by Dave Williams | Mar 18, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp named a Southwest Georgia businesswoman Tuesday to serve as the state’s 11th labor commissioner.
Barbara Rivera Holmes will step down next week from her role as president and CEO of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce to succeed Bruce Thompson, who died of cancer last fall.
Holmes also is a former member of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, which she joined after then-Gov. Nathan Deal appointed her to the post in late 2017.
“With her unique experience in economic development – especially in rural Georgia – and education, she brings unmatched knowledge and ability,” Kemp said during a news conference at the state Capitol.
“Throughout my career, I’ve been committed to creating job opportunities,” Holmes said after the governor introduced her. “As labor commissioner, I pledge to continue this work.”
Thompson, a former state senator, was elected labor commissioner in 2022. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March of last year and died last November. Louis DeBroux has been serving as interim labor commissioner since then.
When asked, Holmes didn’t indicate whether she plans to run for a full four-year term next year. However, Kemp stepped in to declare in no uncertain terms that she will run and will do so as a Republican.
She will become Georgia’s first Latina statewide elected official.
by Dave Williams | Mar 18, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – A human resources company serving small and medium-sized businesses will build a new corporate center in Dunwoody, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday.
TriNet will invest $15.4 million in the 150,000-square-foot project, expected to create 750 jobs during the next five years.
“As the No.-1 state for business, one of the key drivers of our success is our metro Atlanta area that continues to attract a strong ecosystem of job creators like TriNet,” Kemp said. “TriNet’s services for small businesses will further that network while creating meaningful jobs and investment for the Dunwoody and the DeKalb County community.”
“We look forward to opening a new TriNet office in metro Atlanta and becoming a part of this vibrant and growing business community,” added Mike Simonds, TriNet’s president and CEO.
“We are excited to partner with Atlanta’s strong universities and thriving small business ecosystem as we expand our local team and establish a hub where TriNet colleagues from across the country can come together for training, development, and collaboration to better serve our customers.”
TriNet will immediately begin hiring for technology, HR consulting, client management, and sales roles, with plans to leverage its increased presence to grow its regional Atlanta and Southeast customer base.
To learn more about TriNet, including where interested individuals can apply for jobs, visit www.trinet.com/about-us/careers.
The state Department of Economic Development’s Global Commerce team worked on the project in partnership with the city of Dunwoody, Decide DeKalb, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the University System of Georgia, and Georgia Power.
by Dave Williams | Mar 17, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – All 1,100 sworn officers at the Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS) will receive training from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to help identify and apprehend illegal immigrants considered a public safety risk, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday.
DPS Commissioner Billy Hitchens has submitted a Memorandum of Agreement request to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, to participate in the federal 287(g) program.
“We take the safety of Georgians and travelers to this state very seriously,” Hitchens said Monday. “This training and collaboration between agencies increases our ability to keep our communities safe.”
The 287(g) program, authorized by the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, enables ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to act under the federal agency’s direction and oversight.
Also, an executive order issued by President Donald Trump requires ICE to utilize the program in partnership with state and local law enforcement.
The DPS isn’t the first state agency taking part in the program. The Georgia Department of Corrections has a longstanding agreement with ICE to enforce the 287(g) program inside state prisons.
Last week, ICE asked the corrections agency for two additional correctional officers to assist in the deportation of illegal immigrants who have committed crimes in addition to the sergeant and three correctional officers already taking part in the program.
While the Trump administration maintains the illegal immigrants it is deporting are criminals, lawyers representing some of those being deported say their clients’ only offense is being in the U.S. illegally, which under the law is a civil violation rather than a crime.
by Dave Williams | Mar 14, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia’s two Democratic U.S. senators voted Friday against advancing a temporary spending bill to keep the federal government open through September, charging Republicans with ramming through a harmful “continuing resolution” without consulting Democrats.
Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, however, were on the losing side, as nine Senate Democrats and one independent joined Republicans in a 62-38 vote to move forward with the bill. The measure was expected to gain final passage Friday night.
Warnock said Republicans put Democrats in an impossible position in forcing the Senate to vote on a bill that already had passed the House without a single Democratic vote.
“Instead of working together to actually improve people’s lives, craven politicians shut the door on bipartisan conversation and reemerged with an ultimatum: vote for a partisan government funding package or let the government shut down,” Warnock said.
“Make no mistake, this government funding bill is bad policy: it would spike grocery prices, cut investments in education and health care, and defund care for servicemembers exposed to burn pits.”
Ossoff suggested a better alternative for Republicans would have been to negotiate a 30-day stopgap funding bill to avoid a shutdown, giving Congress time to work out a bipartisan budget.
“The House bill … irresponsibly fails to impose any constraints on the reckless and out-of-control Trump administration,” Ossoff said. “The administration is gutting the CDC (the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the VA (Veterans Administration) while destabilizing the economy. Both parties in Congress must fulfill our constitutional obligation to check the president.”
Senate Democrats who voted to advance the bill – spearheaded by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York – argued that a government shutdown would have played into President Donald Trump’s hands by allowing the president and advisor Elon Musk even freer rein to further dismantle federal government agencies and fire thousands of workers.
by Dave Williams | Mar 13, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Both sides of the controversial tort reform issue got their say at the Georgia Capitol Thursday, not on either the state House or Senate floors but in the hallways under the Gold Dome.
A group of business owners held a news conference Thursday morning to endorse legislation Gov. Brian Kemp has singled out as his top priority for the 2025 General Assembly session.
The comprehensive bill, which the Republican-controlled Senate passed last month mostly along party lines, is intended to reduce “runaway” jury awards in civil lawsuits that business owners complain are threatening to put them out of business.
“Our industry is under attack … by frivolous lawsuits,” said Haley Bower-Frank, chief marketing officer for Flowery Branch-based Clipper Petroleum, which operates convenience stores across North Georgia. “The current situation is absolutely crushing small businesses.”
Later Thursday, victims of human trafficking and lawyers who represent victims and their families in lawsuits against businesses where trafficking takes place, held a news conference of their own to criticize Senate Bill 68. Their opposition focused mainly on a provision in the bill that establishes “premises liability” guidelines for when plaintiffs can sue business owners for negligence due to injuries suffered from criminal acts committed by a third party outside of the defendant’s control.
“This bill will give total immunity to bad actors … no matter how many safety measures they fail to take,” said Natanya Brooks, a trial lawyer with an office in Peachtree Corners. “This bill is not good for Georgians. It will cost lives.”
Survivors of human trafficking aimed most of their complaints at hotels they said are aware that human trafficking is going on inside their premises but fail to act.
At the earlier news conference, a hotel executive defended the industry’s practices when it comes to preventing human trafficking.
“Safety and security of our properties is always at the forefront,” said Frank Phair, vice president of hotel operations for Legacy Ventures Hospitality, which operates several hotels in metro Atlanta.
The bill’s opponents also criticized a provision in Senate Bill 68 that would require liability in a civil suit to be determined before the jury considers damages if either the plaintiff or defendant requests such “bifurcation” of trials. They said such bifurcation would force victims already traumatized by trafficking to testify multiple times in court.
After years of failing to push significant tort reform through the General Assembly, Republicans have built strong momentum this year, thanks in large part to Kemp’s pledge to call a special session of the legislature if lawmakers don’t act on the issue. Tort reform also is being heavily lobbied, with two business groups launching statewide ad campaigns in favor of the bill this week.
“Small businesses are the backbone of Georgia’s economy, but many local businesses are struggling under the weight of excessive litigation costs,” said Hunter Loggins, director of the state chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business. “Senate Bill 68 would help Main Street businesses focus on growth, job creation, and serving their communities instead of wasting time and money fighting unfair lawsuits.”
Meanwhile, an Atlanta personal injury law firm headed by former Democratic state Rep. Ronnie Mabra posted a billboard along the Downtown Connector in Atlanta urging a “no” vote on the bill.
The Senate bill now sits in the House Rules Committee, which formed a special subcommittee that has heard hours of testimony from both sides. It’s expected to reach the House floor for a vote next week..
Opponents said Thursday they plan to propose an amendment to the legislation to carve out human trafficking from the premises liability provision.
