Children and other fans of heavy machinery were delighted on Tuesday as landowners and representatives of forest industries descended on the Georgia State Capitol for Forestry Day at the Capitol. With them, they brought two...more
2/12/2025
/ Economic Development ,
Georgia ,
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The Georgia State Capitol buzzed on Monday as power players from across the state assembled for Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) Day. Linemen, lawmakers, and electric executives all convened to celebrate the 85th...more
2/11/2025
/ Career Development ,
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Generally, the last day of a legislative week can end around noon. Not so for lawmakers today! It turned into a hectic day with lawmakers pushing forward the people’s business so that they could return home for a long...more
2/7/2025
/ Department of Education ,
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Transgender
As the sun appeared on the horizon on Wednesday, so too did the House’s version of the Amended FY 2025 State Budget. Synchronized perfectly with sunrise over Atlanta at 7:30 a.m., the House Appropriations subcommittees...more
2/6/2025
/ Department of Education ,
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State Grants ,
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Many of the skirmishes fought under the Gold Dome each year are turf wars, sometimes literally. A perennial favorite is the dispute over Georgia’s northern border, which Representative Martin Momtahan (R-Dallas) is seeking to...more
2/5/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Education ,
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Georgia ,
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Open Records ,
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Transgender
The Georgia General Assembly got off to a fast start on Monday with the State Senate taking up its first substantive measures of the session before both bodies filled the afternoon with committee hearings. But before...more
2/4/2025
/ Data Privacy ,
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Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
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Students
After weeks of talking about the concepts of a plan, Governor Brian Kemp finally pulled back the curtain on his comprehensive tort reform package on Thursday. Backed by more than a hundred citizens representing a broad...more
1/31/2025
/ Damages ,
Georgia ,
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Premises Liability ,
Property Owners ,
Public Schools ,
Sex Discrimination ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Student Athletes ,
Title IX ,
Tort Reform ,
Transgender
Visitors to the Georgia State Capitol were delighted by the rhythm and artistry of a lion dance in the South Wing on Wednesday as the Asian American Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus hosted its second annual Lunar New Year...more
1/30/2025
/ Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Insurance Industry ,
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Medicaid ,
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State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
Legislators looked back on Tuesday with the unveiling of a portrait of former Representative Calvin Smyre (D-Columbus), the longtime Dean of the House who retired in 2022 after 48 years in the Georgia House of...more
Lawmakers and lobbyists trudged through fog and rain to the Georgia State Capitol on Monday for the convening of Legislative Day 6. Recovering gingerly from the debilitating dusting of snow in Atlanta last week, senators and...more
As the world reacted to the shove heard round the world, the General Assembly kept a low profile on Friday. Convening an hour earlier than the Senate, the House gaveled in and out before senators even made it to their desks....more
1/20/2025
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Disabilities ,
Economic Development ,
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Medicaid ,
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Tax Credits ,
Tax Reform
Evoking Georgians’ soft spot for the All-Star Special, Governor Brian Kemp promoted tort reform as necessary to protect Georgia businesses like Waffle House from being smothered by insurance and litigation costs during his...more
Wednesday marked “Keeping Georgia Wild Day” at the State Capitol, and while the moniker might elicit a variety of memories from lawmakers and lobbyists of shenanigans under the Gold Dome, the day’s festivities were focused on...more
1/16/2025
/ Colleges ,
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Business and community leaders from across the state made their annual pilgrimage to Atlanta on Tuesday morning for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s Eggs & Issues breakfast at the Georgia World Congress Center. Although the...more
1/16/2025
/ Economic Development ,
Educational Institutions ,
Georgia ,
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Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker Announce Education and School Safety Priorities - In a late-afternoon press conference, Governor Kemp was joined by Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, Speaker of the House Jon Burns, and...more
1/14/2025
/ Education Reform ,
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Legislative Day 40 is a roller coaster, full of ups, downs, and zero gravity turns (also known as conference committee reports). One goes from celebrating a bill achieving final passage to lamenting a measure being gutted...more
3/29/2024
/ Educational Institutions ,
Elder Care ,
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Property Owners ,
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Rural Areas ,
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Tax Credits
It was a hurry-up-and-wait on the penultimate day of the 2024 Georgia legislative session. Each chamber went through fits and starts throughout the day on Tuesday, with cycles of advancing a flurry of legislation and special...more
3/27/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Condominiums ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
General Assembly ,
Georgia ,
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Licensing Rules ,
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Regulatory Reform ,
Small Business ,
Stalking ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
Legislative Day 38 provided more healthcare drama than an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Just hours before the Senate’s committee action deadline on Thursday, a bipartisan group of Senators made a last-minute run at advancing...more
3/22/2024
/ Controlled Substances ,
Firearms ,
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Law Enforcement ,
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Senate committee meetings continue under the Gold Dome as this report is published on Wednesday. With the Senate’s requirement that bills pass out of committee before the chamber convenes for Legislative Day 38, legislators...more
3/22/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
General Assembly ,
Georgia ,
Human Trafficking ,
Income Taxes ,
Insurance Regulations ,
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Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement Plan ,
Sexual Assault ,
State and Local Government ,
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Tort Reform
Christmas in March? Yes, if you are a lawmaker (particularly a Senator), you are likely to be getting all sorts of presents. Committees trimmed trees from morning till evening on Tuesday while the chambers were in...more
3/20/2024
/ Community Development ,
Education Reform ,
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Vaping
The General Assembly reconvened for Legislative Day 36 on Monday with lawmakers and lobbyists hoping to keep a little luck of the Irish going into the penultimate week of the legislative session. With only four legislative...more
3/19/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
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Georgia ,
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Human Trafficking ,
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Online Safety for Children ,
Opioid ,
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Tax Tribunal
Thursday may be the new Friday of the legislative work week, but lawmakers weren’t content to knock off early and ease into St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Instead, both chambers took up high-profile, controversial legislation...more
3/15/2024
/ Education Reform ,
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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas under the Gold Dome. December 25 may be nine months away, but Christmas trees are appearing everywhere. The most prominent bill so far passed out of the House Education Committee on...more
3/14/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Education Reform ,
Energy Reform ,
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The Georgia General Assembly gaveled back in on Monday, and the rapping in the House had a different but eerily familiar tone. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the late Speaker Tom Murphy’s birth, Speaker Jon Burns dusted...more
3/12/2024
/ Education Reform ,
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Friday marked the end of what felt like the longest week in legislative history — and the beginning of a three-week sprint to Legislative Day 40. While most lawmakers and lobbyists are eager for adjournment sine die, it...more
3/12/2024
/ Cancer ,
Cannabis Products ,
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Georgia ,
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Legislative Committees ,
Medical Marijuana ,
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Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
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Regulatory Reform ,
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