ATLANTA – The Georgia Lottery nearly equaled its record-setting second-quarter profits during the third quarter of this fiscal year, lottery officials reported Thursday.
The lottery brought in $367.2 million in January, February and March for Georgia’s HOPE Scholarships and Pre-Kindergarten programs, down just slightly from the record $376.5 million in profits during the second quarter of fiscal 2022.
“This strong quarter ensures the Georgia Lottery continues to be a leading source of funding for education in the Peach State,” Gov. Brian Kemp said. “These funds have had an immeasurable impact on generations of Georgians, whether setting them on the path to lifelong learning or helping them better themselves through the pursuit of higher education.”
Since its inception in the early 1990s, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $24.6 billion to the state for education.
More than 2 million students have received HOPE scholarships, and more than 1.6 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary pre-kindergarten program.
ATLANTA – The Georgia High School Association’s executive committee has voted unanimously to require transgender students to participate in school sports based on the gender identities on their birth certificates.
Wednesday’s unanimous vote followed the passage of legislation by the Republican-controlled General Assembly last month that handed the issue of a transgender sports ban to the association.
“I’m proud to have championed this issue in Georgia,” GOP Gov. Brian Kemp posted on Facebook after the vote.
Transgender rights advocates blasted the vote as the result of a secretive, rushed process that will do real harm to transgender students who already are disproportionately victims of violence and suicide.
“At no point during the General Assembly’s debate of bills that would have had a similarly devastating impact were supporters of this change able to present a single example of how allowing transgender students to participate in athletics harmed other students in Georgia,” said Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, the state’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group.
Democratic Party of Georgia spokesman Max Flugrath accused Kemp of playing politics with the lives of transgender students.
“Kemp’s advocacy for this dangerous policy and gloating upon its enactment underscores the cruelty and level of extremism that has defined his time in office,” Flugrath said. “He’s always put his extreme partisan politics and his political career above our best interests, even if it means hurting our kids and dividing our communities.”
The governor and Republican legislative leaders defended the legislation as ensuring that girls born female can compete on a level playing field in sports.
“I’m so proud of the tremendous progress we’ve made in girls’ sports here in Georgia,” said state Senate President Pro Tempore Butch Miller, R-Gainesville, a candidate for lieutenant governor. “That’s why we can’t let the craziness of the Woke Mob destroy girls’ sports.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Five Republican U.S. Senate candidates attacked frontrunner Herschel Walker Tuesday night for refusing to participate in a televised debate aired statewide by Georgia Public Broadcasting.
“This is pathetic,” said Latham Saddler, an Atlanta banking executive and former Navy SEAL officer, pointing at an empty podium placed on the stage.
“I’ve shown up every time I was asked,” added Jonathan McColumn, a retired brigadier general from Warner Robins. “The absence of Herschel Walker today speaks volumes.”
But the strongest criticism hurled against Walker, the University of Georgia football great who is holding what appears to be an insurmountable lead in the polls, came from Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black. He pointed to Walker’s record of “domestic violence, despicable business dealings and a bloated resume” as proof Walker cannot defeat Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock.
“He will not win in November,” Black said. “Selecting someone with a record to defeat Raphael Warnock in November should be priority No.-1.”
All five candidates looking to pull an upset in the May 24 GOP primary welcomed news that the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion on demand. While a ruling isn’t expected until next month, a draft of a decision was leaked to the news media on Monday.
“I don’t understand what a pro-choice pastor is,” said U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and small business owner Kelvin King of Atlanta, a slam at the pro-choice Warnock, who serves as senior pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church.
But the candidates disagreed on a volatile question for Republicans looking to win a GOP primary: whether the 2020 election in Georgia was rigged.
Black said he was disturbed by then-President Donald Trump asking Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in January of last year to “find” enough votes to put Trump over the top against Democrat Joe Biden.
“Public officials have a sworn oath to uphold the Constitution,” Black said. “I’m troubled when we don’t trust the system.”
“Follow the rules and follow the law,” McColumn added.
Black went on to say he believes election reforms the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed last year will help reduce the chances of future election fraud.
Former state Rep. Josh Clark of Suwanee said the 2020 election was stolen in Georgia. He pointed to the more-than 7 million absentee ballot applications the state mailed out that year, which he said led to “massive ballot harvesting.”
“I know there were improprieties in our election,” King added. “I can’t tell to what degree.”
Saddler suggested going back to paper ballots and in-person voting would restore public trust in elections.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Georgia Commissioner of Economic Development Pat Wilson
ATLANTA – Electric vehicle startup Rivian and state and local officials signed off Monday on a deal announced last December to build a $5 billion manufacturing plant east of Atlanta that will create 7,500 jobs.
In exchange for what Gov. Brian Kemp has touted as the biggest economic development project in Georgia history, state and local economic development agencies will dole out $1.5 billion in incentives including tax credits, a 25-year no-cost lease and $198.1 million in site and road improvements on 1,978 acres.
The deal was signed by representatives of Rivian, the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Joint Development Authority of Jasper County, Morgan County, Newton County and Walton County.
The $5 billion Rivian project will eclipse the state’s investment in SK Battery America, which began producing EV batteries at its new plant in Commerce in January, Georgia Commissioner of Economic Development Pat Wilson said Monday. The 7,500 jobs Rivian will create when the plant is fully built out by the end of 2028 – with an average salary of $56,000 a year – will surpass the Kia automotive plant in West Point the state landed in 2005, Wilson said.
“The majority of Georgia incentives come from job tax credits,” Wilson said. “The more jobs you create, the higher the incentives will be.”
Local residents have expressed concerns about such a large project’s impact on traffic, noise levels and water quality. Four committees the state has put together will address issues including quality of life, local business engagement and site design.
The state and the local development authority submitted an application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last Friday for a federal Clean Water permit.
“We’re going to make sure we abide by all the federal rules and regulations when it comes to the environment,” Wilson said.
Another committee will work with the state Department of Labor’s Quick Start program on how to prepare the region’s workforce for the new jobs the plant will bring.
The Rivian project has become an issue in the Republican gubernatorial primary campaign.
Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, who is challenging Kemp in the May 24 primary, argued during several debates in the last week that the state shouldn’t have offered such rich taxpayer-funded incentives to lure Rivian. He said a better approach to economic competitiveness would be to eliminate the state income tax, as neighboring states including Tennessee and Florida have done.
But Wilson said Georgia needs to provide tax incentives because competing states are doing so.
“If it were a level playing field … Georgia would win our share of projects,” he said. “But this is not a level playing field we’re in. … States all across the country have jobs incentives.”
Wilson said the 7,500 jobs Rivian will create when the plant is fully built out will generate an annual payroll of $420 million, or $10.5 billion over 25 years, more than justifying the $1.5 billion in incentives.
“The long-term ripple effect of that will touch every community in the area,” he said.
This story isavailable through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s three Republican challengers accused him Monday to failing to adequately investigate allegations of voter fraud following the 2020 presidential election.
Raffensperger shot back during an hourlong debate livestreamed by Georgia Public Broadcasting that his office examined every allegation and found nothing that would have affected the results.
Raffensperger’s opponents in the May 24 Republican primary include U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Greensboro, former Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle and T.J. Hudson, a former probate judge from Soperton. Hice has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, whom Raffensperger crossed in early January of last year when he refused in a taped phone conversation to try to “find” the votes necessary for Trump to overcome his loss in Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden.
But while Hice enjoys Trump’s backing, all three GOP challengers charged Raffensperger Monday with mishandling the aftermath of the 2020 election.
“This past election was an absolute disaster,” said Hice, who faulted the incumbent for sending our 6.9 million absentee ballot request forms to Georgia voters and installing drop boxes across the state to collect absentee ballots, both measures taken to avoid the spread of coronavirus.
Belle Isle said Raffensperger stood by and ignored accusations of voter fraud, allowing Biden to be certified the winner of Georgia’s 16 electoral votes.
“He has failed to be curious,” Belle Isle said. “He’s never questioned the results.”
Hudson said he’s the only one of Raffensperger’s challengers who has run elections. He blamed the incumbent for not distributing enough resources to local elections offices to properly monitor the distribution of absentee ballots.
“During a pandemic, I understand [using drop boxes],” Hudson added. “But that was on his watch.”
Raffensperger said his office investigated 10,315 claims of dead voters casting ballots and found only four were true. Investigators also didn’t turn up a single ballot cast by an underage voter, he said.
The secretary said his top priority moving forward is preventing non-U.S. citizens from voting.
“[Democratic gubernatorial candidate] Stacey Abrams is suing us right now so she can put non-citiznes on the voter rolls,” Raffensperger said. “I’m the only one trying to stop her.”
Despite their sharp disagreements the Raffensperger, all three challengers and the incumbent agreed on a couple of issues. All four said they support legislation the General Assembly passed last month giving the Georgia Bureau of Investigation the authority to investigate allegations of voter fraud without having to be brought into a case by local elections officials, the State Election Board or the attorney general’s office.
Legislative Democrats argued the bill would result in voter suppression because GBI involvement potentially could intimidate voters.
The Republican candidates also unanimously called for an end to the current practice of automatically registering Georgians to vote when they go on the state Department of Drivers Services’ website to renew their driver’s license. The DDS temporarily ended automatic registration when the agency revamped its website, but recently restored automatic registration.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
