Georgia Trend Daily – Feb. 13, 2024
Feb. 13, 2024 Georgia.gov
January Tax Revenues Up 2.1%; Adjusted YTD Down 2.7%
Staff reports that the State of Georgia’s net tax collections in the month of January totaled $3.05 billion, for an increase of $62.7 million, or 2.1 percent, compared to January 2023 when net tax collections approached $2.99 billion for the month. Year-to-date, net tax revenue totaled $19.12 billion, for an increase of $315.7 million, or 1.7 percent, over the same period in FY 2023, an increase that was driven principally by the collection of the state’s motor fuel excise tax that was suspended during the first seven months of last year.
Feb. 13, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
A True Mental Health Advocate
Ben Young writes, many first ladies played prominent roles in their husbands’ presidencies, but few did their own thing quite like Georgia’s own Rosalynn Carter. Her independent approach influenced and empowered a generation of women, inspiring them to fight for equality.
Feb. 13, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s Qcells announces solar panel recycling partnership
Drew Kann reports that North Georgia solar manufacturing giant Qcells announced a new partnership Monday to recycle the panels it produces and return most of the used materials to the supply chain. Qcells said it will work with SOLARCYLE — a solar recycling firm with facilities in Odessa, Texas, and Mesa, Arizona, — to keep damaged or decommissioned panels out of landfills.
Feb. 13, 2024 Georgia Recorder
Opponents of mine near Okefenokee consider options to stop it after state EPD issued draft permits
Chaya Tong reports that visitors to the state capitol late last week may have spied two alligators at the base of the South Steps. The gators, named Creature and Charlie, had come a long way from Waycross, Georgia to join Okefenokee Swamp fans to celebrate Okefenokee Swamp Day and announce a new economic impact study for making the Swamp an UNESCO World Heritage site designation.
Feb. 13, 2024 Macon Telegraph
Georgians can now weigh in on Twin Pines’ mining efforts & Okefenokee. Here’s how
Kala Hunter reports that the years-long saga between Twin Pines LLC and Okefenokee environmental activists has reached another crucial milestone. It’s time for public weigh-in. All Georgians are able to leave comments either through this email (twinpines.comment@dnr.ga.gov) or verbally on a Zoom call on March 5.
Feb. 13, 2024 The Current
Rooftop program aims to change demographics of solar
Mary Landers reports, David Morgan lives with his wife and three kids in a modest Garden City home he describes as a fixer upper. The one-story, 1,700 square foot home sits between the new Groves school complex and the railroad tracks off Highway 21. It’s not where you might expect to find solar panels on the roof.
Feb. 13, 2024 Marietta Daily Journal
Riders Have Fled Cobb’s Buses. Will a Transit Tax Bring Them Back?
Hunter Riggall reports, when Lisa Cupid led Cobb County to move forward on a proposed 30-year sales tax to fund transit, the Democratic county commission chairwoman called it “a moment of transformation,” on par with the Atlanta Braves moving to Cumberland, or the construction of sewer lines which enabled the development of east and west Cobb. When Commissioner Keli Gambrill weighed in, however, her first critique of the proposal concerned Cobb’s existing transit system.
Feb. 13, 2024 Dalton Daily Citizen
Payne backs ‘portraits in patriotism’ bill
James Swift reports that District 54 state Sen. Chuck Payne, R-Dalton, is among five sponsors of a bill that would require the Georgia Board of Education to “develop a comprehensive civics education program” for K-12 students. Senate Bill 459, initially introduced during the Georgia General Assembly session on Feb. 6, is alternately known as the Civics Education and Portraits in Patriotism Act.
Feb. 13, 2024 GPB
‘Lawmakers’: Debates over border security and vaccines dominate Day 19
Sarah Kallis and Tristan Smith report that lawmakers debated border security and COVID vaccines today under the Gold Dome. First, senators discussed a Republican-penned resolution allowing Gov. Brian Kemp to allocate resources to help the state of Texas secure the border.
Feb. 13, 2024 Savannah Morning News
Georgia Senate resolution urges immigration reforms, funds for U.S.-Mexico border wall
Maya Homan reports that citing a “national crisis” at the U.S.-Mexico border, Georgia Senate Republicans took an unequivocal stance on immigration reform: build the wall. Senate Resolution 543, which passed in a 31-15 vote, explicitly ties federal immigration policies to a rise in fentanyl smuggling, despite federal data indicating that nearly 90% of people arrested on fentanyl trafficking charges are U.S. citizens.
Feb. 13, 2024 Capitol Beat News
Gasoline taxes propping up otherwise sluggish state tax revenues
Dave Williams reports that Georgia tax collections rose last month compared to January of last year, the state Department of Revenue reported Monday. But that 2.1% increase only occurred because the state sales tax on gasoline was in effect last month but was not being collected during the same month a year ago.
Feb. 13, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Senate committee again passes bill to boost tenant protections
Maya T. Prabhu reports that the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved House Bill 404, which would for the first time require Georgia landlords to provide rentals that are “fit for human habitation.” Georgia is one of only three states lacking such a standard, and housing advocates rallied behind the measure, calling it a meaningful step toward making housing safe and decent for families.
