Kemp Leads GOP Gubernatorial Group in Response Against Tax Proposals

Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster led Republican governors in a response today in opposition to the $740 billion spending proposal to fix inflation.

“The Democrats’ solution to a 40-year high inflation is passing another reckless tax and spending spree to the tune of $74 billion, affecting Americans in every tax bracket,” the Republican gubernatorial coalition said in a statement Thursday.

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Governor Kemp Extends Gas Tax Suspension, Supply Chain State of Emergency

Governor Brian Kemp (R) signed two executive orders on Wednesday that extended the gas tax suspension and renewed the state of emergency for supply chain disruptions. These executive orders will be effective through September 12th.

“I have extended the temporary suspension of the state’s motor fuel tax to alleviate the financial burden placed on Georgians due to the federal government’s gross mishandling of inflation,” Gov. Kemp said. 

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Georgia Court Appointees Andrew Pinson and Ben Land Promoted, Sworn onto State Bench

Georgia Judiciary Appointees Andrew Pinson and Benjamin Land were sworn onto the state bench in promotional appointments made by Governor Brian Kemp (R) on Wednesday.

“Today, I had the honor of swearing in Andrew Pinson to the #SupremeCourtGA and Ben Land to the @AppealsCourtGA, its first judge from Columbus. They both have upheld wisdom and integrity on the bench, and they will continue to do so in the important cases that come before them,” Governor Kemp said. 

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Copper Foil Manufacturer to Invest $430 Million in Richmond County Facility

A high-quality electrodeposited (ED) copper foil manufacturer Denkai America announced Wednesday in a joint statement with Governor Brian Kemp that it will invest $430 million in a Richmond County-based facility that will create 250 jobs over the next five years.

“As Georgia continues to lead in the emerging electric vehicle market & next-gen jobs, I’m proud to announce that Denkai America will invest $430M & create 250 new jobs over the next five years in Richmond County through its new manufacturing facility and North American Headquarters!” Kemp said. 

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Brad Raffensperger Calls for Federal Amendment on Election Security

In a follow-up tweet that expounded on his letter penned in January on election reform, Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, reiterated his call for a federal Constitutional amendment on U.S. citizenship and election integrity.

“A citizenship amendment is a necessary security measure that will ensure that only American citizens are voting in our elections. We need an amendment now,” Raffensperger said.

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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr Picks Head of State Gang Prosecution Unit

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has hired Fulton County Deputy District Attorney, Cara Convery, to head the state’s first Gang Prosecution Unit, per a Wednesday press release from the Office of the Attorney General.

“Cara Convery has established herself as a force in the field of criminal gang prosecution and is a proven leader in Georgia’s legal community,” Carr said.

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Mike Lindell Reportedly Kicked Out of Republican Governors Association Event in Nashville After He Promised to Confront Georgia, Arizona Governors About Election

On Tuesday, the Republican Governors Association (RGA) reportedly ejected MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell from their spring conference in Nashville.

Lindell claimed that he’d been invited to the event; his spokespersons didn’t respond to The Star about these claims. Earlier that same day, Lindell announced publicly on Steve Bannon’s show, War Room Pandemic, that he would confront Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp over the election.

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Georgia Health Officials Won’t Check Residency for COVID-19 Vaccines as ‘Vaccine Tourism’ Occurs

Despite reports of individuals engaging in “vaccine tourism,” state officials said they won’t be checking residency before administering COVID-19 vaccines. In a press conference on Tuesday, Dr. Kathleen Toomey responded to a reporter’s inquiry about individuals admitting they were traveling from out of state to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Georgia. 

“I think it’s important that everybody know: we’re not going to be checking driver’s licenses, we’re not going to police this process. Does that mean somebody may slip in from out of state? Possibly,” stated Toomey. “I think it’s important that we don’t want to be policemen. We want to encourage as much vaccination as we can.”

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Georgia House Democratic Caucus COVID-19 Subcommittee Petitions Governor for Mandatory Shelter-in-Place, Mask Mandates, and Social Gathering Restrictions

The Georgia House Democratic Caucus Subcommittee on COVID-19 requested that Governor Brian Kemp implement more emergency regulations to address the new COVID-19 strain. Subcommittee members are State Representatives Rhonda Burnough (D-Riverdale), Viola Davis, (D-Stone Mountain), Shelly Hutchinson (D-Snellville), Donna McLeod (D-Lawrenceville), Sandra Scott (D-Rex), and Kim Schofieeld (D-Atlanta). 

The letter requested that Kemp expand the emergency orders to require everyone to either shelter-in-place, or do a combination of the following: cease all in-person schooling; further limit gatherings in bars, clubs, and restaurants; impose a statewide mask mandate; and establish moratoriums on evictions and utility cutoffs for all of this upcoming year.

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Georgia Ethics Commission Dismisses Investigations into Governor Kemp; One Investigation into Stacey Abrams Still Unresolved

Governor Brian Kemp and Democratic voting rights activist Stacey Abrams were both cleared of some wrongdoings in their respective 2018 gubernatorial campaigns. While the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission maintained that the complaints against Kemp had no merit, they only dismissed several of the complaints against Abrams.

The unresolved complaint raised against Abrams alleged that her campaign illegally coordinated with a political action committee (PAC) through a voting rights nonprofit that she founded. Abrams’ nonprofit, New Georgia Project, and a similarly-named PAC, New Georgia Project Action Fund, reportedly operated in the same office under some of the same individuals. In an attempt to investigate the complaints further, the commission petitioned a court for a subpoena to access more of Abrams campaign documents; the judge denied the request. It is unclear whether the investigation is still ongoing. Commission members may not comment on active investigations pursuant to the state’s Rules of Professional Responsibility.

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Georgia State Legislators Reportedly Fearful of Backlash and Destruction in Atlanta If They Vote for a Special Session

The Georgia legislature may not call a special session – but the decision wouldn’t be for a lack of doubt in election integrity.

In an interview with The Georgia Star News, State Representative Colton Moore (R-Trenton) shared that legislators are gun-shy about calling a special session to address the general and runoff elections.

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Georgia GOP Senators Introduce Special Session Petition

  Four Georgia lawmakers – State Senators Brandon Beach (R-Cherokee), Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming), William Ligon (R-Brunswick), and Burt Jones (R-Jackson) (pictured above, left to right) – bucked their leadership  Monday to launch a petition to force a special session of the Georgia General Assembly. They need 29 signatures to force it. Republicans hold a 34-21 seat majority. “As the petition makes clear, testimonial and other evidence given before the Georgia Senate Judiciary Subcommittee demonstrated a systemic failure to observe Georgia election laws. Underage individuals and convicted felons registered and were allowed to vote,” stated the senators in a press release. “People voted who were not listed in the state’s records as having been registered to vote. Voters who moved to a different county more than 30 days prior to the election and failed to re-register were allowed to cast votes. Voters registered using bogus addresses such as UPS facilities and other stores, yet their votes were counted. Ballots of individuals who were deceased prior to Election Day counted. Over and over again, ballots were counted outside the view of poll watchers or designated monitors, defying the law. Even the law itself was modified by an unconstitutional agreement which weakened signature…

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Governor Kemp Breaks Silence Again, Says He’s Always Asked for a Complete Audit

Governor Brian Kemp called for a complete audit of absentee ballot signatures late Thursday evening. The governor appeared on Fox News to express concern with the findings presented during Thursday’s Georgia Senate hearing.

“I called early on for a signature audit. Obviously, the Secretary of State per the laws and the Constitution would have to order that – he has not done that. I think it should be done. I think, especially from what we saw today, it [the evidence presented] raises more questions. There needs to be transparency on that. I would, again, call for that.”

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Poll Reveals 58 Percent of Voters Want Governor Kemp to Call Special Legislative Session Now

A majority of likely voters in January’s runoff election want Governor Brian Kemp to call a special session for absentee ballot signature verification. The poll, exclusively shared with The Georgia Star News, revealed that the bipartisan voters strongly desire a special legislative session addressing signature verification for every mail-in ballot.

The national survey research and strategic services company McLaughlin & Associates called 800 likely voters at the end of last month. The methodology was described as a random selection “to correlate with actual voter turnout in the November 3rd general election.”

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Attorney Lin Wood Confirms Trump Legal Team’s Evidence Will Be Enough to Overturn Election

ATLANTA, Georgia – Attorney Lin Wood stated that the evidence from Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell will overturn the election. Wood filed suit against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, alleging that the state official changed election law. He confirmed this during The John Fredericks Show for an exclusive interview following his court loss on Thursday.

“I’ve not only talked with Sidney, I’ve met with her in length. I’ve seen the evidence. So I know what she said in her press conference yesterday is one hundred percent accurate,” stated Wood. “The elections in this country have been fraudulent for several election cycles.”

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Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger and Gov. Kemp Certify Election Results, Leave it to Trump Campaign to Contest Results

ATLANTA, Georgia – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger certified the election results on Friday afternoon officially, following completion of the statewide vote audit. Raffensperger held a brief press conference in which he validated the results of the recount and indicated that election integrity could be improved upon.

“Working as an engineer throughout my life, I live by the motto that: ‘Numbers don’t lie.’ As Secretary of State, I believe that the numbers that we have presented today are correct.”

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Georgia Governor Sidelines Himself During Election Fallout

In this contentious climate anticipating the 2020 election results and the senatorial election runoff, Governor Brian Kemp has avoided definitive statements on the election integrity in his state.

Kemp’s remarks concerning the election circumvented the muddier issues: scrutiny over the state’s use of Dominion Voting Systems, and the validity of the absentee ballots cast in this election.

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Georgia GOP Revolt: Beach, Senators Lead Uprising Against Gov. Kemp-Demand Special Session

Eleven of Georgia’s state senators are petitioning Governor Brian Kemp to call a special legislative session to amend election law, according to State Senator Brandon Beach (R-GA-Cherokee County). These legislators have also asked for an immediate oversight committee to look into the general election and rectify any mistakes prior to the January 5th runoff election.

Beach explained to The Georgia Star that widespread concern over the consent decree, voting discrepancies, and residency requirements have compromised faith in the upcoming runoff election.

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