DeKalb County’s got a situation: it wants to get rid of the massive Confederate monument that it owns in downtown Decatur. But nobody wants it.
Tag: Legislature
Posted inLatest News
New hospital planned in North Georgia as one reopens temporarily to protect state certificate
A new hospital is to be built and open in 2022 in Lumpkin County to serve an area just beyond the northern edge of the territory to be served by the soon-to-be consolidated Northside Hospital and Gwinnett Health Systems. During construction of the new facility, a closed hospital in Dahlonega is to reopen to protect a state certificate of approval of the type that some lawmakers say is outdated and should be eliminated.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Hundreds of seniors lobby Georgia capitol, demand funding, policy changes
“As the baby boomers come in, there are more that are going to need this help.”
Posted inMaggie Lee
Georgia — and other states — have rural prosperity on their minds. Now how to get it done?
The worry is building among Georgia policymakers that the differences between metro and country are too big, to the detriment of folks in rural Georgia. It’s among lots of states thinking about how to make up the difference.
Posted inLatest News
ERA, now?
The idea of ratifying ERA is getting some serious bipartisan support in the Georgia Legislature — about 36 years after the deadline to change the Constitution to guarantee equal rights for people regardless of sex.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Georgia’s new governor pitches budget: here’s a look at what is — and isn’t — in it
Georgia will have about $27.5 billion to spend in the year that begins in July. The new governor is making proposed teacher raises a centerpiece. Democrats are pressing to spend on a Medicaid expansion.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Women, people of color in Georgia Senate call out crummy committee assignments
“The eyes of Georgia are watching, especially the women of Georgia, who are now engaged in voting in record numbers. Thank goodness they’re voting and they’re engaged … ”
Posted inLatest News
Posting CEO pay of non-profit hospitals part of proposed reform of health system
Five CEOs are paid a total of more than $9 million a year to run non-profit hospitals in metro Atlanta, according to the hospitals’ latest available tax returns. These salaries, and other hospital financials, are to be made more readily available to the public as the part of a proposed effort by the state House to “revolutionize” health care delivery.
Posted inLatest News
Upcoming stop on Georgia House’s transportation agenda: freight
A powerful Georgia state lawmaker is about set in train a good look at railroads, to get more freight moving through Georgia more quickly. That might also mean better drives for folks in cars.
Posted inMain Slider
40 days of Georgia legislature begin and Atlanta’s got a wish list
The Georgia Legislature starts its annual session with a new governor and a lot of new members. The city of Atlanta wants a couple of adjustments to state law, but that’s not all of interest to the city and its residents.
Posted inLatest News
Gov.-elect Kemp calls for Georgians to “work together”
Republican Gov.-elect Brian Kemp said it’s time to “put politics behind us,” addressing a group of mainly lawmakers and lobbyists, in a bit of an opening speech ahead of his first legislative session as governor.
Posted inMain Slider
If Democrats didn’t get everything they wanted out of Election Day, neither did Republicans
The day after Election Day, an email arrived in my inbox. Entitled “Victory Breakfast,” it came from the Gwinnett Democrats. Things have changed, but not everything has changed.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Leading Gold Dome Republicans grumble about rising cost of new nukes at Vogtle
A group of Republican state legislators are now among those grumbling publicly about budget-busting costs as the Plant Vogtle expansion drags toward completion.
Posted inLatest News
Georgia Legislature sets up Atlanta tax votes, but not for BeltLine
The state Legislature closed its business this year without authorizing a BeltLine idea to raise some $100 million via a new tax on commercial and multifamily residential properties near the trail. But they did approve Atlanta votes on property taxes and extending a sewer sales tax.
Posted inLatest News
Georgia House, Senate agree on metro transit overhaul
It took until very last hour of Thursday for final passage, but the Georgia House and Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill that they mean to be the first step toward a more seamless and robust transit network in metro Atlanta.
Posted inLatest News
Georgia House panel narrows immigration enforcement bill
A state House panel has approved a bill that supporters say is a fairly narrow proposal to help federal immigration agents eject bad guys from the country. But critics say the bill will have dire consequences.
Posted inLatest News
Bill to raise $100 million for BeltLine muddles through state Senate committee
“I can tell you, the money that has been spent on the Atlanta BeltLine needs help. It’s not going to get completed without this, I don’t see how it’s going to happen,” said state Rep. Chad Nimmer, R-Blackshear, asking a state Senate committee to approve his bill.
Posted inColumns
A legislative leg up for Atlanta’s regional transit system
By Guest Columnist BRIAN GIST, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center
For years, the idea of a comprehensive regional transit system in metro Atlanta seemed unattainable. It’s hard to even imagine taking a train from Decatur to SunTrust Park, or from Duluth to Atlanta’s airport.
Posted inLatest News
State House moves three Atlanta tax bills in a row: property tax cap, sewer renewal and BeltLine
Atlanta voters may choose to cap rises in their property tax bills, and might be asked to extend a sewer tax that was supposed to end in 2020 — if legislation endorsed by the state House gets state Senate approval.
Posted inLatest News
BeltLine seeks self-taxing district for buying land, building trail
Looking to speed up the day when the BeltLine becomes a loop, the agency and some top property owners along it are looking to set up a selective property tax to bankroll land acquisition and trail-building.
