Georgia Today: Georgia reacts to SCOTUS ruling; Burn ban still in place; New dental college

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, Georgia reacts to today's landmark Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act. Fire officials near Georgia's coast respond to dozens of illegal burn piles, and there are new tools to make sure parity laws are being followed. 

Whitney Griggs: What they don't show you is the experience of the consumer trying to get that mental health care. Until we have that information, we'll never really know how consumers are faring with the mental health parity law. 

Peter Biello: Today is Wednesday, April 29. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today. 

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Peter Biello: Georgia's reaction to today's landmark Supreme Court ruling striking a blow to the Voting Rights Act has been swift and divided along party lines. Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock is blasting the decision, calling it a profound step backward for American democracy. 

Raphael Warnock: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is the crown jewel of the civil rights movement. Without it, I quite literally would not be standing here today in front of you as a voice in the United States Senate for the people of Georgia. 

Peter Biello: The left-leaning group Fair Fight Action, based in Atlanta, says Democrats could lose two seats in the U.S. House, 17 seats in Georgia House, and eight seats in The Georgia Senate if state lawmakers would redraw the state's political maps based on the decision. Gov. Brian Kemp would have to call a special session to redistrict before the November midterms. Primary elections are already underway. David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation and Research says redistricting now would create chaos. 

David Becker: It's going to be very, very difficult for the Legislature, who is out of session in Georgia, to be called back for redistricting. I don't know if Gov. Kemp has any intention of doing that whatsoever. 

Peter Biello: At least two GOP candidates seeking Kemp's office, frontrunners Rick Jackson and Burt Jones, praised the decision and called on state lawmakers to redraw the maps. 

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Peter Biello: Fire officials in Savannah's Chatham County say they've responded to more than 40 illegal burn piles since the Georgia Forestry Commission issued a burn ban last week. That's despite two massive South Georgia wildfires that have sent smoke into the area and warnings from authorities about the danger of outdoor burning in drought conditions. Robert Catanese speaks for the Chatham County Fire Department. 

Robert Catanese: When we've gotten on scene, they've basically said, "We didn't know that there was a burn ban." So that now is not an excuse. 

Peter Biello: The first of its kind ban includes 91 South Georgia counties, including Chatham. The county police chief says citations for illegal burning carry fines of up to $500 and up to 30 days in jail. 

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Peter Biello: Parity laws require health insurers to cover medically necessary physical and mental health care equally. GPB's Sofi Gratas has more on new tools that can help consumers navigate how well their own insurers are doing. 

Sofi Gratas: Insurers are required by state and federal law to report how well they're enforcing parity. But in Georgia, many are falling short on vital metrics, including that reporting. Whitney Griggs with Georgians for a Healthy Future says that's partially what's behind the "F" grades they're assigning to some insurers in their new public parity dashboard. 

Whitney Griggs: What they don't show you is the experience of the consumer trying to get that mental health care. Until we have that information, we'll never really know how consumers are faring with the mental health parity law. 

Sofi Gratas: The dashboard covers Medicaid and commercial marketplace plans. Over a dozen Georgia insurers were fined millions this year by the state for parity violations. A bill that would have increased fines for such violations did not pass the Legislature. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas. 

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Peter Biello: The late congressman David Scott will lie in state at the Georgia state Capitol on Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 in the evening. A tribute service is planned for 11 a.m. at the Capitol. Scott died in Washington, D.C., last week at the age of 80. Per his final wishes, Congressman Scott will be laid to rest in his home city of Atlanta. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the David A. Scott Legacy Foundation, which was established to provide financial support to graduating seniors within Georgia's 13th Congressional District attending a historically Black college or university. 

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Peter Biello: Candidates hoping to become Georgia's top elections officer brought their campaigns to a debate stage yesterday. GPB's Grant Blankenship reports on the Republican and Democratic primary debates for secretary of state. 

Grant Blankenship: There was bipartisan agreement that Georgia voting machines need to be altered to restore faith in elections, six years after the 2020 presidential election. For Republicans Vernon Jones, Kelvin King, and Ted Metz. 

Republicans: That's why I want to come back to paper ballots. Every voter must be able to verify their ballot on paper. How to hand count and certify elections using paper ballots. 

Grant Blankenship: That meant hand-marked paper ballots. Gabriel Sterling instead pointed out the conservative Heritage Foundation already claims Georgia elections are among the best-run in the country. Democrats burned much of their clock on the details of what, besides removing touchscreens, could restore voter faith. Democrat Cam Ashling also had one new idea, making election day a state holiday. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship. 

Peter Biello: The debate was presented by the Atlanta Press Club and GPB. Find all 18 debates for the primary elections at gpb.org/news. 

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Peter Biello: Construction officially has begun on a $178 million project aimed at addressing a shortage of dental providers in Georgia. Augusta University and state officials today celebrated the groundbreaking for the Dental College of Georgia in Savannah. It's expected to open in 2028 and train 50 dentists a year. 

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Peter Biello: In sports and baseball, two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers takes on the Atlanta Braves at home tonight at Truist Park. This follows the Braves' win over the Tigers last night for their 11th win in the last 13 games. Ozzy Albies had a two-run homer and Ronald Acuña Jr. Was 2-for-3 with two doubles, an RBI, and a run scored. Mike Yastrzemski was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.  On the mound for the Braves tonight will be JR Ritchie, who will be making his home debut. He won on the road last week against the Washington Nationals. 

Peter Biello: And that is a wrap on Georgia Today. Thank you so much for tuning in. Make sure you come on back tomorrow. We'll have more of the latest news. And remember to subscribe to this podcast so we pop up automatically in your feed. You can check gpb.org/news for the latest updates. If you've got feedback or a story idea we'd love to hear from you, and the best way for you to reach us is email. Send the note to georgiatoday@gpb.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We will see you tomorrow.

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For more on these stories and more, go to gpb.org/news