WABE’s Week In Review: One Year Dealing With COVID-19 And Action At The State Capitol
State lawmakers continued to make major, controversial moves this week at the Capitol in Atlanta:
- On Monday, a bill overhauling many of the ways Georgians vote passed the state House of Representatives along party lines. HB 531 adds additional ID requirements for absentee ballots and places limitations on the use of absentee ballot drop boxes. It also bans private funding of election operations, among other items.
- Also this week, the House judicial committee took the first steps in repealing Georgia’s Civil War-era citizen’s arrest law. The men charged in the death of Ahmaud Arbery last year argued they were conducting a citizen’s arrest when they chased and shot him while he was jogging. The bill’s Republican sponsor said Georgia would be one of the first states to repeal a citizen’s arrest law. HB 479 now goes to the full House for a vote.
- On Friday, the Georgia Senate approved a resolution calling for a constitutional referendum to legalize online sports betting. Proceeds from sports betting would go to fund need-based scholarships, rural health care and the expansion of rural broadband. Forty-one senators voted in favor of the resolution, meaning it surpassed the necessary two-thirds majority. House Resolution 135 now needs the approval of two-thirds of the House.
A year with COVID-19 …
Tuesday marked one year since Georgia officials confirmed the first COVID-19 cases in the state. In the time since, more than 1 million Georgians have been infected by the coronavirus and more than 17,000 have died.
Hear more on our coverage of one year into COVID-19 with WABE host Jim Burress, health reporter Sam Whitehead and Wellstar Health’s Dr. Danny Branstetter.
Meanwhile, officials with Clayton County Public Schools announced this week that their youngest students will be able to return to in-person learning in April. But older students in the county will remain virtual for the time being.
Should I stay or should I go? …
County election directors in Georgia earned praise for handling the strains of conducting a heated presidential election during a pandemic. While that stress has led some to consider a new career, others are holding steadfast in their positions.
Vernon Jordan remembered …
For a deeper exploration of Ahmaud Arbery’s story, listen to WABE’s podcast, “Buried Truths.” Hosted by journalist, professor, and Pulitzer-prize-winning author Hank Klibanoff, season three of “Buried Truths” explores the Arbery murder and its direct ties to racially motivated murders of the past in Georgia.
Atlanta and the nation mourned the loss of Vernon Jordan this week. He died Tuesday at 85 years old.
Raised in the Jim Crow South, Jordan rose to lead a successful career in law and business, headed several civil rights organizations and eventually became a close friend and adviser to former President Bill Clinton.
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