ATLANTA – State and local economic development officials have closed on the bonds issued to help finance the $5 billion Rivian electric vehicles plant to be built near Interstate 20 east of Atlanta.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Joint Development Authority of Jasper, Morgan, Newton, and Walton Counties also have executed a rental agreement giving Rivian long-term rights to the project.
“Renting the site to Rivian is the next step in delivering this generational opportunity,” the two agencies wrote in a statement issued late Thursday. “Georgians in Jasper, Morgan, Newton, and Walton counties and beyond look forward to $5 billion in investment and 7,500 good-paying jobs that this innovative, American manufacturing company will bring.”
When it was first announced late in 2021, the Rivian plant was the largest economic development project in Georgia history. But it was superseded last year when Hyundai Motor Group broke ground on a $5.5 billion EV plant west of Savannah that has grown another $2 billion with this year’s announcement of an expansion of the project in partnership with LG Energy Solution.
Grading work will be completed at the Rivian site in the coming weeks, and construction will begin by early next year.
Rivian recently opened a “spaces” presence at Atlanta’s Ponce City Market as part of its marketing strategy, the company’s first physical presence in Georgia.
ATLANTA – Affordable housing advocates and their allies in the General Assembly vowed Thursday to push for legislation that would get rid of a ban on rent control in Georgia that dates back to 1984.
Senate Bill 125 would do away with the provision in state law that prohibits local governments from imposing rent control in their communities.
Major corporations, some based overseas, have increasingly been buying up residential property in Georgia in recent years and charging tenants exorbitant rents, Rodney Mullins, an affordable housing advocate who worked on housing issues at the federal level under the Obama administration, told members of the state Senate’s Urban Affairs Committee Thursday. Rents have been going up by 20% to 30% a year in some locations, Mullins said.
“Parts of Georgia are housing deserts when it comes to affordability,” he said. “People are living in Walmart parking lots.”
Mullins said soaring rents are wreaking havoc on Georgians indirectly beyond having to dig deeper into their wallets to afford a place to live.
“If you continue this erosion of the home … it will push people into areas where they have no transportation,” he said. “Without transportation, you’ve made it really tough to maintain a job.”
“We have a huge problem with tenants being evicted as rents go up,” added state Rep. Terry Cummings, D-Mableton, who was sitting in on Thursday’s Senate committee meeting. “It’s a problem across the state.”
Sen. Donzella James, D-Atlanta, who chairs the all-Democrat Urban Affairs Committee, introduced Senate Bill 125 last February. But the measure went nowhere in the Republican-controlled General Assembly.
Mullins said the bill would represent a good start toward solving the problem of high rents in Georgia. But even if it could get through the legislature, he said more steps would be needed.
“If you have rent control, you have to have an enforcement capacity,” he said. “If you don’t, the law falls flat.”
Sen. David Lucas, D-Macon, suggested Georgia could dip into the state’s unprecedented $11 billion in undesignated surplus to pay for enforcing the law. With the second year of the two-year legislative term beginning in January, the bill remains alive for consideration.
ATLANTA – A new statewide voter registration system has passed its first test with a successful run during this week’s municipal elections across Georgia.
GARViS, a cloud-based data warehousing system deployed in all 159 Georgia counties last February, allowed for a faster, more streamlined voter check-in process during early voting ahead of Tuesday’s Election Day, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Wednesday.
Then on Election Day itself, in-person voters were checked in using the state’s new electronic poll books -called Poll Pads – for the first time in state history. That let voters see voter credit on their GA My Voter Page within 30 minutes of checking in at the polls.
“The first major test of GARViS was a resounding success,” Raffensperger said. “Shorter wait times means less confusion at the polls, less errors, and increased voter confidence. We applaud our county election officials for getting the job done once again.”
GARViS was used by 122 counties that conducted municipal elections this fall. Local elections officials gave the new system positive reviews.
GARViS is the product of more than 150,000 hours of testing and deployment. The system hosts more than 12 million records of Georgia voters, including those of more than 7 million active voters.
ATLANTA – Mutual fund company Green Century Capital Management is urging chemical producer The Chemours Company and paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams to consider the environmental risks of mining titanium near the Okefenokee Swamp.
Green Century has filed shareholder proposals with the two companies opposing a plan by Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals to mine titanium dioxide on Trail Ridge, the swamp’s eastern hydrologic boundary.
Chemours, which was spun off from DuPont in 2015, manufactures and sells chemicals including titanium dioxide. Sherwin-Williams is a major carrier of titanium dioxide-based paint.
Neither company has announced specific plans to obtain titanium from a Twin Pines mine near the Okefenokee. In fact, Chemours went so far last year as to publicly state it has no plans to do business with Twin Pines or conduct mining on Trail Ridge.
But according to Green Century, neither has made a permanent commitment not to pursue mining near the swamp.
“As we face escalating climate and biodiversity crises, disrupting the Okefenokee’s unique ecosystem with risky and unnecessary titanium mining would not only be irresponsible but potentially catastrophic for the planet,” Green Century President Leslie Samuelrich said Thursday. “Both Chemours and Sherwin-Williams should commit to permanently protecting the Okefenokee.”
Boston-based Green Century points to scientific studies that conclude the Twin Pines project would significantly damage one of the world’s largest intact freshwater wetlands by drawing down its water level and increasing the risk of drought and fires. Such damage could destroy wildlife habitat, damage thousands of acres of private timberland, and release significant carbon emissions, Green Century maintains.
Twin Pines officials have said the proposed mine would not harm the Okefenokee.
The Twin Pines proposal has attracted a great deal of public attention. More than 100,000 public comments opposing the mine have poured in to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, which is considering a draft Mining Land Use Plan Twin Pines submitted early this year. A poll released last year found nearly 70% of Georgians oppose granting permits for the project.
Also, the Okefenokee is being nominated for inclusion on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites.
“Sourcing titanium from the edge of the Okefenokee could expose Chemours and Sherwin-Williams to unnecessary climate, regulatory, legal, and reputational risks,” said Annie Sanders, Green Century’s director of shareholder advocacy. “It’s frankly hard to see a strong business case for supporting mining at the Okefenokee.”
ATLANTA – Incarcerated Georgians about to leave the prison system will get a leg up on landing a job through a new pilot program unveiled Wednesday.
The Walking the Last Mile Reentry Program, to be administered by the Georgia Department of Labor in partnership with the state Department of Corrections, will provide inmates transitioning back to society individualized skills assessments, help them develop those skills based on their needs and interests, and assist them with job placement.
Key components of the initiative will include resume building, mock interviews, and connections to potential employers looking to fill open positions.
“The Walking the Last Mile program will help break the chains of incarceration by equipping participants with the skills and resources necessary for a successful reentry into society,” state Commissioner of Labor Bruce Thompson said during a news conference at the Chatham County Detention Center in Savannah.
“This innovative program is where opportunities begin for those who are seeking to embrace a fresh start and rebuild their lives.”
Recidivism rates in Georgia and throughout the nation have long been a challenge to public policy makers, due in large part to a lack of job opportunities and support for those reentering communities after being released from prison.
“By investing in rehabilitation and removing barriers to employment, we are creating opportunities for successful reentry,” Thompson said.
The program will launch next month from the Metro Reentry Facility in downtown Atlanta.
“Our goal is to give every person in the program the tools and support needed to land a good job,” said Joe Argo, who will manage the initiative for the labor department. “By tapping into people’s strengths and providing targeted assistance, we aim to help returning citizens find work and become productive members of society.”
To assess the program’s effectiveness, the labor department will monitor participants’ employment status at key milestones, including the number with job placements upon release, the rate of job retention within six months to a year, and the reduction in recidivism among participants. The assessments will guide the agency in expanding the program to other locations around the state.
The initiative is getting support from various business organizations, including the Georgia Association of Manufacturers and the Associated General Contractors of Georgia. The program will work in tandem with the state’s Work Opportunity Tax Credit program, which offers businesses tax credits for hiring qualified people who face barriers to employment.
