Brian P. Kemp | AP News

Brian P. Kemp

FILE -- Supreme Court Justice Andrew Pinson poses for a photo, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Atlanta. Ga. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday, May 14, 2024 that his political committee would spend $500,000 to support Pinson in his nonpartisan election race against John Barrow in a nonpartisan election for Supreme Court Justice, in May. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, file)

Georgia’s governor and others pile into state court race where challenger has focused on abortion

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says he will spend more than $500,000 from his political committee to help a state Supreme Court justice he appointed win election.
 
FILE -- A banner hangs during a ceremony announcing a proposed $300 million expansion of Google's data center operations Tuesday, June 2, 2015, in Lithia Springs, Ga. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, vetoed a bill that would have suspended tax breaks for new and expanding data centers. (AP Photo/David Goldman, file)

Georgia lawmakers vowed to restrain tax breaks. But the governor’s veto saved a data-center break

 
FILE - Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp delivers the State of the State speech, Jan. 11, 2024, in Atlanta. Kemp signed a bill into law Tuesday, May 7, that makes additional changes to Georgia's election laws ahead of the 2024 presidential contest in the battleground state, including defining probable causes for removing voters from the rolls when their eligibility is challenged. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

With 2024 presidential contest looming, Georgia governor signs new election changes into law

 
FILE - Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks to members of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce regarding the beating death of nursing student Laken Riley on Feb. 26, 2024, in Athens, Ga. Kemp on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, signed a law that requires jailers to check the immigration status of inmates, a move he says could help prevent crimes by people who entered the United States illegally. (Nell Carroll /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, file)

Georgia governor signs law requiring jailers to check immigration status of prisoners

 
FILE - Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp delivers the State of the State speech, Jan. 11, 2024, in Atlanta. Kemp on Tuesday, April 30, signed a bill into law limiting the ability of some Chinese citizens to buy land in the state. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

Georgia governor signs bill into law restricting land sales to some Chinese citizens

 

Georgia governor rejects call for special session to remove DA over Trump indictment

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp tamps down the notion of a special session of the General Assembly to take up matters related to former President Donald Trump’s indictment in Fulton County; but he questions the timing of the case.

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State Rep. Anne Allen Westbrook, D-Savannah, votes on Election Bill SB 189, regarding ballot scanners, at the House of Representatives in the Capitol in Atlanta on Sine Die, the last day of the legislative session, Thursday, March 28, 2024. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

A new election law battle is brewing in Georgia, this time over voter challenges

Georgia has seen furious battles over election laws ever since Democrat Stacey Abrams’ narrow loss to Republican Brian Kemp in the 2018 governor’s race.
 
House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, speaks at a news conference following the session at the Capitol in Atlanta on Sine Die, the last day of the legislative session, Thursday, March 28, 2024. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Georgia House and Senate showcase contrasting priorities as 2024 session ends

Georgia’s 2024 legislative session again showcased contrasting Republican approaches to governing. But minority Democrats couldn’t leverage those differences to advance top policy priorities.
 
FILE - Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia) speaks in the Senate chamber at the State Capitol on March 31, 2021, in Atlanta. Tillery says a Senate budget approved on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 will include pay raises for teachers and state government employees. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, file)

Georgia teachers and state employees will get pay raises as state budget passes

Georgia lawmakers are agreeing on pay raises for public school teachers and state employees, although they still have differences to work out in the upcoming budget.
 
A sign celebrating Sine Die is seen at the Capitol in Atlanta on Sine Die, the last day of the legislative session, Thursday, March 28, 2024. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

On last day of Georgia legislative session, some bills pass and others die

Georgia’s two-year legislative session has ended. Thursday was the last day for bills to pass both the House and Senate or die as this term ends.
 
FILE - The five Republican members of the Georgia Public Service Commission discuss a rate increase for Georgia Power Co. to pay costs at the utility's Vogtle nuclear power plant, Dec. 19, 2023, in Atlanta. A bill passed Thursday, March 21, 2024, by Georgia lawmakers would add an extra two years to the terms of commissioners in response to a court case. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File)

Georgia bill would give utility regulators extra years in office without facing voters

Georgia’s Public Service Commission is an elected body that’s gone years without having elections because of a redistricting lawsuit.
 
State Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, applauds following the passage of senate bill 233, which would give families $6,500 vouchers funding for private school tuition and home schooling, Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in the Senate at the Capitol in Atlanta. The bill now moves to Gov. Brian Kemp forGeorgia senators gave final approval Wednesday to the bill, sending the measure to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature. (Matthew Pearson/WABE via AP)

$6,500 school vouchers coming to Georgia as bill gets final passage and heads to governor

Georgia senators are giving final approval to $6,500 vouchers funding for private school tuition and home schooling, sending the measure to Gov.
 
FILE - Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks, Feb. 26, 2024, in Athens, Ga. Georgia lawmakers have made it harder for workers at companies getting state economic incentives to unionize, in what could be a violation of federal law. The state House voted 96 to 78 Wednesday, March 20, for Senate Bill 362, which would bar companies that accept state incentives from recognizing unions without a formal secret-ballot election. The measure, which has been backed by Gov. Kemp, now goes to the Republican governor for his signature. (Nell Carroll /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, file)

Some Georgia workers would find it harder to become union members under a new bill

Georgia lawmakers have made it harder for workers at companies getting state economic incentives to unionize, in what could be a violation of federal law.
 
FILE - Georgia state Sen. Colton Moore, R-Trenton, speaks to reporters outside the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta, Sept. 7, 2023. Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, banned Moore from the House floor on Thursday, March 14, 2024 after Moore attacked late House Speaker David Ralston as "corrupt" in a speech as both the House and Senate were honoring Ralston. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File)

A Georgia senator was exiled from the GOP caucus. Now Colton Moore is banned from the state House

A Georgia state senator has been banned from the House floor after he made a slashing attack on the memory of House Speaker David Ralston. Republican Sen.
 
This combination photo shows Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Jan. 18, 2024, from left, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Dec. 13, 2023, and Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears on Sept. 1, 2021. Many GOP leaders in battleground states are offering former President Donald Trump only tepid support, or not endorsing him at all, in the 2024 presidential election. (AP Photo)

These Republicans won states that Trump lost in 2020. Their endorsements are lukewarm (or withheld)

Former President Donald Trump dominated the Republican presidential primaries on his way to a third consecutive nomination.
 
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp claps after signing a law letting a commission to discipline and remove prosecutors begin operating at the Capitol in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Critics fear the law will be used to target Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' prosecution of former President Donald Trump. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Kemp signs Georgia law reviving prosecutor sanctions panel. Democrats fear it’s aimed at Fani Willis

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed a law allowing a state commission with powers to discipline and remove prosecutors to begin operating.
 

$5.5 billion in new Georgia spending will pay for employee bonuses, state Capitol overhaul

Georgia will boost spending by nearly $5.5 billion in the remaining three months of its current budget.
 
FILE - The gold dome of the Georgia Capitol gleams in the sunlight in Atlanta, Aug. 28, 2022. Under a $392 million plan agreed to on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, the state Capitol would get a renovation while the state would build a new legislative office building for lawmakers on the north side of the complex, to the right of the Capitol. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Georgia will spend $392 million to build new legislative offices and overhaul its gold-domed capitol

Georgia’s lawmakers are moving not only to regild the iconic dome on state Capitol, but the entire complex.
 
People gather to mourn the loss of Laken Riley during a vigil for the Augusta University College of Nursing student at the Tate Plaza on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Ga., Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University's Athens campus, was found dead Thursday, Feb. 22, after a roommate reported she didn't return from a morning run in a wooded area of the UGA campus near its intramural fields. Students also gathered to pay tribute to a UGA student who committed suicide last week. (Joshua L. Jones/Athens Banner-Herald via AP)

Republicans say Georgia student’s killing shows Biden’s migration policies have failed

Students at two Georgia colleges are grappling with the killing of a nursing student killed in a violent act that Republicans including former President Donald Trump and Gov.
 
FILE - Speaker of the Georgia House Jon Burns, R-Newington, presides before the State of the State speech, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Atlanta. Burns said on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, that he favors a commission to explore expanded health care coverage in the future, indicating that Burns won't seek to expand Medicaid in 2024. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Georgia House leaders signal Medicaid expansion is off the table in 2024

Georgia House leaders are signaling Medicaid health coverage won’t be expanded in 2024. A bill introduced Tuesday by a top lieutenant to Republican House Speaker Jon Burns proposes to create a Comprehensive Health Care Commission.
 
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks at a press conference at the Capitol in Atlanta, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, announcing a plan to send National Guard troops to Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border. (Matthew Pearson/WABE via AP)

Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp says he will aid Texas governor’s border standoff with Biden

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says he will send more of his state’s National Guard soldiers to aid Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s effort to control illegal crossings on the U.S.
 
Sen. Mike Hodges, R-Brunswick, speaks in favor of Senate Bill 362 at The Georgia State Capitol on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The bill would prevent economic incentives of business that voluntarily recommended unions or share contact information of workers with unions. (Natrice Miller/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

In possible test of federal labor law, Georgia could make it harder for some workers to join unions

Georgia’s ruling Republicans are moving to make it harder for workers at companies that get economic incentives to join labor unions, in what could be a test of current federal law.
 

Georgia House backs state income tax and property tax cuts in unanimous votes

The Georgia House is passing bills to cut state income and local property taxes, backing plans by Gov. Brian Kemp and House Speaker Jon Burns.
 
FILE - The Fulton County Jail is shown April 11, 2023, in Atlanta. Georgia state senators on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024 passed a bill that would lengthen the list of crimes that would require cash bail for a person to be released from jail before trial. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback) (AP Photo/Kate Brumback, File)

Georgia Republicans push requiring cash bail for 30 new crimes, despite concerns about poverty

A bill to require cash bail for 30 additional crimes is headed to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk after the House gave it final approval.
 
Gov. Brian Kemp signs an antisemitism bill HB 30 at the Capitol in Atlanta, on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Georgia governor signs bill that would define antisemitism in state law

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed a law defining antisemitism in state law. Kemp, in a Wednesday signing ceremony, proclaimed support for Jewish residents despite concerns that the measure would hamper people opposing the actions of Israel.
 
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos from Jan. 15 until Jan. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Georgia’s governor says more clean energy will be needed to fuel electric vehicle manufacturing

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is telling world business leaders that the state must increase its supply of electricity produced without burning fossil fuels to meet industries’ demand for clean energy.
 
FILE - A student follows along with a bookmark as they read during an after-school literacy program in Atlanta on April 6, 2023. Georgia education officials are moving toward providing literacy coaches to help school districts train teachers to improve reading instruction, even as some prominent lawmakers say the state Department of Education isn't doing enough to implement a literacy law passed last year. (AP Photo/Alex Slitz, File)

Georgia leaders propose $11.3M to improve reading as some lawmakers seek a more aggressive approach

Georgia education officials want to provide literacy coaches to help train teachers to improve reading instruction.
 
Gov. Brian Kemp departs the House chamber after delivering the State of the State speech, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

For Republican lawmakers in Georgia, Medicaid expansion could still be a risky vote

The prospect — albeit still dim — that Georgia could fully expand Medicaid has prompted Democrats and patient advocates to turn up the pressure on Republicans in the state legislature to act.
 
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp delivers the State of the State speech, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Pay raises and higher education spending headline Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposed budget in Georgia

After years of holding spending far below what Georgia was collecting in revenue, Gov. Brian Kemp is proposing a big boost in outlays.
 
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp delivers the State of the State speech, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Gov. Brian Kemp draws political contrasts in his election-year State of the State speech

Gov. Brian Kemp is using his State of the State speech to draw contrasts between his Republican philosophy and Democrats in an election year.
 
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp delivers a speech at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. Kemp told the business group that he'll propose $1.8 billion in additional spending on infrastructure, as well as expand health care training for dentists and physicians, showing how the state's $11 billion in surplus cash is giving the Republican the power to spend big even as state revenues slow. (Matthew Pearson/WABE via AP)

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp tells business group he wants to spend $1.8 billion more on infrastructure

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says he wants to spend an additional $1.8 billion on infrastructure. The Republican governor’s prepared speech to the Georgia Chamber of Commerce says he also wants to spend hundreds of millions to expand training for dentists and physicians.
 
FILE - The exterior of the Georgia State Building seen from Liberty Plaza in downtown Atlanta, April 6, 2020. Georgia lawmakers are beginning their 2024 session on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)

Lawsuit limits and antisemitism are among topics Georgia lawmakers plan to take on in 2024

Georgia’s General Assembly has begun its 2024 regular session. The top intrigue is whether Republicans may agree to a further expansion of health care under the state’s Medicaid program.
 
FILE - Dr. Reed Pitre, director of psychiatry and interim chief medical officer at Mercy Care clinic, left, speaks with a patient after her appointment, June 27, 2023, in Atlanta. Some Republican legislative leaders say they want to examine broader health care coverage through Georgia's Medicaid program in 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Slitz, File)

There’s a glimmer of hope for broader health coverage in Georgia, but also a good chance of a fizzle

Long-held Republican opposition to broader health care coverage may be softening in Georgia and Mississippi.
 
FILE - Georgia Rep. Barry Fleming speaks during a debate in the House Chambers of the state Capitol, March 25, 2021, in Atlanta. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023, that he was naming Fleming to become a superior court judge in Columbia County. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)

Prominent Republican Georgia lawmaker Barry Fleming appointed to judgeship

Gov. Brian Kemp is naming a prominent state House member to a judgeship. That means a special election will be needed in coming months to replace him.
 
Gov. Brian Kemp speaks at a press conference at the Capitol in Atlanta on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, announcing that he'll provide a $1,000 retention bonus to state employees, teachers and school support staff this holiday season. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Georgia’s governor says the state will pay a $1,000 year-end bonus to public and school employees

Georgia’s government will pay a $1,000 year-end bonus to state, university and public school employees. Gov.
 

Georgia’s state taxes at fuel pumps to resume as Brian Kemp’s tax break ends, at least for now

Georgia drivers are likely to begin paying higher prices for gasoline and diesel as state motor fuel taxes return on Thursday. Gov.
 
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