ATLANTA – The Georgia State Patrol is planning to build a new post on the grounds of the Governor’s Mansion in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Friday.
The 1,750-square-foot facility and garage bay will house 12 troopers directly assigned to the post and accommodate up to 30 troopers while maintaining the historic integrity of the mansion and surrounding grounds.
“With this new patrol post, our dedicated state troopers will have another base of operations as they take the fight directly to criminals,” Kemp said. “I look forward to seeing its positive impact on the Buckhead community.”
A rise in violent crime in Buckhead prompted calls among some Republicans in the General Assembly earlier this year for creating a separate city of Buckhead. But legislation calling for a referendum on cityhood for Buckhead failed on the floor of the state Senate last March.
The Georgia House added $1.3 million to this year’s state budget to fund the new post at the Governor’s Mansion. Construction is due to begin next year.
“This new patrol post is a significant long-term investment in public safety by the state of Georgia,” said House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington. “The patrol post will not only improve response times to incidents in and around the city of Atlanta but also improve coordination between state and local enforcement.”
ATLANTA – The State Transportation Board Thursday approved a $100,000 pay raise for Commissioner of Transportation Russell McMurry, increasing his annual salary to $550,000.
The 22% increase cleared the board unanimously without discussion.
The raise was the second in just more than two years for McMurry. He also got a $100,000 pay hike in May 2021.
The increase boosted McMurry from ninth to seventh on the list of the highest paid state employees, according to the website openpayrolls.com. He is topped only by Charles Cary, chief investment officer for the Teachers Retirement System, two co-investment officers for the TRS, the state’s chief operating officer and chief commercial officer, and Griff Lynch, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority.
Cary is the highest paid state employee with an annual salary of $1.06 million, followed by Lynch, who is paid nearly $995,000, according to the website.
Openpayrolls.com did not include employees of the University System of Georgia, including University of Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart or university system Chancellor Sonny Perdue.
McMurry oversees an annual DOT budget of more than $3.7 billion, including $2.1 billion in state funds, and a payroll of nearly 3,900 employees.
McMurry was appointed commissioner in 2015 after serving as the agency’s director of planning and chief engineer. He began his career with the DOT in 1990.
ATLANTA – Georgia’s mental health agency has broken ground on the state’s first crisis support center specifically designed for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The Crisis Stabilization Diagnostic Center is expected to open at the beginning of 2025 in downtown Macon.
“This project represents a significant milestone in our commitment to make sure individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have access to the right care at the right time,” Kevin Tanner, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, said during a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday.
“[It] exemplifies our dedication to our mission to ensure that everyone, regardless of their abilities, receives the highest quality of care and attention they deserve.”
The center is the result of a partnership between the state, Mercer University, and River Edge Behavioral Health. The 34,000-square-foot facility will offer a broad range of services, including behavioral health assessments, psychiatry, neurology, physical and occupational therapy, speech and language pathology, dentistry, and ophthalmology.
“Often, individuals with disabilities experience a crisis that may look like a behavioral health issue on the surface but is rooted in a physical issue,” Tanner said. “This center is designed with these important Georgians’ whole health in mind and with the recognition that these services are critical to community-based care.”
The center also will feature a training component to help members of Georgia’s future health-care workforce better serve those with disabilities.
Gov. Brian Kemp (center) with officials from Hyundai Motor Group at last year’s groundbreaking.
ATLANTA – A nonprofit organization that promotes close ties between the United States and Korea is honoring Gov. Brian Kemp and the Georgia Department of Economic Development for the state’s strong partnership with the Asian nation.
Kemp accepted the annual James A. Fleet Award, named for the general who commanded the U.S. Army at the height of the Korean War in 1951, Wednesday night at The Korea Society’s 2023 dinner in New York City. Fleet also was the nonprofit’s first president.
During a keynote address, Kemp stressed the strong and enduring partnership between Georgia and Korea.
“My first economic development mission as governor was to Korea,” Kemp said. “For Georgia to be the first state to receive this great honor alongside the former U.S. presidents, diplomats, and business icons who have been presented with this award in previous years is a true privilege.”
At least 144 Korean companies have operations in Georgia. Korean investment in economic development projects in the Peach State has exceeded $23.6 billion during the last decade, with total trade between Korea and Georgia reaching $13 billion last year.
Highlights of the Georgia-Korea partnership include the Kia automotive manufacturing plant, which opened in West Point in 2009; the huge electric vehicles “metaplant” Hyundai Motor Group is building west of Savannah; and the battery manufacturing facility SK Battery is building near Cartersville. Other Korean companies operating in Georgia include Kumho Tire and Hanwha Qcells.
“Georgia’s long-term commitment to diplomatic, cultural, and business engagement in Korea has supported transformative growth over decades, providing economic benefits for both countries,” Georgia Commissioner of Economic Development Pat Wilson said. “The priority we’ve placed on mutual partnerships, connectivity, responsiveness, and education has positioned us to maximize our leadership position to pave the way to a brighter future for generations to come.”
ATLANTA – Georgia manufacturing executives and a local economic developer defended the state’s tax incentives Wednesday to a legislative committee formed to determine whether Georgians are getting a healthy return on the revenue lost to tax credits and exemptions.
“We have been successful in the state of Georgia because of the tax policies we have,” Missy Kendrick, president of the Rome-Floyd County Development Authority, told members of the General Assembly’s Joint Tax Credit Review Panel meeting in Rome.
House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, formed the committee in March to take a look at all of Georgia’s tax incentives and determine whether they’re accomplishing the corporate investment and job creation for which they were intended.
At the panel’s opening hearing in June, supporters of Georgia’s film tax credit – by far the most expensive tax incentive the state offers – defended it as a major contributor to the success story of the state’s film industry, which has grown exponentially since the credit was adopted in 2008.
On Wednesday, it was Georgia manufacturers’ turn to urge the committee not to tamper with tax credits and exemptions that have helped their industries expand their presence in the Peach State.
The General Assembly adopted legislation a decade ago exempting inputs used in manufacturing – including energy – from sales taxes. At the time, only eight states were not offering the exemption, said Clay Jones, vice president and general counsel for the Georgia Association of Manufacturers.
“We don’t want to put our manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage,” he said.
Ballard Betz, president and CEO of The Lewis Chemical Co., a Rome-based manufacturer with 70 employees in four Georgia counties, said the sales-tax exemption is critical to his company staying afloat amid intense foreign competition.
“We cannot afford to give foreign companies an undue advantage over domestic manufacturers,” he said.
The committee also heard the other side of the tax incentives argument Wednesday from Nick Stark, director of tax and fiscal policy for the American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization of state legislators that advocates limited government and free markets. He said broad-based tax cuts are a better way to drive business growth than tax incentives aimed at specific industries.
“The government doesn’t know how to pick winners and losers,” Stark said. “A better overall tax system with lower rates is a better incentive.”
Kendrick praised the formation of the tax review panel as a move toward fiscal responsibility and responsible government and said she’s confident the tax incentives Georgia offers to manufacturers will prove their benefit. She urged the committee not to do anything that would hurt Georgia manufacturers’ ability to compete.
“These other states are watching what we’re doing … waiting on us to make changes that impact our ability to remain the No.-1 state in which to do business,” she said. “These tax incentives really do make a difference.”
ATLANTA – Hyundai Motor Group and Georgia Tech have entered a partnership aimed at applying hydrogen technology in electric vehicles.
Representatives of the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding Monday to join forces in researching sustainable mobility, including developing a hydrogen economy.
Hyundai is investing $12.6 billion in an EV plant west of Savannah – the largest economic development project in Georgia history – and a battery manufacturing facility near Cartersville.
“Like Georgia Tech, Hyundai is a global brand that is synonymous with quality, innovation and a commitment to advancing technology to make a positive difference in the world,” Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera said Monday.
“The more we have gotten to know each other, the more obvious the alignment of our values has become.”
“Georgia is like a second home to us,” added Jay Chang, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Co. “We are thrilled to create a partnership with Georgia Tech that includes research and applications to support the future of sustainable mobility.”
Elements of the new partnership will include joint research and development programs focused on the future of sustainable mobility, such as battery technology and expanding the use of hydrogen in EVs. Georgia Tech and Hyundai also will create technical training and leadership development programs for Hyundai employees, while Hyundai will participate in career recruitment events at Georgia Tech.
Also, Bobby Dodd Stadium on the Tech campus is being renamed Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field.
