by Dave Williams | Jan 21, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – In a reversal of the usual pattern, the latest winter storm is expected to dump more snow on Middle and South Georgia than the northern half of the state.
A winter storm warning posted for Middle and South Georgia is predicting up to five inches of snow in those regions starting Tuesday afternoon, while metro Atlanta and North Georgia are expected to get no more than two inches, Will Lanxton, a meteorologist with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) told reporters Tuesday morning during a briefing at the State Operations Center in southeast Atlanta.
Georgia Commissioner of Transportation Russell McMurry said DOT crews have shifted some of their 448 snowplows further south to treat roadways with brine after the weather forecast called for the southern half of the state to get more snow and ice than originally anticipated.
“We have done what we can to get ahead of this very large impact,” he said.
The state Capitol complex will be closed both Tuesday and Wednesday, forcing the cancellation of two days of hearings on Gov. Brian Kemp’s budget requests. Schools and universities across the state also were closed on Tuesday.
A statewide state of emergency will be in effect through Jan. 28, which prohibits price gouging, suspends hours-of-service limitations for commercial vehicle operators involved in the storm response, and temporarily increases weight, height, and length limits for commercial vehicles transporting emergency supplies.
McMurry said motorists appear to have learned the lesson of “Snowmageddon,” the snowstorm that paralyzed the metro region in 2014. Traffic in the region was about 20% below normal on Tuesday morning, he said.
Warming stations are open across the state for residents who lose power. A list of locations can be found on GEMA’s website at GEMA.georgia.gov.
GEMA Director Chris Stallings advised motorists to stay off the roads for the next 36 to 48 hours to allow crews to clear the roads.
“Give us space to work,” he said.
With temperatures remaining below or near freezing across Georgia for the next couple of days, any snow that falls is expected to remain on the ground. Wednesday’s forecast calls for a sunshine, with warmer temperatures expected to return Thursday.
by Dave Williams | Jan 20, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – For the second time this month, Gov. Brian Kemp has declared a state of emergency in Georgia, with snow expected across the state.
A winter storm watch is in effect in 128 of the state’s 159 counties, with forecasts calling for up to two inches of snow between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.
“Before the full force of the incoming winter weather arrives, many Georgians are already experiencing dangerously low temperatures ahead of expected freezing precipitation on Tuesday,” Kemp said Monday. “As we continue to coordinate with state and local officials throughout the state, I urge everyone to make their own preparations to ensure they and their families are safe over the coming days, especially if road conditions prevent travel.”
With Kemp’s emergency declaration, the State Operations Center in southeast Atlanta has been activated, and the Georgia Department of Defense has been authorized to deploy up to 250 Georgia National Guard troops should they be needed for preparation, response, and recovery efforts.
State offices in Atlanta, including the Georgia Capitol, will be closed on Tuesday, and agency officials outside of Atlanta will have discretion to close and have their employees work from home. The first two of three days of hearings on Kemp’s budget proposals to the General Assembly that had been due to start on Tuesday have been canceled.
Wintry precipitation is expected to begin in Southwest and West-Central Georgia late Tuesday morning or early Tuesday afternoon and cover most of Central and South Georgia by sunset. Low temperatures will be in the teens across North and Central Georgia Wednesday morning and in the 20s across South Georgia.
Any precipitation that falls is likely to remain through at least Wednesday. But afternoon highs should reach the low 40s on Thursday, allowing the snow and ice to melt.
Power outages and tree damage are possible, especially in South Georgia where the highest ice accumulations are expected.
The state Department of Transportation began treating roadways with brine on Sunday morning, focusing on pre-treating interstates, state routes, bridges, and overpasses. For those who must travel, motorists are advised to leave room for DOT crews to continue treating and clearing roads.
Like the earlier emergency declaration, the governor’s executive order prohibits price gouging, suspends hours-of-service limitations for commercial vehicle operators involved in response activities, and temporarily increases weight, height, and length limits for commercial vehicles transporting emergency supplies.
by Dave Williams | Jan 20, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp leaves for Europe this week on a trade mission to Germany and Poland.
The trip is intended to strengthen the Peach State’s existing economic and cultural ties with the two countries and develop new relationships that will create jobs.
Georgia’s connections already are strong with Germany, Kemp said late last week.
“Georgia’s partnership with Germany has been instrumental in our economic success, as they are one of our largest trade partners and a major contributor to job creation and investment in our state,” he said.
“German companies excel in industries like life sciences and automotive manufacturing, and Georgia serves as a strategic gateway for them and other European businesses entering the U.S. market,” state Commissioner of Economic Development Pat Wilson added.
German automotive firms alone have generated about 2,200 jobs and $830 million in investments to Georgia communities. Germany is the fourth-largest export and import market for Georgia, with more than $12.8 billion in trade moving back and forth in 2023.
In addition, exploring emerging markets such as Poland allows Georgia to stay ahead of global trends, build new partnerships, and help local companies expand overseas.
Kemp and representatives of the economic development agency will meet with executives from firms already operating or under construction in Georgia and attend diplomatic and relationship-building events.
by Dave Williams | Jan 17, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Business leaders are gearing up to defend the growing proliferation of power-hungry data centers in Georgia from an expected pushback in the General Assembly by critics worried about the industry’s impact on electric rates.
Gov. Brian Kemp vetoed a bill the legislature passed last year that would have temporarily suspended a state sales tax exemption aimed at attracting data centers to Georgia.
Republican legislative leaders had supported House Bill 1192, arguing the rapid growth of data centers is putting a strain on the state’s energy grid.
“They put an enormous demand on electric and water resources,” said energy lawyer Bobby Baker, a former member of the Georgia Public Service Commission. “If these data centers come in, you’re taking an enormous amount of electricity that could power a manufacturing plant that creates a lot more jobs and eliminating that option. It’s going to hurt Georgia.”
But Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, which urged Kemp to veto the bill, said data centers are springing up in Georgia and elsewhere because people want them.
The latest example is an application submitted Thursday for a proposed 2.5-million-square-foot data center complex in Newton County occupying nine buildings.
“These data centers are a response to consumer demand,” Clark said.
Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns announced earlier this month the creation of a special committee to develop a resource management plan for the state that will take into account the anticipated effects of the growing demand for energy and water on supplies. While Burns said the panel will not specifically target data centers, they are likely to occupy a good deal of its time.
“We haven’t had a state energy plan since 2006,” Clark said. “It’s a smart move.”
State Rep. Brad Thomas, R-Holly Springs, who will chair the committee, said its work will continue after the General Assembly adjourns the 2025 session in early April.
“We’ll do the bulk of our work in the off-season,” he said. “We can’t just go in and take a bite at such an important piece of our economy in nine weeks.”
Baker said the tax incentives last year’s legislation was seeking to suspend are neither necessary nor justified. He and other critics of data centers say they don’t provide the economic impact to justify offering tax breaks.
“They create a handful of jobs,” he said. “There’s no benefit to Georgia.”
Baker also argued that the volume discounts such large users of electricity get drive up electric rates for residential and small business customers, which have soared by 37% in the last two years.
“These large customers all qualify for these marginal rates that are a quarter of what we pay,” he said. “We don’t need any more increases for residential and small commercial folks. They have been pounded hard.”
But Clark said the storage capabilities of domestic data centers in Georgia and other states are vital to the nation’s national security at a time data centers are cropping up all over the world and storing Americans’ personal information.
“We want that data stored as close to home as possible,” he said.
Clark said he expects the special committee to examine Georgia’s long-term energy needs through 2040 or 2050.
“I hope we don’t scapegoat or pick winners and losers,” he said.
Thomas said he expects the committee to hold its first meeting during the week of Jan. 27.
by Dave Williams | Jan 17, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who presides over the Georgia Senate, said Friday that he won’t tolerate any future episodes like what happened Thursday when Sen. Colton Moore was arrested for trying to enter the state House chambers.
As members of the House and Senate gathered for Gov. Brian Kemp’s annual State of the State address, Moore, R-Trenton, was wrestled to the ground outside the chambers by a House staffer, then arrested and hauled away by Capitol Police.
House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, banned Moore from the House floor last March after the far-right senator from Northwest Georgia made disparaging remarks about the late Speaker David Ralston, whose memory was being honored in the House and Senate on what would have been his 70th birthday. Ralston died in 2022.
On Friday, two House members took different sides on the controversy, speaking on the House floor. One criticized Moore’s arrest as a violation of his constitutional rights, while the other defended the ban on Moore as appropriate considering what he had said about Ralston.
Jones left no doubt where he stands.
“What happened yesterday was an embarrassment for the General Assembly,” the lieutenant governor told his Senate colleagues Friday. “It shouldn’t happen again.”
Jones said he met with Burns after Moore’s arrest to defend the senator’s right to attend the governor’s speech.
Later Friday, Burns released a statement indicating that lawmakers would not be barred from future joint sessions of the General Assembly.
“While the senator’s actions were despicable and hurtful to all who knew, respected and loved former Speaker David Ralston, we know that Speaker Ralston’s first priority was always to serve the people of our great state, and he wouldn’t want that important work to be hindered,” Burns said.
“For this reason, the Ralston family has expressed to their family here in the House that they desire for our chamber to resume business as normal – with all members of the General Assembly present – for any future joint sessions with or without the apology they and the House deserve.”
Moore thanked Jones for his support and said he received many encouraging texts and phone calls from senators after the incident.
“I appreciate your willingness to support the Constitution of the United States,” Moore said. “The Constitution is sacred. I thank you for recognizing that.”
After his arrest, Moore was charged with a misdemeanor of willful obstruction of law enforcement officers and released after posting bail.
A former member of the House elected to the Senate in 2022, Moore has been a lightning rod, drawing criticism from fellow Republicans to the point that he was suspended from the Senate GOP Caucus in September 2023 after he unsuccessfully pushed for a special legislative session to investigate Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ prosecution of former President Donald Trump.
