Read the full story

Georgia House Members Pass Tax-Cutting Legislation

Chris Butler

Members of the Georgia House of Representatives this week passed four pieces of legislation that they said will cut taxes for Georgia families and businesses and create jobs and expand economic opportunity across the state. These measures include the Tax Relief Act of 2021, the Georgia Economic Recovery Act of 2021, the Georgia Economic Renewal Act of 2021, and the reauthorization of the House Rural Development Council.

Read the full story

Georgia Bill Would Make Certain Noncitizens Eligible as In-State for Tuition Purposes

Chris Butler

  A Georgia legislator has filed a bill that would provide that students — other than nonimmigrant aliens — are classified as in-state for tuition purposes. State Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton), sponsored the bill. Carpenter’s bill also, if enacted into law, would authorize the state Board of Regents and the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia to consider classifying non-citizen students as in-state for tuition purposes. The Georgia Star News contacted Carpenter and his staff by phone and email Thursday to discuss the bill, but no one in Carpenter’s office returned our requests for comment. According to a press release from the Atlanta chapter of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the language in Carpenter’s bill “makes DACA recipients and other deferred action recipients the only non-citizens eligible for in-state tuition. “This excludes the vast majority of noncitizens in Georgia, including Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), asylees, immigrants with TPS (Temporary Protected Status), and immigrants issued U-visas and T-visas, among others,” the press release said. According to the language of the bill, in order to qualify for in-state tuition a student must meet the following conditions: • The student is not seeking admission to any institution of the University System…

Read the full story

Bill to Allow Tennesseans Freedom of Choice for Vaccinations Dies in House Subcommittee

Corinne Murdock

The House Health Subcommittee killed a bill allowing exemptions for vaccines based on religious or conscientious objections, especially during pandemics. Lawmakers voted against the bill, 7-3. Committee members that voted against the bill were State Representatives Bob Freeman (D-Nashville), Darren Jernigan (D-Old Hickory), Sabi Kumar (R-Springfield), Pat Marsh (R-Shelbyville), Bob Ramsey (R-Maryville), Paul Sherrell (R-Sparta), and Robin Smith (R-Hixon); those for the bill were State Representatives Clark Boyd (R-Lebanon), Mark Hall (R-Cleveland), Bryan Terry (R-Murfreesboro).

Opposition to the bill raised issue with the possibility of its public health impact, citing the risk posed by non-vaccinated individuals in areas such as schools, daycares, and restaurants. State Representative Jay D. Reedy (R-Erin) had proposed the bill in November initially, several weeks after the general election. Its companion bill was filed shortly after by State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon), who didn’t respond for comment by press time.

Read the full story

Georgia Voter Integrity Bill at Standstill in State Legislature

Chris Butler

Georgia State Rep. Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock) has defended voter integrity legislation she’s filed that would require non-U.S. citizens to have “BEARER NOT A U.S. CITIZEN — NOT VOTER ID” printed on their driver’s licenses, permits. This, even though Georgia officials said at an Election Integrity Committee hearing late last week that they already have a system in place to stop illegal immigrants from voting.

Read the full story

Georgia Chamber of Commerce Influences David Ralston in Ways Average Georgians Won’t Like, Former Legislator Says

Chris Butler

A former state representative said the Georgia Chamber of Commerce influences the agenda of House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge), even though that agenda favors large corporate entities and  sometimes frustrates average Georgians’ best interests. As The Georgia Star News reported last week, former State Rep. Jeff Jones said “the Georgia Chamber of Commerce is not the friend of the average Georgia citizen.”

Read the full story

Georgia State Rep. Bonnie Rich Benefits from Chamber of Commerce PAC Donations

Chris Butler

Georgia’s chamber of commerce interests have donated $4,250 to Georgia State Rep. Bonnie Rich (R-Suwanee) since 2018, shortly before she took office. As reported this week, Georgia State Rep. Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock) said she suspected members of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Atlanta Chamber are working behind the scenes to kill Byrd’s Voter ID legislation. She said Rich is working to block Byrd’s legislation in a Special Committee on Election Integrity subcommittee.

Read the full story

Former Georgia Legislators Say Chamber of Commerce ‘No Friend’ to Average Peach State Residents

Chris Butler

Two former state legislators said Georgia Chamber of Commerce members, not unexpectedly, have tremendous influence at the State Capitol, but those two men also said Chambers’ members sometimes work against political conservatives’ best interests.

Former State Rep. Jeff Jones, who represented District 167 from 2015 until last month, told The Georgia Star News this week that he never hesitates to speak freely, and he didn’t even when he held office. And he said he won’t hold back now.

Read the full story

Use of Mobile Voting Facilities Violated Intent of Georgia Law, State Senator Says

Chris Butler

A 1998 Georgia law authorized the state to have mobile voting facilities, but voters in the Peach State’s most recent presidential election who voted at such places acted against that law’s original intent. State Sen. Mike Dugan (R-Carrollton) said this Thursday as he spoke to members of the State Senate’s Ethics Committee. Dugan said this as he discussed a new bill he’s sponsoring to reform the state’s election systems.

Read the full story

New Georgia Bill Would Limit Secretary of State’s Ability to Enter into Consent Agreements

Chris Butler

Georgia legislators filed a bill this week that, among other things, would limit the ability of the State Election Board and the secretary of state to enter into certain consent agreements. “The State Election Board, the members thereof, the Secretary of State, and any of their attorneys or staff shall not have any authority to enter into any consent agreement with any other person that limits, alters, or interprets any provision of this chapter without obtaining the approval of the General Assembly through a joint resolution,” according to the language of the bill.

Read the full story

Georgia Business Interests Suspected of Trying to Kill Voter ID Legislation

Chris Butler

Georgia State Rep. Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock) said this week that she suspects certain of the state’s business interests are working behind the scenes and trying to kill her Voter ID legislation. As The Georgia Star News reported Tuesday, that legislation, if enacted into law, would require non-U.S. citizens to have “BEARER NOT A U.S. CITIZEN — NOT VOTER ID” printed on their licenses, permits and/or identification cards. Byrd said State Rep. Bonnie Rich (R-Suwanee) is working to block Byrd’s legislation in a Special Committee on Election Integrity subcommittee.

Read the full story

Doug Collins to Debut and Host Political Talk Show out of Georgia Next Week

Chris Butler

Former U.S. Republican Congressman Doug Collins is scheduled to launch his own talk radio program Monday, March 1, and the show will feature guests local to Georgia as well as guests who hold national stature. The Doug Collins Show will broadcast from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday on the Georgia-based WMLB (1690 AM). People outside of the Atlanta-listening area may also listen to the show through the John Fredericks Radio Show app.

Read the full story

Georgia Voter ID Bill Could Die as Republican Legislator Stalls Moving it Forward

Chris Butler

Georgia State Rep. Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock) said Monday that a Republican colleague is holding up Voter ID legislation that Byrd said will help prevent fraud in the state. As reported, that legislation, if enacted into law, would require non- U.S. citizens to have “BEARER NOT A U.S. CITIZEN — NOT VOTER ID” printed on their licenses, permits and/or identification cards.

Read the full story

Georgia Bill Would Honor Certain Out-of-State Professional and Occupational Licenses

Chris Butler

A new bill in the Georgia General Assembly would, if enacted into law, help individuals who relocated from out-of-state obtain a license to practice certain professions and occupations. State officials could grant expedited licenses to those people — other than dentists, physicians, and osteopaths. This, according to a bill that 12 Georgia legislators filed late last month.

Read the full story

New Georgia Legislation Would Let Churches and Businesses Stay Open During Health Emergency

Chris Butler

Georgia State Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R – Dallas) this week introduced legislation that he said supports a church and a business owner’s rights to keep their establishments open during a pandemic like COVID-19 or other health emergency. This, only if the business can abide by all of the mandated safety precautions that local and state governments issue, Anavitarte said.

Read the full story

Georgia Bill Would Restrict Local Government’s Power to Defund the Police

Chris Butler

Six members of the Georgia House of Representatives have responded to the “Defund the Police” movement and filed a bill that would prohibit local governments in the state from cutting more than 5 percent of their police budgets. State Rep. Houston Gaines (R-Athens), the bill’s primary sponsor, said Tuesday that his legislation would, if enacted into law, exempt local governments that lose more than 5 percent of their budget revenues.

Read the full story

Georgia Driver’s Ed Students Would Learn Proper Ways to Interact with Law Enforcement, Under New Bill

Chris Butler

Georgia State Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Cataula) has filed legislation that would provide an instructional course and educate drivers on how best to interact with law enforcement officers, especially during traffic stops. According to the language of the bill, members of the Georgia Department of Public Safety would offer the lesson.

Read the full story