As you may recall, Governor Nathan Deal appointed State Representative Dustin Hightower (R-HD-68) to a state superior court judgeship in the Coweta Judicial Circuit last week. Represenetative Hightower had qualified for re-election with no challengers, so the Georgia Republican Party executive committee had a meeting last night to decide to reopen qualifying for House District
Republican State Senator Josh McKoon of Columbus says that local ordinances protecting the rights of gays and lesbians, like the one passed in the city of Atlanta, should be able to withstand a challenge under a proposed Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In a discussion on social media that was later confirmed with the senator,
This week’s Courier Herald column: Last week was a rough one for many longtime Georgia Republicans. Ted Cruz suspended his quest to be the Republican nominee for President, all but ensuring Donald Trump will arrive in Cleveland with well more than the 1,237 votes needed for nomination. Governor Nathan Deal vetoed a “campus carry” bill
On Thursday, Governor Deal announced two appointments, including naming State Rep. Dusty Hightower as a Superior Court judge in the Coweta Circuit. Today, Tim Bearden, who held the seat prior to Hightower, announced he will try to replace him at the Gold Dome. Bearden represented the 68th district from 2005-2011, when he was appointed by
Jon Richards covered the campus carry veto that is stealing the limelight, but there are 16 total bills that the Governor vetoed. He also used the line item veto on the 2017 budget (HB 751) and also disregarded some non-binding language in the same budget. The following is a synopsis of each of the bills that were vetoed.
This week’s Courier Herald column: A bit over a week ago I was scanning my Facebook timeline and saw a post from one of my friends. In it she urged “… if you want to start sending a message about everything that is not working, don’t vote for the folks that have gotten us in
Republican Tom Taylor of Dunwoody was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in northeast Georgia’s Rabun County according to an AJC story by Aaron Gould Sheinin. According to a police report, Taylor’s blood alcohol level was nearly 3 times the legal limit, was driving 72 mph in a 45 mph zone,
To say that the 2016 legislative session might was a contentious one for Senator Josh McKoon of Columbus might be a bit of an understatement. In early February, Sen. McKoon went to the Senate well for a point of personal privilege to talk about the spat between Rep. Tommy Benton and Sen. Vincent Fort over
Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by Republican State Senator Marty Harbin of Tyrone. Sen. Harbin was elected in 2014. He represents District 16, which includes Lamar, Spalding and Pike counties and most of Fayette County. We have been involved in a very long and difficult struggle to defend religious liberty in the state
This week’s Courier Herald column: The Georgia General Assembly adjourned Sine Die the Thursday before Easter, after passing a controversial religious freedom bill the week before. It was a final week filled with threats of boycotts and political reprisals. After a brief break for Easter weekend, the Governor emerged last Monday with a veto. It
