ATLANTA – An environmental organization is urging Gov. Brian Kemp to veto a bill the General Assembly passed overwhelmingly that would reserve a permanent spot in the state budget for freight rail.
The Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club supports stepping up investments in freight rail to relieve some of the truck traffic on the state’s highways.
But House Bill 820 should be vetoed because it could be used to steer state funding to privately owned “short-line” freight railroads, not just those owned by the state, Mark Woodall, chairman of the Georgia Sierra Club’s legislative committee, wrote in a letter to the governor. Allowing public money to go to private rail carriers would violate the Georgia Constitution’s “gratuities clause,” Woodall wrote.
“The short-line railroads that are owned by the state and leased to operators should not be competing with profitable private carriers for limited state funds,” he wrote. “Legislation on this topic must be explicit in prohibiting such misuse of these monies.”
Georgia has the longest network of active rail lines in the Southeast, covering more than 4,600 miles.
Both House Bill 820 and an identical measure introduced in the Georgia Senate passed the Senate unanimously during this year’s legislative session and cleared the state House of Representatives with just one “no” vote.
While the state has helped support maintaining short-line railroads on an intermittent basis, there is no ongoing line item in annual state budgets for freight rail.
“We’ve got to look for ways to get this freight off of our interstates and state highways,” said Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, the Senate bill’s chief sponsor. “There’s a role for the state in infrastructure investment.”
But in light of the state’s current budget crunch, the $25.9 billion fiscal 2021 budget lawmakers adopted last month does not include any funding for freight rail. The General Assembly cut state spending by $2.2 billion to help offset the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving little room for new appropriations.
“[The legislation] creates a placeholder in the budget so that, as funding is identified, they have a place to start in the budget,” Josh Waller, director of policy and government affairs for the Georgia Department of Transportation, told members of the State Transportation Board Thursday.
Gooch said the two bills address the concerns brought up in the Sierra Club letter. He pointed to a provision in the measures requiring the Georgia commissioner of transportation to make sure any state funding of freight rail is for “a substantial public benefit” in compliance with the state constitution.
“Anything we do would have to pass the legal test,” Gooch said.
Waller said he doesn’t anticipate encountering any opposition from Kemp to signing the freight rail bill or any of the other DOT-requested legislation the General Assembly passed this year.
Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday he favors resuming in-person classes for Georgia students instead of remote learning methods ahead of the upcoming school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The governor also doubled down on his opposition to mask mandates in Georgia even as he urged people to wear them for the next several weeks to help curb a recent increase in positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
At a news conference Friday morning, Kemp and other state officials highlighted new guidance for schools on how to reopen classrooms in the fall and respond when a student or teacher is infected.
The governor said he understands fears over returning to school with the virus still spreading but that students risk losing valuable learning and social growth opportunities by remaining at home after in-person classes were canceled statewide in March and students switched to online studies.
“I am a believer that kids need to be in the classroom,” Kemp said. “And we’re working with the schools on doing that.”
Kemp’s comments came shortly after he and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr filed suit to block a mask mandate in Atlanta as well as moves by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to reimpose certain stay-at-home and business closures lifted in May.
Reiterating his position, Kemp called city and county mask mandates “unenforceable” and pressed Georgians – especially young people – to “do the right thing” by voluntarily wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands and following statewide business restrictions.
“We can argue about a mandate for masks or not,” Kemp said. “But all the people arguing agree that we should wear a mask.”
On Friday, Kemp and other officials noted they talked with top national health experts this week about how to safely reopen schools in the coming weeks.
The state Department of Education has issued guidelines and recommendations aimed at helping local school districts decide how to hold classes in the fall via a mix of regular in-person classes and online instruction options.
State School Superintendent Richard Woods agreed students would be better served returning to school as normal but that his focus is on student, teacher and staff safety.
“The first day of school will be the first day of school,” Woods said Friday. “You can expect hiccups. You can expect challenges. But I guarantee your kids will be safe, your teachers will be safe and we will learn.”
School and health officials are also focusing on how to avoid the need to shut down a school in the event a student tests positive or there is a minor outbreak, said Dr. Kathleen Toomey, the state’s public health commissioner.
She said epidemiologists working one-on-one with schools would help guide that decision, factoring in a classroom’s size and the extent of a person’s exposure to others in the school.
“We will make those decisions based on the situations in every school,” Toomey said. “Every situation will be different.”
Already, around 2 million masks and 3,000 infrared thermometers have been shipped to schools across Georgia, said the state’s emergency management director, Homer Bryson.
The state also plans to send schools another batch of safety and sanitizing gear including 1.5 million youth-size cloth masks, 1 million disposable masks, thousands of hand sanitizing stations, gallons of gel and wipes, and 100,000 clear masks for deaf and hard-of-hearing students and teachers, Bryson said.
Per the guidelines and governor’s orders, students would not be required to wear masks but they would be “strongly recommended” to do so, particularly when in close quarters.
ATLANTA – Georgia’s two U.S. senators are urging the Internal Revenue Service to fix persistent problems that are causing delays in the distribution of the economic stimulus checks Congress authorized last March.
“We are continuing to hear from eligible constituents who have not received their payments due to what appears to be glitches in the Internal Revenue Service’s processes,” Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loefller wrote in a letter this week to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Retting.
“We urge you to take steps to continue to improve your online tool to ensure that eligible individuals can promptly receive their payments or create additional outlets for them to receive information on the status of their payments.”
Perdue and Loeffler cited instances where constituents used the “Get my Payment” tool online and were told they were eligible and that the IRS had their direct deposit information. But the payments have not come.
In other cases, the IRS informed constituents they needed to send their direct deposition information in order to receive payment. But when they tried to use the “Need More Information” tool online, they received an error message saying they were not recognized on the website.
The senators also blamed delayed payments on a huge backlog that began piling up when some IRS offices closed or started operating in a telework setting.
“We also implore you to make use of the IRS Office of the Taxpayer Advocate in addressing concerns with Economic Impact Payments to help alleviate the backlog, since the office is not currently being utilized for this purpose,” the senators wrote.
Perdue and Loeffler also asked for a briefing on the progress the IRS is making toward reducing the backlog of inquiries from Americans who have not received stimulus checks.
Gov. Brian Kemp speaks at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta shortly before releasing a lawsuit against Atlanta’s COVID-19 mask mandate on July 16, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Gov. Brian Kemp is suing Atlanta to block the city’s enforcement of a mask mandate and resumed stay-at-home guidelines amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to court documents filed Thursday.
The lawsuit, filed by Kemp and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, seek to have a Fulton County Superior Court judge declare unlawful a citywide masking requirement imposed by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms last week.
It marks an intense ratcheting up of the dispute between Kemp, who has insisted on leaving masks as recommended but voluntary measures, and several Georgia mayors like Bottoms, who want local control over mandatory measures to help curb the virus’ spread.
The governor’s office has frequently stressed his executive orders – which make mask-wearing “strongly encouraged” but not required – override any city or county actions that go beyond the state’s COVID-19 rules.
Along with blocking the city’s mask orders, Kemp and Carr’s lawsuit asks the judge to prohibit Bottoms and the Atlanta City Council from approving any local orders that might be considered more restrictive than the governor’s.
That would include resuming limits on public gatherings to 10 persons and recent steps taken to reimpose a shelter-at-home order for city residents, according to the suit.
Additionally, the suit seeks to bar Bottoms from “issuing press releases, or making statements to the press, that she has the authority to impose more or less restrictive measures than are ordered” by the governor.
Bottoms, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week, cast the governor’s priorities as misplaced in light of the impacts of the virus, which has sickened hundreds of thousands of people in Georgia and killed thousands more.
“A better use of taxpayer money would be to expand testing and contact tracing,” Bottoms said Thursday. “If being sued by the State is what it takes to save lives in Atlanta, then we will see them in court.”
Kemp lashed out at Bottoms in a statement sent along with the suit, accusing the mayor of “reckless actions” and vowing to “put people over pandemic politics.”
“This lawsuit is on behalf of the Atlanta business owners and their hardworking employees who are struggling to survive during these difficult times,” Kemp said. “These men and women are doing their very best to put food on the table for their families while local elected officials shutter businesses and undermine economic growth.”
Kemp is scheduled to hold a news conference on COVID-19 early Friday morning.
Bottoms and other local officials from Savannah, Augusta, Athens and elsewhere have pleaded with the governor in recent weeks to allow them to enforce mask mandates in their communities if he will not impose one for the state.
Many public health experts have also urged Georgians to wear masks in public as positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue increasing in the weeks following Memorial Day weekend in late May.
After weeks of testy back-and-forth, the battle between Kemp and Bottoms kicked up a notch Wednesday when the governor issued new orders explicitly preventing local governments from imposing mandates for masks, face shields and other kinds of virus-protecting gear.
Bottoms and Savannah Mayor Van Johnson rejected the move. Johnson, who was first to impose a citywide mask mandate on July 1, wrote on Twitter late Wednesday night that “Governor Kemp does not give a damn about us.”
“In Savannah, we will continue to keep the faith and follow the science,” Johnson said. “Masks will continue to be available!”
As of Thursday afternoon, more than 131,000 people in Georgia had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel strain of coronavirus that sparked a global pandemic. It had killed 3,104 Georgians.
This story has been updated to revise the headline and include an additional comment from Mayor Bottoms.
Gov. Brian Kemp discusses health-care legislation he signed at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta on July 16, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Gov. Brian Kemp signed a spate of bills Thursday that passed out of the 2020 legislative session on curbing surprise medical charges, temporarily licensing out-of-state dentists and extending Medicaid coverage for new mothers.
At a signing ceremony Thursday, Kemp highlighted the importance of signing health-care focused legislation as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hit Georgia. More than 131,000 people had tested positive for COVID-19 in Georgia as of Thursday afternoon, including 3,104 people who have died.
“This is certainly an important moment and a historic step forward in my opinion for Georgia when it comes to health care,” Kemp said during the ceremony at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta. ”Frankly, it couldn’t come at a better time as our state and our country face the greatest public health challenge that we’ve seen.”
State lawmakers passed numerous bills in the coronavirus-interrupted session that wrapped up last month. Many still await Kemp’s signature including COVID-19 liability protections for businesses and hospitals, home-delivery alcohol services and an excise tax on vaping products.
House Bill 888, by Rep. Lee Hawkins, R-Gainesville, aims to reduce the chances for patients to receive unexpectedly high hospital bills by requiring health insurers and health-care providers to settle cost disputes arising from emergency medical procedures performed by out-of-network providers.
Its companion legislation, House Bill 789, creates a rating system for hospitals based on how many medical specialty groups like anesthesiologists and radiologists are contracted. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mark Newton, R-Augusta, said the intent is to promote “truth-in-advertising” that can help curb surprise billing practices.
Another health-care piece of legislation, House Bill 1114 authorizes the state to apply for a federal waiver extending Medicaid coverage to new mothers for up to six months after birth instead of the current limit of two months. Sponsored by Rep. Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta, the bill also extends Medicaid coverage for breast-feeding and lactation care.
House Bill 521, by Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, allows dentists licensed outside the state to temporarily practice dentistry in Georgia if they are serving low-income patients at clinics or charitable events. The temporary licenses will be valid for five days.
Other legislation Kemp signed Thursday includes:
House Bill 932 (by Gaines): Allows podiatrists in Georgia to organize professional corporations with other doctors and revises certification rules for podiatrists performing foot amputations.
House Bill 578 (by Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome): Permits the state Department of Human Services to conduct criminal background checks on volunteers and interns.
Senate Bill 28 (by Sen. Lester Jackson, D-Savannah): Prohibits insurance copayments for health benefits plans from being set in a way that could “unfairly deny health-care services.”
Senate Bill 395 (by Rep. Ben Watson, R-Savannah): Sets terms for investments in mutual, trust and retirement funds, and revises terms on reserving proceeds from the sale of hospitals for indigent care.
