Trial lawyers use worries over China to pressure Brian Kemp on herbicide bill

The trial lawyers pushing Gov. Brian Kemp to block protections for agrochemical companies are trying out a different tactic this week: a new ad focusing on China, a trending pressure point in GOP politics.

Senate Bill 144 would shield these companies from an onslaught of lawsuits alleging they failed to warn people their products could cause cancer and other health problems. Until now, much of the discussion has centered on Bayer, the German-based company that owns the popular weed killer Roundup. That product contains glyphosate, which some studies have linked to cancer.

But an ad backed by the American Association for Justice doesn’t mention Bayer. Instead, it goes after ChemChina, a Chinese-owned company that manufactures the chemical paraquat, an herbicide that some studies have linked to Parkinson’s disease.

“Companies like ChemChina, linked to the Chinese communist party, are pressuring our elected officials to take away our rights,” a narrator declares in the ad as a photo of Kemp flashes on the screen.

Republicans across the country have been eager to put more restrictions on China as President Donald Trump has frequently criticized the country and made it a target in his ongoing trade war.

In Georgia this year, the Republican-controlled state Legislature passed bills requiring public universities to disclose funding they receive from China, prohibiting the country from purchasing land near U.S. military bases, and restricting state agencies from buying goods from Chinese companies.

Still, a Kemp veto is likely a longshot. Senate Bill 144 passed the state Legislature with bipartisan support.

Many farmers fear that without the bill, companies might stop selling these chemicals that are important to protecting their crop yields. A recent poll found 90% of farmers opposed litigation that could limit access to these products.

Things to know

Credit: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

Credit: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

Good morning! Gov. Brian Kemp has 26 days left to either sign or veto bills passed by the state Legislature this year. He’s signed eight bills into law so far and hasn’t vetoed anything yet. You can follow along at the AJC Legislative Navigator.

Here are three things to know for today:

Hand it over

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

As any fan of “Law & Order” can tell you, the police need a judge to sign off on a subpoena. But in some cases, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation can issue its own subpoenas without a court order — a power Gov. Brian Kemp could soon expand.

House Bill 161 would let the GBI subpoena companies such as Facebook to quickly find people who make online threats. This includes tracking down the source of swatting calls, which is when someone lies to 911 operators so they send heavily armed police to an unsuspecting person’s home, sometimes in the middle of the night.

Lots of state and federal lawmakers have been targets of swatting, particularly Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Rome.

Sarah Lue, the GBI’s special agent in charge, told lawmakers during a hearing last month that the subpoenas would be limited to “basic subscriber information.”

“We don’t have any tools that allow us to identify these threats in a very expedient manner,” she said.

Republican state Sen. Bill Cowsert of Athens, a potential candidate for attorney general in 2026, said he’s sensitive to giving subpoena power to anybody without judicial review. But he supported this bill because of “the finite nature of what you are obtaining.”

“It is not the content of any communications, it is what number or what computer did this threat come from,” he said.

The bill easily passed the state Legislature and is awaiting Kemp’s signature. It’s one of hundreds of bills the governor has until May 14 to decide whether to sign into law.

Bottlenecks

Credit: AJC file photo

Credit: AJC file photo

The latest rankings of the nation’s Top 100 truck bottlenecks are a “good news/bad news story” for Georgia, according to Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry.

As the AJC’s Alexis Stevens previously reported, nine of those bottlenecks are in Atlanta, the second most of any state (Texas is No. 1 with 12). But three of Atlanta’s bottlenecks are in the Top 10, which is the most of any state.

McMurry tried to look on the bright side during Thursday’s State Transportation Board meeting. Four of Atlanta’s bottlenecks improved compared to last year, led by I-285 at State Route 400. That interchange was in the Top 10 last year. But fell to No. 29 this year, reflecting gains from recent construction.

“We’re moving in the trajectory that we want to move in,” McMurry said.

The American Transportation Research Institute complies this list by collecting and processing GPS data to identify choke points along the nation’s freight trucking routes. The interchange at I-285 and I-85 (North) remains Atlanta’s most troubled spot, with an average speed of just over 35 miles per hour. The interchange moved up one spot to the No. 4 ranking compared to last year.

The data is important because, while traffic frustrates your commute, it also causes costly delays in the nation’s freight lines.

“We’re working toward solutions on many of these. It takes time to get there,” McMurray said.

Study time

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Some of the thorniest issues at the Georgia Capitol will get a hard look in the coming months.

House Speaker Jon Burns announced three blue-ribbon study committees on Thursday to prepare for next year’s legislative session.

The studies will take on topics where bills failed to pass this year:

The study committees’ members haven’t been announced, but they will be bipartisan, according to the speaker’s office.

Listen up

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In the red

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

At least five members of Georgia’s congressional delegation took in fewer donations than dollars spent during the first three months of the year.

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath is the most glaring example. Her campaign raised $46,814 but spent $298,814, a more than $250,000 difference. The Marietta Democrat’s expenditures included $26,400 transferred to her now-suspended exploratory committee for a potential race for Georgia governor. McBath also paid a half-dozen campaign aides a total of about $11,000 each month.

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, is among the most prominent conservatives in Congress and uses a bevy of paid consultants and social media marketing to help her raise money. This quarter her bills added up to $782,725 while she took in $655,464 in donations.

U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, raised $129,424 and spent $154,224. U.S. Rep. David Scott, the Atlanta Democrat who is facing pressure to retire, collected $82,202 in donations and spent $90,166.

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock raised $254,219 and spent $498,854. But that imbalance is mainly because of refunds to donors from his 2022 reelection campaign, which totaled to $234,502, or nearly half of his expenditures.

Ad alert

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

It may not be campaign season yet, but the conservative Americans for Prosperity is running five digital ads in Georgia this week targeting U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff as part of its “Tax Day Blitz.”

The ads are a part of a seven-figure national campaign pushing Congress to extend the tax cuts passed during President Donald Trump’s first term and are set to expire later this year.

Although Ossoff was not in the Senate when the tax cuts passed in 2017, the future of the cuts is the biggest fight on Capitol Hill over the budget. Negotiators estimate that extending the tax cuts will cost at least $4 trillion over 10 years.

In one ad, Paula Robinson, a retired public school teacher in Georgia, says inflation has made it harder to afford basic expenses.

“Senator Ossoff, we can’t afford higher taxes,” she said.

Trump today

President Donald Trump will swear in Dr. Mehmet Oz, the former television host, as the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Car talk

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Hyundai Motor Group has hired former Georgia U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson as the company’s Washington-based senior vice president of government affairs.

The company says Ferguson will lead its federal and state legislative outreach starting on May 1.

U.S. House ethics rules prevent Ferguson from lobbying his former colleagues directly until he has been out of office for a year, but he can assist with strategy. Currently, he works on the lobbying team of the Atlanta-based Alston & Bird law firm.

South Korea-based Hyundai recently opened an electric vehicle manufacturing facility outside of Savannah. Rival manufacturer Kia operates a plant in West Point in Ferguson’s old congressional district.

Shoutouts

Credit: Courtesy photo

Credit: Courtesy photo

Kudos:

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Before you go

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

A federal judge on Thursday suggested she may offer some legal relief for more than 100 international students whose immigration status was terminated by the Trump administration.

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.