Sen. Josh McKoon loses chairmanship on first day of session

Following through with a plan put in place less than two weeks ago, the Georgia Senate Republican leadership stripped controversial Columbus state Sen. Josh McKoon of his leadership position, McKoon confirmed late Monday.

It was done as part of a new rules package put in place on the first day of the 2017 session.

McKoon, starting his seventh year in the Senate representing District 29, had been chairman of the Judiciary Committee for four years. In late December, the Republican caucus met in Atlanta to set the rules for the 2017 General Assembly session. The group then decided to eliminate one of the three judiciary committees.

The chairmanships were announced Monday and McKoon was not on the list. He was assigned as a member of four committees with no chairmanships — Judiciary, Economic Development, Ethics, Insurance and Labor, and Regulated Industries and Utilities.

Asked if he felt the move was retaliation for his disputes with party leadership, McKoon said via email: “I am in no position to assess the motives of the Committee on Appointments. The positions I have taken over the last six years are shared by the overwhelming majority of my fellow Republicans. It would be stunning to discover I am being penalized for advocating bedrock positions of the Georgia Republican Party platform.”

There were two primary Senate judiciary committees — one dealing with civil matters and the other with criminal matters — and a special committee that handles less important legislation. The Judiciary Non-Civil Committee that is being abolished was formed four years ago and was chaired by Sen. Jesse Stone, R-Waynesboro.

President Pro Tem David Shafer, R-Duluth, said the consolidation was made because of the lack of lawyers among the Senate’s 56 members.

“We had three judiciary committees and nine lawyers so we are reducing it from three to two,” Shafer said.

The 2017 session started just as the 2016 one ended, with McKoon taking a hit from his colleagues.

In the closing days of the 2016 session, two Columbus projects lost funding with one member of the local delegation saying that it was payback for McKoon’s issues with the governor and speaker.

Columbus State University lost nearly $8 million in capital funding in the final budget and the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center lost $2 million. The joint House/Senate conference committee left $100,000 in the budget for the museum, but Deal redirected that money using the line-item veto.

Rep. Richard Smith, R-Columbus, said there were two high-level meetings in which he was told that McKoon’s behavior was an issue and it was going to cost the Columbus region state funding. McKoon has contended that the CSU funding was not necessary for 2016 and will likely be in the 2017 budget.

McKoon has also been the champion of the religious liberty legislation for the past three sessions. Last year, a version of the religious liberty bill passed the General Assembly, but was vetoed by the governor. The AJC.com Political Insider blog reported last week that the elimination of the committee and potential loss of the chairmanship was the result of McKoon’s push for religious liberty legislation.

McKoon took to the floor of the Senate on Monday to make specific comments about some of the Senate rules changes. He objected to the decision to limit the time for senators to take a point of personal privilege and speak on any matter they wish from five to three minutes.

“Restricting that is a step in the wrong direction,” McKoon said.

McKoon, the only Republican to speak, found an ally in Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta.

“This is not about the minority party,” Fort said. “This is about people with differing opinions in their own ranks.”

Sen. Ed Harbison, D-Columbus, voted with the Democrats against the changes, claiming they were designed to be less transparent.

“If you are trying to expedite things, then what they did was a good move,” Harbison said. “But if you want to go to the well of the Senate and espouse your opinion and those of your district, what they did may not be the best thing.”

Harbison, starting his 25th year in the Senate, has seen a lot of rules change.

“The irony is that when I first got up here, you had 10 minutes, and there were times that was not enough,” he said.

Harbison, though he is not in the ruling party, was reappointed chairman of the State Institutions and Property Committee and vice chairman of Veterans, Military and Homeland Security Committee.

The Senate also made a change that impacts the timing of bills making their way through the process in the closing days of the 40-day session. Called “Crossover Day,” the deadline for bills starting in the House to reach the Senate and starting in the Senate and reaching the House was changed to the 28th day of the session. In year’s past it was Day 30.

This story was originally published January 9, 2017 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Sen. Josh McKoon loses chairmanship on first day of session."