Georgia

Georgia lawmakers have passed legislation that ostensibly bans "foreign adversaries" from owning agricultural land or property near a military base or airport, but one expert said it's not clear the measure can stand up to judicial scrutiny. Proponents say they crafted Senate Bill 420 in response to a Department of Agriculture report from 202 that found that China had roughly 384,000 acres of agricultural land across the country, a 30% increase from 2019 to 2020.

Former special counsel Nathan Wade has refused to pay for his estranged wife's medical treatments and cut off financial support for his children's studies after he resigned from the Georgia case against former President Donald Trump, a divorce filing by his wife Joycelyn Wade claims. Joycelyn Wade asked the Cobb County Superior Court to hold her husband in contempt after she asserted he violated their previous divorce settlement, which was announced on January 30, by refusing to pay for her medical treatments.

The disciplinary trial of Donald Trump’s former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark wrapped up on Thursday with the D.C. Bar’s disciplinary panel making a nonbinding preliminary determination that Clark was culpable on at least one of the two counts against him.

The second and final week of the disbarment trial of Donald Trump’s former DOJ official, Jeffrey Clark, began to wind down on Wednesday with more testimony from operations security expert Harry Haury.

Georgia Republican Party (GAGOP) Chair Josh McKoon on Wednesday confirmed rumors he requested the resignation of the party's 1st vice chairman, Brian Pritchard, following the revelation he violated the state's election laws by illegally voting despite being on probation for forgery. McKoon wrote in a post to the social media platform X that he requested Pritchard's resignation before making the request public.

The disbarment trial of Donald Trump’s former DOJ official, Jeffrey Clark, continued into its second and final week on Tuesday, featuring testimony from three witnesses for him. Clark, a defendant in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ RICO prosecution, is being disciplined for drafting a letter never sent to Georgia officials after the 2020 election advising them of their options for dealing with the election illegalities.

Garland Favorito, who leads the election integrity group VoterGA, said the recent series of election integrity bills passed by the Georgia General Assembly create "landmark features" and will serve as an example to states looking to secure their voting procedures. A press release by VoterGA highlights legislation, passed by lawmakers, which bans "unverifiable QR-coded voting and improve election transparency by making physical ballots public record."

The second week of the disbarment trial of Donald Trump’s former DOJ official, Jeffrey Clark, resumed its second week on Monday. Clark, who is also a defendant in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ RICO prosecution, is being disciplined for drafting a letter that was never sent to Georgia officials after the 2020 election advising them of their options for dealing with the election illegalities.

Georgia's chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) declared on Friday it will sue the state if Governor Brian Kemp signs a bill, already approved by lawmakers, to strengthen election integrity in the state. The legislation, SB 189, removes the Secretary of State from the Georgia Board of Elections, creates new conflict of interest provisions for election officials and private individuals involved with the election process, revises the process for challenging presidential electors and creates new chain of custody requirements for mail-in ballots.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis invoked race in her first public speech since Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee cautioned her about invoking race during a previous speech delivered from the pulpit of an Atlanta church. The district attorney made the remarks about race at the South Fulton Women of the Shield Awards on Friday, stating, "It's hard out here always having to prove yourself two and three times."

Georgia lawmakers signed off on the fiscal year 2025 budget in the final hours of this year’s legislative session but did not pass a bill to allow sports betting. Lawmakers gave the nod to a more than $66.8 billion state budget for fiscal 2025, which starts July 1. The spending plan, which anticipates $36.1 billion in state money and $19 billion in federal taxpayer funds, includes pay raises for public school teachers and state law enforcement officers.

The Georgia Association of Educators is advancing far-left gender ideology, Critical Race Theory, and social justice activist curriculum for members of its organization. The Georgia Association of Educators (GAE), an affiliate of the National Educators Association (NEA), promotes racial justice education materials from various sources, including those offered by NEA, whose organization claims that racism is "systemic" and "is so deeply rooted in our history, culture and institutions that there's no escaping it."

Two protesters representing the "Stop Cop City" movement were arrested at the site of the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center on Wednesday after police say they chained themselves to a crane and unfurled a banner with the words "Drop Cop City," indicating their opposition to the training center. The Atlanta Police Department (APD) confirmed a the incident in a post to the social media platform X.

The Georgia Senate passed a bill protecting women's sports by 33 to 21 on Tuesday that would prevent biological males from unfairly competing in women's and K-12 girls' sports. The bill awaits transfer to the House for continued discussion. HB 1104 seeks to safeguard "students from harm" and maintain "competitive fairness" in school sports by requiring athletes to compete in activities based on the gender listed on their birth certificate. The bill states that local schools may have "separate teams for members of each sex where selection for such teams is based upon competitive skill, competitive fairness,  student safety or the activity involved is a contact sport."

A bill to strengthen immigration enforcement and accountability passed the Georgia Senate by a vote of 33-18 last Thursday. HB 301 would remove funding from sanctuary cities refusing to follow immigration laws within the state. The bill awaits transfer to the House for further consideration. The measure aims to hold officials accountable and allow local "governing bodies" to lose eligibility for "certain state and federal funds" when "the prohibition on immigration sanctuary policies" is violated.