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.
by Dave Williams | Jan 17, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp has established a state commission to promote the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence next year.
Congress established the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission in 2016 and encouraged the creation of similar commissioners in each state.
“As the 13th colony, Georgia was represented by three courageous signers of the Declaration of Independence who pledged their very lives to support it,” Kemp said Friday. “We look forward to empowering our communities in celebrating Georgia’s unique role in our country’s founding as we honor and commemorate this historic observance with partners across the state.”
The Georgia US250 Commission will be chaired by Cameron Bean, chairman of the Georgia Humanities Council’s Board of Directors, with Georgia Historical Society President and CEO Todd Groce serving as vice chair.
The commission also will include Pat Wilson, commissioner of the state Department of Economic Development; and Mark Jaronski, the agency’s chief marketing officer. Georgia Humanities Council President Mary McCartin Wearn will serve as the commission’s administrator.
The new commission is calling on local and county groups in both the public and private sectors to develop a calendar of events to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary. Organizers will receive access to the state’s Georgia US250 marketing toolkit, including the official logo and a template press release.
“The American Revolution and our experiment in self-government is an ongoing process,” Groce said. “The commission asks Georgia organizations and communities to plan and share information on their plans for civic activities that will inspire Georgians and renew their commitment to the lofty and timeless ideals embodied in the Declaration of Independence.”
by Dave Williams | Jan 17, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The Justice Department has filed a voting rights lawsuit against Houston County challenging its at-large method of electing county commissioners.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court, alleges that electing the five commissioners at large rather than by districts gives Black citizens less opportunity to elect candidates of their choice in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
While Black residents account for more than 31% of the county’s voting-age population, Black-preferred candidates for the county commission have routinely lost.
“The Voting Rights Act guarantees that all eligible citizens have an equal opportunity to participate in the democratic process and to elect representatives of their choice, regardless of race or ethnicity,” said Kristen Clarke, assistant U.S. attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“The Justice Department has a solemn duty to protect the right to vote by enforcing the Voting Rights Act and ensuring that all communities have a fair and equal chance to participate. We look forward to working with Houston County officials to bring the county into compliance with the Voting Rights Act.
In a statement, county officials said they have had discussions with Justice Department officials.
“If we agree with DOJ regarding a possible violation of the Voting Rights Act after reviewing all of the documents and evidence, we will take appropriate action at that time,” the commissioners said.
The lawsuit seeks a federal court order implementing a new method of electing county commissioners.
