by Dave Williams | Jun 3, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) is seeking public input ahead of two planned open houses this month on a plan to widen Interstate 16 west of Savannah.
The project would widen the heavily traveled highway from two lanes to three in both directions from the I-16/I-95 interchange west to Georgia 67 in Bulloch County, a distance of 32 miles. Twenty bridges in 10 locations along the route would be widened or replaced.
I-16 serves as a major connector for trucks heading into and out of the Port of Savannah, as well as to warehousing and manufacturing facilities along the corridor. The widening would include the stretch of I-16 in Bryan County adjacent to the huge Hyundai electric vehicle manufacturing plan, which opened in March and has resulted in heavy rush-hour traffic congestion.
The open houses will take place on June 11 at the Bulloch County Center for Agriculture in Statesboro, and on June 12 at Bloomingdale City Hall. Both will run from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m.
The project’s price tag is estimated at $450 million. The DOT expects to select a contractor for the work during the second quarter of next year, with construction due to start in 2027.
by Dave Williams | Jun 3, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – State Sen. Brian Strickland entered the 2026 race for Georgia attorney general Tuesday, pledging to uphold Georgia’s conservative values against attacks from the Left.
“We’re proud to run on my reputation as a conservative fighter who knows to win,” Strickland said during a news conference at Liberty Plaza across from the state Capitol.
The Republican from McDonough was elected to the Senate in 2018 after serving in the Georgia House of Representatives since 2013. A lawyer, Strickland serves as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In that role, he has helped steer to passage Georgia’s strict abortion law and legislation targeting human trafficking and granting the right of Georgians to carry firearms without a permit.
Strickland also has helped champion the cause of mental health reform in Georgia, including a sweeping reform bill the General Assembly passed in 2022 that, among other things, requires insurance companies to cover mental health treatment at the same level as physical ailments. He said improving mental health care inside Georgia’s prison system has been a major part of criminal justice reform efforts launched by then-Gov. Nathan Deal during the last decade.
“We need to lock up people who need to be locked up,” Strickland said. “But we’re also going to work to help people who need to get out of the system.”
Strickland accused Democrats of constantly taking the state to court to challenge both electoral defeats and legislation passed by the General Assembly’s Republican majorities. In his case, that includes several court challenges to his electoral victories that he has been forced to beat back.
“They’re trying to win at the courthouse what they couldn’t win at the ballot box,” he said. “We look forward to taking that fight across the state.”
One other candidate in the race for attorney general, state Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, filed paperwork in April indicating plans to run for the post.
by Dave Williams | Jun 2, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The checks are about to go out in the mail.
The Georgia Department of Revenue will begin issuing one-time state income tax refunds to taxpayers this week, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday.
The General Assembly approved the rebate – the third this decade – during this year’s legislative session.
“Because we’ve managed our state’s resources wisely, we’re again able to return money to hardworking Georgians who know best how to use it,” Kemp said. “Along with our acceleration of the largest income tax rate cut in state history, this latest refund is just one more way we’re working to support the people of our state, their families, and their businesses.”
Single taxpayers and married people filing separately will receive a rebate of up to $250, with $375 going to heads of households and $500 headed to married couples filing jointly.
The state issued previous one-time tax rebates in 2022 and 2023. Most eligible taxpayers who filed both 2023 and 2024 individual income tax returns in a timely manner, have paid into the system, and do not owe the state any taxes can expect to receive a rebate within the coming weeks.
Taxpayers can check their eligibility using the Surplus Tax Refund Eligibility Tool, available through the Georgia Tax Center, by inputting their tax year, Social Security or Tax Identification Number, and Federal Adjusted Gross Income.
by Dave Williams | Jun 2, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – State Rep. Jasmine Clark, D-Lilburn, will challenge veteran incumbent U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta, in next year’s Democratic primary, Clark announced Monday.
Clark, a microbiologist, said she wants to bring a science perspective to Democrats’ fight against Republican President Donald Trump’s agenda and to congressional Republicans who won’t stand up to the president.
“These are not normal times, and I cannot sit back and watch my community come under attack while our leaders in Washington fail to show up,” she said in a prepared statement. “I’m running for Congress to be a fighter for Georgia families, science and reason.”
Clark was elected to the General Assembly in 2018 and has survived two attempts by GOP House leaders to defeat her by redrawing her Gwinnett County district to favor Republican challengers.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree at the University of Tennessee, Clark earned a doctorate in microbiology and molecular genetics from Emory University and now serves as an assistant biology professor at Emory. She is a single mother raising two children.
Scott, who will turn 80 this month, was elected to the House in 2002 and is seeking his 12th term representing Georgia’s 13th Congressional District, which includes all of Rockdale County and parts of Gwinnett, DeKalb, Henry, Clayton, and Newton counties.
