Latest Georgia state government News
IRS urges special refund recipients to delay filing taxes
NEW YORK (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service is recommending that taxpayers hold off on filing their tax returns for 2022 if they received a special tax refund or payment from their state last year. Last year, 19 states offered diverse programs that offered inflation relief...
Georgia Senate: Make it a felony to pay for sex or to pimp
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia state senators want to make it a felony for anyone to pay a prostitute for sex or for anyone to facilitate prostitution by pimping. The Senate voted 33-16 on Tuesday to approve Senate Bill 36, sending it to the House for more debate. Right now,...
Vote to block Georgia spaceport upheld by state's high court
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Georgia's highest court Tuesday upheld an election in which coastal residents voted overwhelmingly last year to block their county government from building a launchpad for blasting commercial rockets into space. The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously rejected a...
Georgia panel: Reforms, resources needed for election review
ATLANTA (AP) — A process recently implemented by Georgia state lawmakers to examine how county officials handle elections is likely unsustainable without more resources or reforms, according to the panel that did the first review under the law. The provision in a sweeping 2021...
Georgia Senate leaders to investigate European trip spending
ATLANTA (AP) — The current leaders of the Georgia state Senate say they will investigate spending on a European trip last year by former state Senate leaders. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, former Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller...
Georgia senators vote to bar COVID-19 vaccine requirements
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia senators voted Tuesday to permanently block schools and most state and local government agencies from requiring people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The Senate voted 31-21 in favor of the bill, which would make permanent what had been a one-year ban...
Key Republican wants Ga. as early primary state — in 2028
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger wants his state to become an early presidential primary host — just not in 2024, as President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party are pushing. The Republican election chief, who garnered attention for rebuffing...
Kemp-backed measure seeks harsher Georgia gang sentences
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia senators advanced a bill Monday that would add a mandatory five years to prison sentences for anyone convicted of a gang crime and 10 years for anyone convicted of recruiting minors into a gang. Senate Bill 44, which is being pushed by Gov. Brian Kemp as part...
Bill: Cut college degree requirements for Georgia state jobs
ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia Senate committee is advancing a bill that would instruct an agency to examine qualifications for state government jobs and not require a college degree unless truly necessary. The Senate Government Oversight Committee on Monday voted for Senate Bill 3,...
Antisemitic flyers could spur action on proposed Georgia law
ATLANTA (AP) — A continuing wave of antisemitic flyers hit parts of suburban Atlanta, including the home of Georgia's only Jewish state legislator. State Rep. Esther Panitch, a freshman Democrat from Sandy Springs, denounced the flyers from the floor of the House Monday, with...
