by Dave Williams | Nov 13, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia Department of Corrections officials began laying the groundwork Wednesday for an infusion of state funding to beef up staffing, replace aging infrastructure, and improve inmate health care.
The state’s workforce of correctional officers plummeted during the COVID pandemic and has yet to fully recover, Georgia Commissioner of Corrections Tyrone Oliver told members of a Georgia House Appropriations subcommittee.
A 26% annual turnover rate before the pandemic struck in 2020 soared at one point to more than 40% before dropping slightly to 37%, Oliver said.
“This is by far the toughest position in public safety,” he said. “People don’t always grasp that when they go in.”
Oliver said the state prison system doesn’t have a difficult time recruiting correctional officers, but keeping them more than one or two years is a challenge. He said the large numbers of jobs in other industries that opened up after the pandemic are luring correctional officers away.
“You can make more money with less stress,” he said.
Oliver said deteriorating infrastructure across the system is making prisons less safe. Inmates can easily use crumbling infrastructure to fashion dangerous weapons.
Oliver said the department is working to increase the number of single-bunk cells because many of the assaults that take place inside the prisons involve inmates in two- or three-bunk cells attacking each other.
The commissioner said additional funding also would help the department combat the growing problem of contraband weapons and cell phones getting to inmates, often via drones. The federal prison system has begun using jamming devices to disrupt cell phone signals inside prisons but has not yet authorized state systems to pilot the technology, he said.
Oliver said another factor driving up the prison system’s costs is growing health-care needs resulting from an aging prison population. The average age for inmates is now 40, which results in more inmates suffering from chronic illnesses, he said.
Assistant Corrections Commissioner Jay Sanders said some of the self-help programs the prison system operates for inmates are aimed at those with substance abuse or with cognitive issues.
In most cases, those who complete those programs as well as education and job training activities are both less likely to commit additional crimes after release from prison and less likely to commit violence while they’re still behind bars, he said.
“They get up every day with a purpose,” Sanders said. “They’re active. Their mind is engaged.”
Rep. Matt Hatchett, R-Dublin, the subcommittee’s chairman, said he expects funding for the prison system to be a major priority when lawmakers take up Gov. Brian Kemp’s budget recommendations during the 2025 General Assembly session starting in January.
“Hopefully, we can fund the improvements you need,” he told Oliver.
Hatchett said he expects the subcommittee to hold a final meeting shortly before the session begins.
by Dave Williams | Nov 13, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – A company that provides automated warehouse services to businesses of all sizes will invest $144 million in a new distribution facility in Butts County, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday.
GreenBox Systems LLC will create more than 300 new jobs in the Jackson area.
“Innovative job creators in every industry continue to choose Georgia,” Kemp said. “We’re proud GreenBox is adding their name to that long and growing list.”
GreenBox’s new 1-million-square-foot automated distribution facility will employ automation operators and managers, forklift operators, material handlers, shipping and receiving clerks, logistics coordinators, and maintenance technicians to serve retailers across the region. Job opportunities will be posted to http://www.symbotic.com/careers/open-positions as they become available.
Operations are expected to begin late next year.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Global Commerce team worked on the project in partnership with the Butts County Development Authority, Georgia Power, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, and the Technical College System of Georgia’s Quick Start program.
by Dave Williams | Nov 12, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The Georgia House Republican Caucus voted Tuesday to reelect the entire GOP leadership team to serve in those roles during the two-year term starting in January.
Rep. Chuck Efstration, R-Mulberry, will return as House majority leader, while Rep. James Burchett, R-Waycross, will continue as majority whip.
The rest of the reelected leadership team will include Reps. Bruce Williamson, R-Monroe, as majority caucus chairman; Houston Gaines, R-Athens, as caucus vice chairman; and Ginny Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, as caucus secretary and treasurer.
House Republicans also renominated Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, to retain the gavel, and chose Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones, R-Milton, to continue in that role. The full House will elect a speaker and speaker pro tempore when the General Assembly convenes for the 2025 legislative session on Jan. 13.
“I am deeply grateful for the unwavering trust and support of my colleagues and friends,” Burns said Tuesday. “I’m more confident than ever that our caucus will continue to deliver meaningful results – whether it’s passing historic tax cuts, investing in education, expanding access to health care, or making our communities safer.”
While the House GOP lost two seats in last week’s election, Republicans still hold 100 seats to 80 seats controlled by Democrats.
The House Democratic Caucus will meet on Thursday to elect the minority leadership team.
by Dave Williams | Nov 12, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The University System of Georgia has hit an all-time high for student enrollment this fall.
Nearly 365,000 students are enrolled at the system’s 26 public colleges and universities, an increase of more than 20,000, or 5.9%, compared to last fall, Angela Bell, the system’s vice chancellor for research and policy analysis, told the Board of Regents Tuesday.
The enrollment growth since the pandemic year of 2020 has been most dramatic among out-of-state students, Bell said. Out-of-state enrollment has increased by 27% since the pandemic year of 2020.
“Students are looking to the South for a number of reasons, whether it be winning football or the weather,” she said.
Bell said another reason for enrollment growth in the university system is that Georgia remained open for business during the pandemic while other states shut down.
Other highlights of Bell’s report included a huge 53.5% increase in dual enrollment students since 2020.
The university system also has become increasingly diverse in recent years. While enrollment among white students declined from 47% in 2020 to 42% this fall, enrollment among Latino students has grown from 10% to 12%, and Asian enrollment is up from 11% to 14%. Enrollment among Black students has held steady at 25%.
In other business Tuesday, board members unanimously approved a series of policy changes aimed at basing student admission and faculty hiring decisions on merit. Among other things, the changes prohibit requiring prospective students or professors to submit “diversity statements,” typically one or two pages that outline how the applicant plans to advance the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
“These (policies) all make clear the employees and students are evaluated on their merits, not on any ideological tests,” board Chairman Harold Reynolds said.
While encouraging individual freedom of expression, the policy changes assert that the university system “shall remain neutral on social and political issues unless such an issue is directly related to the institution’s core mission.”
“Our mission is education – not politics,” system Chancellor Sonny Perdue said.
The board also voted to authorize a $25 million renovation and expansion of Georgia Tech’s basketball facilities. The project will be funded by the Georgia Tech Athletic Association.
by Dave Williams | Nov 11, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia tax collections fell by 3.4% last month compared to October of last year.
The state Department of Revenue brought in $2.53 billion last month, down $89.7 million from the same month a year ago.
The decline was due in part to an extension of the state income tax and filing deadline announced Oct. 3 because of disruptions caused by Hurricane Helene. Return and payment deadlines for both individual and corporate income taxes from that date through next April have been extended until May 1.
Individual income tax revenue declined by 8.7% in October, mostly due to a sharp drop in tax return payments of 36.5%.
Net sales tax receipts also were down, but only by 1%.
Corporate income taxes fell last month by 47.4%, with payments down and refunds up.
