Georgia Trend Daily – March 9, 2026
March 9, 2026 GPB
February jobs report shows 92K fewer jobs — and Georgia isn’t spared
Grant Blankenship reports, the February jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor just released, and the news isn’t great. The report says the nation lost about 92,000 jobs in January. A key economic indicator in Georgia shows the state has seen its share of lost jobs, too.
Photo credit: Michal Jeník
March 9, 2026 Georgia Trend Exclusive!
Ups, Downs and In-betweens
Kenna Simmons reports, Georgia’s U.S. House delegation will have at least four new faces this year. U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-11) is the latest incumbent to announce he won’t seek reelection this fall. He joins Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned from her Northwest Georgia (District 14) seat in January, and Reps. Mike Collins (R-10) and Buddy Carter (R-1), who are running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Jon Ossoff.
March 9, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SK Battery lays off nearly 1,000 employees at North Georgia plant
Mirtha Donastorg reports that SK Battery America, a Korean electric vehicle battery manufacturer with major operations in Georgia, has laid off 958 employees, or more than a third of its workforce, at a plant in the northern part of the state. The company notified state officials Friday of the layoffs at its Commerce plant, which sits about 70 miles northeast of Atlanta, through a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification.
March 9, 2026 The Brunswick News
State manufacturing jobs remain steady
Gordon Jackson reports that the nation has lost nearly 300,000 manufacturing jobs the past two years, but not in Georgia. Georgia has held its own, with year-over-year job growth of 2% in this sector, and 2,600 jobs added, said Rajeev Dhawan, with the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business.
March 9, 2026 Savannah Morning News
Drought leaves grasslands dry; Georgia farmers face tough choices
Jillian Magtoto reports that Georgia’s four million acres of grasslands are just waking up from winter slumber, turning from a brittle yellow to a springy bright green. They make up nearly half of all of Georgia’s farmland, and provide hay and forage for the state’s one million or so heads of cattle.
March 9, 2026 WSB Radio
Georgia Tech receives $88 million in state funding for new aerospace engineering building
Staff reports that Georgia Tech has received $88 million in state funding to design and build a new aerospace engineering building. Chair of Aerospace Engineering Mitchell Walker said the investment is a major opportunity and positions Georgia to be the country’s aerospace hub.
March 9, 2026 Macon Telegraph
America’s most important documents are on tour and GA is one of few stops for 2026. Here’s when
Sundi Rose reports, for the first time in decades, some of the most consequential documents in American history are leaving Washington, D.C. and heading to Georgia, and we’re one of only eight stops on the national tour. The National Archives’ “Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation” arrives at the Atlanta History Center on March 27 and runs through April 12.
March 9, 2026 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Who’s running for Georgia Public Service Commission? 9 candidates break record
Kala Hunter reports, the race for two Georgia Public Service Commission seats in the 2026 election has officially begun. Friday was the last day to qualify for District 3 and District 5 among the five commission seats.
March 9, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Georgia lawmakers move to wind down perks for data centers but otherwise leave oversight unchanged
Alander Rocha reports, in a year when Georgians were clamoring for state officials to rein in the unchecked growth of data centers, the Georgia Senate chose to pass a measure that critics say largely maintains the status quo. Senate Bill 410, sponsored by Newnan Republican Sen. Matt Brass, passed Friday with a 32-21 vote.
March 9, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Senators vote to expand Georgia’s ‘stand your ground’ laws
Mark Niesse reports, the Georgia Senate approved a bill Friday that broadens “stand your ground” self-defense protections, a proposal that critics said would help protect defendants such as those who murdered Ahmaud Arbery. The 30-23 vote fell along party lines, with Republicans supporting the rights of Georgians to use force when needed during confrontations.
March 9, 2026 State Affairs
Republican no-shows kill easier access to gun silencers
Beau Evans reports that legislation allowing gun owners to more easily equip firearms with silencers failed in the House on Crossover Day after several Republican lawmakers declined to cast votes. The measure by Rep. Jason Ridley, R-Chatsworth, proposed removing muzzle suppressors from a list of highly regulated weaponry under state law that includes machine guns and sawed-off shotguns.
March 9, 2026 Georgia Recorder
House lawmakers overwhelmingly reject proposal to legalize sports betting in Georgia
Ross Williams reports, if you want to put your money down on your favorite sports team, you’re going to have to break state law. Sports betting is illegal in Georgia, and it’s likely to stay that way after a bill to legalize the practice went down in flames Friday in the state House, falling short ahead of a key legislative deadline.
March 9, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Hand-marked paper ballot bill fails ahead of deadline for changing Georgia’s elections
Mark Niesse reports that Georgia senators shot down a bill Friday that would have switched the state’s voting method to paper ballots filled out by hand before this November’s elections. The bill’s defeat sets up a scramble for Georgia lawmakers to find a way to remove computer QR codes from ballots this year, as required by a state law passed two years ago.
March 9, 2026 WABE
What Georgia bills passed — and didn’t — on Crossover Day
Patrick Saunders reports that Friday’s Crossover Day deadline stretched into the early morning hours of Saturday as Georgia lawmakers rushed to clear a major hurdle for bills to potentially become law. Typically, legislation must pass either the House or Senate by Crossover Day to have a chance at becoming law.
March 9, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Proposal to rein in future local property tax increases clears the House
Jill Nolin and Ross Williams report, House lawmakers passed a scaled-back version of a property tax relief plan Friday after a more sweeping overhaul failed earlier in the week. House Bill 1116, sponsored by Bonaire Republican state Rep. Shaw Blackmon, passed with a 98-68 vote as the clock wound down on a key legislative deadline day.
March 9, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Georgia House Republicans send pared back property tax cut to Senate
Ty Tagami reports that Georgia House Republicans pushed through a new proposal to address fast-rising property tax bills just ahead of the Friday deadline to move legislation between the House and Senate. House Bill 1116 has been evolving constantly, having started the year as a vehicle to eliminate property taxes.
March 9, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Haunted by Greene’s rise, Georgia Republicans intervene early in House races
Greg Bluestein reports that when Marjorie Taylor Greene was elected in 2020, she vowed to be a “nightmare” for Democrats. She ended up becoming a headache for Republicans, too.
