Now that Georgia’s 40-day legislative session has concluded, elected officials can finally get back to doing the truly important work – winning their next election. In every election year, particularly one with a hotly-contested governor’s race at the top of the ticket, the bills crafted by lawmakers during session are often written with their upcoming campaign in mind. Given the strong majority possessed by the Republican Party, they had the greatest opportunity to pass bills that would get their voters to the polls.
Surprisingly, over the course of those 40 days, the GOP red meat turned out surprisingly thin. Aside from an early session vote on a small income tax cut, there were few successful bills which would play well to the Republican base. There were the usual attempts at anti-LGBTQ legislation and attacks on voting rights, but those bills all died by midnight on Sine Die. GOP lawmakers are going to have to hope that Georgians start seeing new money in their paycheck, and fast. One other talking point may be success on rural broadband expansion, but the positive effects of those bills will not be felt for years to come.
On the other hand, in a year when Republicans had every political reason to stymy Democratic priorities, it turned out to be a surprisingly good year. First, metro Atlanta transit is getting its first major overhaul in decades. The relevant bill, HB 930, was crafted and sponsored by Republican Representative Kevin Tanner, but Democrats are far more likely to run on a transit expansion victory than Republicans. Second, the discriminatorybills that failed did so thanks to strong Democratic leadership and grassroots support. Third, Governor Nathan Deal made a surprise announcement toward the end of session that K-12 education would be fully funded for the first time in over a decade, another long-time policy priority for Democrats.
Democrats will be going into campaign mode with the wind at their backs, while Republicans look more like they will have to make do with a light breeze. Democrats are competing in an unprecedented number of seats, raising an unprecedented amount of money, and fired up more than they have been since we lost the Governor’s Mansion in 2002. These dynamics may very well change as everyone shifts into campaign mode, but for now, the sky is looking bluer than ever.
