Georgia
For Misdemeanor Poverty, Georgia Would Assign Mandatory Cash Bail – Filter
February 29 is Crossover Day in the Georgia General Assembly, with lawmakers clambering over each other to advance their bills of choice before the legislative session comes to a close. Except Senator Randy Robertson (R), sponsor of the proposal to dramatically expand cash bail, which was one of the only major bills to already sail onward to the governor’s desk. Nothing brings lawmakers together quite like punishing the poor.
There are currently 14 charges for which the state of Georgia requires cash bail. Senate Bill 63 would add 30 new ones, then forbid people accused of those charges from receiving almost any assistance from charities or nonprofits, or even loved ones. If they can’t pay their assigned bail, they will languish in the death traps that are Georgia’s overcrowded jails. Most of the 30 charges are misdemeanors, and wouldn’t be punishable by incarceration if the person were actually convicted.
“I think if the individual honestly conveyed to the judge that they were basically destitute, then I think there are ways for the individual to make bond,” Robertson stated at a Committee on Public Safety hearing earlier in February, in defense of his bill to legally abolish most ways for destitute individuals to make bond.
“The criminal trespass may have been vagrancy, in order to break into an abandoned house that belonged to someone else in order to stay in it, and in cases like that most likely the charge would be dismissed,” he continued, in a tone concerningly devoid of sarcasm. “But in Georgia being broke is not a viable defense for committing a crime.”
Many groups and individual humans out there post bond for people who can’t afford it on their own, but SB 63 would cap their efforts at three recipients each per year. Defendants who can’t afford bail must deal only with approved bail bondsmen. Except defendants who are undocumented, whom even the bail bondsmen are forbidden from helping.
More than going after people for shoplifting and squatting, SB 63 is after people who have shoplifted and squatted before.
SB 63 would undo many judicial reforms enacted under former Governor Nathan Deal (R). ACLU Georgia has vowed to sue if Governor Brian Kemp (R) signs the bill into law, stating that “[no]t only is SB 63 bad policy, it is illegal. It unconstitutionally criminalizes poverty and restricts conduct protected by the First Amendment.”
The legislature obviously doesn’t expect defendants to be able to personally produce thousands of dollars at the ready, or SB 63 wouldn’t be aimed specifically at people who do not have money. Many of the 30 new bail-restricted charges describe activities people engage in entirely because they have been chronically without money. “Theft by taking, [on] the person’s second or subsequent offense”; “criminal trespass, [on] the person’s second or subsequent offense.”
More than going after people for shoplifting and squatting, SB 63 is after those “habitual violators” who have shoplifted and squatted before. It also targets those who would disrupt the accumulation of wealth by the wealthy, as Stop Cop City organizers did in 2022. But for the most part, constituents who are not one economic hiccup away from being sent to the gulag are often perfectly willing to accept the rules of tyrants, who vow to keep them safe from the people with no money or resources.
Introducing someone into the criminal-legal system rarely improves the trajectory of their life.
What options do people have, when you prosecute them for having nothing? They could run, and join the many disenfranchised souls dispersed in rural encampments across the state, but of course “fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer” is also among the 30 new bail-restricted charges. Missing a court date is another, for people who’ve missed court dates before. Jumping bail has been assigned mandatory bail all along.
The problem is obviously not that Georgia has too many dangerous criminals. The problem is that people have nowhere to live. Rather than house them, the state intends to profoundly destabilize their life and heap on new sources of debt. If that doesn’t improve their housing prospects, they don’t deserve to be free.
Introducing someone into the criminal-legal system rarely improves the trajectory of their life. A couple of days in jail, even without a conviction, is the off-ramp from the highway of “contributing to society,” as lawmakers like to say.
Still, it isn’t all bad. The thousands of us who have served decades inside Georgia Department of Corrections prisons are in fact heartened by SB 63’s breakaway success. If the prison population grows rapidly enough to compel the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles to actually grant some of us parole, we would gladly give up our beds to needy newcomers.
Photograph via City of Brookhaven, Georgia
The Georgia Bulldogs are trying to flip cornerback recruit Preston Glasco just over a week after he committed to the Connecticut Huskies.
Glasco, a member of the class of 2027, announced his commitment to UConn on June 10. Since committing to UCONN, Georgia has hosted Glasco on an official visit and offered him a scholarship (back on June 18).
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound cornerback has excellent length and size. Glasco has impressive athleticism and ran a 4.47-4.57 second 40-yard dash (hand timed) during a recent workout with the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Glasco plays high school football for Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. He’s unranked as a recruit, but that’s bound to change soon. The unranked cornerback plays against a stout level of competition at Grayson, who is a Georgia high school powerhouse.
Glasco has scholarship offers from Army, Yale, Boston College, Penn and more. He’s a great student and appears to be healthy after he was recovering from a surgery around this time last year. The talented Grayson cornerback has also gone on recent visits to South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
Coach Kirby Smart and Georgia currently don’t have any cornerback commitments in the class of 2027.
Georgia football offers Preston Glasco
“Blessed to receive an offer from the University of Georgia,” Glasco said after Georgia offered him.
Glasco visits UGA football
Follow UGA Wire on Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) or Threads for more Georgia football recruiting coverage!
The Georgia Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 20, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from June 20 drawing
16-20-44-48-50, Powerball: 15, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 3 numbers from June 20 drawing
Midday: 0-9-2
Evening: 9-6-9
Night: 2-4-6
Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 4 numbers from June 20 drawing
Midday: 0-1-2-5
Evening: 1-8-1-5
Night: 5-4-6-0
Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from June 20 drawing
Early Bird: 06
Matinee: 03
Drive Time: 09
Primetime: 06
Night Owl: 02
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Georgia FIVE numbers from June 20 drawing
Midday: 4-0-5-8-9
Evening: 3-3-9-2-2
Check Georgia FIVE payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Fantasy 5 numbers from June 20 drawing
01-09-10-15-42
Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from June 20 drawing
01-10-16-30-31, Bonus: 04
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes under $601: Can be claimed at any Georgia Lottery retail location. ALL PRIZES can be claimed by mail to: Georgia Lottery Corporation, P.O. Box 56966, Atlanta, GA 30343.
- Prizes over $600: Must be claimed at Georgia Lottery Headquarters or any Georgia Lottery district office or mailed to the Georgia Lottery for payment.
When are the Georgia Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
- Cash 3 (Midday): 12:29 p.m. ET daily.
- Cash 3 (Evening): 6:59 p.m. ET daily.
- Cash 3 (Night): 11:34 p.m. ET daily.
- Cash 4 (Midday): 12:29 p.m. ET daily.
- Cash 4 (Evening): 6:59 p.m. ET daily.
- Cash 4 (Night): 11:34 p.m. ET daily.
- Cash Pop (Early Bird): 8 a.m. ET daily.
- Cash Pop (Matinee): 1 p.m. ET daily.
- Cash Pop (Drive Time): 5 p.m. ET daily.
- Cash Pop (Primetime): 8 p.m. ET daily.
- Cash Pop (Night Owl): 11:59 p.m. ET daily.
- Georgia FIVE (Midday): 12:29 p.m. ET daily.
- Georgia FIVE (Evening): 6:59 p.m. ET daily.
- Fantasy 5: 11:34 p.m. ET daily.
- Jumbo Bucks Lotto: 11 p.m. ET on Monday and Thursday.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. ET daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Georgia editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Georgia
Democrats block local property tax referendums as Georgia lawmakers clash over affordability – The Current
House Republicans are attempting to pass a wave of local property tax measures during an ongoing special session that would allow communities to vote on whether to raise their sales taxes to give homeowners a tax break.
But Democrats have so far successfully blocked the effort, stymying GOP lawmakers from putting the question before voters this November. They argue the change represents a new tax that shifts the burden of paying for local services from homeowners to lower income Georgians – and they question the rush to put it before voters this year.
An attempt to pass dozens of local property tax measures failed Saturday in both the House and Senate, but Republicans say they aren’t giving up. Lawmakers will be back Monday for a special session that has no set end date.
“We still have a chance to get this right,” said Rep. Shaw Blackmon, a Bonaire Republican who has led the House GOP’s efforts to target local property taxes.
House Republican leaders have prioritized property tax relief this year, saying it is needed to curb rising property taxes and help people who are struggling to stay in their homes. They unsuccessfully pushed to eliminate local property taxes statewide earlier this year, instead settling for a last-minute compromise that Democrats say is unconstitutional because of how it was passed.
The ongoing special session was originally called to redraw Georgia’s political maps – although those redistricting plans were abandoned – and to address a looming deadline for the state to stop using ballot QR codes to count votes. Gov. Brian Kemp later opened the door for lawmakers to tee up local property tax referendums. House Majority Chuck Efstration and other House Republicans criticized Democrats for voting against local property tax measures Saturday. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
Dozens of referendums are in the works for communities all across the state, from Fannin County in north Georgia to Lowndes County in south Georgia.
“We missed an opportunity to help our neighbors today,” said Rep. Gerald Greene, a Cuthbert Republican who had sponsored several tax referendums for south Georgia communities.
Republicans control both chambers of the Legislature, but since the measures involve homestead exemptions, they need two-thirds support to pass. That means Democratic votes are needed in both chambers.
“Today what we witnessed once again was Republicans cosplaying a care for affordability in this state,” said Rep. Tanya Miller, an Atlanta Democrat who chairs the minority caucus and is the party’s nominee for attorney general.
“What they are trying to do is a bait and switch. What they propose today was nothing more than a tax increase on the people who are already hit the hardest,” she said, referring to the sales tax.
Republicans criticized Democrats for denying communities a chance to decide for themselves whether to lean more on sales tax revenue to offset property taxes on homeowners.
“This bill is very simple. It’s giving voters the chance to vote to lower their property taxes. Give voters that chance to do that,” said Rep. Scott Hilton, a Peachtree Corners Republican.
“I believe the minority party deep down knows this would overwhelmingly pass if put on the ballot, but voters are being denied that chance right now, denied the chance to have a more affordable life, to be able to afford their home, to stay in their homes,” he added.
House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley, a Columbus Democrat, said GOP leaders are manufacturing a crisis by pursuing the tax measures during the special session instead of waiting until lawmakers return for their regular session in January.
She framed the proposed local tax referendums as a GOP ploy to turn out conservative voters in November.
“There is no reason for us to rush through this,” Hugley said. “The other thing is that you’re asking people to raise a sales tax on themselves so that homeowners can get a relief. You’re picking winners and losers, and that’s not what we should be doing here.”
Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
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