by Dave Williams | Jun 19, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Four Georgia communities will receive $7.5 million in grants through a state program designed to foster economic development in rural counties.
The OneGeorgia Authority’s Rural Site Development Initiative helps communities identify, assess, and develop new ready-for-development industrial sites. Eligible activities include site studies, land grading, and other infrastructure projects that support site development.
“Georgia offers the workforce, connectivity, and business-friendly environment for companies to be successful in every corner of the state,” Gov. Brian Kemp said late Wednesday. “The Rural Site Development Initiative helps us maintain that competitive edge over other states by empowering communities to build on that success and turn fields of dreams into sources of good-paying jobs for rural Georgians.”
Grants of $2 million each will go to the Development Authority of Milledgeville and Baldwin County, the Dublin-Laurens County Development Authority, and the Worth County Economic Development Authority.
The Baldwin County project will include construction of an entry road and other improvements at a 1,500-acre site called Sibley Place.
The Dublin-Laurens County grant will help finance sewage and drainage improvements at a 250-acre site along Georgia 257.
Worth County’s economic development agency will use its $2 million for water, drainage, road, and other infrastructure improvements at the 196-acres Worth County Industrial Complex.
The fourth grant – worth about $1.5 million – will go the Development Authority of Bulloch County for site grading and sewer improvements at the 69-acre Cannady Site.
In each case, the local development agency contributed a share of the financing toward each project.
“The Rural Site Development Initiative empowers communities to proactively shape economic growth that aligns with their long-term goals,” said Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “As we build on years of economic success, investing in new site development ensures we sustain and accelerate that momentum.”
This was the second round of funding under the state program. A first round of $9.3 million in grants to six local development authorities was announced last December.
by Dave Williams | Jun 18, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Three Georgia communities will receive $6.5 million in grants, the latest round of funding through the Rural Workforce Housing Initiative Gov. Brian Kemp launched more than two years ago.
The money will go toward infrastructure improvements needed to service new housing.
“Every Georgian deserves to be able to live in the community where they work,” Kemp said Wednesday. “Today’s announcement is just the latest reminder of our commitment to that idea.”
The cities of Leesburg and Greensboro each will receive $2.5 million for water, sewer, drainage and road improvements.
The Leesburg project will support the 66-unit first phase of development of a new subdivision on 130 acres. Greensboro will put its grant toward the first phase of a development of 32 homes on a 63-acre site.
The third grant announced on Wednesday – $1.5 million – will help the Joint Development Authority of Gilmer County and the cities of Ellijay and East Ellijay finance infrastructure improvements that will enable the construction of 30 townhomes on 3 acres. The various cities and developers also will contribute financing toward the projects.
After Kemp unveiled the initiative during his 2023 State of the State address, the General Assembly approved $35.7 million in startup funding. Later, lawmakers earmarked another $28 million for the program.
“Through this important initiative, the OneGeorgia Authority continues to come alongside communities committed to growth and opportunity for their citizens,” said Christopher Nunn, commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs. “These communities have shown strong partnership and initiative, and we are proud to continue to help them achieve their vision of a prosperous future.”
by Ty Tagami | Jun 18, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — A major shakeup is underway in the leadership of the Georgia Senate, after the Republican caucus elected a new majority leader and tentatively named a new president pro tempore.
The two positions rank just below the lieutenant governor, who is elected by voters statewide.
Republicans, who control the Senate, selected Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, Tuesday as the new majority leader through next year, the second half of the two-year legislative biennium.
As the lead strategist for Senate Republicans, Anavitarte, who has served in the Senate since 2021, said he will “meet this moment with focus, discipline, and a commitment to improving lives across our state.”
Anavitarte’s promotion to third in command, behind the lieutenant governor and president pro tempore, leaves his caucus chair position vacant.
Likewise, an internal caucus vote Tuesday to nominate Sen. Larry Walker III, R-Perry, as the next president pro tempore, would create another leadership vacancy. Walker, in the Senate since 2015, is majority caucus secretary (and also chairs the Senate Committee on Insurance and Labor). The full Senate will vote on his promotion when the body reconvenes in January.
The big shuffle was triggered by the anticipated departure of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. He has not yet announced a run for governor but is widely expected to do so, as the term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp prepares to leave office after next year.
Jones’ expected departure has prompted two top Senate leaders to run for lieutenant governor.
Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, the former majority leader, declared for Jones’ seat in mid-May. Sen. John F. Kennedy, R-Macon, the former president pro tem, announced the same intention at the Republican state convention in Dalton in early June.
Assuming Jones vacates his spot atop the Senate, four of the six Senate Republican leadership posts below Jones will change hands for next year’s legislative session.
by Dave Williams | Jun 18, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – It took the Georgia Department of Transportation seven months to finish clearing the massive amounts of debris Hurricane Helene left across a wide swath of the state, an engineer with the agency said Wednesday.
The DOT used 2,134 employees in the response to the storm – more than half of the agency’s staff – to haul nearly 4.8 million cubic yards of debris from 35 sites, Assistant State Maintenance Engineer Emily Fish told members of the State Transportation Board. The work was completed in April, she said.
Helene rampaged through South Georgia and north through the Augusta area in late September, killing 34 Georgians and causing heavy rainfall and widespread flooding as well as extensive power outages.
The General Assembly approved $862 million in disaster relief for victims of the storm.
Fish said the DOT has sent five applications for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The feds are expected to fully reimbursement the state for the first 120 days of recovery efforts and cover 75% of the costs after that, she said. The Federal Highway Administration also kicked in $9.1 million separately to help repair damaged roads, she said.
Fish said the state is having to provide a huge amount of documentation with the various reimbursement applications.
“It becomes incredibly tedious, but we have to do this to get that funding back,” she said.
Fish said lessons learned from the massive recovery include a need to improve communications among the various repair crews working throughout the disaster area. Cellphone service was out in some areas for up to five days following the storm, she said.
Fish said the DOT has bought 1,200 new radios and satellite phones that will help with communication the next time a hurricane or other weather emergency strikes.
The 2025 hurricane season outlook from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is calling for a 60% chance of an above-average amount of activity.
“I think we’re better prepared than ever,” Fish said. “But I hope we won’t have to respond.”
by Dave Williams | Jun 18, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – A Fulton County Jail employee has been indicted in federal court for allegedly using excessive force against prisoners.
Sgt. Khadijah Solomon, 47, is accused of repeatedly using tasers on compliant, non-resisting pre-trial detainees on three occasions last January and writing false reports about each of the incidents.
“The (Justice Department’s) Civil Rights Division has zero tolerance for law enforcement officers who abuse public trust through excessive force and concealing their misconduct,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “We will vigorously safeguard the constitutional rights of all individuals, including those in custody.”
“Abuses of power of this kind are unconstitutional, erode our community’s trust, and will be prosecuted,” added Theodore S. Hertzberg, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.
Solomon faces up to 10 years in prison for each federal civil rights violation and 20 years behind bars for each false report.
The FBI’s Atlanta Field Office is investigating the case based on a referral from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.
