A known critic of former President Donald Trump thinks that those who are allied to the forty-fifth president will lose their upcoming May primaries, and that the party will move away from the America First movement.
“The quicker we get through the May primaries, the quicker we’re going to move past Donald Trump and close that chapter,” Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) said of the former president.
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Georgia lawmakers passed legislation that will gradually drop the state income tax rate over the next few years, a move that proponents say will make the state more competitive.
The state House voted 167-2, and the state Senate voted 41-13 in favor of an amended House Bill 1437. The bill sets the state’s tax level at 4.99% by 2029, starting with a 5.49% flat tax for the tax year beginning Jan. 1, 2024.
The measure, which received broad bipartisan support in both chambers of the Legislature, now heads to Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, for his signature. Kemp is expected to sign the bill into law.
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Former President Donald Trump is on a mission to rid the party of some of his most fervent opponents at the state and federal levels.
“UPTON QUITS! 4 down and 6 to go. Others losing badly, who’s next?” Trump said in a statement, referring to Representative Fred Upton (R-MI-04).
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Georgia lawmakers have signed off on a measure to give parents more insight into what their children are learning in school.
The state Senate voted 31-22 on Friday in favor of House Bill 1178, which would outline a Parents’ Bill of Rights. Proponents said the measure gives parents recourse if they object to the curriculum taught in public schools.
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Just days before former President Donald Trump is slated to hold a rally in Georgia, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) launched a statewide ad bashing the Trump and the direction of the GOP.
“Inflation at a 40-year high, open borders, national security threats – but some politicians would rather talk about conspiracy theories and past losses, letting liberal extremists take us in the wrong direction, a mistake our country simply can’t afford,” the ad begins.
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After a swift and unanimous passage through both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is expected to sign into law a bill that will temporarily suspend the state’s tax on gasoline.
HB 304 would take effect on May 31. Kemp is reportedly expected to sign the bill, which will alleviate prices at the pump to the tune of 28 cents per gallon. It had not been signed as of Friday afternoon.
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A Georgia Democrat making her second attempt at securing the state’s highest office released her first campaign ad Tuesday, touting her determination to this time win the election.
“I was raised that when you don’t get what you want, you don’t give up,” Stacey Abrams said in the ad. “You try again. You try because it’s how things get better. It’s how the world moves forward. I don’t quit, because Georgians deserve leadership, and that’s what a leader does.”
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp plans to use more than $217 million in federal money to fund grants for hospitals, assisted living communities and personal care homes.
The state will use money from the American Rescue Plan’s (ARP) Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds for grants to bolster COVID-19 response efforts.
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The Georgia House passed its version of an amended fiscal year budget Friday, agreeing to spend $2.7 billion more than the previously passed budget.
Appropriations leaders in the Georgia General Assembly must review and approve spending changes for the remainder of fiscal year 2022 and approve a budget for fiscal 2023, which begins July 1.
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Georgia has awarded more than $5.6 million in grants to law enforcement agencies, state officials announced Friday.
The grants will fund law enforcement training programs. It is part of Gov. Brian Kemp’s larger effort to bolster public safety and reduce crime.
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State agencies would be barred from doing business with any company or contractor unless they vow not to boycott Israel under a bill approved by the Georgia General Assembly.
The House voted, 146-9, to approve the Senate’s changes to House Bill 383. The amended bill was approved by the Senate, 47-2, last March, but it did not make it back to the House for a final vote before the end of the 2021 legislation session.
“Trade with Israel is a compelling state interest for the state of Georgia, I would argue, and this bill preserves free speech rights for individuals and sole proprietorships,” said Rep. John Carson, R-Marietta, who presented the bill Thursday on the House floor. “But it also says we as a state are not going to contract – we’re updating our statute to say we are not going to contract with groups that embrace boycott, divestment and sanctions against the state of Israel.”
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State agencies would be barred from doing business with any company or contractor unless they vow not to boycott Israel under a bill approved by the Georgia General Assembly.
The House voted, 146-9, to approve the Senate’s changes to House Bill 383. The amended bill was approved by the Senate, 47-2, last March, but it did not make it back to the House for a final vote before the end of the 2021 legislation session.
“Trade with Israel is a compelling state interest for the state of Georgia, I would argue, and this bill preserves free speech rights for individuals and sole proprietorships,” said Rep. John Carson, R-Marietta, who presented the bill Thursday on the House floor. “But it also says we as a state are not going to contract – we’re updating our statute to say we are not going to contract with groups that embrace boycott, divestment and sanctions against the state of Israel.”
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Georgia has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration for rejecting the work requirement and premium proposal in Gov. Brian Kemp’s partial Medicaid expansion plan.
The plan, called Georgia Pathways, was approved by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in October 2020 under former President Donald Trump.
President Joe Biden’s CMS sent a letter to Georgia officials in December, rescinding the selected parts of the plan because they counteract with the objectives of the program.
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Georgia is again pushing back against the Biden administration’s COVID-19 mandates.
Georgia and 23 other states are asking the court to block the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Administration for Children and Families from requiring Head Start program staff, certain contractors and volunteers to wear masks and be fully vaccinated by Jan. 31.
Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr announced the court challenge against the Head Start vaccination and mask mandate Tuesday.
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Former Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Republican from Georgia, died Sunday morning at 76.
Isakson’s death was confirmed by Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who called the former senator one of Georgia’s “greatest statesmen.”
“As a businessman and gifted retail politician, Johnny paved the way for the modern Republican Party in Georgia, but he never let partisan politics get in the way of doing what was right,” Kemp said.
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Former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) who is currently challenging Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) in the Peach State’s gubernatorial primary, said in a Thursday interview that he would not have voted to certify the 2020 election results in the state.
“Not with the information that was available at the time and not with the information that has come out now. They had plenty of time to investigate this. And I wouldn’t have signed it until those things had been investigated, and that’s all we were asking for,” told Axios.
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Former Georgia GOP Sen. David Perdue on Monday announced his primary bid against incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
In a video announcement Monday, Perdue said Kemp “has failed all of us and cannot win in November.”
Perdue was recruited to challenge Kemp by former President Donald Trump.
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Stacey Abrams, Georgia’s high-profile 2022 Democrat gubernatorial candidate, told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Thursday night that she never challenged the results of her 2018 gubernatorial bid, which she lost to Gov. Brian Kemp (R).
“On the night on November 16, when I acknowledged I would not become governor, that he had won the election, I did not challenge the outcome of the election unlike some recent folks did,” Abrams said on “The Rachel Maddow Show,” referring to former President Donald J. Trump.
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A jury convicted three Georgia men of felony murder Wednesday for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in a case that led to historic legislative reform in the state.
Travis McMichael, who was seen on viral video wrestling with Arbery over his shotgun before Arbery was killed, was found guilty on nine charges that range from malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony.
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Multinational technology company Cisco will expand its operations in Georgia, creating 700 new jobs, Gov. Brian Kemp and company officials announced Wednesday.
Cisco plans to invest up to $41 million in opening a Talent and Collaboration Center in the Coda Tech Square in Midtown Atlanta. The new positions would add to the more than 1,000 Georgians currently working for Cisco across the state.
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Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia’s business and banking community are pushing back against a federal proposal that would allow the IRS to monitor bank accounts with more than $600.
The plan is part of Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending bill currently being considered in Congress. Kemp and leaders of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Bankers Association said it violates most Georgians’ privacy.
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Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia’s business and banking community are pushing back against a federal proposal that would allow the IRS to monitor bank accounts with more than $600.
The plan is part of Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending bill currently being considered in Congress. Kemp and leaders of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Bankers Association said it violates most Georgians’ privacy.
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The Georgia Secretary of State’s office has opened an investigation into the handling of drop box ballots last November in one of the state’s Democratic strongholds following a media report that there were problems with chain of custody documentation in DeKalb County.
The probe, confirmed in a statement to Just the News, comes at a tumultuous time for DeKalb County, whose elections director was placed on an extended leave of absence two weeks ago. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office said the probe is ongoing and the county is cooperating.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is leading the charge among Republican officials to litigate against President Joe Biden’s order that all employers with 100 or more staffers ensure that their workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or that they show a negative test weekly.
“Just ended a call with my fellow Republican governors,” Kemp tweeted Friday. “We are fighting back against @POTUS’ outrageous overreach and attack on individual freedom.”
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Parents in Georgia’s largest school district are suing the superintendent and school system over its mask mandate, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Four parents are seeking an injunction against the mask mandate at Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS), which serves around 180,000 students, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported. The requirement was implemented at the end of July when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended indoor masking for schools amid the rise of the delta variant.
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Georgia officials have announced that economic development projects throughout the state during fiscal year 2021 have delivered record-setting jobs and investments. This, according to a press release that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and officials with the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) published this week.
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Hundreds of Georgia residents and potential Republican voters on Saturday attended a Floyd County GOP event, which featured top candidates running for office in 2022.
In the Coosa Valley Fairgrounds event, speakers ranged from Governor Brian Kemp, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, and state Senator Burt Jones (R-Jackson) — a candidate for lieutenant governor.
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Georgia is still deciding how to divide more than $8.1 billion from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in March.
Applications for more than $4.8 billion in funding opens up Sunday. State government entities, local governments, businesses and nonprofits have 30 days to apply for the aid.
The aid will be issued in two installments and cover expenses from March to the end of 2026, but the state has until December 31, 2024, to allocate all of the funds.
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There will not be any new shutdowns or mask mandates in Georgia, as concerns over the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases grows.
“Georgia will not lock down or impose statewide mask mandates,” Gov. Brian Kemp said Wednesday on Twitter. “As the first state in the country to reopen over a year ago, we’ve proven that Georgians know how to come together and protect themselves and their loved ones.”
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The city of Savannah has reinstated its indoor mask mandate, effective immediately.
“Many people have just let their guard down,” Mayor Van Johnson said, explaining the decision. “They’ve stopped masking, they’ve stopped social distancing regardless of vaccination status. None of us want to take a backward step in our return to normalcy, but wearing a mask is the simple, easy, most inexpensive thing we can do to protect ourselves and those around us.”
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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Tuesday appointed Judge Verda Colvin to fill a vacancy and serve on the state’s Supreme Court, after the resignation of Justice Harold D. Melton.
“It is an honor to appoint such an experienced and accomplished justice to our state’s Supreme Court. With Justice Colvin on the bench, Georgia’s highest court is gaining an immensely talented and principled judge who will help guide it in the years to come,” Kemp said of his decision to select Colvin.
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Georgia’s unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia Department of Labor officials said this week.
The state’s unemployment rate in June was 4%; three times lower than what it was at the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020. Georgia’s unemployment rate was 3.1% in February 2020.
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Former President Donald Trump praised State Senator Burt Jones (R-Jackson) for his efforts in examining the results of the 2020 election, while knocking Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for their lack of action.
“Thank you to Senator Burt Jones and all of the other Patriots for continuing the fight. Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger have done an absolutely terrible job of watching over Voter Integrity in Georgia. They must be held accountable!” Trump said in a statement.
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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp officially launched his re-election campaign on Saturday at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry. At his event, Kemp railed against the “cancel culture” of rival Democrats and urged Republicans to remain involved at the highest levels. “We need everyone engaged, because we know the Democrats…
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For several months, I have demanded that Governor Brian Kemp carry out a full forensic audit of Georgia’s ballots from the election last year. Growing evidence indicates that either fraud or gross negligence occurred that potentially swayed the result of the presidential election. But for one reason or another, Governor Kemp refuses to act. It’s long overdue for him to perform the job that he was elected to do. We simply can’t wait any longer.
On June 17, I held a press conference at the State Capitol in Atlanta exposing irregularities that occurred when ballots were tabulated in the presidential election. As the investigative news outlet Just The News reported, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger received a report in November that his office commissioned with a private contractor. The report exposed the disaster of the election in Fulton County.
Just The News reported that the contractor “recorded troubling behavior like the mysterious removal of a suitcase of sensitive election data known as polls pads, used to authenticate voters.” This contractor “also observed that sensitive election materials were left on a dock at a warehouse without supervision.” The full report documents troubling and revealing events that occurred throughout the entire process of Fulton County officials tabulating votes. It’s a disaster that should never happen again and should have never happened in the first place.
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Documents that Georgia’s largest county submitted to state officials as part of a post-election audit highlight significant irregularities in the Atlanta area during last November’s voting, ranging from identical vote tallies repeated multiple times to large batches of absentee ballots that appear to be missing from the official ballot-scanning records.
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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced that he will take action to prevent public schools across the state from implementing mask mandates for students.
Kemp announced on Wednesday that he will sign an executive order to prevent the mandates. However, though not required, Kemp highlighted that students will be allowed to wear a mask if they choose to do so.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday signed legislation that will allow athletes at higher educational institutions to get paid for the utilization of their “name, image, or likeness.”
The bill, which is slated to go into effect on July 1, 2021, states that “participation in intercollegiate athletics should not infringe upon the rights of student athletes to have control over and profit from the commercial use of their name, image, or likeness.”
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday signed legislation that will allow athletes at higher educational institutions to get paid for the utilization of their “name, image, or likeness.”
The bill, which is slated to go into effect on July 1, 2021, states that “participation in intercollegiate athletics should not infringe upon the rights of student athletes to have control over and profit from the commercial use of their name, image, or likeness.”
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Gov. Brian Kemp signed a trio of bills Thursday to expand education options in Georgia.
Senate Bill 47 expands the state’s Special Needs Scholarship program to students with 504 Plans. The program offers scholarships for students with individualized education plans to attend a private school or a public school of their choice.
“COVID-19 has certainly highlighted the challenges that families face and finding the right education for their child, especially those with special needs,” Kemp said Thursday during a bill signing ceremony at the state Capitol. “This bill will give more parents greater options to ensure their child has every opportunity to achieve their dreams.”
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State workers will have three weeks of paid parental leave under a bill signed into law Wednesday by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
Under House Bill 146, state government or local school board employees who worked at least 700 hours over the six months preceding the requested paid leave date can qualify for the paid time off after the birth of a child, adoption of a child or taking in of a foster child. Paid parental leave would be granted only once a calendar year.
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The Conservative Clergy of Color — a group of black pastors, priests and ministers — is running a full-page ad in the Atlanta Constitution Journal newspaper saying it’s “correcting the lies” President Biden and Georgia Democratic politician Stacey Abrams have told about the state’s new voting law.
“There’s nothing ‘racist’ about the Election Integrity Act, and it’s certainly not ‘Jim Crow 2.0.’ Your lies are now devastating minority small businesses in Atlanta following the MLB’s decision to move its All-Star Game to Denver, resulting in the loss of $100 million in business,” reads the ad. “Enough is enough.”
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) announced on Wednesday that Georgia is lifting all COVID-19 restrictions.
“We know hard-working Georgians cannot endure another year like that last. That is why beginning tomorrow we are loosening the remaining restrictions on our economy here in Georgia,” Kemp said in a video statement Wednesday.
Starting from Thursday, Georgia businesses will no longer be required to enforce social distancing, the ban on gatherings will be eliminated and the ability for authorities to shut down businesses that violate restrictions will be taken away, according to The Hill.
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They’re lying about the new voting legislation in Georgia. The only question is whether they will get away with it.
For now, the center is holding. Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, is proud of the work the legislature did to address corruption complaints from both sides. He is willing to tolerate the loss of the MLB All-Star Game and baseball’s amateur draft and has pushed back on remarks by the chairman of Coca-Cola and of Merck and others.
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They’re lying about the new voting legislation in Georgia. The only question is whether they will get away with it.
For now, the center is holding. Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, is proud of the work the legislature did to address corruption complaints from both sides. He is willing to tolerate the loss of the MLB All-Star Game and baseball’s amateur draft and has pushed back on remarks by the chairman of Coca-Cola and of Merck and others.
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According to several reports, Georgia’s Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) is not expected to run for reelection, and is instead expected to focus his efforts on moving the Republican Party away from former President Donald J. Trump.
“Duncan has signaled for months that he would not seek reelection after he’s repeatedly criticized former President Donald Trump, but he’s declined to say publicly whether he will stand for another term,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said Thursday. “Duncan’s chief of staff, John Porter, said the lieutenant governor was not planning a 2022 bid, though he added the decision hasn’t been finalized.”
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The Cobb County Travel and Tourism Bureau said that it estimates it will miss out on $100 million in revenue, after Major League Baseball (MLB) was brow-beaten by political activists into moving its 2021 All-Star game from Atlanta.
“This event would have directly impacted our county and the state, as visitors spend their dollars on local accommodations, transportation, entertainment and recreation, food and retail throughout the county,” the bureau said. “This would have been a big boost to Cobb businesses and help with recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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A bill to increase state funding for Georgia charter schools was passed by the General Assembly and awaits approval by Gov. Brian Kemp.
Senate Bill 59 increases charter school allocations by about $100 per student. It also secures an equal portion of federal funding for local charter schools and gives teachers and staff more access to the State Health Plan.
The General Assembly approved the bill with limited debate in both chambers this week before its legislative session ended. The House gave SB 59 its final approval, 113-51, on Wednesday after it cleared the Senate, 40-11, on Tuesday.
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A Georgia House Democrat was arrested Thursday night after repeatedly banging on Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s office door.
Rep. Park Cannon (D-GA-58) was banging on the door in protest of an election integrity bill signed into law Thursday. Democrats contend that the bill constitutes “voter suppression.”
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Over just a few hours Thursday, Georgia’s Legislature and Gov. Brian Kemp drew the first battle line in the high-stakes struggle to decide how American voters will cast ballots in the future after the pandemic-ridden election of 2020.
The Republican-controlled state put itself firmly in the camp of voter ID requirements, limited drop boxes and expanded weekend voting. And depending on the eye of the beholder, it was either a win for election integrity or a return to the era of Jim Crow voter suppression.
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