ATLANTA – The Port of Brunswick enjoyed a banner year in 2023, but it was an off year for the Port of Savannah.
Brunswick handled a record 775,565 units of autos and machinery last year, an increase of 15.6% over 2022.
The increased traffic at Brunswick came at the same time the Georgia Ports Authority was investing $262 million to expand Colonel’s Island.
The list of improvements includes three new warehouses, 122 acres of new Roll-on/Roll-off cargo storage space, and a fourth Ro/Ro berth now in the engineering stage. Planning has begun for a new rail yard.
“At its current rate of growth, the Port of Brunswick is poised to become the nation’s busiest gateway for Roll-on/Roll-off cargo,” said Griff Lynch, the ports authority’s executive director. “We will be ready to serve this growth with our capital improvement projects underway and available land to expand to demand.”
Meanwhile, the Port of Savannah’s containerized cargo business suffered a decline last year. Savannah ended 2023 with a total of 4.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo, a decrease of 16% from the previous year.
Ports officials blamed the decline on inflation and higher interest rates that slowed consumer spending, resulting in higher inventories in warehouses.
“We are using this time to invest in capacity for future needs,” Lynch said. “With the new year, we are beginning to see renewed strength in container volumes, which should result in more favorable comparisons moving forward the next six months.”
The ports authority has committed to $4.2 billion in improvements at the Port of Savannah during the next decade. The project list includes expansions of Container Berth 1 at the port’s Garden City Terminal and storage space at Savannah, a new on-port office and refrigeration facility for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, and a new transload facility for faster movement of containers from ships to over-the-road trailers.
ATLANTA – Legislation that would make it easier for owners of marshland property in Georgia under grants that date back to the 1700s to establish that ownership narrowly cleared a state House committee Tuesday.
The House Judiciary Committee voted 6-5 to send House Bill 370 on to the Rules Committee to schedule a vote of the full House.
About 10% of the state’s total marshland – more than 36,000 acres – is privately owned through titles that date back to grants from the English king or – later – a Georgia governor.
But when owners seek to establish clear title to their properties, they must navigate a cumbersome, expensive process through the state attorney general’s office that can take years to complete.
The bill would turn over the process of reviewing claims to marshland property to the State Properties Commission.
“This bill streamlines the process and puts some deadlines on it,” Rep. Matt Reeves, R-Duluth, the measure’s chief sponsor, said Tuesday.
Reeves pitched the bill to the committee as a way to restore marshland disturbed by rice farming over the years to its natural state. The legislation limits the use of privately owned marshland to conservation purposes.
“For 200 years, rice farms and manmade alterations have not repaired themselves,” Reeves said. “Mother Nature needs help.”
Reeves said providing a faster way to clear up “clouded” titles to privately owned marshland property would allow conservation projects stalled by legal disputes to begin.
While no one spoke in opposition to the bill Tuesday, representatives of environmental groups warned at a previous hearing that the legislation would make the process of clearing title to marshlands so easy it would encourage false claimants to step forward and take advantage of state tax credits.
The version of the bill the committee approved Tuesday would give the State Properties Commission nine months to resolve title disputes. The original bill limited that review to six months, but opponents argued the complex nature of legal disputes dating back centuries requires more time to resolve.
If a dispute is still unresolved after nine months, the case would go to a special master. Any cases not resolved by the special master could be appealed to superior court.
ATLANTA – Longtime state Rep. Richard Smith died suddenly overnight at the age of 78 after fighting the flu.
Smith, R-Columbus, was chairman of the House Rules Committee, the “traffic cop” that decides which bills make it to the floor of the chamber.
“This morning, the entire Kemp family is saddened by the news of Representative Smith’s passing,” Gov. Brian Kemp said in a prepared statement. “A longtime public servant and valued friend, he represented the Columbus area well and had an important impact on the entire state.”
After serving as a cooperative extension agent with the University of Georgia, Smith joined the Columbus’ consolidated government as interim city manager in 1989. A decade later, he was elected to the Columbus City Council.
Smith moved on to the state House of Representatives in 2004 and rose through the ranks to his appointment to chair the Rules Committee in 2020.
Members of the Columbus House delegation from both parties paid tribute to Smith Tuesday from the well of the House.
“Columbus has lost a giant of a man,” said Rep. Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus. “He always kept the city of Columbus before him.”
Rep. Vance Smith, R-Pine Mountain, said Smith had a “big heart” but could be tough on his legislative colleagues when it came to deciding whether to let bills reach the House floor.
“You better come to him with something great,” he said. “If not, it went in the trash.”
Rep. Debbie Buckner, D-Junction City, sat beside Smith in the House chamber for years.
“He could act gruff, almost scary at times to prove a point, to share his feelings,” she said. “But underneath, he was a really good man.”
Smith was the third House Rules Committee chairman to die in office in recent years. Rep. John Meadows, R-Calhoun, died of stomach cancer in 2018 at the age of 74. Rep. Jay Powell, R-Camilla, died unexpectedly a year later at the age of 67.
ATLANTA – A state Senate committee overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday legalizing sports betting in Georgia.
Under Senate Bill 386, which the Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee passed 8-2, the Georgia Lottery Corp. would award 16 licenses to sports betting operators.
Five licenses would go to Atlanta’s pro sports teams: the Braves, Falcons, Hawks, Dream, and Atlanta United. The Augusta National Golf Club, the Professional Golf Association (PGA), and the Atlanta Motor Speedway would receive one license each.
Seven licenses would be open to sports betting operators through an application process overseen by lottery officials. The lottery corporation also would receive one license.
Twenty percent of the adjusted gross revenues derived from sports betting would go toward Georgia’s HOPE Scholarships and pre-kindergarten programs.
The bill would legalize sports betting without requiring a constitutional amendment. Whether bringing sports betting to Georgia without amending the state’s constitution is legal has been a subject of debate among lawmakers for several years.
A second sports betting measure that does require a constitutional amendment cleared the Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee during the first week of this year’s legislative session.
On Monday, representatives of the Metro Atlanta Chamber and PrizePicks, a daily fantasy sports operator, spoke in favor of the bill.
Nick Fernandez, director of government affairs for the chamber, said the bill would generate an estimated $100 million annually for HOPE and pre-k.
Stuart Wilkinson of PrizePicks told the committee adding fantasy sports to the mix would add another $35 million.
Several spokesmen for faith-based organizations spoke out in opposition to the bill.
“Gambling is basically legalized fraud,” said Mike Griffin, public affairs representative for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. “You can’t win. The industry can’t lose.”
“The disastrous effects of problem gambling are well known and well documented,” added Mack Parnell, executive director of the Georgia Faith and Freedom Coalition.
Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, the bill’s chief sponsor, said it includes provisions aimed at preventing problem gambling, including ads educating Georgians about the potential pitfalls of betting on sports and “self-limit” tools bettors could use to cap the amount they spend on bets.
The bill has bipartisan backing. Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler, D-Stone Mountain, is among the cosponsors.
The legislation now heads to the Senate Rules Committee, which will decide whether to put it before the full Senate.
ATLANTA – Supporters of legislation banning mining near the Okefenokee Swamp held a news conference at the Georgia Capitol Monday to urge Georgia lawmakers to pass the measure.
“The threat of mining is very real,” said Alice Miller-Keyes, vice president of coastal conservation for the Brunswick-based environmental organization 100 Miles. “House Bill 71 offers some hope of protection.”
The bill was introduced last year and enjoys the backing of 94 of the 180 House members. But it has yet to gain a committee vote in the House let alone reach the floor.
“The Okefenokee Protection Act will forever protect the swamp and (Trail) Ridge,” said Rep. Darlene Taylor, R-Thomasville, the bill’s chief sponsor.
Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals is seeking state permits to mine titanium dioxide on Trail Ridge, the Okefenokee’s eastern hydrologic boundary.
While company executives have said the proposed mine would not harm the swamp, scientific studies have concluded it would significantly damage one of the largest intact freshwater wetlands in North America by drawing down its water level and increasing the risk of drought and fires.
The bill’s supporters said Monday its chances for passage have improved since last year’s legislative session. For one thing, the National Park Service announced last September it is asking officials at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to prepare a draft nomination for the Okefenokee to become the 25th UNESCO World Heritage Site in the United States.
Also, 14 cities and counties across South Georgia have passed resolutions supporting Turner’s bill.
Supporters also pointed to the Okefenokee Swamp’s contribution to the region’s economy from the growing ecotourism business. An estimate in an article published by Georgia Trend magazine put the swamp’s annual economic impact at $64.7 million, including 700 jobs.
“The Okefenokee is Mother Nature at its best,” retired teacher Betty Benner of Wayne County said Monday. “(But) mining poses a threat to the Okefenokee becoming a World Heritage Site.”
Taylor said her bill wouldn’t prevent the Twin Pines mine from opening because its permit applications have already been submitted. But she said the measure would protect the swamp from future mining projects.
