Flexing our Muscles
Democrats flexed their muscles on Day 3 of the Special Session, and Republicans didn’t like it.
Sales Tax Increase: It’s clear Republicans are worried about Democratic turnout in November, because they devised a scheme to generate Republican voter turnout -- put local referendums on November ballots in cities and counties all across Georgia asking voters to approve a Local Homestead Option Sales Tax. (LHOST increases sales tax for all residents in order to shift city and county operational taxes away from homeowners.)
Local referendums require the passage of local bills through the legislature, plus bills that add new sales taxes require a supermajority to pass. Republicans don’t have a supermajority, but they forgot to ask for Democratic support for their local bills. We voted no and their local referendum bills failed. 💪
Republicans were clearly pissed. One by one, they went to the well and lectured us about how we are letting down our own voters by not making life more affordable for them. I guess their view of the world only includes people who can afford to buy their own homes. As Rep. Jasmine Clark, who will soon be going to Congress, said, “It feels a bit like robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
Elections Bill: Wholesale ignoring of Democrats has become standard Republican practice at the Gold Dome, and with Juneteenth fresh on our minds, Democrats just weren’t taking it. Early Thursday morning (Day 2), Democrats on the Senate Ethics Committee got their first view of the elections bill when they arrived at the Committee meeting. What should have been a three-line bill extending the deadline for banning the use of QR codes for tabulating ballots from July 1, 2026 to 2028, was instead a four page bill. (Note: Republicans banned the use of QR codes in 2024, but never enacted necessary changes to enforce the law, thus setting up the potential for an illegal election this November.)
Democrats on the Committee asked for one simple amendment -- that the Minority Leader be allowed to make appointments to the proposed “Elections Equipment Specifications and Standards Committee”, along with Republican leaders. The amendment failed with all Republicans voting “no.” What passed is a bill that sets up an Equipment Specifications Committee stocked with only Republicans who can call in “cybersecurity experts” -- a term that is undefined in the bill. It brings back memories of “My Pillow Guy” Mike Lindell.
Democrats continued to push to have their voices included as Republicans scrambled to get enough of their own votes to pass the bill on the floor Saturday. We asked that the bill go back to Committee to be amended, but instead, Republicans agreed that they would not “engross” the bill, thus allowing amendments on the floor. But once the floor debate started and Republicans passed their own amendment (I’ll tell you what that was in a moment), the Senate Pro-tem immediately moved to “Resolve the Debate,” which meant no more amendments could be submitted. The Democratic amendment was rushed up front, but it was too late. It was a mean-spirited maneuver.
So what was the Republican amendment? It requires a hand count of the top two races in every election prior to certification.
The bill now goes to the House.
What’s Next? We will be in session on Monday and Tuesday. Assuming all goes as planned, Tuesday will be Sine Die.
Flexing your muscles is how you get strong. Keep flexing . . . November’s coming!
Back in 2019, I introduced an amendment to fix the QR code ballot issue. If Georgia Republicans had listened then, it would have saved taxpayers millions of dollars. You’d think Republicans might have learned to listen, but during this Special Session, they’re still blocking Democrats from having a voice in future decisions.