Georgia Trend Daily – April 6, 2026
April 6, 2026 Macon Telegraph
Environmental groups challenge pipeline federal review in Middle Georgia
Margaret Walker reports that environmental groups argued that federal regulators understated the risks a major pipeline expansion could pose to Macon and the rest of Middle Georgia while overstating the need for the project in technical comments filed last week. The proposed 291-mile pipeline expansion, known as SSE4, by Southern Natural Gas (SNG), a company co-owned by Southern Company and Kinder Morgan, would run through Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.
April 6, 2026 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Logistics Boom in Georgia
Don Sadler reports, Georgia continues to rank as one of the most business-friendly states in the country, ranking at the top of Area Development magazine’s Best States for Business list in 2025 for the 12th year in a row. A big reason is Georgia’s thriving logistics network. “We continue to see record-setting growth in our logistics infrastructure,” says Sandy Lake, director of logistics at the Georgia Center of Innovation, part of the state’s Department of Economic Development.
April 6, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Stone Mountain Park switches operators, affecting nearly 500 jobs
Zachary Hansen reports, every employee at one of Georgia’s most-visited attractions faces a shift amid a switch in operators. The 497 employees at Stone Mountain Park will have to reapply for their positions as a new company takes over operations at the park by June 1, according to a warning posted Wednesday.
April 6, 2026 Griffin Daily News
Hearing on fourth data center delayed until April 28
Larry Stanford reports, those or and against a proposed fourth data center will have to wait until April 28 to have their concerns heard as the developer withdrew the application in order to comply with last minutes changes. The application will be refiled and is set to be heard at the April public hearing of the Spalding County Planning and Appeals Commission.
April 6, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Failure of Georgia elections bill could lead to quick switch to hand-marked ballots
Mark Niesse reports that Georgia lawmakers set up the possibility of a swift conversion to hand-marked paper ballots this year when they failed to pass a bill early Friday morning that would have gradually replaced the state’s touchscreen voting system. The Senate’s refusal to vote on the bipartisan elections bill leaves Georgia with computer-generated ballots that will soon be illegal, just months before the midterm elections.
April 6, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Kemp to decide fate of bill allowing Georgia property owners to sue over homelessness, immigration
Alander Rocha reports that the Georgia General Assembly, in the final hour of this year’s lawmaking session, gave final passage to a measure allowing property owners to sue local governments for failing to enforce laws related to homelessness and immigration. The measure only applies if a local government has a “policy, pattern, or practice” of failing to follow the state’s ban on immigration sanctuary policies or enforce laws against illegal camping, loitering, panhandling, shoplifting or public drug use.
April 6, 2026 GPB
2026 legislative session ends with concerns of a possible special session
Sarah Kallis reports that the 2026 Georgia legislative session has come to a close. Dozens of bills crossed the finish line on Sine Die, the last day of the session. Several controversial bills failed to meet the deadline.
April 6, 2026 Healthbeat Atlanta
Georgia lawmakers pass health workforce bills, but leave gaps on community health workers
Rebecca Grapevine reports, the Georgia Legislature ended its session late Thursday, passing several bills aimed at shoring up the state’s health workforce and approving a public health budget that calls for little new spending. HIV prevention drugs and birth control will be easier to get, with pharmacists allowed to prescribe them, and the state’s school day cellphone ban will be extended to high schools, among the bills sent to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature.
April 6, 2026 Macon Melody
Assembly adjourns: Medical marijuana, historic tax credit bills go to governor
Casey Choung reports, the session’s last day — known as Sine Die, which is Latin for “without day”— is often marked by a chaotic scramble to get legislation passed before midnight. But some bills, passed by legislators before the frantic 40th day, are already bound for the desk of Gov. Brian Kemp to await his signature.
April 6, 2026 State Affairs
2026 Session: Wins, losses and what’s ahead for Georgia
Beau Evans reports, the nearly 34 years in office, Sen. Ed Harbison, D-Columbus, has seen his fair share of legislative sessions. He’s served under five different governors, watched state Republicans seize power from Democrats and weathered the rounds of financial turmoil.
April 6, 2026 WABE
What happened with the budget, income taxes, elections and more on the final day of Georgia’s legislative session
Rahul Bali and Meimei Xu report, the bills, the amendments and the votes kept coming. And shortly after 1 a.m. Friday, papers were tossed into the air amid shouts of “sine die!” The 2026 Georgia legislative session is over.
April 6, 2026 Georgia Recorder
Election measures capsize on the final day of Georgia’s 2026 legislative session
Maya Homan reports, in an unexpected twist, members of the House and Senate concluded the 2026 legislative session without ending their longstanding stalemate over election policy, as Georgia hurtles toward the deadline for removing QR codes from voters’ ballots without a clear solution in sight. The lack of a solution has some lawmakers calling on Gov. Brian Kemp to convene a special session to give them another shot at passing an elections bill this year.
April 6, 2026 Capitol Beat News
Georgia Republicans push through last-minute income and property tax cuts
Ty Tagami reports that Georgia House and Senate Republicans with competing agendas managed to push through income and property tax cuts as the curtain closed on the 2026 Georgia legislative session after midnight Friday. The Senate did not get its elimination of income taxes. The House did not get its elimination of property taxes.
April 6, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia lawmakers approve income tax cut, property tax relief
David Wickert, Caleb Groves and Riley Bunch report, the General Assembly late Thursday approved a significant income tax cut and a scaled-back proposal for property tax relief. Lawmakers also approved a $38.5 billion spending plan that boosts funding for children’s literacy, retiree pensions and other priorities.
