Henry and I are doing fine, and we hope you are.
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Being at the dog park and seeing families walking together have replaced the tense Capitol meetings of Monday and last week. (Dogs don't practice social distancing, but Henry is trying.)
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Based on directions from Speaker Ralston, I am self-quarantining at home with Henry. We are enjoying some free time riding around in the convertible and visiting the dog park while maintaining the 6-foot distance. During this period, I have had several conference calls with the DeKalb Delegation, City of Atlanta Delegation, DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond, the House Democratic Caucus, and Governor Kemp and his team. Tom Rawlings, head of Georgia DFACS, and I have talked about accelerating food stamps and minimizing delays. We are realizing the likelihood of historic unemployment application rates in this state. These conversations are preparing us to face current and future economic realities.
Governor Kemp Issues Orders
Late Friday, in consultation with the Coronavirus Task Force and other officials, the Governor issued two orders: one transferring $19,552,646 from the Governor's Emergency Fund and the other to assist the state's response to COVID-19 and protect the health of residents and visitors. Among other things, the Governor ordered temporary changes to or relaxing of regulations or requirements related to:
dispensing non-Schedule II prescription drugs
telemedicine licensing
use of physician assistants
temporary licensing of pharmacists licensed in other states
building inspections
operation of recording offices in counties, cities, and superior courts
corporate shareholder meetings
community heath department funding
health facility reporting
Elections
Many are concerned about elections, which will NOT take place next Tuesday. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has postponed the Presidential Primary until the May 19th Primary. He will retain all votes that already have been cast. Below is more information. You can find more on the Secretary of State Website (
link to press release). I've also been in conversation with Georgia Democratic Party Chair Nikema Williams about early voting and possible changes to the election cycle from this, and of course I'll keep you updated.
