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  • Georgia ranks among top states for zero-emission truck adoption

    Georgia ranks among top states for zero-emission truck adoption

    Georgia ranks among top states for zero-emission truck adoption

    Georgia ranks fifth in the U.S. in zero-emission truck adoption when adjusted for market size.

    A new report by CALSTART, a clean transportation group, finds Georgia only ranks behind California, Washington, Wisconsin, and New Jersey in normalized adoption.

    Dakota Semler, co-founder and CEO of Xos Trucks, said battery-electric trucks are ready for most commercial routes contributing to the more than 59,0000 of these trucks being used nationwide.

    “Over 70% of the commercial vehicles on the road today are generally doing under 200 miles,” he said. “They’re returning to the same home base where they can have dedicated charging, and they’re operating on predictable routes. And with the technology that exists today and has existed for several years now, you actually can electrify the vast majority of our commercial vehicle fleet in North America.”

    Many in the trucking industry remain skeptical because of the high up-front costs and lack of a widespread charging infrastructure.

    However, Stefan Tongur, vice president for business development at Electreon, said inductive charging allows the vehicle to charge while its moving and could alleviate many infrastructure concerns.

    “By charging the vehicles when they actually are operating and when they need to get charged, instead of bringing the vehicle to the charger like in a gas model, we’re changing that paradigm and making electric vehicles more feasible, and easier to adapt, and easier to scale,” he said.

    Zero-emission trucks offer advantages, such as low maintenance costs and lower fuel costs, as well as having health benefits by eliminating tailpipe emissions, according to the report.

  • Georgia lieutenant governor race draws crowded, high-stakes field

    Georgia lieutenant governor race draws crowded, high-stakes field

    Georgia lieutenant governor race draws crowded, high-stakes field

    The lieutenant governor’s race in Georgia is the election for members of the Georgia General Assembly. 

    Out of the 10 qualified candidates, six have served as state Senators and one has served as a state Representative.

    Former state Sen. John Kennedy and state Sen. Nabilah Parkes both resigned from their positions to pursue the lieutenant governor seat while the others remained in office.

    Parkes was a latecomer to the race switching from running for Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner. She entered after state Sen. Greg Dolezal, who is also running for lieutenant governor, released a campaign ad that depicted Muslims terrorizing White Georgia residents.

    The ad ended with the message: “Keep Georgia sharia free.” Shariah is the body of Islamic religious law.

    Parkes, the first Muslim woman to enter the state Senate, told Atlanta News First that she ran in part to ensure Dolezal doesn’t get the seat.

    “This man is a front runner. He cannot be the next lieutenant governor, so I decided to step up and take on the challenge and fight these Republicans headon because we need a Georgia that is positive. We need a Georgia that is unifying, not these discriminatory attacks,” she said.

    The lieutenant governor is one of the most powerful positions in the state presiding over the state Senate and controlling committee assignments and legislation flows.

    Here are the candidates on the Democratic ticket:

    Here are the candidates on the Republican ticket:

  • Georgia conservationists warn Gulf drilling decision threatens species

    Georgia conservationists warn Gulf drilling decision threatens species

    Georgia conservationists warn Gulf drilling decision threatens species

    Georgia conservationists worry that a recent decision made about oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico could impact species across the Southeast.

    The Endangered Species Committee met on March 31 and voted to allow oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico without considering the full impacts on endangered marine life. This was the committee’s first meeting in more than 30 years.

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requested the move arguing that disruption of oil production in the Gulf would benefit U.S. adversaries.

    Mike Worley, president and CEO of the Georgia Wildlife Federation, said the decision diminishes the law that was established more than half a century ago.

    “I think it’s incumbent upon us to be thoughtful about the way we address, admittedly, some of the challenges associated with the Endangered Species Act,” Worley said. “But this should not be a knee-jerk reaction to short-term problems. It needs to be a reasoned, thoughtful evaluation of a very successful legislative initiative.”

    Environmental groups plan to challenge the decision in court. The move could expedite the extinction of the Rice’s whale, which lives exclusively in the Gulf. Only about 50 are estimated to remain.

    The Endangered Species Act has helped recover species like the bald eagle and remains crucial for protecting lesser known species in the Southeast, such as the eastern indigo snake and the re-cockaded woodpecker.

    “This legislation has been tremendously effective at helping us recover some of our most iconic species from the peril of extinction,” Worley emphasized. “It’s helped us recover a lot of plants and animals that aren’t so well-known as the American bald eagle or the American alligator or some of these others.”

    Around 2 million barrels of oil come out of the Gulf per day, and industry supporters said the measure will help streamline the process to avoid delays in oil production.

  • Georgia lawmakers send final slate of bills to Kemp’s desk

    Georgia lawmakers send final slate of bills to Kemp’s desk

    Georgia lawmakers send final slate of bills to Kemp’s desk

    Lawmakers worked late last Thursday to pass several bills before time ran out. Now, the bills that made it head to the governor’s desk. 

    Gov. Brian Kemp will have 40 days to sign, veto or allow the bills to become law. As it is his last term, this is his last opportunity to decide what goes and what fails.

    House Speaker Jon Burns spoke with GPB News after adjournment.

    “I believe we’ve passed a lot of excellent legislation that protects taxpayers in this state. We would like to always do more,” he said. “We passed an incredible literacy bill, so we’re excited about that and the difference it’s going to make.”

    Legislation failed to pass that would either delay the July 1 deadline to remove QR codes from ballots or move to hand-marked paper ballots by the midterms. This means there’s a possibility that there will be no legal way to count most votes at the midterms raising the question of a special session.

    Here are some of the bills that passed Thursday that are now on the governor’s desk.

    The Georgia General Assembly passed the 2027 budget that is nearly $39 billion. In addition, they passed a bill to lower the state’s income tax rate to 3.99% if certain fiscal conditions are met and exempt taxes on tips and overtime up to $1,750.

    House Bill 1138, or the Increasing Access to Contraceptives Act, passed with a large majority vote. The bill will allow pharmacists to dispense birth control without a prescription from a doctor and also allow patients to receive more than one month of birth control pills at a time.

    House Bill 1112 also passed with a large majority and would allow businesses to round cash purchases to the nearest nickel.

    House Bill 295 narrowly passed the Senate. The bill would allow property owners to sue cities and counties for financial harm due to a loss in property value if the local governments are found liable. This would include cities and counties that fail to enforce laws related to homelessness, immigration or public safety.

    House Bill 297 dissolves two state transit authorities: the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and the ATL Board. It also extends MARTA sales tax another 10 years through 2067.

    The Senate passed a bill that will lead the way to a needs-based scholarship program for low-income students attending postsecondary institutions in Georgia.

    Early in the morning Friday, lawmakers passed a bill known as the “Epstein amendment” before adjournment. The bill would require the disclosure of sexual harassment settlements by members of the General Assembly.

    Several other pieces of legislation passed throughout the session. Check out the AJC’s tracker to see what all made it through the General Assembly.

  • Georgia Supreme Court races heat up with challengers in two key seats

    Georgia Supreme Court races heat up with challengers in two key seats

    Georgia Supreme Court races heat up with challengers in two key seats

    Three of Georgia’s nine Supreme Court Justices are up for reelection this year, and two of those justices have opponents.

    Justice Charlie Bethel and Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren have drawn challengers Miracle Rankin and Jen Jordan, respectively.

    Both Bethel and Warren were appointed by former Gov. Nathan Deal in 2018 and won their elections in 2020 for a full, six-year term.

    Warren posted a video on Facebook Wednesday celebrating the anniversary of her being sworn in as the Presiding Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. The Presiding Justice acts as the second most senior person on the court elected by their peers. 

    “It’s a nice anniversary to commemorate. I can serve up to three more years as the Presiding Justice. Of course, to do that, I will need your help to get reelected on May 19 on the nonpartisan portion of the ballot. Hope you’ll circle that date on your calendar and come out to vote,” she said.

    Jordan and Rankin have positioned themselves as progressive alternatives to the current justices. They launched their campaigns in a joint ceremony at the Capitol in February.

    Rankin is the former president of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys and works as a trial lawyer. Jordan, a former state Senator, was the Democratic Party’s nominee for Georgia attorney general in 2022 and lost against acting Attorney General Chris Carr.

    Jordan posted a video on her Facebook page to let voters know a little bit about her and why she is running. Jordan said she was raised by a single mother, and she would go to her mom’s beauty shop everyday after school to help her out.

    She said that she learned that bad things can happen to people through no fault of their own.

    “When that happens, you need to know that there are people that are willing to stand up for you and to fight for you. That’s why I went to law school in the first place to the University of Georgia, and quite frankly, it’s why I’m running now,” she said. “I think it’s important that whomever is on the Georgia Supreme Court needs to be a person that is always going to put the people of this state first.” 

    Because Georgia Supreme Court Justice is a nonpartisan position, the election will be held on May 19 at the same time as the primaries for partisan races.

  • DHS pauses ICE detention plans, halting proposed Georgia facilities for now

    DHS pauses ICE detention plans, halting proposed Georgia facilities for now

    DHS pauses ICE detention plans, halting proposed Georgia facilities for now

    The Department of Homeland Security has placed a hold on establishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers across the country.

    That includes two locations in Georgia: Social Circle and Oakwood.

    Social Circle City Manager Eric Taylor said he was supposed to meet with DHS officials on Wednesday to discuss plans to open a massive detention center on the outskirts of the small town.

    “It got canceled a couple of days ago, and the only reason why they told me for being canceled was it was due to them doing a department-wide review of processes under the new leadership,” he said.

    The new leadership refers to the confirmation of Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin after the ousting of Kristi Noem.

    City officials learned that DHS planned to open an ICE detention center that could house around 9,000 detainees from a Washington Post investigation published December 2025. The town itself has just under 5,400 people total and concerns were raised about the town’s ability to provide the proper infrastructure for such a facility.

    Taylor said he placed a lock on the water meter in March shortly after the sale of the warehouse to the federal government. A statement from the city read that the lock would remain in place until ICE shows how water and sewage will be served at the facility without exceeding the city’s infrastructure capacity.

    DHS plans to better engage with local stakeholders and revise any current plans based on those conversations.

    “Our preference would be for them to find in their new reviews that this is not the right fit for them and move somewhere else,” Taylor said.

    Oakwood is in a similar position. DHS had plans to transform a warehouse into a temporary detention facility that could hold up to 1,500 people.

    “Hopefully the new DHS secretary will follow through with his comments and thoroughly review the warehouse-to-detention facility program, including meeting with local governments to discuss the impacts,” White said in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

  • Georgia lawmakers rush to pass bills on final day of 2026 session

    Georgia lawmakers rush to pass bills on final day of 2026 session

    Georgia lawmakers rush to pass bills on final day of 2026 session

    It’s the last day of Georgia’s 2026 legislative session, and lawmakers will be working to get their bills passed before adjournment.

    The Georgia legislature meets for 40 days per year, and the last day is usually lawmakers’ last ditch effort to get their agendas pushed through.

    Leadership, such as the House Speaker and Lieutenant Governor, get to decide what’s on the agenda, so it can shift fast.

    Here are some things to watch out for today.

    Data centers, energy and the environment

    At the beginning of the session, several bills were introduced to regulate data centers, but most died in their chambers and some haven’t made it out of committee.

    The main one that has managed to stay alive is Senate Bill 410, which would end sales and use tax exemption on the construction materials and equipment for data centers, but it doesn’t repeal tax breaks that have already been granted.

    It is still possible that other measures may make it into a bill through an amendment. 

    One that many lawmakers supported was Senate Bill 34, which would have protected residential customers and small businesses from costs related to data centers. The bill was essentially stripped in committee, but its sponsor made an amendment on the Senate floor restoring the original bill. However, the Senate adjourned before it was taken up for a vote.

    Elections and voting rules

    The Georgia Senate is pushing a measure to require hand-marked paper ballots by the midterms, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

    This contradicts what House lawmakers had planned, which was to delay the switch until after the midterms but before the 2028 presidential election.

    Bills sent to the governor

    Several bills have passed that deal with taxes and affordability issues.

    A bill that will put more than $2 billion back in Georgians’ pockets through an income tax rebate passed back in March and already has the governor’s signature.

    House Bill 1001 passed the state Senate Tuesday that would lower the state income tax to 4.99%. 

    House Bill 1116, or the Homeownership Opportunity and Market Equalization Act of 2026, plans to eliminate property taxes on homesteads by 2032 and caps taxable value increases to 3%.

    The legislature has also approved bills that regulate cannabis and hemp products.

    Senate Bill 220, or the Putting Georgia’s Patients First Act, would rename the program from “low-THC oil” to “medical cannabis,” allow an inhalation option to the medication, prohibit public use and change restrictions around dosing from percent of THC to milligrams. 

    Senate Bill 33 would require hemp products found in Georgia convenience stores to adhere to testing and labeling regulations. The bill passed the House on Tuesday.

  • $6.7M returned to victims in massive Georgia Ponzi scheme case

    $6.7M returned to victims in massive Georgia Ponzi scheme case

    $6.7M returned to victims in massive Georgia Ponzi scheme case

    Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Wednesday that his office has made an agreement with Bankers Life to return money to some of the victims of the alleged $140 million Ponzi scheme involving First Liberty Building and Loan.

    Bankers Life Advisory Services and Bankers Life Securities agreed to make some investors whole by returning nearly $6.7 million.

    “I want to sincerely thank Bankers Life for acting with integrity. They as a company chose to do the right thing and help the Georgians who lost everything in this alleged Ponzi scheme orchestrated by First Liberty,” Raffensperger said in a news release.

    Timothy Nathaniel Darnell allegedly used his position as a financial adviser to get more than 40 people to invest in the scheme.

    Around one-third of the investments made by people who came forward to the Secretary of State’s Office will be made whole. That’s 46 people in total.

    “While Timothy Nathaniel Darnell acted independently without Bankers Life’s knowledge or authorization, our clients come first – and that’s why we agreed to make a monetary contribution to this fund,” said Cheryl Heilman, president of Bankers Life Advisory Services and Bankers Life Securities, in a news release.

    Raffensperger appointed veteran securities fraud attorney, Jason Doss, to lead the investigation of First Liberty Building & Loan. Three emergency orders, including a maximum of $500,000 in civil penalties, have been issued to Brant Frost V, Randy Hough and Darnell.

    Raffensperger, who is running for governor on the Republican ticket, said he hopes that they can continue to find retribution for the victims.

  • The cattle farmer running for Congress comes to the “Kitchen Table”

    The cattle farmer running for Congress comes to the “Kitchen Table”

    He’s a retired brigadier general and now a northwest Georgia cattle rancher. Just the kind of guest you’d expect hanging “at the kitchen table” with the ladies, right?

    Oh, did we mention he’s running to fill Marjorie Taylor Greene’s vacated seat in Congress? Hello, “Kitchen Table issues!”

    ⁠Meet Shawn Harris⁠, who’s simultaneously in a run-off to complete MTG’s term in Congress while also on the general election ballot to win the seat outright for a full term, too.

    Listen as he discusses his take on a bevy of those “kitchen table issues” affecting not just northwest Georgia, but all Georgians and Americans and how he aims to win and serve those of us who sit at our proverbial kitchen tables grappling with issues of affordability, education and healthcare costs and more.

  • UnitedHealthcare expands doula coverage, boosting maternal health efforts

    UnitedHealthcare expands doula coverage, boosting maternal health efforts

    UnitedHealthcare expands doula coverage, boosting maternal health efforts

    UnitedHealthcare recently announced a change in their healthcare plans that cover doula care.

    The health insurance provider now offers employer-sponsored plans that cover doula services similar to Cigna and Elevance Health that have also expanded coverage.

    Sekesa Berry, founder and executive director of the Georgia Black Doula Network, said this will encourage hospitals and nonprofits to provide the service option.

    “It’s exciting,” she said, “and truthfully, I believe it’s going to create more sustainability in the work. One of the greatest hurdles for doulas is the entrepreneurial capacity because so few places actually hire doulas. So I think this opportunity to receive insurance coverage is going to help them sustain their practice.”

    Dr. Lisa Saul, chief medical director for women’s health at UnitedHealthcare, said with the U.S. having the highest maternal mortality rate among high-income countries, the change in their coverage will hopefully improve maternal and infant health outcomes. Research shows that doula support can help reduce complications.

    “With the United States having the highest maternal mortality rate, as well as maternal morbidity rate, among high-income countries,” she said, “we know that most of these deaths and most of these scenarios are considered to be preventable.”

    Berry started her organization to help address Georgia’s maternal health crisis. Her group has trained dozens of doulas, but she said that many new doulas burn out because they can’t make a sustainable living. She said she hopes the insurance coverage can help change that.

    The Georgia Black Doula Network is accepting applications for its third doula training cohort through May 1.