ATLANTA – Georgians rushing to gas stations to fill their tanks are worsening fuel shortages that began after a cyberattack shut down the Colonial Pipeline, Gov. Brian Kemp said Wednesday.
“Only get the gasoline you need,” Kemp urged motorists during a mid-afternoon news conference at the state Capitol. “Please do not go out and fill up every 5-gallon tank you have. Doing so will only mean the shortage will last longer.”
The 5,500-mile pipeline that supplies almost half of the gasoline on the East Coast shut down last Friday after a ransomware attack that has been traced to hackers operating out of Russia or Eastern Europe. Colonial restarted the pipeline late Wednesday afternoon, but company officials said service won’t be fully restored for several days.
Meanwhile, panicking motorists have been lining up at gas stations to fill their tanks, resulting in some stations running out of fuel.
With pump prices on the rise, Kemp signed an executive order Tuesday suspending the collection of the state gasoline tax. The order also lifts the usual weight limits on fuel delivery trucks.
In a move to increase supplies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved the state’s request to allow the sale of a blend of gasoline normally sold only during winter months. The state has a supply of winter-blend fuel in storage.
“We’re going to have this new product flowing quickly,” said state Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black, whose agency oversees fuel quality control in Georgia.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said his office has received more than 300 complaints of price gouging. The governor’s executive order prohibits price gouging, although pump prices have been edging higher during the last few days due to the higher costs of shipping fuel with the pipeline out of service.
“No one should be taking advantage of consumers trying to pursue their daily activities,” Carr said.
Kemp said there have been no cyber threats to the state’s computer systems in the wake of the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline.
However, state agencies involved in cybersecurity – including the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia Cyber Center and the Georgia Technology Authority – are working together on contingency plans for dealing with a threat should one occur, he said.
“We’re doing all we can to ensure if an attempt is made, our employees and agencies are well equipped to respond,” he said.
Several local groups and state lawmakers are gearing up to help Georgia city and county officials distribute the latest round of federal COVID-19 relief funds to underserved communities most in need.
Called the American Rescue Plan, the new round of $1.9 trillion in emergency pandemic aid Congress passed last month partly tasks local officials with deciding how to spend funds including Georgia’s $17.4 billion share to cover revenue losses, schools, unemployment benefits, rental assistance and infrastructure needs.
A large chunk of that funding will go straight to Georgia cities and counties to bolster local recovery efforts, ranging from $170 million for Atlanta and $181 million for Gwinnett County to less than $1 million for rural Quitman and Taliaferro counties, according to the White House.
“When it comes to protecting our schools, to protecting needed child care, when it comes to employment and access to health care … we need this,” said state Sen. Lester Jackson, D-Savannah. “If we let the community know about this, it helps the least of us so that we can not only survive but thrive.”
Jackson spoke at a Democrat-led hearing Wednesday of the Georgia Senate Interstate Cooperation Committee. The panel and its chairwoman Sen. Donzella James, D-Atlanta, have tasked themselves with explaining to cities and counties how the federal funds can be used.
The ability of local governments to take charge of portions of the new funding marks a departure from previous COVID-19 relief over the past year that sent money largely just to state governments.
Local responsibility for the aid spread across Georgia’s 159 counties and dozens of cities highlights the need for tight oversight and transparency, particularly when it comes to helping minority communities hit hardest by the pandemic, said several attendees at Wednesday’s hearing.
“The only thing I ask is that we have good oversight,” said Sen. Freddie Powell Sims, D-Dawson. “We don’t want to throw money out there and people are misusing it and abusing what belongs to those individuals that have worked so hard to keep their families stable, healthy and safe.”
Several community leaders highlighted an executive order President Joe Biden signed in January that requires federal funds to address long-standing issues of equity, wealth disparity and racial discrimination in local communities.
Rev. Ferrell Malone Sr., senior pastor at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Waycross, called for local governments to focus on building equity rather than funding infrastructure projects, which could be covered in a separate round of future federal funding.
“This first round of funding provides for an opportunity for innovation and to build equity back into our community,” Malone said. “This is an opportunity for our leaders who have been elected in these places … to stand up and believe in who you are, believe in the people you represent and to make sure your people are made better.”
Others stressed the need for local officials to start diving into details of the new federal funding and how it will be allocated, so that they do not miss chances to secure relief dollars aimed at helping struggling residents.
“Too many of my fellow commissioners in smaller towns … don’t even know about this money,” said Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Ovita Thornton. “If somebody doesn’t bring it to their attention on the early end, this is going to fail. We all have a responsibility to make sure we do our part so that everybody is included and educated.”
ATLANTA – Georgia tax collections soared 52.4% last month compared to April of last year, a huge increase attributed more to changes in state tax filing deadlines than a burst of economic activity.
Tax revenues rose by $963.7 million in April to more than $2.80 billion, compared to almost $1.84 billion in April 2020.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tax filing deadline last year was delayed from mid-April until mid-July. This year’s deadline falls on May 17.
Individual income taxes were up 43.6% last month compared to April of last year, driven by a 168.1% increase in payments. Tax refunds issued by the Georgia Department of Revenue rose as well but by a more modest 40.4%.
Net sales tax collections last month were up by 44.8% over April 2020.
Corporate income tax revenues skyrocketed by 396.2%, resulting from an increase in payments of 572.9% coupled with a 50% decrease in refunds.
Tax receipts covering the first 10 months of fiscal 2021 offer a more realistic comparison than the April numbers skewed by the delay in filing deadlines. From last July through April, the state brought in $21.74 billion in taxes, up a healthy 13.1% over the first 10 months of the last fiscal year.
University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley is retiring July 1.
ATLANTA – The University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted Tuesday to hire a second search firm to help choose a successor to retiring system Chancellor Steve Wrigley.
Atlanta-based Parker Executive Search, the executive search firm the board had originally retained, quit recently after opposition surfaced to choosing former Gov. Sonny Perdue for the post.
The Signal, the student newspaper at Georgia State University, reported last month that a student-led petition drive was underway opposing Perdue because of his lack of a background in higher education administration.
Perdue, a Republican, served two terms as Georgia’s governor during the 2000s.
After spending decades in agribusiness, he joined the Trump administration in 2017 as secretary of agriculture and remained during all four years of the former president’s term.
Wrigley announced in January that he would retire at the end of June after 36 years in public service, including more than four years as chancellor. Seven members of the Board of Regents formed an advisory committee to conduct a national search for a successor and hired Parker Executive Search to steer the process.
The goal of the second search firm will be to hire a new chancellor and have him or her in place by June 30, Regent Neil Pruitt Jr. said Tuesday.
Wrigley, whose retirement takes effect July 1, attended his final board meeting Tuesday. Board members thanked him for his service with a resolution and a video featuring university system students, administrators and Georgia political leaders wishing him well.
“This work has been a privilege,” the departing chancellor told board members. “Not everyone gets to do what we get to do: try to do better for our state. It’s fun.”
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr talks about criminal gangs at the State Capitol on Jan. 27, 2020.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced Tuesday he plans to run for reelection in 2022, setting up a likely bruising campaign against one of several strong Democratic challengers.
The announcement by Carr, who as attorney general is one of the state’s top Republicans, comes as incumbent Georgia Republican officeholders prepare to fend off a growing roster of Democratic candidates who see momentum from wins in the 2020 election cycle.
Carr has already drawn Democratic challengers in Atlanta attorney and state Sen. Jen Jordan as well as former prosecutor Charlie Bailey, who lost to Carr in 2018 by about 100,000 votes.
Competition looks to be stiff between the Democratic nominee and Carr, who previously served as then-U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson’s chief of staff and as commissioner of the state Department of Economic Development.
Georgia Democrats have narrowed the playing field since 2018 amid changing suburban demographics and strong grassroots efforts that helped win the state’s most recent presidential and U.S. Senate contests, handing Democrats control of Congress until at least the 2022 midterms.
The number of candidates from both parties has been building in recent weeks for campaigns to unseat incumbent Republicans in statewide offices across the board including governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state and labor and insurance commissioners.
Gov. Brian Kemp, who is running for a second term, has drawn Republican challengers in former DeKalb County CEO and state Rep. Vernon Jones, a Democrat turned Republican, and Appling County educator Kandiss Taylor.
Should he win the primary, Kemp is expected to face a possible rematch with 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams. She has not yet announced whether she will run in 2022.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who took heat from former President Donald Trump for not moving to overturn his losing 2020 election results in Georgia, is set for a primary battle against U.S. Rep. Jody Hice of Greensboro and former Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle.
Democratic state Rep. Bee Nguyen of Atlanta has also thrown her hat in the ring to run against Raffensperger.
Democratic state Reps. Erick Allen of Smyrna and Derrick Jackson of Tyrone are both running to win Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan’s seat. Duncan’s office has signaled he may not seek reelection.
State Sen. Lester Jackson of Savannah and state Rep. William Boddie of East Point, both Democrats, are running against Republican Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. Democratic state Rep. Matthew Wilson of Brookhaven has challenged Republican Insurance Commissioner John King.
