Gov. Brian Kemp (center) with officials from Hyundai Motor Group at the 2022 groundbreaking of the Korean automaker’s electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Bryan County.
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp are leading a trade mission to the Republic of Korea.
Georgia’s first couple is leaving Tuesday and returning next week at the head of a delegation that includes several state legislators and representatives of the state Department of Economic Development, Georgia Environmental Protection Division, and the Georgia Ports Authority.
Rather than drumming up new business, the trip will focus on strengthening existing relationships.
“The Republic of Korea was the very first country I visited when I became governor for a good reason – because of the incredible partners located there,” Kemp said. “Marty and I are glad to return so that we can reinforce those great friendships that are bringing historic investments and jobs to communities all across the state.”
The delegation will meet with executives from industries now operating in Georgia or building new facilities in the Peach State. The list includes Hyundai Motor Group, Kia, CJ Foodville, LG Group, SK Group and Hanwha Qcells.
As that roster indicates, many of the companies hosting the Georgia group are involved in the state’s rapidly growing electric vehicles industry.
“Connectivity leads to business, and relationships build the foundations of mutual progress,” said Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “Meeting with the leadership of existing industries at their headquarters provides a unique opportunity to learn more about their perspective on an industry and where it is headed.
“Keeping the lines of communication open, we can stay ahead of the curve in industry shifts, positioning Georgia at the forefront of new opportunities.”
ATLANTA – Three Republicans from Georgia’s congressional delegation got a first-hand look Monday at what’s being done to improve mail processing at the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) regional center in Palmetto.
U.S. Reps. Mike Collins of Jackson, Austin Scott of Tifton, and Andrew Clyde of Athens toured the facility less than two weeks after U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., made a similar visit.
Ossoff is a member of a Senate committee that questioned Postmaster General Louis DeJoy at a hearing in April about delays in mail processing at the center that began last winter after the launching of a restructuring program aimed at making the postal service financially self-sufficient. The program was rolled out first at the Palmetto facility and at a mail processing center in Richmond, Va.
During the hearing, Ossoff cited statistics showing that only 36% of the first-class mail processed at the facility was being delivered on time.
After visiting the Palmetto center on May 30, Ossoff said on-time mail delivery has improved to about 60%.
“While metrics are moving in the right direction, improving transparency and communications between the USPS and our constituents remain top of mind,” Collins posted Monday on social media after touring the Palmetto center with Scott and Clyde. “I will be staying in touch with Postmaster General (Louis) DeJoy to ensure that the necessary steps to improve USPS issues are being taken.”
After being bombarded with complaints about service at the Palmetto regional mail processing center, DeJoy first put the nationwide restructuring initiative on hold, then announced a plan to address delays at the Georgia facility by bringing in more than 100 personnel from other centers and revising transportation schedules between the Palmetto facility and other local mail processing centers.
Like the three Republican congressmen, Ossoff has vowed to keep up the pressure on DeJoy until the problem is brought under control.
Chuck Hand (Photo courtesy of Thomasville Times Enterprise)
ATLANTA – What began as a debate between the two Republicans who made the June18 runoff in Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District shortly evolved into a monologue.
After making an opening statement Sunday evening, construction superintendent Chuck Hand walked off the Georgia Public Broadcasting stage in Midtown Atlanta, leaving it to Wayne Johnson, the other Republican looking to challenge longtime U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, in the general election in November.
“I’m not interested in debating the issues of the 2nd District with a man who doesn’t even reside in it,” Hand said before walking out of the debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club.
Johnson, who worked in the Trump administration as head of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Student Finance, lives in Macon, which is outside the 2nd District. However, federal law does not require members of the U.S. House to live in the district they represent.
After Hand’s departure, Johnson reminded voters that Hand pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Johnson accused Hand of not being honest with the public about his activities that day.
“Mr. Hand’s depiction of his and his wife’s involvement on Jan. 6 is a far cry from what the official record shows,” Johnson said.
Johnson spent the rest of the “debate” fielding questions from two reporters and a moderator on various issues facing the federal government.
Johnson said illegal immigration in general and the nation’s policy toward asylum seekers in particular need to be brought under control. He said the Venezuelan national accused of murdering 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in February was allowed into the U.S. in 2022 as an asylum seeker.
“We have got to get control of this free-wheeling asylum policy … (and) slam the border shut,” he said.
Johnson also said he opposes a proposed $30 billion cut in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) commonly known as food stamps.
“It’s going to impact low-income families significantly,” he said. “It’s also going to impact the farmers that produce food for SNAP.”
Johnson supported eliminating federal support for student loans.
“What we need to do is stop making student loans and do defined-amount grants,” he said. “We shouldn’t burden somebody as they’re leaving school with loan obligations. We should empower them with the fact that they got an education.”
Johnson defended in vitro fertilization as a “wonderful tool for people that are struggling to have children” in a nation with a declining birth rate but argued the federal government shouldn’t pay for the procedure.
The 2nd Congressional District encompasses Southwest Georgia from Columbus and portions of Bibb County south to the Florida line.
ATLANTA – The two Republicans who made the June 18 primary runoff in Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District agreed on more issues than they disagreed on during a debate Sunday sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club.
Former state Sen. Mike Dugan and Brian Jack, an aide to former President Donald Trump, agreed on the need to secure America’s southern border, change the way the U.S. is sending military aid to Ukraine, and curb spending on student loans.
Dugan, who served two terms under the Gold Dome as Senate majority leader before leaving the General Assembly earlier this year to run for Congress, called illegal immigration a public safety, humanitarian, and national security issue.
But Dugan said there is a need for Congress to pass immigration reform after securing the border.
“We need new people coming into this country, skill sets we don’t have readily available,” he said.
Jack said stopping illegal immigration should be a priority over continuing to spend money on weapons to send to Ukraine.
“I’d rather see funding to secure our southern border,” he said.
Both candidates suggested the U.S. should adopt a lend-lease program to aid Ukraine, modeled after what America did to help Great Britain during the early stages of World War II.
The two also took a hard line on federal funding for student loans.
“We should do everything we can to remove the federal government from the business of education,” Jack said.
“Nobody is forced to take a student loan,” Dugan added.
While Dugan and Jack agreed during much of the debate, the gloves did come off at times. Dugan accused Jack of being a Washington, D.C., insider with no experience holding elective office whose campaign is being funded largely with donations from out of state.
“Eighty percent of my money comes from Georgia,” Dugan said. “It’s important, if we’re going to represent the 3rd District, that the funding come from the 3rd District.”
Jack touted his endorsement by Trump and by two of his opponents in last month’s primary who didn’t make the runoff: former state Sen. Mike Crane and former state Rep. Philip Singleton.
“That shows an ability to work across a different spectrum,” Jack said.
Jack criticized Dugan for voting in 2015 in favor of a $900 million transportation funding bill, which Jack called the largest tax increase in Georgia history.
Dugan responded that he voted for tax cuts that returned $2 billion in excess revenue to Georgia taxpayers.
The two candidates also promised not to use the congressional seat to shine a spotlight on themselves in the manner of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome. Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-West Point, who is vacating the 3rd District seat at the end of this year, set a low profile during eight years in Congress.
“My goal is to get stuff done, not go up there and be a TV star,” Dugan said.
Jack noted that his name did not show up in the media when he was working in the Trump administration.
“I put my head down to try to do the job for the American people,” he said.
The winner of the Republican runoff will face Democrat Maura Keller in November. The heavily Republican 3rd Congressional District in west-central Georgia stretches from Paulding and Polk counties south to Columbus.
ATLANTA – Legislation offering significant pay raises to coroners in Georgia passed the state House of Representatives overwhelmingly this year but ran out of time to get through the Georgia. Senate.
But supporters say the need is urgent, and they’re planning to raise the issue again when the General Assembly convenes under the Gold Dome for the 2025 legislative session.
“The legislature has not addressed pay for coroners in over 30 years,” said Dawson County Coroner Ted Bearden, chairman of the Georgia Coroners Association’s Legislative Committee. “We’re working with an antiquated system. … It needs to be fixed.”
As the system has evolved over the years, coroners in counties with vastly different populations and, thus, a huge discrepancy in the number of cases they’re called on to handle, often are being paid the same, Bearden said.
The coroner system is pervasive in Georgia. Only four large counties – Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, and Gwinnett – use significantly more expensive medical examiners.
“A lot of coroners who have been doing it for years are going to retire,” Bearden said. “You are not going to be able to find qualified people for the pay it currently pays.”
The House passed legislation this year aimed at replacing that current hodge-podge by upgrading coroner to a full-time position and setting a range of salaries depending on the population of the county they serve.
The minimum salary for coroners under the measure would be $35,000 per year. Minimum salaries would go much higher for coroners in the largest counties that use coroners. Under current law, coroners in counties with populations of fewer than 35,000 earn no more than $3,600 annually.
Deputy coroners would be paid $250 for each case they handle, up from the current $175.
“We’re trying to update the pay scale to minimum standards,” Rep. Will Wade, R-Dawsonville, told members of a Senate committee during a hearing on the bill in March. “The vast majority of counties I represent are already paying their coroners well above this minimum standard.”
But lawmakers heard an earful during this year’s legislative session from county officials and their advocates worried about how pay raises for coroners would affect their tight budgets.
“They tell me they’re not prepared, they can’t afford it, that it’s not in their budget,” said Sen. Mike Hodges, R-Brunswick, a member of the Senate committee that heard testimony on the bill.
Todd Edwards, deputy director of governmental affairs for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, questioned giving big pay raises to coroners in small rural counties. He said coroners already get the same cost-of-living raises that go to state employees.
“How many death cases are there in rural counties?” Edwards said. “Is it really a full-time job? A lot of them are probably full-time funeral home directors.”
Edwards also argued that decisions on coroners’ salaries should be made through local legislation rather than a statewide bill.
But Bearden called that a “terrible” idea.
“If a county does local legislation, it takes another piece of local legislation to change it,” he said.
The Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee ended up approving the House bill, including an amendment that moved its effective date back to the beginning of 2026 to give counties time to plan for the financial hit. But the bill never reached the Senate floor during the hectic final day of this year’s session.
Bearden said he and other supporters of raising coroners’ salaries are planning to reintroduce the legislation next year, probably with few changes.
“The state has two choices: Keep the coroner system or go to a statewide medical examiner system,” he said. “Everything would go to the GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation. They can’t keep the investigators they have now handling the caseload as it is.”
