ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s lieutenant governor is saying “Not so fast” on a proposed June 11 restart date for the General Assembly.
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan released a statement Wednesday saying he wants the session to restart on June 15 to give time for lawmakers to get tested for COVID-19 after June 9 primary elections.
That’s a shift in position for the first-term Republican, who has been pushing for lawmakers to return to the capitol this month. House Speaker David Ralson, a Blue Ridge Republican, has consistently sought a June 11 restart, saying that will give time for May revenue figures to be finalized before Gov. Brian Kemp has to revise the revenue forecast for the upcoming 2021 budget year.
Ralston has held the upper hand, as Duncan has admitted, because both the speaker and lieutenant governor must agree on a restart date under the terms that the House and Senate used to put the session on hold in March. Ralston has been steaming ahead on the June 11 date, telling House members to plan to be back then in a Tuesday letter, even though Duncan’s office repeatedly said there was no deal yet.
Duncan’s chief of staff, John Porter, said it would be smart to make sure lawmakers who have been campaigning ahead of the June 9 primary elections aren’t infected with coronavirus before the session resumes.