ATLANTA – Georgia is joining a growing number of Republican-led states in cutting off federal unemployment benefits to incentivize out-of-work employees to return to their jobs.
Gov. Brian Kemp said in an interview with Fox News Thursday that the Georgia Department of Labor will stop issuing $300 weekly checks to jobless workers effective June 26.
The governor’s remarks came three days after a coalition of statewide business organizations spearheaded by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce released an op-ed complaining companies can’t find workers for a growing list of job openings because unemployed Georgians are receiving more in state and federal jobless benefits than they could earn by going back to work.
“It is hurting our productivity not only in Georgia but across the country,” Kemp said. “We’ve got to get more people into the workforce.”
Kemp and state Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler have been working on a plan to address the issue since a meeting on Monday.
“It is critical for us to support our economy and local businesses by providing solutions to the roadbloacks many Georgians have faced when returning to work,” Butler said Thursday in a prepared statement.
“Right now, the state has a historic number of jobs listed on Employ Georgia. We are seeing some of the highest pay scales with enhanced benefits and signing bonuses.”
But worker advocates panned Kemp’s move to end the higher benefit amount Thursday, saying it is untrue that the extra $300 each month has kept many jobless Georgians from seeking new employment.
Thousands of Georgians have already returned to work since the start of the pandemic last year, contrary to Kemp’s claim that too many workers are still sitting on the sidelines, said Ray Khalfani, a research associate for the nonprofit Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI).
Even so, Khalfani stressed many Georgians are still struggling to find new jobs or return to their old ones after the pandemic battered the job market and killed many service-focused businesses, particularly for low-income and predominantly Black communities in the state.
“Although some jobs are returning that doesn’t mean everybody who wants to return to work can,” Khalfani said at a news conference Thursday.
Among them is Elizabeth Knight, a Savannah resident who has received unemployment benefits since being furloughed from her job as an employment specialist in November 2020. Knight said she has struggled to find new work in her career field while also caring for her young son.
“This unemployment is giving me a little bit of time trying to find out what’s my direction,” Knight said Thursday.
Beyond ignoring difficulties for many people to find new work, GBPI’s Khalfani also warned Kemp’s decision to end the extra benefit could drive more Georgians into poverty and depress consumer spending that was partly bolstered by the increased federal benefit.
“When you pull that floor from people who need time to be able to get back to the workforce, that’s something that’s going to hurt a lot of Georgians, hundreds of thousands,” Khalfani said.
The $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package Biden signed into law last month extends the $300 weekly unemployment checks into September.
Responding to complaints that the checks are encouraging virus-wary Americans not to return to work, Biden said this week that anyone who refuses to take a suitable job will lose their unemployment benefits.
At least a dozen states with Republican governors have moved to cut off the federal benefits, including South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee.
ATLANTA – Georgians rushing to gas stations to fill their tanks are worsening fuel shortages that began after a cyberattack shut down the Colonial Pipeline, Gov. Brian Kemp said Wednesday.
“Only get the gasoline you need,” Kemp urged motorists during a mid-afternoon news conference at the state Capitol. “Please do not go out and fill up every 5-gallon tank you have. Doing so will only mean the shortage will last longer.”
The 5,500-mile pipeline that supplies almost half of the gasoline on the East Coast shut down last Friday after a ransomware attack that has been traced to hackers operating out of Russia or Eastern Europe. Colonial restarted the pipeline late Wednesday afternoon, but company officials said service won’t be fully restored for several days.
Meanwhile, panicking motorists have been lining up at gas stations to fill their tanks, resulting in some stations running out of fuel.
With pump prices on the rise, Kemp signed an executive order Tuesday suspending the collection of the state gasoline tax. The order also lifts the usual weight limits on fuel delivery trucks.
In a move to increase supplies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved the state’s request to allow the sale of a blend of gasoline normally sold only during winter months. The state has a supply of winter-blend fuel in storage.
“We’re going to have this new product flowing quickly,” said state Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black, whose agency oversees fuel quality control in Georgia.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said his office has received more than 300 complaints of price gouging. The governor’s executive order prohibits price gouging, although pump prices have been edging higher during the last few days due to the higher costs of shipping fuel with the pipeline out of service.
“No one should be taking advantage of consumers trying to pursue their daily activities,” Carr said.
Kemp said there have been no cyber threats to the state’s computer systems in the wake of the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline.
However, state agencies involved in cybersecurity – including the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia Cyber Center and the Georgia Technology Authority – are working together on contingency plans for dealing with a threat should one occur, he said.
“We’re doing all we can to ensure if an attempt is made, our employees and agencies are well equipped to respond,” he said.
ATLANTA – Georgia tax collections soared 52.4% last month compared to April of last year, a huge increase attributed more to changes in state tax filing deadlines than a burst of economic activity.
Tax revenues rose by $963.7 million in April to more than $2.80 billion, compared to almost $1.84 billion in April 2020.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tax filing deadline last year was delayed from mid-April until mid-July. This year’s deadline falls on May 17.
Individual income taxes were up 43.6% last month compared to April of last year, driven by a 168.1% increase in payments. Tax refunds issued by the Georgia Department of Revenue rose as well but by a more modest 40.4%.
Net sales tax collections last month were up by 44.8% over April 2020.
Corporate income tax revenues skyrocketed by 396.2%, resulting from an increase in payments of 572.9% coupled with a 50% decrease in refunds.
Tax receipts covering the first 10 months of fiscal 2021 offer a more realistic comparison than the April numbers skewed by the delay in filing deadlines. From last July through April, the state brought in $21.74 billion in taxes, up a healthy 13.1% over the first 10 months of the last fiscal year.
University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley is retiring July 1.
ATLANTA – The University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted Tuesday to hire a second search firm to help choose a successor to retiring system Chancellor Steve Wrigley.
Atlanta-based Parker Executive Search, the executive search firm the board had originally retained, quit recently after opposition surfaced to choosing former Gov. Sonny Perdue for the post.
The Signal, the student newspaper at Georgia State University, reported last month that a student-led petition drive was underway opposing Perdue because of his lack of a background in higher education administration.
Perdue, a Republican, served two terms as Georgia’s governor during the 2000s.
After spending decades in agribusiness, he joined the Trump administration in 2017 as secretary of agriculture and remained during all four years of the former president’s term.
Wrigley announced in January that he would retire at the end of June after 36 years in public service, including more than four years as chancellor. Seven members of the Board of Regents formed an advisory committee to conduct a national search for a successor and hired Parker Executive Search to steer the process.
The goal of the second search firm will be to hire a new chancellor and have him or her in place by June 30, Regent Neil Pruitt Jr. said Tuesday.
Wrigley, whose retirement takes effect July 1, attended his final board meeting Tuesday. Board members thanked him for his service with a resolution and a video featuring university system students, administrators and Georgia political leaders wishing him well.
“This work has been a privilege,” the departing chancellor told board members. “Not everyone gets to do what we get to do: try to do better for our state. It’s fun.”
ATLANTA – Normal restrictions on commercial trucks in Georgia are being waived under an executive order Gov. Brian Kemp has issued in response to the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline.
The Alpharetta-based company that supplies nearly half of the gasoline consumed on the East Coast reported a ransomware attack last Friday that forced a shutdown of a 5,500-mile pipeline running from Texas to New Jersey. The FBI blamed the attack on DarkSide, a group of hackers believed to operate out of Russia or Eastern Europe.
To help relieve gasoline shortages brought on by the shutdown, Kemp issued an executive order Monday suspending federal regulations governing the number of hours commercial truck drivers can operate and waiving normal weight, height and length limits on trucks subject to state “oversize” permits.
The order also suspends the collection of gasoline and diesel fuel taxes during the emergency and prohibits price gouging.
Georgia governors have issued similar executive orders during other disruptions in fuel supplies, usually following hurricanes or other natural disasters that affect refineries or pipelines.
The shutdown of the Colonial pipeline is expected to send pump prices higher and force refiners to cut production because they can’t transport the fuel.
Kemp urged motorists not to panic.
“There is no need to rush to the gas station to fill up every tank you have and hoard gas,” he said. “With the measures we have taken today, I am hopeful we can get more supply to stations and get through to this weekend when we hope Colonial will return to normal.”
Colonial officials say they are working on “substantially restoring operational service” by the end of this week.
Kemp’s executive order is due to expire at 11:59 p.m. Saturday.
