JEFF AMY

Jeff Amy covers Georgia politics and government.

FILE - Georgia Rep. Mack Jackson, D-Sandersville, looks at a map of proposed state House districts before a House hearing, Nov. 29, 2023, at the state Capitol in Atlanta. On Tuesday, Dec. 12, plaintiffs who successfully sued to overturn Georgia's legislative and congressional districts asked a federal judge to reject Georgia's new Republican-backed maps. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File)

Challengers attack Georgia’s redrawn congressional and legislative districts in court hearing

Challengers are telling a federal judge that Georgia Republican state lawmakers’ new voting districts don’t cure illegal vote dilution and should be rejected.

FILE - Units 3, left, and 4 and their cooling towers stand at Georgia Power Co.'s Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant, Jan. 20, 2023, in Waynesboro, Ga. Georgia's Public Service Commission voted 5-0 on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023 to approve a 6% rate increase for remaining costs that will take effect once Unit 4 begins commercial operation. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Regulators approve deal to pay for Georgia Power’s new nuclear reactors

Regulators have unanimously approved an additional 6% rate increase to pay for remaining costs at Georgia Power Co.’s Plant Vogtle.

FILE - Georgia Republican Burt Jones, then a state senator and now lieutenant governor, hands in an electoral certificate claiming to be a duly chosen elector for Donald Trump on Dec. 14, 2020, at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta. A lawsuit heard on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, argued Jones should be disqualified from holding office in Georgia because of his actions as an elector. (AP Photo/Ben Gray, File)

Lawsuit says Georgia’s lieutenant governor should be disqualified for acting as Trump elector

A judge is being asked to disqualify Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones from holding office because of Jones’ participation as an elector for Donald Trump in 2020.

Gov. Brian Kemp speaks at a press conference at the Capitol in Atlanta on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, announcing that he'll provide a $1,000 retention bonus to state employees, teachers and school support staff this holiday season. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Georgia’s governor says the state will pay a $1,000 year-end bonus to public and school employees

Georgia’s government will pay a $1,000 year-end bonus to state, university and public school employees. Gov.

FILE - A Cobb County School bus moves down a street on Friday, March 13, 2020, in Kennesaw, Ga. A federal judge ruled on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023 that school board district lines in Georgia's second-largest school system appear to be illegally discriminating against Black and Hispanic voters. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

Federal judge rules school board districts illegal in Georgia school system, calls for new map

A federal judge has ruled that school board districts in Georgia’s second-largest school system appear to be unconstitutionally discriminatory and must be redrawn ahead of next year’s elections.

FILE - Activists haul boxes of signed petitions to Atlanta City Hall, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, to force a referendum on the future of a planned police and firefighter training center. An analysis of petition entries by four news organizations finds it’s unclear whether petitioners have enough valid entries to force the citywide vote, with nearly half the entries unable to be matched to eligible registered Atlanta voters. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, file) /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Lawyers for Atlanta ask federal appeals court to kill ‘Stop Cop City’ petition seeking referendum

Lawyers for the city of Atlanta are asking an appeals court to overturn a ruling that let nonresidents collect signatures in the “Stop Cop City” effort to force a referendum on a police and fire training center.

FILE - Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-Georgia, speaks to the press at a diner on Monday, May 4, 2021, in Marietta, Ga. Ferguson said Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, that he plans to leave office after finishing his term next year, saying he looks forward to spending more time with his family. (AP Photo/Ron Harris, File)

US Rep. Drew Ferguson, a Georgia Republican, says he won’t seek reelection in 2024

A Republican congressman says he won’t seek reelection to his Georgia seat in 2024. Rep. Drew Ferguson said Thursday that he plans to leave office after finishing his term next year, saying he looks forward to spending more time with his family.

FILE -- Students and parents explore the halls during sixth-grade orientation at Hammond Creek Middle School in Dalton, Ga., Aug. 7, 2023. Georgia released new school accountability measures on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, which do not for the first time in recent years include a single number that sums up a school or district's performance. (Matt Hamilton/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP, file)

Changes to Georgia school accountability could mean no more A-to-F grades for schools and districts

It’s getting a more complicated to tell how Georgia public schools are faring. The state Department of Education on Thursday released a full spectrum of school accountability numbers for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

FILE - Georgia Rep. Mack Jackson, D-Sandersville, looks at a map of proposed state House districts before a House hearing, Nov. 29, 2023, at the state Capitol in Atlanta. On Tuesday, Dec. 12, plaintiffs who successfully sued to overturn Georgia's legislative and congressional districts asked a federal judge to reject Georgia's new Republican-backed maps. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File)

Plaintiffs in a Georgia redistricting case are asking a judge to reject new Republican-proposed maps

The people who sued to overturn Georgia’s congressional and legislative districts are attacking plans that Republican state lawmakers claim cure illegal dilution of Black votes while preserving GOP power.

FILE - Men walk on the rocks in the Chattahoochee River below the City Mills dam in Columbus, Ga. The governors of Alabama and Florida on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, announced an agreement that would guarantee minimum water flows in the Chattahoochee at Columbus and farther downstream at Columbia, Ala. (Robin Trimarchi/The Ledger-Enquirer via AP, File)

Georgia and Alabama propose a deal to settle their water war over the Chattahoochee River

Georgia and Alabama are proposing a deal to settle their water war over the Chattahoochee River. If approved by the U.S.

FILE - Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., speaks during a rally near Capitol Hill in Washington on June 8, 2022. Georgia Republicans on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, proposed to radically transform McBath's current district for the second time in two years during a special legislative session to redraw congressional and legislative maps. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Georgia lawmakers send redrawn congressional map keeping 9-5 Republican edge to judge for approval

Georgia lawmakers have completed a special session with the House voting 98-71 Thursday to give final passage to a congressional map that preserves a 9-5 edge for Republicans.

Georgia House and Reapportionment Redistricting Committee Chairman Rob Leverett, R-Elberton, right, announces that the committee has passed a Republican-favored proposal for new Georgia congressional districts on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, at the state capitol in Atlanta. The committee action sets the stage for the end of Georgia's special legislative session on redistricting. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

New GOP-favored Georgia congressional map nears passage as the end looms for redistricting session

A Georgia special session to redraw congressional and legislative voting district maps is likely to end Thursday.

FILE - Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., speaks during a rally near Capitol Hill in Washington on June 8, 2022. Georgia Republicans on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, proposed to radically transform McBath's current district for the second time in two years during a special legislative session to redraw congressional and legislative maps. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Georgia lawmakers advance congressional map keeping 9-5 GOP edge; legislative maps get final passage

Georgia state senators are advancing a new congressional map that would maintain a 9-5 GOP edge in the state’s delegation.

FILE - The first of two new nuclear reactors, left, operates at Plant Vogtle, July 31, 2023, in Burke County near Waynesboro, Ga., while the second reactor, right, awaits completion. In hearings that began on Monday, Dec. 4, Georgia Power Co. is asking the state Public Service Commission to approve a further 6% increase in customer bills to pay for the second unit. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)

Regulators begin hearings on how much customers should pay for Georgia nuclear reactors

Georgia Power Co. is urging the state’s utility regulators to approve a deal to pay for the company’s new nuclear reactors.

Four Republicans vote for a proposed congressional redistricting plan in a Georgia Senate committee on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023 at the state Capitol in Atlanta. Opponents of the plan argue it illegally breaks up a majority nonwhite district currently represented by Democratic U.S. Rep Lucy McBath. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)(AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

In GOP’s proposed Georgia congressional map, a key question is which voters are legally protected

Georgia Republicans are advancing a proposed congressional map that maintains their party’s 9-5 majority in the state’s congressional delegation.

Gov. Brian Kemp, flanked by Republican lawmakers, speaks Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta. Kemp and Republican legislators want to make a further cut to Georgia's state income tax rate in the 2024 legislative session. (Matthew Pearson/WABE via AP)

Georgia’s governor and top Republican lawmakers say they want to speed up state income tax cut

Georgia’s Republican governor and legislative leaders want to speed up an already-planned cut in the state income tax rate. Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov.

State Sen. Shelly Echols, R-Gainesville speaks on behalf of SB1EX, the Senate redistricting act, in the Senate Chambers during a Special Session at the Georgia State Capitol, Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Republicans again target Democrat Lucy McBath in Georgia congressional map that keeps 9-5 GOP edge

Georgia Republicans want to redraw the state’s congressional districts to create a new court-ordered Black majority district while maintaining the current 9-5 Republican congressional majority.

House Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee Chairman Rob Leverett, R-Elberton looks at a state House district map proposed by Republicans, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta. State lawmakers were ordered to redraw Georgia's legislative and congressional districts after a federal judge ruled some illegally diluted Black voting strength. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Georgia Republicans advance House and Senate maps as congressional proposal waits in the wings

Georgia Republicans are pushing forward new legislative maps that would preserve their majorities in the state House and Senate.

House Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee Chairman Rob Leverett, R-Elberton looks at a state House district map proposed by Republicans, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta. State lawmakers were ordered to redraw Georgia's legislative and congressional districts after a federal judge ruled some illegally diluted Black voting strength. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Georgia Republicans move to cut losses as they propose majority-Black districts in special session

Georgia Republicans are moving to preserve their majorities as they propose additional Black voting districts in a special legislative session that opened Wednesday.

FILE - Georgia Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, speaks in the Senate chambers of the state Capitol, March 6, 2023, in Atlanta. On Tuesday, Nov. 28, a committee led by Dolezal adopted a report calling for lawmakers to abolish government permits for health facilities. (AP Photo/Alex Slitz, File)

Georgia Senate panel calls for abolishing state permits for health facilities

A Georgia Senate committee is recommending that the state abolish its requirement for permits to build health facilities.

Georgia’s state taxes at fuel pumps to resume as Brian Kemp’s tax break ends, at least for now

Georgia drivers are likely to begin paying higher prices for gasoline and diesel as state motor fuel taxes return on Thursday. Gov.

FILE - Georgia Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, speaks in opposition to proposed congressional district maps in the Senate Chambers during a special session at the state Capitol, Nov. 19, 2021, in Atlanta. Parent's state Senate district would be redrawn from majority-white to majority-Black under a plan proposed Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, by state Senate Republicans. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)

Georgia Senate Republicans propose map with 2 new Black-majority districts

Georgia Senate Republicans are proposing a new map that would create two new Black-majority districts in the the General Assembly’s upper chamber.

Benjamin Tarbutton III, the president of the Sandersville Railroad, testifies on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, during a Public Service Commission hearing in Atlanta. The railroad is seeking permission to condemn property to build a 4.5-mile railroad line near Sparta, Ga., over opposition from property owners (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Eminent domain case involving Georgia railroad could have widespread property law implications

A hearing has begun to help determine whether a Georgia railroad can legally condemn property to build a rail line.

FILE - Reactors for Unit 3 and 4 sit at Georgia Power's Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant on Jan. 20, 2023, in Waynesboro, Ga., with the cooling towers of older Units 1 and 2 billowing steam in the background. A federal appeals court ruled Friday, Nov. 24, that Georgia could keep statewide elections for its public service commissioners, who oversee Georgia Power. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Appeals court says Georgia may elect utility panel statewide, rejecting a ruling for district voting

A federal appeals court has ruled that Georgia can keep statewide elections for its five-member commission regulating utilities.

FILE - State Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, speaks in favor of HB 231 in the House chambers during crossover day at the Georgia State Capitol, Monday, March 6, 2023, in Atlanta. Gaines said on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023 that he believed lawmakers could quickly fix a problem that is blocking the operation of a commission to discipline and remove prosecutors.(AP Photo/Alex Slitz, File)

Georgia Supreme Court ruling prevents GOP-backed commission from beginning to discipline prosecutors

Georgia’s state Supreme Court is refusing to approve rules for a new commission to discipline and remove state prosecutors.

FILE - Chuck Payne, R-Dalton, foreground, looks at a map as Nikki Merritt, D-Grayson, background, speaks in opposition of Senate Bill 2EX, newly-drawn congressional maps, in the Senate Chambers during a special session at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Nov. 19, 2021. Lawmakers will return on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, for a special session to redraw congressional and legislative maps after a federal judge ruled Georgia's maps illegally diluted the power of Black voters. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)

As Georgia looks to court-ordered redistricting, not only Republicans are in peril

A federal judge has ordered Georgia to draw Black majorities in one additional congressional district, two additional state Senate districts, and five additional state House districts.

FILE -- Students walk on campus at University of Georgia, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, in Athens, Ga. The number of students rose in fall 2023 at Georgia's public universities and colleges after a two-year dip, with all but three of the system's 26 schools adding students, the university system announced on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. (Joshua L. Jones/Athens Banner-Herald via AP, file)

Enrollment rebounds in 2023 after 2-year dip at Georgia public universities and colleges

The number of students has risen at Georgia’s public colleges and universities, after a two-year dip. Enrollment rose 2.9% statewide from fall 2022.

Anna Lange, a sheriff's sergeant in Houston County, Ga., poses for a picture, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, after a federal appeals court hearing in Atlanta. Houston County is asking the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court ruling that it illegally discriminated against Lange by refusing to pay for her gender-confirmation surgery. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

A Georgia county is fighting a ruling requiring it to pay for a transgender deputy’s surgery

A Georgia county is asking a federal appeals court to overturn a ruling that it illegally discriminated against a sheriff’s deputy by failing to pay for her gender-affirmation surgery.

Police disperse a crowd of protesters with gas during a demonstration in opposition to a new police training center, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Police and protesters clash at Atlanta training center site derided by opponents as ‘Cop City’

Police used tear gas and flash-bang grenades to halt a march seeking to stop construction of an Atlanta-area police and firefighter training center.

FILE - A person pumps gas on Sept. 12, 2023, in Marietta, Ga. Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, continued his rollback of state taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel through Nov. 29, 2023, when state lawmakers will begin a special legislative session. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

Georgia’s state taxes at fuel pumps suspended until Nov. 29, when lawmakers start special session

Georgia’s state taxes on gasoline and diesel will be suspended until lawmakers return for a special session on Nov. 29. Gov.