Newspaper Page Text
Page 8A — Wednesday, February 10, 2021, The True Citizen
Ga. House approves
extended COVID protection
DAVE WILLIAMS
Capitol Beat News Service
Legislation extending CO
VID-19 liability protection
to Georgia businesses and
hospitals until July 14 of next
year cleared the state House of
Representatives Tuesday.
Lawmakers voted 99-68
along party lines to extend the
sunset on a bill the General As
sembly passed last June shield
ing businesses and health-care
facilities in Georgia from
lawsuits brought by people
who contract COVID-19 in
all but the worst negligence or
recklessness cases.
Majority Republicans ar
gued businesses are still strug
gling to keep their doors open
amid the ongoing pandemic.
“While they’re being at
tacked by the vims, what we
don’t need is for them to be at
tacked by frivolous lawsuits,”
said House Majority Whip
Trey Kelly, R-Cedartown, the
bill’s chief sponsor.
But Democrats countered
that while the legislation looks
out for the interests of Georgia
businesses, it doesn’t protect
essential workers forced to
stay on the job at the risk of
exposure to the vims.
“They have sustained our
economy throughout the pan
demic , yet we have no protec
tions in place for these workers
... forced to work in unsafe
conditions,” said Rep. Bee
Nguyen, D-Atlanta.
Rep. Matthew Wilson, D-
Brookhaven, said the legisla
tion is unnecessary.
“We haven’t had waves of
lawsuits crippling our small
businesses,” he said. “There
hasn’t been a single recovery.”
Kelley responded that his
bill will help the very front
line workers Democrats were
defending because keeping
businesses open means they
will keep getting paychecks.
“Who’s going to take up for
these employees when they
don’t have any jobs to go to?”
he asked.
Rep. Jesse Petrea, R-Savan-
nah, said the liability shield
also protects Georgia hospitals
and other health-care facilities
as they stmggle to maintain
bed capacity and distribute
COVID-19 vaccines.
“This measure will allow
health-care providers to con
tinue to stay focused on the
most vulnerable in our soci
ety,” he said.
Last year’s legislation ex
tends COVID-19 liability pro
tection only through July 14
of this year. The proposed
one-year extension now moves
to the state Senate.
Absentee ballot bill is debated
BEAU EVANS
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia House lawmakers
rehashed a bill Tuesday aimed
at pushing back the deadline
when voters can request and
send in absentee ballots before
elections.
The bill, sponsored by state
Rep. Barry Fleming, R-Har-
lem, originally proposed bar
ring county elections officials
from mailing out absentee bal
lots fewer than 10 days before
an election in Georgia.
The measure was tweaked
Tuesday to set the deadline for
voters to hand in applications
for mail-in ballots at 5 p.m.
on the second-to-last Friday
before Election Day and to
prohibit local election officials
from accepting absentee bal
lots after the Wednesday before
an election.
The House Special Commit
tee on Election Integrity, which
Fleming chairs, passed the bill
on Tuesday for a second time
with the changes included. It
heads back to the House lead
ers who decide which bills
reach the floor for full votes.
Fleming said he brought the
bill back to the committee after
state House Minority Whip
David Wilkerson, D-Powder
Springs, requested the revi
sions so that “he could support
the bill and would encourage
[others to do] the same.”
Fleming’s bill is the first
of more than a dozen to start
facing committee votes early
in the 2021 legislative session
as Republican lawmakers eye
changes to absentee voting and
voter ID laws after Democrats
gained major statewide vic
tories during the last election
cycle.
Some of those proposals
were echoed in a report the
Georgia Republican Party re
leased late Monday calling for
stiffer voter ID laws and to end
Georgians’ ability to vote by
mail without giving a reason.
Democratic leaders dis
missed the report, with U.S.
Rep. Nikema Williams of
Atlanta - who chairs the state
Democratic Party - labeling it
“a last-gasp attempt by an ever-
more-extreme organization
that is terrified of the power of
Georgia voters.”
Georgia Democrats have
pledged to fight Republican-
backed bills proposing limits
on who and how voters can
cast absentee ballots, as well
as other voting-rights issues.
However, the changes to Flem-
ing’s bill appeared to satisfy
some Democratic state law
makers who voted against it
last week.
“I know this is a good-faith
effort,” said state Rep. Cal
vin Smyre, D-Columbus, the
General Assembly’s longest-
serving member. “I believe
we’re almost there. We’re
much, much closer.”
The bill’s supporters argue it
would ease pressure on county
elections officials who are jug
gling early in-person voting
and Election Day preparations
on top of processing absentee-
ballot applications. Voters
would also know their ballots
arrived in the mail on time be
fore the polls close, according
to supporters.
“I think this does a lot toward
protecting the integrity of those
who have voted by mail before
so that those ballots can be
handled with a good chain of
custody,” said state Rep. Chuck
Martin, R-Alpharetta.
Opponents have warned the
bill could spur longer lines at
polling places and harm voters
who requested absentee ballots
weeks in advance but still had
not received them in the mail
by the new deadline.
Election-focused bills are
taking center stage in the leg
islative session now underway
after the 2020 election cycle
saw Democrats carry Georgia
in the presidential election and
win both of the state’s U.S.
Senate seats.
Democrats are framing Re-
publican-sponsored election
bills as attempts at voter sup
pression, accusing Repub
licans of changing the rules
of the game to slow Georgia
Democrats’ recent elections
momentum.
Republicans have said
they’re necessary to restore
confidence after claims of
voter fraud in the 2020 contests
spurred distrust among many
conservative voters in the
state’s election integrity.
Joining Fleming as sponsors
on the bill are House Speaker
Pro Tempore Jan Jones, R-
Milton; Rep. Buddy DeLoach,
R-Townsend; Rep. Rick Wil
liams, R-Milledgeville; House
Regulated Industries Commit
tee Chairman Alan Powell, R-
Hartwell; and Ways and Means
Committee Chairman Shaw
Blackmon, R-Bonaire.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
Inadequately Treated Wastewater
Wastewater System Name: City of Sardis WWTP
County: Burke
Date of Release: January 19/20, 2021
Contact Person: Jonathan M. Tindall, Contract Operator
Mailing Address: PO Box 618
Blackshear, Georgia 31516
Phone: 912-449-0999 ext. 105
Violation:
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division Water Quality
Division requires sampling of the City of Sardis Wastewater Treatment Facility for the analysis
of biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, ammonia, copper, and pH on a monthly
basis in its discharge to the Chandlers Branch tributary to Brier Creek tributary to the Savannah
River in the Savannah River Basin.
Due to inadequate treatment at the City of Sardis Wastewater Treatment Facility caused by
clogged return sludge valves, the facility experienced a release of inadequately treated effluent
that exceeded the weekly average Total Suspended Solids (TSS) by 1.5 times the allowable
weekly average concentration to the Chandlers Branch tributary to Brier Creek tributary to the
Savannah River in the Savannah River Basin. Extended stream sampling is being initiated and
will continue for one (1) year from the date sampling is initiated as required by the NPDES
Permit. Normal stream sampling as part of the discharge permit will also continue.
The local health department, media and legal organ have been notified as required. There are no
downstream water suppliers within twenty (20) miles of the spill site.
This violation does not pose a threat to the quality of any Georgia waterway. Residents
should not be alarmed. The supplier is taking corrective actions to insure that an adequate
wastewater program is maintained.
ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS VIOLATION SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO
THE CONTACT PERSON LISTED ABOVE.
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Housing Authority of the City of Waynesboro
will conduct a Public Hearing to discuss the Agency
Annual Plan and Five Year Plan as established by
the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act
of 1998.
The purpose and goals will be explained and the
Housing Authority will receive comments from all
interested parties.
This public hearing will be conducted on Tuesday,
March 30, 2021 at 3:30 PM at the Housing
Authority Office located at 570 Wallace Street in
Waynesboro, Georgia. All interested parties are
invited and encouraged to attend this meeting.
read
local.
Pick up
The True Citizen for
homegrown news about
the happenings near you.
City of Waynesboro
Employment Opportunity
Applications are being accepted for
the following position until
Friday, February 19, 2021
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
If this position becomes permanent, the City of Waynesboro
offers a competitive salary based on experience, training and
education as well as:
■ Medical Insurance
■ Paid Life, Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance
■ Paid Retirement
■ Deferred Compensation [457(b) Plan]
■ Direct Deposit
■ Newport Trust Company, Delta Dental, Eyemed Vision,
American Fidelity and Cincinnati Insurance
■ Paid Vacation, Sick Leave, and Holidays
Successful candidates will be required to undergo drug
testing and a criminal background check. Apply at City Hall,
Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. or online at
www.waynesboroga.com.
A valid Georgia Driver’s License and
Social Security Card will be required to apply.
City of Waynesboro
628 Myrick Street
Waynesboro, Georgia, 30830
Phone: (706) 554-8000
Fax: (706) 554-8007
E-mail: lwimberly@waynesboroga.com
On-line: www.waynesboroga.com
All applications that are faxed or emailed must also contain a
valid copy of the applicant’s driver’s license, resume', and
social security card.
Applicants that are requesting reasonable accommodations
should contact LaTonya Wimberly, Human Resource Director
at (706) 554-8000.
Applicants with special needs relating to disability access may
use the Georgia Relay Service for the hearing impaired at
1-800-255-0056 or you can contact Valerie Kirkland, City
Manager at (706) 554-8000.
Equal Opportunity Employer