The measure increases the state’s standard deduction, creating a modest tax break. For an individual, the tax relief will be about $46; married couples will see about $63 savings. The change will cost the state about $140 million.
The state Senate has now backed a measure that would block cities and counties from trying to ban natural gas hookups as part of any local plan to reduce their carbon emissions.
The House Special Committee on Election Integrity advanced a nearly 100-page voting bill that would expand early voting access, limit drop boxes, shorten runoffs and make other changes to state law.
A bill placing new restrictions on protests and the cities where they take place was revived late last week after failing to get a vote in a state Senate committee earlier.
As lawmakers work on a massive voting bill that would make sweeping changes to how elections are run in Georgia, some local elections officials say proposals would make their jobs harder and hurt voters.
The latest version of an omnibus voting bill in a Georgia House committee would extend hours, add a second mandatory Saturday and allow two Sundays. It's an about-face from proposals to effectively ban Sunday voting used in larger, more diverse counties.
A two-page Senate bill dealing with absentee applications has now been substituted for a 93-page election omnibus as House and Senate leaders continue to disagree on what voting restrictions should be approved.
Legislation sponsored by Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome, would send state dollars currently earmarked for building shelters and short-term housing to be used instead on so-called “structured camping facilities” for a city or county’s homeless population.
Voting rights protesters gathered Monday outside the World of Coca-Cola in downtown Atlanta and some threatened a boycott if the beverage giant does not speak out more forcefully against sweeping voting restrictions being considered in the Georgia Legislature.
Legislation adding new protections for patients being sedated for certain medical and dental procedures in outpatient settings cleared the Georgia House of Representatives Monday.
The Biden administration has shaken up the health care arithmetic nationally, and that could reverberate here in Georgia. For one thing, the incentives for a state to expand Medicaid have become much more enticing.
About 171,000 Georgia children are in families expected to be lifted above the poverty line by the expansion, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and another 183,000 living below the poverty line are expected to be brought closer to it. About 91% of Georgians under 18 will benefit from the expansion.
People across Georgia will likely feel groggy and mixed up after setting their clocks back an hour for daylight saving time on Sunday, but the biannual time change is more than just an annoyance for some, says Woodstock Republican state Rep. Wes Cantrell.
