STATE NEWS
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has renewed his call for a constitutional amendment prohibiting non-U.S. citizens from voting in elections in Georgia.
Raffensperger said a recent surge in illegal immigrants crossing the nation's southern border makes stopping non-citizens from voting more important than ever.
'Organizations like the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda are currently suing to end critical citizenship verification in our registration process, potentially exposing our elections to foreign interference and diluting the power of legally registered voters,' he said.
'I'm calling on the General Assembly to take immediate action and pass a constitutional amendment ensuring that no liberal group can leverage the courts to add noncitizens to our voter rolls.'
The issue last surfaced in the legislature during the 2022 session, when Democrats in the state Senate shot down a proposed constitutional amendment banning noncitizens from voting in Georgia elections. Democrats argued the legislation was unnecessary because such a prohibition already exists both in state law and in the Georgia Constitution.
About eight in 10 new Georgia voters apply for registration automatically when they get or update their driver's license. The state Department of Driver Services verifies citizenship status of license applicants.
Raffensperger conducted the first citizenship audit of Georgia's voter rolls in the state's history last year. The audit found 1,634 people who had tried to register to vote could not be verified as U.S. citizens.
Georgia tax revenues increase slightly in November
State tax collections rose slightly last month compared to November of last year, the Georgia Department of Revenue reported Friday.
The state brought in $2.32 billion in November, up 1.5% over the same month a year ago.
Tax receipts increased by 3.3% during the first five months of fiscal 2024, driven primarily by the state collecting the sales tax on gasoline and motor fuels during much of the period. The gas tax was suspended during much of the comparable period last year.
Not counting gasoline tax revenue, state tax revenues for July through November declined 1.7% compared to the same months last year.
Individual income tax collections increased slightly – just 0.5% – last month compared to November 2022. Net sales taxes rose by 1.7% in November.
Typically more volatile corporate income tax receipts were up by 48.4% last month, largely due to a huge 219.3% jump in corporate tax return payments.
Feds providing more funding for passenger rail in Georgia
The Biden administration is stepping up federal funding of three planned intercity passenger rail projects in Georgia.
The Federal Rail Administration has awarded $1.5 million in grants to explore linking Atlanta with Savannah; Charlotte, N.C.; and Chattanooga, Tenn. The grants are part of $8.2 billion in new funding for passenger rail projects announced Thursday.
“Creating new transit options with routes connecting Atlanta to Savannah, Charlotte, Chattanooga, and cities in between would be a boon to our state and economy,” said U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., a member of the Senate Commerce & Transportation Committee.
The money comes from the bipartisan infrastructure spending legislation Congress passed two years ago.
The Atlanta-to-Savannah route – championed by U.S.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga. – would include potential stops in Athens, Augusta, and Macon. The $500,000 grant announced Thursday is in addition to $8 million in congressionally directed spending on the project approved in March of last year.
“Through the bipartisan infrastructure law, Senator Warnock and I are accelerating progress toward passenger rail networks to serve Georgia and the Southeast region,” Ossoff said. “This is a long-term project that will require cooperation and strong execution at all levels of government, but it has the potential to unlock huge gains in mobility and quality of life for Georgians.”
The Atlanta-to-Savannah project is envisioned as a high-speed rail project, as is the planned route between Atlanta and Charlotte. It, too, would include potential stops in Athens and Augusta and would terminate at Hartsfield- Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The Atlanta-to-Chattanooga passenger rail line, which Warnock has pushed, would continue on to Nashville and Memphis.
Fayette County lands U.S.
Soccer training center
The U.S. Soccer Federation has chosen Fayette County as the site of a first-of-its-kind national training center (NTC), a project that will create 440 jobs through a $228 million investment.
The organization announced in September plans to move its headquarters from Chicago to Atlanta and build the first-ever NTC in the metro area.
“U.S. Soccer joins a long and proud tradition of sports in the Peach State, including our fast-growing soccer fanbase,” Gov. Brian Kemp said Thursday. “This project will solidify Georgia’s position at the forefront of this increasingly popular sport, from the success of our own Atlanta United team to the FIFA World Cup 2026 events in a few short years.”
Atlanta United joined Major League Soccer as an expansion team in 2017 and took home the league championship following its second season a year later.
Then last year, Atlanta was selected as a host city for the 2026 World Cup.
The new facility will serve as the national center for training and competition of all 27 U.S.
Soccer men’s, women’s, youth, and extended national teams; the development of youth players; and coaching and referee training.
“The NTC will help player development at the highest level and serve as a central destination to support and inspire players across the country as well as a hub of knowledge and resources for all our member organizations,” U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone said. “Beyond its national importance, the NTC will be an institution firmly rooted in its community.”
The Arthur M. Blank Foundation is contributing $50 million toward the NTC. Blank is the owner of Atlanta United.
U.S. Soccer board members and athletes will join state and local officials in a celebration to welcome the new facility Dec.
13 at the Town Stage at Trilith, a movie studio in Fayetteville.
