by Ty Tagami | Nov 10, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — The one in eight Georgians who rely on food stamps to put meals on the table will start receiving their money on Tuesday.
The Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) said recipients who were supposed to receive deposits to their electronic benefit transfer cards last week will see the transactions post, but they will be getting less money than they normally do.
“SNAP recipients will receive up to 65% of their normal benefit amount depending on their household income and other deductions,” the agency announced Sunday after receiving yet another communique from the federal government about the distributions.
A DHS spokesperson confirmed Monday that the plans had not changed.
They are based on a message Saturday from Patrick Penn, a U.S. Department of Agriculture deputy under secretary overseeing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. His latest guidance warned states not to issue full benefits or risk financial consequences.
It was the sixth time the USDA had changed the rules for states since the first guidance went out a month ago, on Oct. 10.
Penn, who had told states last week that they could issue full benefits, said the new mandate was based on the decision Friday by the U.S. Supreme Court to grant a stay against an order by a federal judge in Rhode Island requiring the agency to immediately release full November funding.
Some recipients in Georgia normally begin receiving deposits on the fifth of each month. The payments roll out to others on odd dates through the 23rd. Anyone who normally would have received their November allotment by now will see the deposits Tuesday, the state said. Thereafter, the reduced deposits will return to the normal schedule.
by Ty Tagami | Nov 10, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Hundreds of flights in and out of Atlanta were cancelled or delayed Monday amid the ongoing government shutdown.
At 41 days, this shutdown was longer by nearly a week than the prior record of 35 days set during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Last week, as the U.S. Senate seemed locked in stalemate, the Trump administration ordered a gradual cutback in the number of flights at the country’s 40 largest airports, starting with 4% Friday and reaching 10% Tuesday.
The Federal Aviation Administration had said the slowdown was necessary to alleviate strain among air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay since the country began operating without a budget Oct. 1.
On Monday, that translated to 220 cancellations and another 207 delays at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to the flight-tracking service FlightAware. That works out to about 10% of the average 2,100 daily flights cancelled and another 10% delayed.
FlightAware was expecting a gradual winding down of disruptions later in the week, with about 100 cancellations Tuesday and fewer than 70 Wednesday.
Meanwhile, on Monday Congress seemed poised to reach an agreement on reopening the government ahead of the busy holiday travel season, as the U.S. Senate signaled a deal on passage of a continuing resolution to fund the government into January.
by Ty Tagami | Nov 7, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia’s net tax collections rose by 6.9% last month compared to October of last year, accelerating ahead of percentage gains the prior two months, according to new state figures reported Friday.
October net collections exceeded $2.7 billion. That was less than the nearly $3.3 billion in September, but it was more than the $2.5 billion in October 2024, according to the numbers from the Georgia Department of Revenue.
The October year-over-year increase beat September’s 1.9% gain.
October individual income tax collections of more than $1.3 billion were up 6.3%, or nearly $79 million, over the same month in 2024 as tax refunds rose 4.2% and withholding payments fell 0.6%.
Corporate income tax collections fell 12.2%, bringing in $8.5 million less than in October last year.
Motor fuel taxes gained 8% for an extra $14.2 million, and tag and title fees rose 26.6%, for $8.6 million.
The title ad valorem tax rose 11.8%, raising an extra $7.9 million compared to a year ago.
by Ty Tagami | Nov 7, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — The federal government said Friday that it will comply with a judge’s order to issue full benefits for this month to its food assistance program for low-income households.
In a letter to state directors of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, Patrick A. Penn, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) official who oversees the program, said the agency “will complete the processes necessary” to make funds available and comply with an order Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island.
Previously, the administration of President Donald Trump had said it only had enough funding during the government shutdown to cover about half of November SNAP benefits and said that is how much it would send to states to distribute among recipients.
Penn, the USDA under secretary for Food Nutrition, and Consumer Services, had said in a court filing Monday that the decision to cut deposits in half would delay distribution “anywhere from a few weeks to up to several months.”
Reducing the payouts would have forced states to reconfigure their systems that calculate how much each recipient receives, contributing to delays.
Penn’s letter was sent to the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS), which uses a contractor to distribute SNAP benefits to recipients’ electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards.
“We are working with Conduent, the State’s EBT vendor, to establish a timeline and process for benefit issuances,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement Friday.
Penn sent his letter on the 38th day of a record-breaking government shutdown. His agency’s website bore a prominent message blaming Democrats and accusing the party of compromising SNAP and other programs, including food inspection, for political “leverage” points involving “gender mutilation” and “healthcare for illegals.”
SNAP disbursals to Georgia recipients have already been delayed at least two days. Distributions usually begin on the fifth of each month for a program that feeds 1.4 million Georgia residents, many of them children.
by Ty Tagami | Nov 7, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Airlines flying to and from Atlanta have begun trimming flights in reaction to a federal mandate that stems from the government shutdown.
The order from the Federal Aviation Administration, which applies only to domestic flights, was triggered by “increased reports of strain” among air traffic controllers and the pilots they serve.
Federal workers, including air traffic controllers, have had to work without pay for more than five weeks.
“We are seeing signs of stress in the system, so we are proactively reducing the number of flights to make sure the American people continue to fly safely,” Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford said. “The FAA will continue to closely monitor operations, and we will not hesitate to take further action to make sure air travel remains safe.”
A 4% reduction in operations at 40 of the busiest U.S. airports, including at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, started Friday and will increase gradually to 10% by Tuesday.
Airlines must issue full refunds for cancellations.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines is advising customers that they can reschedule for free for travel by Nov. 18 or simply cancel. The carrier said it expected the “vast majority” of flights to operate on time.
United Airlines said it was focused on reducing flights that do not travel between its hubs. It is allowing any customer, even those holding non-refundable and basic economy tickets, to request a refund if they do not want to fly during the flight reductions.
Politicians continued to trade blame for the record-breaking shutdown, which extended to 38 days on Friday.
Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, said he cosponsored bipartisan legislation to pay air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration workers during the shutdown. He also said he voted for another bill to pay some federal employees, but it failed on the Senate floor.
“The American people and our federal workers must not be held hostage by Washington politicians’ games,” Warnock said.
The White House said Friday that the FAA safety restrictions “loom like a guillotine” over the upcoming holidays, adding, “Democrats are inflicting their man-made catastrophe on Americans just trying to make life-saving medical trips or get home for Thanksgiving.”
