This week’s Courier Herald column: Several questions will be answered this week in the Georgia General Assembly that will have an impact on Georgia’s long term future. These will bleed into upcoming campaigns and, with most statewide offices up for election, will thus send an early signal of how Georgia will be governed as well
With qualifying for elections set to begin next Monday, another round of retirement announcements is forthcoming. Today, we spotlight that Rep Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth) will be ending his tenure in the Georgia House of Representatives at the end of his term. Coleman is the Chairman of the House Education Committee. In my experience, he’s been
Delta has a knack for poor political timing. I’m old enough to remember when former CEO Richard Anderson told a Chamber gathering that lawmakers need not be “chickens” when raising gas taxes, right before he insisted on a tax break for jet fuel. They’ve waded in heavily on RFRA legislation, strongly making the point that
There have been a lot of folks announce they are not running for re-election this year, but this one is a bit of a surprise and a game changer. State Representative Allen Peake (R-Macon) will not be returning to the Georgia House next year. Greg Bluestein of the AJC has Peake’s announcement via Twitter. Peake
Tricia Pridemore has been appointed to fill the unexpired term of Stan Wise, giving her incumbent status prior to qualifying for the position next month. Pridemore has already announced as a candidate for the seat (disclosure, she’s a friend and I’ve made a contribution). The PSC has quite a few issues on its plate, with
Yesterday I dedicated this week’s column to a stall in both momentum and political will to fully implement school choice in Georgia. Today I’d like to focus on one bill – House Bill 430 – to explain why the gap between traditional local schools and public charter schools is even larger than is usually discussed.
The U.S. Congress passed and President Trump signed into law the largest tax reform plan in a generation. The reforms changed personal and corporate income tax rates, but also increased the standard deductions and altered or eliminated others. As a result, Georgia’s tax code didn’t match the federal tax code as closely (it has never
This story had several previous episodes that brought it to a slow boil, so first, a recap and some background: Governor Nathan Deal has released his final legislation to complete his legacy of transformative Criminal Justice Reform in the state of Georgia. He’s taken the process in small bites over the past seven years, but
This week’s Courier Herald column: School Choice has been a stated policy goal of the Republican Party and most GOP candidates since before control of the Governor’s mansion switched hands in 2002. Some progress has been made. State Charter Schools were formed, then re-authorized after losing a Supreme Court case and winning on the ballot
I didn’t get to vote for Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford (no one did, at least in 1972/74), Jimmy Carter, or Ronald Reagan. They were all my President. I voted for George H.W. Bush. He was my President. I didn’t vote for Bill Clinton. He was my President. I voted for George W. Bush. He was
