Brian Kemp’s needs-based scholarship investment fulfills Democratic dreams

Democratic state Rep. Stacey Evans cried tears of joy during Gov. Brian Kemp’s final State of the State address on Thursday. And it wasn’t because the Republican is in his final term of office.

It was Kemp’s announcement of a $325 million investment in a needs-based college scholarship program that did it — a priority Democrats have chased for decades and a central plank of Evans’ own 2018 run for governor.

“Needs based aid is a game changer for first generation college students like me,” the Atlanta lawmaker said.

For Kemp, the move fits a familiar pattern: taking a long-standing Democratic priority and locking it into Republican policy.

He signed a hate-crimes law in 2020 after more than a decade of Democratic lobbying. A year later he approved changes to a Civil War-era citizen’s arrest law that critics said had been used to target Black Georgians.

It wasn’t even the first time Evans celebrated a Kemp budget. In 2023, the governor revived another of her campaign promises by reversing cuts to the lottery-funded HOPE scholarship.

Whether Kemp’s proposed investment in the DREAMS scholarship program survives intact is another question.

We’re already hearing scattered pushback from Senate Republicans — a reminder that even in a farewell year, not every legacy item comes easy.

Friday news quiz

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Good morning! The state Legislature is in full swing, and so are we. How well did you keep up with the week’s news? Find out by taking our weekly news quiz. You’ll find the answers at the end of the newsletter.

The U.S. Senate this week confirmed Lt. Gen. Thomas Carden, former commander of the Georgia National Guard, as the new vice chief of the National Guard Bureau. His confirmation was delayed for several months. Why?

Georgia House Republicans withdrew a resolution this week as lawmakers returned to the Capitol. What was the resolution about?

Colton Moore gave up his seat in the state Senate this week to run for Congress. But before he left, his colleagues voted to pass his first bill. What did it do?

Qualifying for the March 10 special election to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress ended on Wednesday. How many candidates are in the race?

AI crimes

If you’ve spent anytime on X lately, you’ve likely seen users post photos of women and children only to ask the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot to remove their clothes or put them in a bikini.

A new bill in the Georgia Legislature could soon make that a crime.

Senate Bill 398 would outlaw creating “obscene material” of people without their knowledge or consent. Violators could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and charged up to $50,000 in fines.

“As a husband and father of daughters, it is extremely concerning to me that this technology is out there, and I think it needs to be addressed immediately before it gets out of hand,” said state Sen. Bo Hatchett, R-Cornelia, who sponsored the bill.

Even proponents of the rapidly advancing technology have raised concerns about its potential harms — harms that had become all too real on X.

On Wednesday, X announced it would prevent Grok, the nickname for its AI product, from altering images of real people in revealing clothing. But problems appear to persist.

Both Republicans and Democrats have overwhelmingly approved similar measures targeting AI-generated child pornography, but nothing has landed on Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk.

Hatchett told us he wanted to “tread lightly,” as President Donald Trump signed an executive order late last year aimed at limiting states from regulating AI.

Back to school

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

U.S. Rep. Brian Jack will host U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon in Newnan today for a tour of the Central Educational Center’s career and technical education labs, followed by a roundtable on federal education priorities.

The Peachtree City Republican will be joined by state Sen. Matt Brass, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Newnan Mayor James Shepherd, state Rep. Lynn Smith, former U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, Coweta County commissioners, school board members and other local officials.

McMahon’s visit marks the eighth trip by a member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet to Jack’s west Georgia district since 2024, a sign of the district’s growing profile inside the administration.

Bonds are back

Georgia has avoided borrowing money for the past three budget years to pay for construction projects. Now, it looks like that streak will come to an end.

Gov. Brian Kemp’s budget proposal, unveiled Thursday, includes $650 million in bonds for various construction projects.

Since the 2024 budget year, Georgia has set aside about $4.1 billion for construction projects — all in cash. It started as a point of pride for most Republican policymakers. But it has since become a growing source of friction as money has gotten tighter.

Last year, House Republicans tried, and failed, to convince Kemp to free up about $321 million in cash by borrowing money to build schools and by buses. This year, state Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, floated a return to the bond market as a way to pay for a GOP plan to eventually end the state income tax.

Kemp noted the state is in a good place to borrow, as its debt to revenue ratio is now the lowest since the state first began issuing revenue bonds in the 1970s. Kemp said not borrowing money over the past three years will save taxpayers $3.3 billion on interest payments over the next 20 years.

Listen up

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Under the Gold Dome

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

It’s day five of the legislative session. Some of today’s happenings:

Water woes

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Georgia’s regional water councils are important boards that help communities conserve valuable resources. But state officials have had trouble finding enough people willing to serve on them.

Part of the problem is the sheer number of appointments. Altogether, the governor and legislative leaders must appoint 300 people across 10 councils every three years. Now, state lawmakers are considering cutting those appointments by more than half.

House Resolution 1008 would confirm new rules requiring just 130 appointments to the regional water councils every six years. The State Water Council has already approved the rules. Now lawmakers need to give their OK.

State Rep. Debbie Buckner, D-Junction City, said at first she was skeptical of the change because she believes “we all ought to be concerned and interested in water and have as many people involved as possible.”

But it appears she’s starting to come around.

“I understand there are people on the councils that are dead and have not been replaced, and that makes it hard for them to serve,” she said.

Today in Washington

Shoutout

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

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Before you go

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Before you go

Answers to this week’s news quiz:

Programming note

Credit: Alex Wong

Credit: Alex Wong

There will be no newsletter on Monday due to the federal holiday honoring The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. But as always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.