www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-21 10:15:00
(The Center Square) – The Georgia House of Representatives passed a bill Friday that would remove the income tax on military retirement benefits.
House Bill 266 would return an average of $40 million to the more than 95,000 military retirees living in Georgia. Current law allows an income tax exemption of the first 17,500.
The legislation is “word for word” Senate Bill 31, which senators passed on March 3, said Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming.
“It’s not often that we get to do things here that I think so fundamentally changes the lives of a very, very important group of people who served our country,” Dolezal said when presenting the bill.
Sen. David Lucas, D-Macon, was the only senator to vote against the bill on March 3. Sen. Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain, also voted “no” on Friday.
“That’s $40 million that you will not be able to touch or appropriate,” Lucas said. “What’s happening in Washington, D.C., and the things that are being cut, my personal opinion is we’re going to have to pick up some of that cost.”
Georgia is currently one of 12 states that still levies an income tax on military retirement.
“Eliminating the income tax on military retirement benefits is a common-sense approach to providing tax relief to heroes who have risked their lives to keep our communities, state and nation safe,” said Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. “Allowing these benefits to be earned tax-free will also help make Georgia a leading destination for service men and women as they transition from the military into civilian life and bring their talents and experience to workplaces across our state.”
It’s the third income tax-related bill passed this week by the General Assembly.
The Senate passed House Bill 111, which would reduce the income tax rate from 5.29% to 5.19% for the 2025 tax year. The state is reducing the number by 0.10% until it reaches 4.99%.
House Bill 112, also passed by the Senate on Thursday, would give single taxpayers a $250 tax credit and married one $500. Money for the $1 billion tax break was included in the fiscal year 2025 midyear budget adjustment.
The 2026 race for Georgia governor is shaping up with candidates from both parties now entering the race.
Gov. Brian Kemp cannot run for a third term, leaving the keys to the governor’s mansion up for grabs.
Meet the declared candidates
Sen. Jason Esteves. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Democratic Atlanta Sen. Jason Esteves announced his candidacy Monday with an introduction video highlighting his experience, including as a former teacher and chair of the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education. In the video, titled “Underdog,” Esteves took aim at what he characterized as radical Republicans in the state government following the lead of President Donald Trump.
“I’ve had enough of families working harder than ever but still struggling and our kids falling behind instead of getting ahead,” Esteves said in his announcement video. “Yet extreme politicians in Georgia push Trump’s reckless agenda, rig the system for special interests and stick us with the bill.”
As Esteves read these lines, the screen flashed with images of Trump, Kemp, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Esteves’ only announced Republican rival, Attorney General Chris Carr, who became the first to throw his hat in the ring in November.
Attorney General Chris Carr speaks at the 2025 Georgia Faith and Freedom Luncheon in Atlanta. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Carr’s campaign has highlighted his experience in law enforcement, especially operations targeting immigrants, gang members and human traffickers.
“For decades, we’ve been the best place to live, work, raise a family and build a business,” Carr said in his introductory video, titled “Keep Georgia Strong.” “That hasn’t happened by chance. It’s happened because we’ve had leaders who are willing to make tough decisions, put Georgians first and stood strong in the face of adversity. Progressive activists are trying to radically transform our values and our economy. As your attorney general, I’ve made it my mission to keep Georgia safe.”
Carr has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s second-term agenda, but their relationship hasn’t always been chummy. In 2022, Trump called Carr “a disaster every step of the way” and backed an unsuccessful primary challenge against him after Carr declined to investigate Trump’s baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud in Georgia’s 2020 election.
Meet the maybe candidates
Lt. Gov. Jones, a Republican who is widely considered likely to enter the governor’s race, is considered a more steadfast Trump ally – Jones was one of Georgia’s so-called fake electors, who met at the state Capitol in 2020 to cast votes for Trump even after his loss to Joe Biden was officially certified.
President Donald Trump and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones at a rally in Zebulon in 2024. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Jones’ closeness to the president could benefit him in a Republican primary, but it’s less clear whether his tightness with Trump will help or hurt in a general race. How Trump shapes the race will likely depend on how Georgians’ view the chief executive during the buildup to next year’s election season.
“If the economy goes bad, if inflation is up, if unemployment is up, then some of the luster may be taken off of Trump,” said University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock. “Now, for the MAGA folks, it probably doesn’t matter, but for the critical element of independents and, in the general election, of white, college-educated voters, if Trump’s attractiveness has been substantially reduced, then that certainly works for the advantage of Democrats.”
Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, another rumored but unconfirmed candidate, could also make a reasonable play as someone Trump-skeptical conservatives and independents could back.
Raffensperger was on the other end of the now-infamous 2021 phone call in which Trump called on him to “find” enough votes to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election. Raffensperger declined, earning the ire of Trump and many of his supporters.
Firebrand conservative Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is another member of the maybe column – she told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Politically Georgia” podcast back in February that she was open to either a run for the governorship or for Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s seat, which is also on the ballot in 2026.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
On the Democratic side, one much-speculated candidate seems less likely to have her eyes on Kemp’s job than she did last year.
Democratic Congresswoman Lucy McBath hasn’t ruled out a run entirely, but she announced late last month that she was suspending her bid as she focuses on the health of her husband, who recently underwent surgery for cancer.
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who recently served as an advisor to former President Joe Biden, told 11Alive News early this month that she plans to run for governor.
Former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond has not ruled out a run – and neither has former state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, who became a household name after narrowly losing to Kemp in 2018 and again by a wider margin in 2022.
A crowded Democratic primary could be just the thing to dash the Dems’ dreams, Bullock said, if the intra-party attacks get too intense.
“If they get into it, then a lot of money will be spent within the primary, and sooner or later, even though they may start out simply singing their own praises, there would be a tendency to go negative, especially if at least three serious candidates get into it so you have a run-off. That’s when attacks really become strong.”
The elephant in the room
Gov. Brian Kemp. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Kemp is reportedly considering a run at Ossoff’s seat.
Many Republicans would be thrilled to see Kemp’s name on the ballot next to Ossoff’s – Kemp enjoys relatively high approval ratings and has shown he can win statewide races in campaigns for governor and secretary of state.
But Kemp – whose name has also been floated as a potential presidential candidate in the future – may see moving to the Senate as a downgrade, Bullock said.
As governor, Kemp has sway over all aspects of state government, but he would be one of 100 in the Senate, and as a newly elected senator, he’d be too low on the seniority rankings to chair any important committees.
“He’s going to be far less visible in that role, the scope of his influence is going to be tiny compared to what he has now,” Bullock said. “He’s not going to be living in a mansion. He’s going to be living probably in an apartment, maybe in the Watergate building. He’s not going to have an SUV and a state patrolman to drive him around.”
Sen. Jon Ossoff. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Once Kemp makes a decision, expect plenty of dominoes to fall afterwards.
Georgia Fire and Insurance Commissioner John King has said he would consider a run for Senate if Kemp does not. Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper has also publicly teased the idea of running.
“Conceivably, virtually the entire hierarchy of statewide Republican officials could give up their current positions, which would be then just wildness in terms of primaries, probably on both sides, of candidates running for each of those statewide offices,” Bullock said. “You may well clear out a large share of the state Senate and some of the state House. It may be if you show up January of 2027 at the Capitol, you may not recognize anybody because they’ve all run for something, cleared out the state Legislature. So this could be an extraordinary election cycle in Georgia.”
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Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Assessment: Center-Left
The content primarily focuses on the upcoming gubernatorial race in Georgia, presenting information about various candidates from both major political parties. It features a Democratic candidate, Sen. Jason Esteves, who is characterized as progressive, particularly in his criticism of Republican leaders and their alignment with Trump’s agenda. This framing suggests a critical stance towards the conservative party and its policies. Additionally, the article highlights the controversy surrounding Republican candidates and their affiliations with Trump, which may imply a negative viewpoint of these figures.
While the piece includes perspectives from both Democrats and Republicans, the emphasis on the Democrats’ campaign strategies and criticisms of Republicans gives it a Center-Left political bias. Overall, the content leans toward a more critical view of conservative politics while presenting Democratic candidates in a favorable light.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-21 13:57:00
(The Center Square) – Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill Monday that would change the state’s legal climate, supporters said.
The tort reform package passed by the General Assembly would require attorneys to focus on actual pain and suffering during a civil trial but does not place a limit on a jury’s award, according to Kemp’s office.
Businesses would only be held responsible for what they “directly control,” according to the bill.
Supporters said the bill would lower insurance costs in the state.
“My position on this important issue has not changed – these are not anti-lawyer or pro-insurance bills, these are pro-Georgia bills,” said Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. “From the extensive debate we saw on this issue, it is clear that the environment we are in right now is not playing well consistently and something had to change to level the playing field. These much-needed reforms, which I was proud to support, strike a balance by stabilizing insurance costs for businesses and consumers, while increasing transparency and fairness for all Georgia citizens.”
Georgia ranked fourth in the American Tort Reform Association’s “Judicial Hellholes” report, dropping from the top spot only because other states had a larger volume of “abuses,” the organization said. Nuclear verdicts cost Georgians a “tort tax” of $1,372.94 each year, according to the association and costs the state 137,658 jobs annually.
Senate President Pro Tem John F. Kennedy, R-Macon, said the bill “cracks down on predatory litigation financers.”
“This billion-dollar industry, often backed by foreign actors, has no place in our civil justice system,” Kennedy said. “With this legislation, we are upholding the integrity of Georgia’s courts and strengthening consumer protections statewide.”
The issue was Kemp’s top priority during the 2025 session. He threatened lawmakers with a special session if the bill did not pass.
“Today is a victory for the people of our state who for too long were suffering the impacts of an out-of-balance legal environment,” Kemp said.
State business leaders backed the package.
“These new laws will bring much-needed fairness and transparency to a system that has become costly and unpredictable,” said Georgia Public Policy Foundation President Kyle Wingfield. “Georgia has long been recognized as the best state in the nation to do business, and these reforms will help ensure it remains that way.”
Detractors said there was no evidence that it would lower insurance premiums.
Others were afraid the bills would affect claims brought by victims of sex trafficking and rape. The bill was amended to exempt human trafficking victims’ claims.
www.wsav.com – Michael Bartiromo – 2025-04-21 08:51:00
SUMMARY: Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope, has died at 88, confirmed by the Vatican. He recently underwent a lengthy hospitalization for a respiratory crisis, but managed to celebrate Easter Mass shortly before his passing. His death triggers the selection process for a successor, led by the College of Cardinals, with only cardinals under 80 eligible to vote. The camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, currently administers the Holy See. Voting occurs in secret; if successful, it is marked by white smoke signaling a new pope. The cardinals will discuss the Church’s challenges before casting their votes.
