Georgia Trend Daily – March 9, 2021
March 9, 2021 GlobalAtlanta.com
Gwinnett Nets BMW, Mercedes-Benz Supplier Set to Create 73 Jobs
Trevor Williams reports that a family-owned German automotive supplier is to set up its sixth U.S. factory in Lawrenceville, investing $15 million and creating 73 jobs. KIRCHHOFF Automotive, which makes structural auto body components like front ends, chassis and cross beams for Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other customers, will set up a 101,000-square-foot facility to serve customers in the region.
March 9, 2021 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Economic development activity on the rise in Macon
Mary Ann DeMuth reports, according to a recent report by the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority (MBCIA), economic development activity is definitely on the upswing in the Middle Georgia community. The MBIA report revealed 28 open projects with a potential investment of more than $600 million and the addition of at least 4,800 jobs.
March 9, 2021 Atlanta Business Chronicle
ServiceMaster will move new HQ to Sandy Springs, could bring several hundred jobs to city
Douglas Sams reports that ServiceMaster Brands, an under-the-radar company relocating here from Memphis, will add its new headquarters to the Perimeter skyline. ServiceMaster, which focuses on building maintenance services, quietly signed a lease several weeks ago in 1 Glenlake Parkway, a 14-story tower within the Glenlake development in Sandy Springs.
March 9, 2021 The Current, GPB
16 years later, Georgia lawmakers flip views on absentee voting
Stephen Fowler and David Armstrong report that a partisan divide over voting rights is nothing new for Georgia lawmakers: For years, Republicans have pushed changes they say would eliminate voter fraud while Democrats argue those measures amount to voter suppression that would disenfranchise minority voters. That’s still true in 2021, as a raft of election bills work their way through the legislature that would drastically alter the state’s voting landscape.
March 9, 2021 The Center Square
Citizen’s arrest reform passes Georgia House, heads to Senate
Nyamekye Daniel reports that the Georgia House unanimously approved a bill Monday that would reform the state’s citizen’s arrest law, marking a historic move fueled by the death of Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed by two residents in Brunswick last year. Georgia law allows a civilian to arrest someone if he or she witnesses a crime or has “immediate knowledge” someone has committed one.
March 9, 2021 WABE 90.1
Georgia House Passes Bill Allowing For Limited Hospital Visits During Pandemic
Emil Moffatt reports that a measure that would allow for limited next-of-kin access at hospitals and long-term care facilities, even during a public health emergency, has passed the Georgia House. The measure’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Ed Setzler, says the bill restricts the visitation to one hour per day with health guidelines set up by the facility.
March 9, 2021 Capitol Beat News
Georgia House OKs gift cards for coin-operated amusement machines
Dave Williams reports that owners of convenience stores and restaurants featuring coin-operated amusement machines (COAMs) would be able to sell gift cards to players under legislation the Georgia House of Representatives passed Monday. The use of gift cards would go a long way toward cleaning up the industry by discouraging the illegal cash payouts that have long plagued COAMs, said Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, chairman of the House Regulated Industries Committee and House Bill 544’s chief sponsor.
March 9, 2021 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Senate rejects big pay raise for the General Assembly, state officials
James Salzer reports that the Georgia Senate voted down a 70% raise for lawmakers and a big hike for statewide elected officials contained in legislation that would have supplied the first big salary increase for the General Assembly in a few decades. The raises in Senate Bill 252, sponsored by Sen. Valencia Seay, D-Riverdale, came out of a 2017 compensation study that said lawmakers and many statewide elected officials were underpaid.
