Short-term rentals are a hot-button topic nationally, particularly around high-profile events like the Super Bowl.
How states and local jurisdictions handle regulations around rentals varies widely, and Georgia is no exception.
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Georgia officials reported net tax collections for April decreased by 16.5% over a year ago.
The Peach State’s April net tax collections approached $4.2 billion, a decrease of $829.5 million compared to April 2022, when net tax collections surpassed $5 billion. Despite the drop, year-to-date net tax collections of nearly $27.8 billion are up 0.9%, or $256.9 million, compared to last fiscal year.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp regularly blames Washington policies for causing inflation and hurting Georgians, but he doesn’t hesitate to announce grants — such as those for rural broadband projects — that rely on federal tax dollars.
“While failed policies coming out of Washington, D.C. are pushing us closer to a recession and forcing hardworking Georgians to endure sky-high inflation, we on the state level are doing what we can to return money back where it belongs – in taxpayers’ hands,” Kemp said in a statement earlier this month in announcing officials had issued the first round of “surplus tax refund checks” to Georgia taxpayers.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a measure to establish a commission with the power to investigate and potentially remove district attorneys from office.
But critics argue the measure attacks progressive prosecutors, saying it’s a “national right-wing coordinated effort to undo the will of voters,” particularly minority voters.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the state’s fiscal 2024 budget on Friday, saying it will help Georgia maintain its standing as “the best state for opportunity.”
“House Bill 19 funds our priorities and places our state on strong financial footing, keeping us on the road to economic growth even while policies coming out of Washington, DC, push the country closer to a recession,” Kemp, a Republican, said in remarks before the signing.
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The Georgia Department of Transportation said it awarded 18 projects valued at more than $65.2 million in March.
The largest spend, $15 million awarded to E. R. Snell Contractor, goes toward a bridge construction project on State Route 212 over Lake Jackson in Jasper and Newton counties. Bridge construction contracts represented 31% of the allocated money.
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Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has set the Peach State’s 2024 party primary elections for March 12, foiling the Democratic National Committee’s plans to move Georgia’s vote toward the front of the presidential nominating line.
Raffensperger says the DNC acted “unilaterally” in its bid to make their nominating process more “diverse” by bumping predominantly white states like Iowa and New Hampshire back and pushing more “racially inclusive” states like Georgia and Michigan to the front of the primary line.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a measure to allow Peach State hospitals to form campus police departments.
Lawmakers overwhelmingly voted in favor of House Bill 383, the Safer Hospitals Act, a measure that enhances criminal penalties for anyone who assaults a healthcare worker on a hospital campus, similar to the protections afforded to paramedics, transit drivers and law enforcement personnel.
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Georgia had more taxpayers move to the state than out between 2020 and 2021, new IRS data shows.
Federal tax forms filed in 2021 show Georgia welcomed 282,626 taxpayers and dependents, including 278,474 from other states. Conversely, 227,888 Georgians went elsewhere, including 224,629 to other states.
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Chairwoman of the nonprofit group Greater Georgia and former Georgia U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler recently joined Governor Brian Kemp as he signed Senate Bill 222, also known as the “Zuckerbucks” ban, into law.
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The latest Public Opinion Strategies (POS) poll shows Florida Governor Ron DeSantis outpacing former President Donald Trump in battleground Florida — at least in a head-to-head matchup with President Joe Biden.
But the POS poll once again underrepresents traditional Trump voters in its latest quest to spin DeSantis as more electable than the Republican Party presidential nomination frontrunner, a top pollster tells The Georgia Star News.
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Georgia officials have dispatched the first “surplus tax refund checks” to Georgia taxpayers who properly paid and filed their taxes over the past two years.
State lawmakers approved the roughly $1 billion in “refunds” as part of House Bill 162, which Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law. Citing “the state’s revenue surplus,” Georgia leaders agreed to refund the money to taxpayers.
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by Alexa Schwerha Nikole Hannah-Jones, 1619 Project creator, will receive an honorary degree from Spelman College during its commencement ceremony later this month, the college announced. Hannah-Jones will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, during the 136th commencement ceremony on May 21 and deliver the keynote speech, the announcement reads. The 1619 Project is a “reframing of American history that placed slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative,” according to its website. The book, which was a project of the New York Times Magazine, was recently adapted into a TV series on Hulu and criticized by historians for containing historical inaccuracies. Critics slammed the project for alleging the American Revolution was fought to protect slavery, which the magazine amended in 2020. “We recognize that our original language could be read to suggest that protecting slavery was a primary motivation for all of the colonists,” the update read. “The passage has been changed to make clear that this was a primary motivation for some of the colonists. A note has been appended to the story as well.” The 1619 Project was launched in 2019 and “offered a revealing new origin story for the United States” that “helped explain not only persistence of anti-Black…
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill into law on Friday that would allow families of murder victims to request a review of a cold case by law enforcement agencies.
House Bill 88, known as the Coleman-Baker Act, was passed unanimously by both chambers of the General Assembly on March 29. The bill is named after two murder victims — Rhonda Sue Coleman and Tara Louise Baker — whose unsolved cases galvanized support for the bill. Coleman was murdered in 1990 in Hazlehurst while Baker was killed in 2001 in Athens.
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Charleston’s loss has been Savannah’s gain.
The Peach State’s ports could be picking up additional business amid an ongoing dispute between the South Carolina State Ports Authority and the National Labor Relations Board.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a series of public safety bills, including a measure increasing penalties for anyone who recruits children into gangs.
Senate Bill 44 also requires judges to “consider the accused person’s criminal history record information that is available at such time” before releasing defendants on their own recognizance.
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Several voting groups filed an emergency preliminary injunction motion, hoping to lift Georgia’s voting law’s “line relief” provision.
Critics want a federal judge to halt a provision of Senate Bill 202, the Election Integrity Act, that bars volunteers from handing out food and water to voters waiting in line to cast their ballots. If granted, volunteers could give food and water to voters in lines stretching 150 feet from the polling place.
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On Saturday, 264 congregations part of the United Methodists of the Holston Conference had their requests processed to leave the denomination, citing “issues around human sexuality and other matters.”
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The Atlanta Police Department (APD) announced Sunday that they were working with the department’s Homeland Security Unit (HSU) to investigate antisemitic flyers that were distributed around the city, according to a press release.
The flyers were distributed over the weekend in East Atlanta and reportedly had a “large rainbow-colored Star of David” as well as antisemitic and “transphobic” messages, according to 11Alive, an Atlanta-based news outlet. APD announced in a press release Sunday that they were “made aware of antisemitic and transphobic flyers” and were investigating the incident alongside the HSU.
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A Georgia state lawmaker has expressed reservations about a measure Gov. Brian Kemp recently signed that proponents say will help keep teachers and students safe in the classroom.
In a news release, the governor’s office described House Bill 147, the Safe Schools Act, as a “key part of the governor’s legislative agenda this year” that “builds on his commitment to keeping Georgia’s students, teachers, and school personnel safe.”
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The George-Anne Media Group, a student-led newspaper at Georgia Southern University (GSU), is advertising Planned Parenthood across campus and on its website.
Campus Reform has obtained pictures of two separate advertisements on GSU’s Statesboro campus that read “Planned Parenthood believes your body is your own.”
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A 72-year-old Alpharetta businessman pleaded guilty in federal court to bribing two Atlanta city officials in exchange for steering millions of dollars of city business to his company.
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Georgia’s highway system is the fourth best nationwide, based on its condition and its cost-effectiveness, according to a new analysis.
The Reason Foundation’s 27th Annual Highway Report revealed the state’s ranking jumped 10 spots from its 14th place in the last report. It’s also up from 26th place in 2018.
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As the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority advances its More MARTA Atlanta Program, the agency’s position is bolstered by what an executive called “unprecedented” state funding.
MARTA officials said the agency is advancing a program estimated to cost $2.7 billion over 40 years. It is partially funded by a half-penny sales tax Atlanta voters passed in 2016.
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During the latest state legislative session, the Georgia House passed a measure that proponents say will “advance” the state’s electric vehicle industry.
The move comes after state officials have given millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded incentives to various EV projects, including $1.5 billion for a Rivian Automotive electric vehicle assembly plant in Morgan and Newton counties.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp could soon decide whether to sign legislation eliminating a college degree requirement for some state government jobs.
The state House and the state Senate overwhelmingly voted in favor of Senate Bill 3, the “Reducing Barriers to State Employment Act of 2023.”
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A design house concentrated on home fashion plans to open a new Liberty County distribution and light manufacturing facility.
New Jersey-based Creative Home Ideas, a YMF company, plans to spend more than $15 million on the facility, which state officials said will create 70 jobs. Operations at the new facility at 1962 Sunbury Road in Midway should start in 2024.
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Georgia’s net tax collections for March decreased by 3 percent from a year ago, new state revenue figures show.
While collections for the month surpassed $2.6 billion, the total was more than $82.7 million less than net tax collections a year ago.
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Former President Donald Trump only seems to be getting politically stronger since his arrest in Manhattan earlier this month — at least in the Republican Party presidential nomination chase.
The opening poll of the 2024 campaign season by the University of Georgia School of Public & International Affairs (SPIA) shows Trump with a huge double-digit lead over his nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (50.7% to 29.8%).
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A Georgia Senate committee will explore whether the state should amend its certificate of need requirement.
Leading up to this year’s session, Americans for Prosperity-Georgia launched a six-figure campaign to encourage lawmakers to repeal the CON requirement.
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Former President Donald Trump appears well positioned to claim a primary victory in Georgia over his declared and potential rivals for the Republican nomination.
Trump took 50.7% support among likely Republican voters in a recent University of Georgia survey. Coming in second was Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who took 29.8% support despite not having announced his candidacy.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed several education bills, including House Bill 147, the Safe Schools Act.
It establishes a voluntary school safety and anti-gang endorsement for teachers. Proponents say it will help them identify and stop gang activity and classroom recruitment.
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An automobile parts developer and manufacturer plans to spend more than $72 million on a new manufacturing facility in Liberty County.
However, it is unclear what incentives economic development officials provided to Seohan Auto Georgia and the cost to Georgia taxpayers.
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Across the country, policymakers are grappling with surging road maintenance expenses along with the casualties and costs of traffic accidents. According to a recent report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “[t]he $340 billion cost of motor vehicle crashes represents the equivalent of $1,035 for each of the 328 million people in the United States and 1.6% of the $21.4 trillion real U.S. gross domestic product for 2019.” Infrastructure repair will cost taxpayers an astounding $2.6 trillion over the next ten years.
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A recent analysis of impact fees across Georgia found “large differences” in how jurisdictions approach implementing impact fees.
But the clear theme of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation review is a lack of transparency.
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A Georgia school district spent nearly $5 million to train teachers and provide a social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, a new education model that has been criticized for laying the groundwork for Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the classroom, according to a public record request by No Left Turn In Education (NLTE), an organization focused on “radical indoctrination” in schools.
Gwinnett County Public Schools paid EL Education, the creator of a Language Arts curriculum grounded in SEL, to provide a K-5 curriculum and give teachers professional development training through the 2022-2023 school year, according to a NLTE public records request obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. SEL focuses on teaching students social skills for their emotional well-being and has been deemed by critics a tenant and euphemism for CRT.
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The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) took more than a year to open an investigation into allegedly intentional racial segregation in Atlanta Public Schools and purported retaliation against parents who complained.
The feds may soon face a similar complaint: keeping predominantly black and white elementary schools apart in a summer program intended to mitigate learning loss due to COVID-19 policies.
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The Georgia Department of Transportation said it awarded 22 projects totaling $162 million in February.
The agency awarded 20 of the projects on March 3. Later in the month, it awarded another two projects originally deferred during February.
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Data from the College Board shows that Georgia’s Advanced Placement pass rate has climbed to 15th in the nation.
While that’s an improvement from 17th place the past three years, the ranking has been more or less stagnant in recent years, according to numbers the Georgia Department of Education provided to The Center Square.
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A manufacturer of advanced microfiltration products and therapeutic manufacturing systems plans to build a new facility in Athens-Clarke County.
However, state officials would not confirm how much project incentives will cost taxpayers.
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Howard University announced on Wednesday that former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will join the faculty as the first Ronald W. Walters Endowed Chair for Race and Black Politics.
Abrams will join the faculty in September for a multiyear appointment, The Washington Post reported. She will “foster interdisciplinary collaborations across the University on critical issues of race and Black politics, especially those issues that affect Americans of the African diaspora,” “inspire research” about “societal problems that adversely affect African diasporic communities and other vulnerable populations” and lead a speaker series, according to the university announcement.
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The feds are sending more than $119.8 million to fund drinking water upgrades, including the removal of lead pipes, across Georgia.
The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, included $6.5 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, established with 1996’s changes to the Safe Drinking Water Act.
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Two Georgia counties are among the fastest-growing counties in the nation.
Between 2021 and 2022, Dawson and Lumpkin counties ranked among the top five counties with at least 20,000 residents with the largest annual percent growth. Between July 1, 2021, and July 1, 2022, both counties saw their populations grow by 5.8 percent.
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Georgia lawmakers signed off on legislation banning counties from soliciting or accepting donations to help administer elections.
Senate Bill 222, a so-called “Zuckerbucks” ban, specifies that public funds must pay for election administration costs. It also prohibits government employees and elections officials from receiving gifts valued at more than $500 from third-party groups to conduct primaries or elections.
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Georgia lawmakers have signed off on legislation allowing hospitals to start police departments using certified law enforcement officers, similar to the approach many colleges take.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle overwhelmingly voted in favor of House Bill 383, the Safer Hospitals Act, to send the measure to Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican. The new law would take effect in July if signed into law.
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Georgia lawmakers have sent a measure to bar TikTok and other “national security software threats” on state-owned devices.
Lawmakers in both chambers unanimously signed off on Senate Bill 93, which they say would also bar Telegram and WeChat, and sent the measure to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. It would also prohibit these applications on state devices used in the legislative and judicial branches and in the state’s K-12 schools.
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Approximately 16 Georgia House Republicans voted down a piece of school choice legislation on Wednesday that would have given taxpayer funds to students outside of the public school education system.
In a 89-85 vote, the state House killed Senate Bill 233, which would have given state funded vouchers up to $6,500 to students pursuing a private or homeschool education. Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp endorsed the legislation after it passed the Senate on March 6, urging state lawmakers to “get this over the finish line,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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A manufacturer of lightweight advanced materials for sustainable technology plans to open a manufacturing facility in Cartersville.
Hanwha Advanced Materials Georgia, a subsidiary of South Korea’s Hanwha Group, plans to spend roughly $147 million on the facility, which will supply a Qcells facility in the Bartow County community. The company plans to create 160 jobs.
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Georgia taxpayers have the eighth-best return on their “investment.”
WalletHub used 29 metrics to analyze the efficiency of state-government services across five categories: education, the economy, health, safety and infrastructure and pollution, to develop the rankings.
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Georgia will be the only state among its neighbors to allow local governments to give residential property owners a temporary break on their taxes for storm damage.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law last week House Bill 311, which was authored by State Rep. Lynn Smith, R-Newnan. It allows local governments to provide tax relief on property taxes, either through a millage rate reduction (one mill equals $1,000 worth of property value) or a credit once a disaster is declared by the federal government.
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