Georgia Legislative Watch

Rep. Jay Roberts will replace Vance Smith, the recently appointed GDOT Commissioner, as chairman of the House Transportation Committee.

Rasmussen shows Roy Barnes with an overwhelming lead in the Democratic primary for Governor:
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Georgia shows Barnes capturing 48% among likely Democratic Primary voters. State Attorney General Thurbert Baker is a distant second with eight percent (8%) of the vote, followed by House Minority Leader Dubose Porter at five [...]

As revenues continue to drop, there is more talk of a special session:
The length and depth of the current recession have prompted round after round of cutbacks in state spending, and now legislators are talking about the need for a special session to address it.
Tax collections were down in May, putting the decline at 10 [...]

The following commentary is from Benita Dodd of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. The GPPF publishes a column weekly, it can be found here.
Georgia’s Democratic Party is asking Georgians to sign its petition asking the state’s two senators to “support President Obama’s health care reform proposals, even if it means standing up to Republican leaders [...]

State Rep. Vance Smith (R-Pine Mountain) has been selected as the new GDOT Commissioner. His first day will be June 25th, meaning that there will be a special election in House District 129.

Strategic Vision, a Republican-leaning firm, has a new poll out on the 2010 party primaries for Governor.
Republican primary
- John Oxendine: 35%
- Karen Handel: 13%
- Nathan Deal: 12%
- Eric Johnson: 4%
- Ray McBerry: 2%
- Austin Scott: 2%
- Undecided: 32%
Deal, despite his Fred Thompson-like campaign, is doing better than I expected. Scott is where I [...]

CQ Politics has changed the status of the Governor’s race in Georgia to “Leans Republican,” it was previously listed as “Republican Favored,” after Roy Barnes entrance in the the Democratic primary.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Insider Advantage are reporting that Roy Barnes will announce his candidacy for Governor of Georgia today at 1:30 pm in Marietta:
Former Gov. Roy Barnes, whose defeat after a single term in 2002 sent shockwaves through Georgia politics and set the stage for Republicans to control state government for much of the [...]