Georgia Trend Daily – March 12, 2024
March 12, 2024 Georgia.gov
February Net Tax Revenues Fall 4.3%; Adjusted YTD Down 3.1%
Staff reports that the State of Georgia’s net tax collections in February totaled more than $2.03 billion, for a decrease of $92.3 million or 4.3 percent compared to FY 2023, when net tax collections totaled $2.12 billion for the month. Year-to-date, net tax revenue totaled roughly $21.15 billion, for an increase of $223.4 million or 1.1 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, which was suspended during much of the first eight months of last year.
March 12, 2024 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Ups, Downs and In-betweens
Susan Percy reports that the final day of this year’s legislative session is set for Thursday, March 28. That means, among other things, a lot of activity for Georgia lawmakers between now and then as they scramble to pass bills. Crossover day was Feb. 29, the last day for measures to pass out of either the House or Senate and move forward this session.
March 12, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Porsche unveils record-setting models of its all-electric sport sedan
Drew Kann reports that German automaker Porsche unveiled two new high-performance versions of its popular Taycan all-electric sports sedan Monday at its North American headquarters in Atlanta, and the company says the EVs have already clocked record-breaking times on the track. The two new variants — the Taycan Turbo GT and another model equipped with Porsche’s track-focused Weissach package — each can produce more than 1,000 horsepower, making them the most powerful production Porsches of all-time.
March 12, 2024 Rome News-Tribune
Floyd County gets $3.8 million for airport runway extension in federal budget
Staff reports that U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced she has secured just over $3.8 million in federal funding for the runway extension at Richard B. Russell Regional Airport in Floyd County. The Rome Republican also netted earmarks for smaller projects in Gordon, Dade, Whitfield, Paulding and Cobb counties in the Fiscal Year 24 budget signed into law Saturday by President Joe Biden.
March 12, 2024 Albany Herald
Appropriation Bill includes $15.7 million for southwest Georgia
Staff reports that Congressman Sanford D. Bishop Jr., D-Ga., the ranking member of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, the Food & Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, announced recently that he has secured $15,710,474 in funds for 15 community projects in Georgia’s Second Congressional District. The funding is part of the consolidated appropriations bill that Congress is voting on this week and which will fund a wide range of federal departments, agencies, and programs for the remainder of the 2024 fiscal year.
March 12, 2024 11 Alive
Rivian construction pause in Georgia could last until 2030
Doug Richards reports that the state of Georgia has already spent more than $200 million on projects associated with the Rivian assembly plant in Morgan County. The state is planning to spend more even while the project is on pause.
March 12, 2024 Marietta Daily Journal
Cobb Eyes New Fee for Stormwater
Jake Busch reports that a new utility fee for stormwater could be on the horizon for Cobb residents. The Board of Commissioners will hold a hearing Tuesday on a code amendment package that includes Cobb Water’s proposal for a fee to pay for stormwater maintenance and improvement projects.
March 12, 2024 GPB
‘Lawmakers’: Swatting, Space Force and ‘Matty Ice’ arrive on Day 33
Sarah Kallis and Tristan Smith report that the Legislature focused on a range of issues from crime to space. Plus, a local sports celebrity visited the Gold Dome. The House took up several bills related to crime prevention on Tuesday.
March 12, 2024 Dalton Daily Citizen
Bill proposes new school supply funding program
James Swift reports that the School Supplies for Educators Act passed a Georgia Senate vote 52-1 on Feb. 29. Alternately known as Senate Bill 464, the proposed legislation is sponsored by six Republican lawmakers, including District 54 Sen. Chuck Payne of Dalton.
March 12, 2024 State Affairs
State legislators prepare for May primaries; only a few will have to work for it
Tammy Joyner reports, with the exception of 16 lawmakers who are retiring, most of the 236-member Georgia General Assembly will be running for office in the fall. And all but one member of Congress from the Georgia delegation has qualified to run again.
March 12, 2024 Savannah Morning News
Georgia House passes bill imposing harsher penalties for swatting, drive-by shootings
Maya Homan reports that a bill imposing harsher penalties against swatting in Georgia passed in the state House of Representatives with overwhelming support, as legislators sought to end a practice that has mostly targeted elected officials. Swatting — or filing a false police report that leads first responders to believe they will be encountering a mass shooter, hostage situation, or some other extreme scenario — has impacted several lawmakers over the past several months, including state Sen. Clint Dixon (R-Gwinnett), Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
March 12, 2024 Georgia Recorder
Bill to provide overdose remedies in Georgia’s public buildings hijacked to ban puberty blockers
Ross Williams reports that Georgia state Senate Republicans advanced language that would ban puberty-blocking medication for transgender minors through a key committee Monday after grafting it to a bill requiring overdose reversal drugs in government buildings. Democrats said they were blindsided by the substitute to the bill.
March 12, 2024 Capitol Beat News
Senators question economic development chief on delayed EV plant
Dave Williams reports, the state’s top economic development official expressed disappointment Monday with electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian’s decision to delay building a new plant east of Atlanta but said the company remains committed to Georgia. “It stings,” Georgia Commissioner of Economic Development Pat Wilson told members of a state Senate budget subcommittee.
March 12, 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bills advance at Capitol to strip ‘public trust’ from fishing rights law
Meris Lutz reports that Georgia lawmakers passed a bill at the last minute last year, enshrining the public’s right to fish and traverse navigable waterways. Now, at the urging of agribusiness, two new bills are advancing, aimed at stripping references to public ownership of natural resources from that law. Environmentalists say that’s unnecessary.
