State Senate session report: Week ten.
Monday, March 11, 2024:
Riven by Rivian.
What was it Ross and Rachael said about a break? Photo by Rivian.
On Monday, a state Senate subcommittee explored measures to hold Rivian accountable for pausing its $5 billion vehicle factory project.
Not for canceling the project, mind you. A pause.
Last week, Rivian—an electric-vehicle startup yet to make a profit—announced they were putting the factor project on hold to save $2.2 billion of its dwindling cash reserves. The California company stated that the Georgia plant remains crucial to its strategy but did not offer a timeline. Instead, the company will use its existing Normal, Illinois factory to manufacture the R2 SUV scheduled for production in Georgia.
Republican lawmakers suggested the state respond in kind and pause related infrastructure projects until Rivian resumes construction.
Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, only learned of Rivian’s plan to pause development two days before the public announcement. But according to Wilson, Rivian isn’t in violation of their agreement with the state and has until 2030 to deliver 80% of its promised job and investment figures.
Back in 2021, when Gov. Kemp announced the Rivian project, it was state's largest-ever jobs deal. In exchange for the 7,500-job factory in Rutledge, the state offered $1.5 billion in state and local incentives. Of those incentives, the Georgia Department of Economic Development has already spent $141 million on the project site, the Technical College System of Georgia has already spent $1.4 million designing a QuickStart training center, and The Georgia Department of Transportation has already spent $67 million to widen US 278 and build a new frontage road. Rivian, for its part, has already taken possession of the land and is paying maintenance and taxes.
Wilson and other officials emphasized to the subcommittee the potential for Rivian to become a leading U.S. automaker and cautioned against prematurely abandoning the project. Knowing Rivian is being courted by other states, hopefully this senatorial tantrum won’t kill a deal we’ve already spent so much developing.
Tuesday, March 12, 2024:
These men don’t know what they’re talking about & they don’t care.
This is State Senate Health and Human Services Chair Senator Ben Watson (R-1) on Monday. Senator Ben Watson amended good legislation to harm transgender and gender-normative youth currently taking puberty blocks. Senator Ben Watson tacked the measure onto HB 1170 which would make medications that reverse opioid overdoses more publicly available. Senator Ben Watson is an asshole. Photo by Arvin Temkar / AJC.
On Monday, following an otherwise innocuous agenda, the Senate Health & Human Services Committee sprung and passed (8-5) an unrelated amendment on HB 1170, a House bill requiring government buildings to offer Narcan.
This dangerous Senate amendment bans prescribed puberty-delaying medications used to treat transgender and gender-diverse youth who’ve started puberty. It also eliminates exemptions for adolescents currently undergoing hormone replacement therapy, abruptly disrupting essential care and potentially inflicting serious medical harm on our kids.
These drugs are also used to treat prostate cancer, breast cancer, endometriosis, and variety of other conditions in gender-normative kids.
The cohort of Senators opposed to transgender healthcare have a demonstrated lack of understanding about the subject and a lack of empathy for children who need critical lifesaving healthcare to deal with the depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm, and suicidal ideation associated with gender dysmorphia.
But sadly, like when they passed SB 140, these senators aren’t interested in educating themselves. Once again, they sidelined expert testimony and disregarded the voices of those directly affected, prioritizing political interests over the health and safety of Georgia's transgender youth.
Every major medical and mental health organization in the country—including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychological Association—endorse full healthcare access for transgender youth and emphasize the importance of family autonomy when making healthcare decisions.
Public opinion in Georgia also opposes state intervention in parents' healthcare decisions for transgender teenagers.
Georgia Equality is asking opponents of this legislation to join them at the Capitol tomorrow (Wednesday, March 13) at 10:00am. The bill will now return to the floor for a full vote.
Wednesday, March 13, 2024:
I want you to stand up for trans kids.
Photo by the Library of Congress.
WHAT HAPPENED
On Monday, HB 1170 was gutted and replaced by Ben Watson (R-1) with the contents of an unrelated and controversial bill (SB 519) denying puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy to minors regardless of condition or whether or not affected patients are currently prescribed these medications.
SB 519 never had a hearing, so the public and medical professionals never had a chance to comment. Likewise, the substitution came without warning and wasn’t available on the General Assembly’s website for review.
THE SCIENCE
Decades of data—and every major medical and mental-health organization—support the use and safety of puberty-pausing medications for a variety of conditions. In the case of gender dysmorphia, these medications give minors and their families time to weigh important medical decisions. Scientific American has a great primer.
CONTACT YOUR SENATOR
If you’re not sure who your senator is, Common Cause has a powerful tool. But if you live in the 56:
Contact John Albers’ senate office at 404-463-8055 or john.albers@senate.ga.gov.
State your name.
Tell him you’re a constituent of SD56.
Tell him you strongly oppose HB 1170 and want him to stand up for transgender Georgians in SD56 and oppose HB 1170.
MAKE HIM TALK TO YOU
Sadly, your senator isn’t required to speak with you—a loophole Albers is notorious for exploiting.
If you can’t get through, if you’re blocked, or if you’re otherwise shut down or disrespected, you can do one or two things:
Persist and try again. You can find all his contact links at senatoralbers.com
He works for you. Hold him to account.
HELP PROTECT TRANS KIDS
Thursday, March 14, 2024:
I can’t voucher for that.
I’ve been following a similar voucher issue in Tennessee for a minute. While our voucher bill has been quite rushed, the Tennessee bill has moved at a more leisurely pace and invited a lot of debate. Critics there have shown how the bulk of voucher moneys went to families already enrolled in private school, essentially subsidizing upper-middle-class tuitions rather than helping kids trapped in underperforming schools. Photo by MChe Lee on Unsplash
Who wants to spend $140 million a year to subsidize private-school students with public money?
State House leaders sure hope you do. On Wednesday, House reps modified, SB 233, expanding taxpayer subsidies for private education, and today they passed it. Proof—and a warning—they can move quickly when they want to.
Senate Bill 233 provides $6,500 per student annually to kids attending public schools in the bottom 25% of districts which can be applied to private-school tuition or homeschooling. The House amended the Senate bill to prioritize families earning less than 400% of the federal poverty level (~$120,000 for a family of four) and requiring private schools to report voucher-student test results.
Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones (R-47) addressed concerns about funding cuts for public schools—issues that fueled rural-conservative opposition to a similar bill last year. The amended bill now includes teacher pay raises, pre-K facility funding, student transfers across district lines (with their funds), and provisions for new kindergartners to attend private schools from the start, without ever attending public schools. Voucher expenditures will be capped at 1% of the state's public-school budget.
1% for the 1%? 🧐
House Speaker Jon Burns (R-159) supports the bill, emphasizing parental empowerment. But most House Democrats oppose it, arguing it perpetuates inequality and diverts funds from public schools, raising concerns about the impact on rural areas, and questioning the quality of education in some private schools.
In the 56, we’re spoiled with good schools. But statewide, low proficiency scores in core subjects—especially in high-poverty districts—persist.
The amended bill will now head back to the state Senate where it’s expected to pass the more radical chamber. If passed, it will go into effect in 2025 and run through 2035.
Friday, March 15, 2024:
See all the people.
Let’s end this week under the Gold Dome on a thoughtful note.
On Monday, Rev. Andi Woodworth of Candler Park’s Neighborhood Church—the first transgender pastor to address the House as its guest pastor—used the rhyme “this is the church, this is the steeple, open the doors and see all the people” to remind lawmakers whom they serve. She said:
I want to invite you to join me in what we call in my tradition a spiritual discipline. And this discipline is to try to see all the people as we are, not as we might imagine us to be.
See, I know that the labels we put on other people, even the roles that we step into, can in some ways be dehumanizing. As a pastor, I can be seen as superhuman or super holy. Y'all, I love Jesus, but I cuss a little bit sometimes. And as lawmakers, I can imagine people see you in ways that look right past who you really are.
The nature of our contentious political and social life means that we see the little letter after people's names or we see skin color, or we see a rainbow pin or a team jersey, or what kind of truck they're driving, and we begin to make assumptions about people. Assumptions that can, even in tiny ways, cause us to begin to see those other folks as slightly less human than we are.
In my Christian tradition, we remember that when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he said—and this is a paraphrase from Matthew 22—the first thing is you should love the Lord your God with all of who you are. And the second is right there with it. You must love your neighbor as yourself. Y'all, it's very hard to love your neighbor if you don't really see your neighbor. To see your neighbor not as an opponent or a target or even as an opportunity but to see them for their humanity, made and beloved by the divine.
Y'all, I don't know all of your stories. I would love to hear them if we ever get a chance to share them with each other, but I do know that we all come from all over this great diverse and creative and boisterous state. And I would invite all of us to see more of the people of Georgia as we are, not as we imagine us to be.
You can watch Rev. Woodworth’s whole presentation on YouTube:
JD JORDAN FOR GEORGIA STATE SENATE DISTRICT 56
For anyone in East Cobb, Roswell, or Woodstock alarmed by the state’s escalating attacks on our bodies, our families, our doctors’ offices, our classrooms and libraries, even our polling places, I’m running for state senate district 56 to fight for our freedoms and to deliver a better future for everyone in Georgia.
And unlike my opponent who’s spent 14 years rolling back our freedoms, failing to safeguard our kids, and gerrymandered his district to stay in office, I promise to bring everyone in the 56—regardless of ideology—the best possible constituent experience so you feel heard, valued, and supported. As we all deserve to be.
I’m running for the 56. Let’s make a better Georgia for all of us.
—
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT
Jordan For Georgia, LLC
10800 Alpharetta Hwy Ste 208 #629
Roswell, GA 30076-1467
jdjordan@forthe56.com
706.804.0456
