Georgia Trend Daily – May 9, 2025
May 9, 2025 Georgia.gov
Gov. Kemp Signs Legislation Delivering Hurricane Helene Relief and Supporting Georgia Agriculture and Forestry
Staff reports that Gov. Kemp joined by First Lady Marty Kemp, Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, Georgia Forestry Commission Director Johnny Sabo, constitutional officers, and members of the Georgia General Assembly, signed three pieces of legislation that provides support for Georgia’s agriculture and forestry industry and delivers promised relief to farmers and timber producers impacted by Hurricane Helene.
May 9, 2025 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Economic Development Around the State: Hyundai Motor Group Grand Opening & CNN Center Downtown News
Christy Simo reports, after years of planning and construction, the massive $12.6 billion dollar Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant celebrated its official grand opening in March. In advance of the celebration, Hyundai announced it is also increasing production from 300,000 to 500,000 units a year on the Bryan County site, bringing an additional 14,000 new jobs by 2028.
May 9, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta’s recovering office market braces for potential tariff impact
Zachary Hansen reports that office markets in Atlanta and across the country are in a precarious position, slowly recovering from the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago. But just as brokers, analysts and corporate landlords begin to see leasing activity rebound, the fast-developing trade war threatens to overturn the market once again.
May 9, 2025 Macon Telegraph
Georgia Power builds four new battery storage facilities. One’s in Bibb County.
Margaret Walker reports, construction is underway at four new battery energy storage system sites located across Georgia, including one in Bibb County, totaling 765 megawatts of power, Georgia Power announced Wednesday in a news release. The 128 megawatt BESS site in Bibb County follows the state’s first ever BESS site near Columbus, which entered service in 2024.
May 9, 2025 Rough Draft Atlanta
Kumho Tire relocates North American headquarters to Brookhaven
Logan C. Ritchie reports, one of the world’s leading tire manufacturers has relocated its North American headquarters to Brookhaven, opening a 14,000 square-foot space at Perimeter Summit that is 16.7 percent larger than its previous office. KUMHO Tire U.S.A.’s new location will be home to 50 employees, centralizing the company’s regional operations and supporting its continued growth in the Southeast. KUMHO headquarters has been in Atlanta since 2016.
May 9, 2025 Capitol Beat News
Institutional investors who own large swaths of rental homes becoming political target
Ty Tagami reports that institutional investors who vacuumed up single family homes when prices cratered after the Great Recession are drawing more political heat as renters complain about the impact. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia announced Wednesday that he is launching inquiries with several of the top companies in the sector, following a congressional hearing last year when tenants complained about roach infestations, water-damaged ceilings, and sewage leaking into showers.
May 9, 2025 Savannah Morning News
Marjorie Taylor Greene introduces bill to rename ‘Gulf of America.’ It passes House
Ryne Dennis and Sudiksha Kochi report, the House of Representatives Thursday passed a bill introduced by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene that codifies President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. The bill passed 211-206 along party lines, and it requires the head of each federal agency has 180 days to update their documents and maps, and that the Secretary of Interior will oversee the renaming.
May 9, 2025 Capitol Beat News
State shifts control over charter school approvals
Ty Tagami reports that educators who want to open a charter school will have an expedited process under new rules adopted by the state school board Thursday. The board overhauled its rule that controls the charter school petition process, shifting much of the authority from the Georgia Department of Education to the State Charter Schools Commission.
May 9, 2025 State Affairs
No Kemp, no calm: 2026 field grows as lawmakers eye top spots
Beau Evans reports, without Kemp’s name atop the ballot, high-profile Republicans are testing the waters ahead of May 2026 primaries. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter launched his bid for Senate this week, while U.S. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mike Collins and Rich McCormick have also shown interest.
May 9, 2025 Georgia Recorder
Georgia GOP U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter enters 2026 Senate race after Kemp bows out
Stanley Dunlap reports that Georgia Republican Congressman Buddy Carter announced Thursday that he’ll run for Senate in 2026, entering into what’s sure to be a crowded field of Republican candidates looking to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Carter, who’s serving his sixth term as congressman representing a coastal Georgia district, launched his campaign with an ad declaring himself an ardent backer of the MAGA agenda to “put America first.”
May 9, 2025 Capitol Beat News
Kemp Signs Bill Denying State Funding for Gender-Affirming Care for Prison Inmates
Dave Williams reports that Gov. Brian Kemp signed controversial legislation Thursday denying the use of state funds for sex reassignment surgery, hormone replacement surgeries and other gender-affirming care sought by Georgia prison inmates. Georgia House Democrats walked out of the chamber in protest when the Republican-controlled General Assembly gave final passage to Senate Bill 185 early last month on the next-to-last day of this year’s legislative session.
May 9, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Donald Trump backs Josh McKoon’s reelection as Georgia GOP chair
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report, the Democratic Party of Georgia faced months of internal fissures that led to the ouster of its chair and the installation of a new leader last week. Georgia GOP chair Josh McKoon, by contrast, is consolidating support from the disparate corners of his party.
