House GOP mulls nixing Raffensperger’s powers to investigate First Liberty

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has used his office to aggressively investigate the politically-connected First Liberty Building and Loan, the Newnan-based lender accused by federal regulators of running a nine-figure Ponzi scheme.

But that power could soon be at risk.

A group of senior state House Republicans is backing legislation that would stop Raffensperger’s office from overseeing securities and commodities and transfer that duty to the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, an agency that reports to the governor.

The push comes as Raffensperger, a Republican, intensifies a civil inquiry into First Liberty, which collapsed in June and has deep ties to GOP leaders.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Pressed on the measure, which was introduced last week, the bill’s sponsors said it’s about efficiency and continuity — and not derailing the investigation.

“It makes sense for the Department of Banking & Finance to regulate securities and conduct investigations,” said House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, R-Mulberry. “This department already provides consumer protection and regulates other financial and lending entities.”

Raffensperger, who is running for governor, has warned the shift could slow the probe just as it’s ramping up. Investigators have recently begun summoning witnesses, including First Liberty founder Brant Frost IV and his son.

“My concern is all this just perhaps could slow things down,” he told WSB-TV. “We just want to make sure things continue on.”

Friday news quiz

Credit: Adam Van Brimmer/AJC

Credit: Adam Van Brimmer/AJC

Good morning! We hope everyone stays safe this weekend ahead of the potential ice storm. Stay warm by acing our weekly news quiz. You’ll find the answers at the end of this newsletter.

Sapelo Island’s Gullah Geechee community successfully repealed a McIntosh County ordinance on Tuesday. What did the ordinance do?

Gov. Brian Kemp this week announced Georgia will participate in a new federal program. What will the program do?

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones plan to eliminate Georgia’s income tax faces some opposition. Who criticized the plan this week?

State Rep. Eric Bell introduced legislation this week that would designate an official chicken wing flavor for Georgia. What is it?

Ballot drop boxes

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Georgia’s Republican-controlled state Legislature limited the number of absentee ballot drop boxes after Democrat Joe Biden won a majority of those votes in the 2020 election. Now, the State Election Board wants to get rid of them altogether.

The board voted 3-1 this week to urge the state Legislature to ban the boxes, which were first put in place during the pandemic to give voters another option to return their ballots.

Board Vice Chair Janice Johnston, a Republican, said the boxes pose “additional unnecessary administrative burdens on election officials.” She said mailing ballots is more reliable.

Board Chair John Fervier couldn’t believe that, especially after the U.S. Postal Service’s well-documented troubles in Georgia and elsewhere.

“I don’t trust the post office to deliver a Christmas card or anything else these days,” he said. “I think that people being able to walk in and put it in a box at a monitored location, to me, doesn’t bother me at all from a security standpoint.”

Fervier abstained from the vote.

Senate Bill 202, passed in 2021, limits the number of drop boxes to one per 100,000 registered voters in a county. It also only allowed the boxes inside early voting locations with limited hours. Previously, the boxes had been outside 24 hours a day.

No-shows?

Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger skipped a pair of legislative hearings on Thursday, which drew a sharp swipe from Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. All three are Republican candidates for governor.

“We will work with their offices to find a time that works for a hearing or get answers however we can so they can at least pretend to do the job they’re paid to do,” Jones spokesperson Ines Owens said.

Raffensperger skipped a State Ethics Committee hearing on his dispute with the Trump administration about sharing access to Georgia’s voter data. Instead, he wrote a letter branding the idea as reckless and illegal.

Carr sent deputies in his place to a House Appropriations Committee hearing to brief lawmakers on budget proposals. Raffensperger attended a similar hearing earlier in the week.

Esteves takes aim

Credit: Anna Girzone for the AJC

Credit: Anna Girzone for the AJC

Jason Esteves told a crowded campaign kickoff party last night that he is the only Democrat who can win the governor’s race in November. In the process, he also took aim at two of his opponents in the Democratic primary, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and former GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan.

Esteves described Bottoms as “a one-term mayor who, when the city needed her, was absent, with a city divided and your public safety at risk.”

Duncan, he said, “passed some of the worst legislation in the last decade,” including the state’s abortion restrictions, new voting limitations and looser gun laws. “Instead of running for reelection to fix it, he chose not to. He cut and run, paving the way for Burt Jones.”

“I will always fight for you,” Esteves said.

Along with supporters and volunteers, multiple current and former elected officials turned out for the event, including Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II, D-Augusta; state Sens. Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain; RaShaun Kemp, D-Atlanta; and Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta; state Rep. Phil Olaleye, D-Atlanta, and former state Sen. Jen Jordan.

Under the Gold Dome

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

The Legislature is off this week. Lawmakers will briefly convene on Monday, but won’t conduct any legislative business because of an ice storm predicted to hit much of the state.

Some happenings today:

Harper’s picks

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper will announce another primary endorsement today. He’s backing Jim Kingston in the Georgia’s 1st Congressional District race to replace U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who is running for the Senate.

Kingston, 35, is an insurance executive and the son of former U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, the man Carter replaced in Congress. Harper said the younger Kingston “understands that agriculture is more than just a job or hobby, it’s a way of life we must fight to defend every single day.”

Harper also endorsed Republican state Rep. Tim Fleming, R-Covington, for secretary of state earlier this week.

Abrams’ aims

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Stacey Abrams isn’t running for governor, but she’s ratcheting up her national profile in other ways.

The former Georgia gubernatorial nominee said her 10 Steps Campaign has added dozens of national, state and local partners.

Abrams launched the effort last year to counter what she calls the rise of authoritarianism following President Donald Trump’s reelection. She said she aims to “reach people where they are and give them concrete ways to take action.”

The coalition includes progressive groups such as Democracy Forward, Fair Fight, Indivisible, MoveOn, Run for Something and Vote Save America.

Listen up

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Shutdown unlikely

Credit: Rahmat Gul/AP

Credit: Rahmat Gul/AP

The U.S. House on Thursday approved the last of 12 appropriations bills before heading home early to avoid an incoming winter storm. Now, it’ll be up to the Senate to vote on these bills next week to avoid a partial government shutdown at midnight on Jan. 30.

That means senators from both major political parties must come together for at least 60 votes in favor of the legislation. Most of these appropriations bills have had wide bipartisan support, with one exception: legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security.

All but seven House Democrats voted against the bill, citing concerns following the shooting death of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minnesota. That bill now comes to the Senate in a package with five other pieces of legislation, lowering the likelihood Democrats will vote against it.

The appropriations package also repeals a provision included in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” spending law that allows Senate Republicans whose phone records were subpoenaed as part of the Jan. 6 investigation to sue the government for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The weather could be a wild card. The Senate’s session could be delayed depending on the storm’s impact.

Today in Washington

Shoutouts

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

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Before you go

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Answers to this week’s news quiz:

That’ll do it for us today. 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.