Cobb Democratic lawmakers on abortion, leadership, education, and cityhood

Jan. 6—MARIETTA — With the legislative session days away, Cobb County's Democratic lawmakers are hoping for smoother sailing for the delegation this year than last.

After last year's headline-making fights over redistricting and cityhood — not to mention a slew of GOP-backed bills which enraged the entire Democratic caucus — they're cautiously optimistic about the mood under the Gold Dome.

In a wide-ranging interview with the MDJ, state Reps. Teri Anulewicz, D-Smyrna; Mary Frances Williams, D-Marietta; and David Wilkerson, D-Powder Springs; and state Sen. Michael "Doc" Rhett, D-Marietta, stopped by this week to talk abortion, education, cityhood, and more.

New faces

Democrats told the MDJ they're cautiously optimistic about the climate downtown as they prepare to head into a session where Republicans will hold slightly narrower margins, and new leadership figures take over in both chambers.

In the House, state Rep. Jon Burns, R-Newington, will take the speaker's gavel, while Lt. Gov.-elect Burt Jones will helm the Senate.

"A speaker like Jon Burns ... he's been around for a while. I think a lot of people know him, have seen him move into that position over the years. So he's got a lot of relationships," Wilkerson said. "It does provide a lot of opportunity to kind of reset where we've been the last few years and build on the progress we've had and also kind of look at how we handle things, whether it's local legislation, whether it's what happens statewide with different issues," he added.

Rhett, Anulewicz, and Williams complimented Burns as a level-headed lawmaker willing to work with all of his colleagues.

Democrats were less positive about Georgia's new lieutenant governor.

"The thing about Burt Jones is, he's a fake elector," said Anulewicz, referring to Jones' involvement in the scheme to send a false slate of Georgia electors supporting Donald Trump after the 2020 election. "So I think that's something that can't be overlooked in any analysis of the Senate is, the Senate is now presided over by a fake elector who did his level best to overturn the election in Georgia."

Rhett was hopeful the needs of the legislature would help bring Jones back to the center.

"Burt Jones, of course, he was associated with Trump, so you have to expect that initially when he gets in there, it's going to be a tilt somewhat right of center," he said. "But as you govern and if you have any ambitions moving forward, you still have to come back to the center. But that might be a while."

Rhett cited examples in the past when he worked with both Burns and Jones to get legislation passed, saying, "both of them have the ability to work with people across the aisle regardless of political affiliation."

Abortion

After an arduous journey through the court system over the last several years, state Rep. Ed Setzler's controversial "heartbeat bill" is Georgia's law of the land on abortion. The statute bans most abortions in Georgia after a fetal heartbeat can be detected — usually around six weeks of pregnancy.

With that victory under the GOP's belt, Democrats don't expect their counterparts to press ahead with yet more restrictive legislation.

"I'm sure those will be filed. I don't know if there is — I don't know how receptive leadership is going to be to those bills," said Anulewicz.

She doubted whether proposals like clamping down on abortion pills would even be worthwhile.

"The (Food and Drug Administration) just announced that they've approved that (abortion pills) can be sold at retail pharmacies ... So I think if the FDA is allowing it, I don't think — any legislation would just be messaging," she said.

Williams agreed with her colleague's assessment.

"Bills will be introduced, but whether or not they'll make it out of committee on the floor for a vote is questionable," Williams said.

Wilkerson argued it all depends on which factions of the GOP end up running the show under the new leadership.

"Because if you think about it, (Setzler) has passed the abortion bill. He bypassed local control on redistricting for the first time in the history of that legislature. He has got the ear of his party in a lot of ways. There are a lot of things that he has been able to do the last three years that have never been done. So it just depends on what kind of — we have a reshaping of the legislature, and it depends on how that legislature looks," Wilkerson said.

Cityhood

Cobb County, of course, saw a rash of efforts to create new cities last year. But only one of the four proposals, in Mableton, passed its referendum. The county government has asked for legislative changes to ensure there's a baseline of support for a new city before it ends up on the ballot, such as a minimum number of signatories to a petition.

Wilkerson, who's been an outspoken critic of Mableton cityhood, said legislation is circulating to at least require new cities to notify their potential residents of an election.

"If someone goes to the ballot, they may or may not have ever heard that they're in there," he said. "...This is, in essence, impacting someone's most valuable asset without ever having to inform them."

He added, "The point is that right now, the process is really legislative-driven, versus community-driven. I think that's where the petitions come into play. It does two things. It shows that there's a desire in the community to do it. But it also shows that people are informed."

Williams said in the heat of the cityhood craze last Spring, it was difficult to get information on the cities out to constituents.

"Actually, I think it's a testament to the general public, who worked so hard to get the word out and to find out more about it," she said. "...Many, many people were calling us and (were) trying to get answers, who were upset about it. We couldn't get answers on the committee."

Anulewicz said that while Democrats weren't able to stop any of the "half-baked" cityhood proposals, the arguments they made against them downtown weren't in vain.

"I do think that the points that we made and the arguments that we laid out are a part of why those cities ultimately failed ... I think we did help lay the groundwork for why people might want to hesitate. Even people who don't dislike the idea of the city had a lot of concerns about the way those specific cities were set up," she said.

(Whether any changes to the cityhood process will be made this year remains in doubt. GOP lawmakers told the MDJ this week there's "no," "none," and "zero" chance of the Cobb Board of Commissioners' suggestions being implemented.)

Crime

Though crime is up in metro Atlanta over the past two years, Rhett was first to point out that it's not an isolated phenomenon.

"It's a nationwide issue. It's not unique to Cobb County," said Rhett.

Gov. Brian Kemp has promised to make the issue a focus of the session this year, but Anulewicz questioned whether it's a problem the legislature can or should solve.

"What's fascinating is, people talk about how much violent crime there is in Atlanta. And the murder of the grandmother in her garage is unbelievably horrifying. It was also one of the only actual murders in Buckhead — there aren't that many incidents. So it's like, where is this happening?" she said. "I think there's a policy question that is maybe not best answered by the legislature because we're not overseeing these county and city police departments that are actually doing the policing."

Anulewicz continued, "I think police departments are incredibly understaffed, incredibly understaffed, and I think that criminals are taking advantage of that ... You look at the billboards and the signing bonuses they're trying to get people to take, and you look at how agencies and jurisdictions are trying to poach law enforcement officers from other jurisdiction."

She and Wilkerson both dismissed the notion that so-called progressive prosecutors are the root of the problem in Georgia.

"I don't think it's as simple as DA's not trying to (prosecute). The reason why I think that is because I believe in my bones that everyone wants to live in a safe community, and it doesn't matter if you vote for Democrats or if you vote for Republicans ... So I really do think that it is a very shallow talking point to say that it's the fault of progressives. Like, what? They want to live in a county that's full of crime? No, that's nonsense," she argued.

Wilkerson said the General Assembly should focus its efforts on practical solutions like giving more support to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's crime lab.

"Do we care about the property we invested in? Yes. Do we care about our kids? Yes. Do we have progressive DA's that are letting people go? No, we don't. I mean, if you listen to some people, they say (Cobb District Attorney Flynn) Broady's being too tough ... so I think he's doing the right thing," Wilkerson said.

'Weaponize these laws'

Republican lawmakers, in response to allegations that left-wing ideology had infiltrated Georgia schools, took aim last year at education policy as a central political battleground. The GOP passed bills banning so-called "divisive concepts" from being taught in schools, allowing the Georgia High School Association to bar transgender girls from competing in girls' sports, and a "Parents' Bill of Rights" which gives parents increased access to instructional materials.

Anulewicz said she expects fewer of those policies to be pushed this year with no elections looming.

"A concern that I had about these bills — and I still have about these bills — is that disgruntled parents can weaponize these laws to basically shut down a classroom, and shut down the school," Anulewicz said. "And what I mean is, you won't actually close the doors, but just like you have folks all the time who can really stymie a county, municipal, state government with just a deluge of open records request, you could basically have the same thing happening in an elementary school classroom if a teacher is unhappy or if a parent is unhappy with their kid's teacher."

"There are parents, because they're very organized groups of parents, that ... will weaponize this legislation," she added.

Democrats said the cultural classroom fights aren't concerns they hear from their constituents. Instead, said Wilkerson, the learning losses of the pandemic are the main worry of parents he talks to.

"I think you'll see more focus on trying to get students back to the level where they need to be. I think you'll see more focus on that, than hopefully the other stuff," he said. "I don't know if (cultural issues) are going to be a priority of any of the leadership ... but I think certain members will react based on what they hear in the headlines. So they're going to go about correcting what they consider Democratic counties doing the wrong thing."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week reported that Gwinnett County plans to change its sex education curriculums to include "more comprehensive lessons about consent, contraceptives and gender and sexual identity." Williams said sex education is an area where expanding the scope of the curriculum can be helpful — but not in the way Republicans imagine Democrats want to.

"If you actually looked at the curriculum, I question whether or not gender and sexual identity information would even be in that curriculum. So it's a wonderful talking point to get people's heads to explode ... Consent is something that they're trying to teach. Consent is actually part of this ... CSEC (comprehensive sex education curriculum) which is the mandated training for sexual assault, and that is mandated for kids as young as kindergarteners. But consent is what it's about — letting a toddler or a five year old know that they can say no," Williams said.

Added Anulewicz, "Consent is one of the No. 1 things you have to work with preschoolers and toddlers and very little kids on, to help protect them from sexual predators."

As far as learning loss is concerned — with metrics across the state showing student performance took a major hit during the pandemic — lawmakers are looking to the professionals for direction.

"I would consult the experts to answer that question," said Anulewicz. "I mean, I think (Marietta Superintendent Grant) Rivera has a better answer than any of us sitting at this table."

Wilkerson pointed to the Literacy Lab, which hires recent Black male high school graduates to work with students on reading instruction, as the type of program he'd like to see supported by the state.

"I think programs like that will hopefully be included in the budget, where they can go in and partner with the local school systems to help these kids get up to speed, three or four at a time, out of class and working on the side. So the teacher identifies the students that have need and then they work with these students," he said.

'Unique and unprecedented'

Late last year, it came to light that Cobb Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor has been profiting immensely off her position through her office's collections of passport fees. Taylor, as previously reported, has received about $425,000 in supplemental income since taking office in 2020 on top of her annual salary of about $170,000.

(Taylor is also facing a Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe connected to her fee receipts, opened after a whistleblower alleged she was ordered by Taylor to destroy records of the income.)

Most of the fee receipts are allowed under Georgia law, which permits court clerks performing federal work to personally retain any fees collected in the course of their duties.

State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-east Cobb, has proposed eliminating that loophole in the law this year. Democrats said they were open to considering legislation, but also hedged their position.

"I feel like I need to know more about it. I mean, I am open to the conversation, definitely open to it, and I was alarmed by what happened," said Williams.

But Wilkerson and his colleagues pointed out the practice is widespread across the state, and may not see the same support from rural counties where the passport fee income is needed to supplement low salaries for court clerk positions.

Said Anulewicz, "It was a unique and unprecedented situation, but I think that Representative Wilkerson is correct. We are but one of 159 (counties), and I think that while you have something very high-profile, there are 158 other clerks and their supporters and their counties who are going to be watching this legislation very closely."

Rhett compared it to local sales taxes, which can have wildly different revenue collections based on a county's size.

"Just like, for example, when it comes to the education SPLOST, here in the metro you may raise $700 million, $800 million, but you go to rural Georgia, they may raise $50,000. So the county clerk's are going to have a big say in that, because that helps supplement their income," he said.

Tort reform

Georgia's business community has long lobbied for the legislature to curb the power of plaintiffs and juries to sue for hefty awards. Proponents of "tort reform" say curbing liabilities will help curb rising insurance premiums, while opponents say it shields businesses and insurance companies from legal responsibility.

Williams dismissed the arguments in favor of tort reform out of hand.

"I would like to tell you why our car insurance rates have gone up," she said. "Because the man who was head of insurance in the House years ago (former state Rep. and state Sen. Ralph Hudgens) signed legislation which eased regulations for insurance policies. And then he immediately ran for and was reelected the insurance commissioner."

Anulewicz said it's not an issue she hears about from business owners.

"On issues that they say are affecting them every day ... it's not insurance premiums, it's (credit card) swipe fees," she said.

Pet Projects

The MDJ asked each legislator what their pet projects will be for the upcoming session.

Williams wants to revisit legislation to allow individual cities to regulate the use of fireworks. Retiring state Rep. Erick Allen, D-Smyrna, proposed legislation two years ago to that end, but it failed to get off the ground.

"Let's face it — a Republican would probably have to carry it, but I definitely would like to see us do something about fireworks so that we could go back to not having them everywhere. Right now, it's just like every night," she said.

Anulewicz wants to build on a bill she passed last year that expanded sexual harassment protections for city and county employees.

"That bill that passed in 2022 was the first time there has been a definition of sexual harassment codified in Georgia," she said.

She now wants to expand those protections statewide to cover all employees in both the public and private sector.

Rhett plans to file legislation to cut back on out-of-pocket costs for MRIs and ultrasounds related to breast cancer diagnoses. He previously supported a bill which did the same for mammograms.

"We were able to pass a bill so that they can pay for a good part of that cost, but what we're gonna do this session is try to perfect it to make them eat the whole thing," Rhett said.

He also will seek to secure more state funding for the Cobb Veterans Memorial.

Finally, Wilkerson said he plans to focus on Cobb-specific legislation, including "cleaning up" some of the borders of the new city of Mableton. That's likely to include de-annexing portions of the city which were opposed to cityhood, and clearing up a dispute over areas within the Mableton city limits that were annexed into Smyrna prior to the cityhood referendum.