Author: Jon Richards

Georgia House Will Continue the Work of the Military Affairs Study Committee

The House Study Committee on Military Affairs has yet to issue its final report, but its impact will continue to be felt within the General Assembly. The committee was established via a House resolution to study ways to strengthen and protect Georgia’s military installations in advance of a new round of military base consolidation and

Senate Passes Water Resources, Stopgap Funding Bills Before Adjourning

Before adjourning for the year early Saturday morning, the U.S. Senate passed the 2017 water resources bill that provides needed funding for the Savannah River port deepening project, along with a measure that avoids a government shutdown by funding the federal government through April 28th, 2017. Formally titled the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation

Attempted Breach of SoS Firewall Likely Due to a Computer Misconfiguration

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Department of Homeland Security believes the attempt to breach the Georgia Secretary of State’s firewall using A DHS IP address was due to a computer in the Department of Customs and Border Security that was improperly configured to query the Secretary of State’s professional licensing database. According

Woodall Expresses Cautious Support for Trump’s Proposed Infrastructure Spending Package

One of the key proposals from President-Elect Trump is a $1 trillion investment that would be used to repair the country’s infrastructure, and ultimately to boost the economy and add jobs. But, as Politico reports, Trump’s plan looks a lot like the stimulus proposed and implemented by President Obama early in his presidency. That concerns

After Attempted Network Breach, SoS Brian Kemp Wants Answers from US Homeland Security

After detecting an attempted breach of the firewall protecting the Georgia Secretary of State’s internal network that came from an Internet address belonging to the US Department of Homeland Security, Secretary of State Brian Kemp today sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson demanding an explanation. The network contains the Peach State’s voter

Who Voted in 2016?

We now have the breakdown from the Secretary of State’s office on who voted during the 2016 general election. I took the information I compiled on who voted in 2014, and updated it to reflect this year’s results. In short, voting by blacks and whites is down, while voting by Asians and Hispanics is up.

Rob Simms Leaves NRCC To Open Consulting Shop

Longtime Georgia political operative Rob Simms is leaving the RNCC after two terms (the first as Political Director, the most recent as Executive Director) to set up a political consulting practice with Mike Shields. Politico Playbook has the details: Mike Shields and Rob Simms, two of D.C.’s top GOP operatives, are starting Convergence Media, a

Defining the Terms of the Religious Liberty Debate

After Governor Deal vetoed the Free Exercise Protection Act last spring, There has been lots of speculation over whether “religious liberty” legislation would be a factor in the upcoming 2017 legislative session. That speculation grew more heated after House Speaker David Ralston wondered in an interview with Bill Nigut and Jim Galloway if the issue