Category: Georgia

Senator Rick Scott Says He Will Not Support Herschel Walker, Other Primary Candidates

Casey Owens

When asked about former Georgia Bulldog, Herschel Walker, running for U.S. Senate in 2022, Florida Senator Rick Scott was reluctant to express support for Walker or any other candidate for the upcoming cycle of Republican Senate primaries.

Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), stood by their decision to stay out of the upcoming primary even with situations like Walker who has gained a magnitude of support, including an endorsement from former President Donald Trump in March.

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11 Months After 2020 Election Georgia Secretary of State Missing Chain of Custody Documents for 6,995 Absentee Ballots Deposited in Fulton County Drop Boxes

Laura Baigert

A review of transfer forms provided to The Georgia Star News in response to an open records request reveals that the Secretary of State’s office in Georgia is missing chain of custody documents for 6,995 absentee ballots deposited in drop boxes in Fulton County during the November 2020 election.

The number of absentee ballots for which the office has no evidence of the origination of the ballots represents 9 percent of the 79,460 total that Fulton County has recorded as being deposited into drop boxes during the more than month-long early voting and election day period.

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Former President Trump Sends Letter to Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger Asking to Investigate Report of DeKalb County Chain of Custody Violations; ‘If True Start the Process of Decertifying’

Cooper Moran

Former President Donald Trump sent a letter on Friday to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, asking the top election official to investigate potential threats to the state’s election integrity.

In the letter to Raffensperger, Trump cited a report from The Georgia Star News, which detailed that 43,000 absentee ballot votes counted in DeKalb County, Georgia 2020 election potentially violated chain of custody rule.

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FDA Fully Approves Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine

The Center Square

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave full approval Monday to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, a major step that will likely have significant implications for vaccination mandates nationwide. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have not yet received full FDA authorization.

The Pfizer vaccine previously received FDA authorization, which allowed its emergency use but did not give the full approval. Pfizer is the first company to receive full approval in the U.S.

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Exclusive: Erik Prince Blames Afghanistan Debacle on ‘Cosplay National Security Apparatus’ that Believes ‘Their Own BS’

Neil W. McCabe

The Founder of the Blackwater private security firm and the author of a comprehensive plan to save Afghanistan by shifting the country’s security to private contractors and away from the American military told the Star News Network he warned U.S. diplomats the government of President Ashraf Ghani would fall before Labor Day.

“I told a number of ambassadors in the region there; they should expect a collapse of Kabul by Labor Day, and I said that back in April, based on when the U.S. air pressure, when the Air Force really stopped bombing, when that threat largely disappears, then the Taliban would be able to group and mass as they have done, and then they start blowing up cities,” said Erik Prince, the Navy SEAL veteran and national security entrepreneur.

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Former President Trump Endorses Governor Bill Lee in Reelection Campaign

Cooper Moran

Former President Donald Trump in a statement on Friday endorsed Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) in his campaign to seek a second term as Tennessee’s governor.

In the brief statement, Trump pointed out Lee’s record on a host of key issues, including support for law enforcement and border security.

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Georgia Ballots Rejected by Machines Were Later Altered by Election Workers to Count

Admin

A day after the November election, as Donald Trump and other Republican candidates clung to evaporating leads in Georgia, vote counters in Atlanta were confronted by a paper ballot known only by its anonymizing number 5150-232-18.

A Dominion Voting machine had rejected the ballot on election night because the voter had filled in boxes for both Trump and his Democratic opponent Joe Biden, an error known as an “overvote.” The machine determined neither candidate should get a tally, and the ballot was referred for human review.

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See Disputed Georgia Ballots Where Election Workers Decided a Vote Was for Biden, not Trump

Admin

As part of a review of hundreds of pages of election documents from Georgia’s Fulton County, Just the News reviewed dozens of disputed ballots in which election workers known as “adjudicators” determined that a voter intended to vote for Democratic candidate Joe Biden instead of Republican incumbent Donald Trump.

Just the News’s review of the Fulton documents revealed a system rife with subjective judgment of thousands of ballots on the part of a small number of election workers, all of it governed by a confusing patchwork of state laws that simultaneously seemed to sanction and proscribe the practice of ballot adjudication.

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Former President Trump Slams Fulton County Recount After New Claims of Irregularities

Cooper Moran

Former President Donald Trump released a statement on Wednesday slamming the recount of the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia — after a lawsuit alleged there was a 60% error rate in the hand count audit.

“The news coming out of Georgia is beyond incredible. The hand recount in Fulton County was a total fraud! They stuffed the ballot box—and got caught. We will lose our Country if this is allowed to stand,” Trump said.

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Lawsuit to Inspect Fulton County Mail-In Ballots Amended to Include New Evidence Hand Recount Audit ‘Was Riddled with Massive Errors and Provable Fraud’

Laura Baigert

Petitioners in a lawsuit to inspect Fulton County mail-in absentee ballots from the November 3, 2020, election have added new claims and provided new evidence that the hand recount audit was riddled wth massive errors and provable fraud.

VoterGA, organizers of the lawsuit, made the stunning announcement on Tuesday that revealed “a whopping 60%” error rate in Fulton County’s hand count audit held on November 14 and 15, 2020.

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Federal Judge Denies Injunction Request to Stop Georgia’s Voter Integrity Law

Chris Butler

A U.S. District Judge on Wednesday denied one group’s request that he issue a preliminary injunction against certain sections of Georgia’s new voter integrity law, Senate Bill 202. The Coalition for Good Governance requested the injunction for the July 13 runoff election for Georgia State House District 34.

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Georgia Public Broadcasting Reveals Secretary of State Raffensperger Delivered Some Fulton County Absentee Ballot Chain of Custody Documents to Them in April

Laura Baigert

An interview between The Georgia Star News and Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) News revealed that they had received Fulton County’s drop box absentee ballot transfer forms from the Secretary of State’s office in April.  GPB News, however, did not report on their findings until after The Star News report in June.

Stephen Fowler of Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) News requested an interview with John Fredericks, which also included Laura Baigert, of The Georgia Star News, as part of his fact-check for a story and to get comments from everyone involved.

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Georgia Voters’ Rights on the Docket as Judge Grapples with Fulton County Election Controversy: No Decision Yet

Chris Butler

McDONOUGH, GEORGIA — The lawsuit alleging voting shenanigans in Fulton County during last year’s presidential election continued Monday as Chief Judge Brian Amero heard opposing attorneys spar over voters’ rights and who to hold accountable for violating those rights. Amero presides over the case out of Henry County.

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Tweet by Georgia Public Broadcasting Writer Reveals More Chain of Custody Document Discrepancies in Fulton County Absentee Ballot Transfer Forms

Laura Baigert

A tweet by Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) News writer Stephen Fowler on Saturday revealed more chain of custody document discrepancies in Fulton County’s absentee ballot drop box transfer forms.

The tweet included a partial image – the very top only — of two transfer forms Fowler claims were part of an open records response GPB News received on Wednesday from Fulton County election officials.

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Georgia Public Broadcasting Reports Receiving Transfer Forms from Fulton County Not Provided to The Georgia Star News

Laura Baigert
Georgia Public Broadcasting building

Georgia Public Broadcasting News, part of the taxpayer-funded network of state PBS television stations and NPR radio stations, reported Wednesday, June 16, 2021, that they received from Fulton County all but eight of the 385 missing absentee ballot drop box transfer forms The Georgia Star News has reported on.

After six months and several open records requests, 385 of the transfer forms that document the chain of custody of absentee ballots deposited in drop boxes and transferred to the county registrar during the November 3, 2020, election have still not been provided to The Star News.

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Former President Trump Praises Georgia Star News Reporter Laura Baigert

Cooper Moran

Former President Donald Trump released a statement on Thursday praising Georgia Star News journalist Laura Baigert for her investigative reporting efforts.

“Thank you and congratulations to Laura Baigert of the Georgia Star News on the incredible reporting you have done. Keep going! The scam is all unraveling fast!” President Trump said of her reporting.

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Georgia Audit Documents Expose Significant Election Failures in State’s Largest County

Admin

Documents that Georgia’s largest county submitted to state officials as part of a post-election audit highlight significant irregularities in the Atlanta area during last November’s voting, ranging from identical vote tallies repeated multiple times to large batches of absentee ballots that appear to be missing from the official ballot-scanning records.

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Judge Halts Audit of Georgia Ballots

Cooper Moran

A judge in Georgia is temporarily stopping the audit on absentee ballots in Fulton County, Georgia that was allowed earlier last week.

Henry County Superior Court Judge Brian Amero, the same judge who granted the initial audit, ruled as officials within the county have filed numerous motions in an attempt to stop the audit. 

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GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Vernon Jones Calls for ‘An Immediate Forensic Audit of the Georgia 2020 Election’

Julie Carr

Georgia GOP gubernatorial candidate and former State Rep. Vernon Jones called for “an immediate for an immediate forensic audit of the Georgia 2020 election” at a press conference on Wednesday. Here is a transcript of that press conference: Jones: The integrity of our election is nonnegotiable. It is non-negotiable. Zero…

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Georgia Gov. Kemp Officially Launches 2022 Campaign

Cooper Moran

Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia has officially launched his 2022 campaign, according to a press release from his campaign.

“Brian Kemp has a strong, conservative record of fighting for life, standing up for law enforcement, cutting taxes, protecting lives and livelihoods against the COVID-19 pandemic, and defending election integrity,” Kemp’s campaign manager said the statement. 

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Raffensperger to Seek Another Term

Cooper Moran

Controversial Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirmed on Tuesday that he will seek another term. 

Raffensperger has been the focal point of criticism of Georgia’s election from both sides of the political aisle. He routinely ignored the widespread concerns over election security throughout the state.

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Trump Releases Statement on Georgia Lieutenant Governor

Cooper Moran

President Donald Trump released a statement on Monday celebrating the decision that Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan will not seek a second term. 

“Good news for Georgia and the Republican Party. Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan won’t be running again for office. He was the one who, along with Governor Brian Kemp, stopped the Georgia State Senate from doing the job they wanted to do on the 2020 Presidential Election Fraud,” Trump said. 

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Biden Offers Empty Platitudes During Speech in Georgia

Peter D'Abrosca

President Joe Biden visited Duluth and gave a speech to several parked cars at a “drive-in rally” Thursday, marking his 100th day in office. 

Besides touting the meager success of passing a COVID-19 stimulus, which has been Biden’s only major legislative accomplishment in his first 100 days in office, the subject matter of the speech was rather general. 

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Proposed Florida Vote-By-Mail Restrictions Scaled Back, But Opponents Not Swayed

The Center Square
Dennis Baxley

A key Senate panel Wednesday amended a controversial bill imposing a range of restrictions on the state’s vote-by-mail (VBM) laws but did not vote on the measure after an exhaustive debate.

The Senate Rules Committee ran out of time before it could issue a verdict on Senate Bill 90 during a fiery marathon meeting that began with an hours’-long fracas over a proposed bill preempting local governments from regulating ports in areas “of critical state concern.”

Committee chair Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, concluded the meeting without calling for a vote on SB 90, saying the panel could take up the measure in its Friday meeting or next week. The bill was not on panel’s Friday agenda as of Thursday afternoon.

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Report: Three-Fourths of All 2019 Property Insurance Suits in U.S. Were Filed in Florida

The Center Square

In 2019, Florida homeowners accounted for 8.16 percent of the nation’s property insurance claims, but more than 76 percent of property insurance lawsuits lodged against insurers.

Pointing to this “disparity,” Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier in a five-page April 2 letter to House Commerce Committee Chair Rep. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, outlined four proposals to reduce property insurance litigation.

Insurers cite rampant litigation, ballooning reinsurance costs, “loss creep” from 2017-18 hurricanes and coastal flooding as a “perform storm” of coalescing factors leading to double-digit property insurance rate hikes that Florida businesses and 6.2 million homeowners are seeing or will see when renewing policies.

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Florida Transgender Sports Ban Advances Despite Potential Backlash

The Center Square
Women playing lacrosse

Florida Republicans are advancing bills banning transgender athletes from women’s and girls’ sports despite – perhaps, in spite of – potential corporate criticism and likely sanctions by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

“I certainly couldn’t care less,” House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, said Wednesday after the House approved the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act in a 77-40 vote after a four-hour debate in which 18 amendments were rejected.

The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, House Bill 1475, filed by Rep. Kaylee Tuck, R-Lake Placid, would enact a blanket ban on transgender athletes competing as women in Florida. Transgender athletes could still compete in men’s sports.

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Will Smith Pulls Movie from Georgia Over Voter Integrity Law

Peter D'Abrosca

A big name actor-turned-producer says he will not film his upcoming movie in Georgia after the state passed a voter integrity law requiring identification to vote with an absentee ballot.

“Antoine Fuqua and Will Smith will move production on their big-budget, runaway slave thriller ‘Emancipation’ out of Georgia in protest over the state’s controversial new voting restrictions,” NBC reported.

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GOP Movement Afoot in Georgia to Censure Brian Kemp, Geoff Duncan, and Brad Raffensperger

Chris Butler

Republican officials in two Georgia counties this week formally censured Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on the grounds that they betrayed former U.S. President Donald Trump last November. Conservative activist Debbie Dooley told The Georgia Star News Wednesday that the GOP pushback against those three Georgia officials has only just begun.  

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DeSantis and Doctors Accuse Media, Big Tech of Hiding Harm from COVID Restrictions

Admin
Ron DeSantis

The media, academy and Big Tech are suppressing facts about the harms caused by COVID-19 lockdown policies, especially for younger generations, Gov. Ron DeSantis and public health experts said in a “roundtable discussion” on the novel coronavirus Monday.

These powerful American institutions are also misleading their audiences about the public health results from Florida’s open approach, which contrasted sharply with most states, they said.

The potential Republican presidential candidate hammered Google and its YouTube platform in particular for removing his earlier COVID-19 roundtable with the same doctors, branding it “misinformation.” Even some Florida news stations had their coverage removed.

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U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter Says Mexican Border Catastrophe Will Reach Georgia

Chris Butler

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA-01) this month visited the U.S.-Mexico border and described what he saw as “a complete and total disaster” that threatens national security. Carter, in an emailed newsletter to his constituents, said he joined other members of Congress and toured U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Health and Human Services facilities in Brownsville, Donna, and McAllen, Texas.

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Georgia SOS Brad Raffensperger’s Office Explains Taking More than $5 Million from Mark Zuckerberg Group for State’s 2020 Presidential Election

Chris Butler

A group directly linked to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg donated nearly $5.6 million to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office last year. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger spent that money on the 2020 presidential election.

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Joe Biden Has Sunday Deadline to Save 2,600 Georgia Jobs

Chris Butler

U.S. President Joe Biden may have to decide this week whether to overturn an International Trade Commission ruling against SK Innovation and, thus, save thousands of jobs in northeast Georgia directly tied to the project. More than 2,500 Georgia jobs are at stake at this Electric Vehicle (EV) battery plant in Commerce.

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Atlanta’s ‘Terrifying’ Events Prompt Buckhead Residents’ Desire to Secede from City

Chris Butler

Buckhead residents who have organized and wish to secede from Atlanta said this week that they are diverse and their ties to that larger city bring crime and one horror story after. Members of this group, the Buckhead Exploratory Committee (BEOC), also said that they are serious about wanting to leave.

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Report: Georgia Lt. Gov. Not Expected to Run for Reelection, Will Fight Trump GOP

Peter D'Abrosca

According to several reports, Georgia’s Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) is not expected to run for reelection, and is instead expected to focus his efforts on moving the Republican Party away from former President Donald J. Trump. 

“Duncan has signaled for months that he would not seek reelection after he’s repeatedly criticized former President Donald Trump, but he’s declined to say publicly whether he will stand for another term,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said Thursday. “Duncan’s chief of staff, John Porter, said the lieutenant governor was not planning a 2022 bid, though he added the decision hasn’t been finalized.”

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Abrams Blames Republicans for Economic Blow After Leading MLB Boycott

Peter D'Abrosca

After leading a boycott against Major League Baseball’s All-Star game, originally scheduled to be held in Atlanta, failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is backtracking and blaming Republicans for the negative economic impact that the boycott will have on Georgia. 

“Republicans who passed and defended Senate Bill 202 did so knowing the economic risks for our state,” Abrams said in a statement posted to her Twitter account. “They prioritized making it harder for people of color to vote over the economic well-being of Georgians.” 

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Brad Raffensperger Says Three Georgia Counties ‘Failed to Do Their Absentee Ballot Transfer Forms’ in Compliance with Rules and Regulations

Chris Butler

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Wednesday announced that he had referred three counties for investigation after they bucked state law and failed to do their absentee ballot transfer forms from last November’s presidential election. Raffensperger, in a press release, identified those three counties as Coffee, Grady, and Taylor. The three counties account for only 0.37 percent of all absentee ballots cast in last year’s election, he said.

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Pro Golfers Join Woke Chorus in Condemning Georgia’s Voter Integrity Laws

Peter D'Abrosca

Amid the left-wing outrage over Georgia’s new voter integrity law that requires identification to procure an absentee ballot, professional golfers are joining the woke chorus in condemning the state. 

Irish professional golfer and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy, who is not a United States citizen, led the charge. 

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MLB Moves All-Star Game to State that Requires Voter ID

Peter D'Abrosca

After ditching Atlanta in protest over a new voter integrity law which requires voters to present identification if they wish to vote absentee, Major League Baseball decided to move its All-Star game to Colorado, a state that also requires voter ID. 

In order to register to vote in Colorado, voters are required by law to present some form of government issued identification. The only exception to that rule is a current “utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the elector,” with “current” defined as issued within the previous 60 days before registering to vote. 

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Donald Trump Says Georgia’s Voter Integrity Law Didn’t Go Far Enough, Faults Brian Kemp and Geoff Duncan

Chris Butler

Former U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan this week and suggested Democrats in the state got the better of them. “Too bad the desperately needed election reforms in Georgia didn’t go further, as their originally approved bill did, but the governor and lieutenant governor would not go for it. The watered-down version, that was just passed and signed by Governor Kemp, while better than before, doesn’t have signature matching and many other safety measures, which were sadly left out. This bill should have been passed before the 2020 Presidential Election, not after,” Trump said in a written statement.

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Raphael Warnock Easter Sunday Tweet Unsettles Christians, who Call it Blasphemous

Chris Butler

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) posted — and then deleted — the following tweet on Easter Sunday: “The meaning of Easter is more transcendent than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whether you are Christian or not, through a commitment to helping others we are able to save ourselves.”

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Georgia’s Cobb County Says it Will Lose $100 Million From MLB Moving All Star Game

Peter D'Abrosca
Braves baseball stadium

The Cobb County Travel and Tourism Bureau said that it estimates it will miss out on $100 million in revenue, after Major League Baseball (MLB) was brow-beaten by political activists into moving its 2021 All-Star game from Atlanta. 

“This event would have directly impacted our county and the state, as visitors spend their dollars on local accommodations, transportation, entertainment and recreation, food and retail throughout the county,” the bureau said. “This would have been a big boost to Cobb businesses and help with recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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More Corporations, Including Google, Microsoft, and American Express Denounce Georgia’s Voter Integrity Law

Chris Butler

More corporations are speaking out against Georgia’s voter reform law, otherwise known as Senate Bill 202. Officials at Microsoft, American Express, Google and others this week condemned SB 202 as a form of voter suppression.

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Funding for Georgia Charter Schools Boost Heads to Gov. Kemp

The Center Square

A bill to increase state funding for Georgia charter schools was passed by the General Assembly and awaits approval by Gov. Brian Kemp.

Senate Bill 59 increases charter school allocations by about $100 per student. It also secures an equal portion of federal funding for local charter schools and gives teachers and staff more access to the State Health Plan.

The General Assembly approved the bill with limited debate in both chambers this week before its legislative session ended. The House gave SB 59 its final approval, 113-51, on Wednesday after it cleared the Senate, 40-11, on Tuesday.

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General Assembly OKs Paid Parental Leave for Georgia State Workers

The Center Square

A follow-up attempt by lawmakers to implement paid parental leave for Georgia state employees is on its way to Gov. Brian Kemp.

The measure allows state employees in Georgia to take three weeks of paid parental leave. The House agreed Monday, 153-8, to the Senate’s changes to House Bill 146 after it unanimously passed the Senate last week. A similar measure cleared the House in 2020.

Under HB 146, state or local school board employees who worked at least 700 hours over the six months preceding the requested paid leave date can qualify for the paid time off after the birth of a child, adoption of a child or taking in of a foster child. Paid parental leave would be granted only once a calendar year. State agencies and school boards are able to dictate the policy rules.

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Brian Kemp, Others, Tell Corporate America They Will Not Retreat on Georgia’s Voter Integrity Law

Chris Butler

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Saturday told Major League Baseball officials and executives at Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines that he will not buckle under to their pressure. Kemp, flanked by several supporters at the Georgia State Capitol, said he will not do away with the state’s new voter integrity law, Senate Bill 202. The governor also told state residents that Democrat and former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is lying about the new law and fundraising off of her lies.

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Gov. Brian Kemp Blasts Major League Baseball ‘Cancel Culture’ Decision to Pull All-Star Game Out of Georgia

Chris Butler

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday evening said Major League Baseball officials caved “to fear, political opportunism, and liberal lies.” This, after MLB officials announced earlier in the day that they will relocate the 2021 All-Star Game and MLB Draft, originally scheduled for Atlanta, to another location. They specifically cited Georgia’s new voter integrity law, Senate Bill 202.

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