Capitol Beat

Georgia. Politics.

Valdosta State president leaving for California post

ATLANTA - Valdosta State University President Richard Carvajal is stepping down to take a position as  president of California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. Carvajal will remain at VSU through the end of the current semester before taking up his new job on...

Georgia lawmakers coming to grips with mill closings

ATLANTA - The impact of International Paper's decision to close two pulp and paper mills in Coastal Georgia at the end of this month will spread far beyond those workers directly affected, state Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper said Wednesday. "This is more...

Democratic candidate for governor leaving state Senate post

ATLANTA -- Georgia Democrats are losing a member of the state Senate as he gears up his campaign for next year's Democratic primary for governor. Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, said Wednesday that he is resigning from the Senate "because the best way I can serve the...

Another Republican running for state school superintendent

ATLANTA -- A former Democrat who switched to Republican in the Georgia House of Representatives is challenging longtime State School Superintendent Richard Woods for next year's GOP nomination. Mesha Mainor, who clashed with Democrats over her support for private...

Interim U.S. Attorney named official appointee

ATLANTA -- Georgia has a new U.S. attorney, after the federal judges for the Northern District of Georgia appointed Theodore S. Hertzberg to lead the district office Monday. Hertzberg had been serving as an interim lead after U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi...

Court upholds key provision of state elections overhaul

ATLANTA - A federal judge has upheld a portion of a controversial 2022 Georgia election law dealing with absentee ballots. In a 50-page ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee declared that the state had a "compelling governmental interest" in restricting the...

State tax collections on the rise in August

ATLANTA - Georgia's net tax collections rose by 3.2% last month compared to August of last year, the state Department of Revenue reported Tuesday. The agency brought in $2.41 billion in tax revenue in August, an increase of nearly $74.1 million over the same month a...