On June 30, 1665, England’s King Charles signed a royal charter for Carolina, defining its southern border and also claiming all land in what is now Georgia.
On June 30, 1775, the Continental Congress passed the Articles of War, laying out complaints against Britain’s Parliament.
“The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.”
Today could well be called Intermodal Transportation History Day in Georgia. The first four-lane highway in Georgia was announced on June 30, 1937 from Atlanta to Marietta. The first C5 air flight took place from Dobbins in Marietta on June 30, 1968 and MARTA rail service began on June 30, 1979.
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell first went on sale on June 30, 1936; on June 30, 1986, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp commemorating Margaret Mitchell.
Superman made his first appearance in Action Comics #1 on June 30, 1938.
Ohio became the 39th state to ratify the 26th Amendment on June 30, 1971, lowering the voting age to 18.
Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing was released on June 30, 1989. Lee was born in Atlanta and graduated from Morehouse College.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
A number of new pieces of legislation go into effect tomorrow, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Valdosta Daily Times.
On Tuesday, Georgians will reap what their state lawmakers sowed when a slew of new laws take effect, from divisive limits on transgender student athletes to a broadly popular guarantee to keep in vitro fertilization legal.
In addition to keeping options to start life, the General Assembly gave Georgians a new way to say goodbye to loves ones when life ends.
They addressed technology that is changing how we live, letting Georgians use a digital replica of their driver’s license on their phone during traffic stops while at the same time banning cellphones in elementary and middle schools.
They also passed laws affecting the justice system, food safety and taxes.
Senate Bill 1 was the first item on the Republican-led state Senate’s agenda. It generally prohibits student athletes in private and public schools and colleges from competing in interscholastic and intercollegiate sports on teams that do not match their birth gender.
Lawmakers spent many hours debating whether transgender athletes were a threat to the safety of girls and women during competition, and whether there were enough of them to merit a legal ban.
Democrats called it unnecessary and dangerous. Republicans called it necessary for safety, asserting that female athletes could be injured when competing against transgender opponents.
“This common-sense legislation is about what is fair and safe for our children,” said Gov. Brian Kemp, when he signed the measure into law in April. “Girls should not have to share a playing field, a restroom, or locker room with boys.”
Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, said the legislation would ensure “no young woman is ever forced to face a biological male on the field, on the court or in a locker room.” It wasn’t an ideological issue, but one of “right or wrong,” he said.
Critics fear the new law will encourage bullying of transgender youths. They also worry that girls with a masculine appearance will face unwanted scrutiny. The law allows parents to challenge their gender.
“It’s legalizing discrimination,” said Lynn Green, of Rome, whose transgender son, Ash, was born female.
Green said there are no documented incidents of transgender athletes playing on Georgia school teams, but Ash, 17, corrected her.
While not interested in playing sports himself, Ash has heard about a female high school athlete who is transitioning to male. Under this law, he must still compete on a girls’ team.
“That would be stupid,” Ash said, adding, “There are definitely trans athletes in Georgia. I just don’t think they’re as big of a deal as the bill is making them. They’re not going to affect anyone. They’re not beating people up.”
There were plenty of laws that were not so controversial.
For instance, House Bill 428 passed with just one “no” vote in the Senate and no opposition in the House, as Republicans and Democrats found a rare moment of solidarity in support of protecting in vitro fertilization. The legislation was prompted by an Alabama Supreme Court ruling last year that declared frozen embryos had to be treated as children. Since some embryos are destroyed during the procedure, it was ruled illegal, raising concerns about legality in Georgia. Now, by near unanimous consent, it is clearly legal.
Read on for highlights about new laws on other important topics.
TECHNOLOGY
House Bill 340: no more cellphones in public schools, at least from kindergarten through middle school. The proponents of this ban on devices that are widely viewed as a distraction stopped short of prohibiting them in high schools. But ban backers said high schools could be next. In the meantime, the law gives elementary and middle schools until fall 2026 to figure out how to stop their students from using their phones at school.
House Bill 296: think of this one like chocolate meets peanut butter; nearly everyone has a smartphone and nearly everyone has a driver’s license. So why not put them together? This law goes into effect Tuesday but gives police two years to prepare. Apps to carry and read a digital license already exist. For instance, flyers can present their license in Apple Wallet at select Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. But the digital licenses are otherwise limited until July 2027, when Georgia drivers will be able to present their phones to police if they don’t have a physical license handy. Officers will not be authorized to take the phone or rifle through it, but they will have to be equipped to scan the digital license.
JUSTICE
Senate Bill 244: this law was backed by Republicans but drew support from some Democrats. It gives money to people whom a court determines were wrongfully convicted, awarding them $75,000 per year of imprisonment. It also reimburses defendants for attorney fees and court costs when a prosecutor is disqualified due to improper conduct and the case is then dismissed. Those indicted by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in connection with her criminal case against President Donald Trump stand to benefit.
Senate Bill 79: far too many people, young people in particular, have died because they have taken fentanyl, sometimes unknowingly. The drug is used as a painkiller in medical settings, but it has found its way to the streets — often contaminating other drugs, such as Adderall, Oxycodone and Xanax. And it is 100 times more potent than morphine. This law imposes mandatory minimum sentences on those convicted of trafficking fentanyl.
House Bills 85 and 86: these two measures update the way judges are paid, the former striving to equalize local supplementary pay for superior court judges and the latter indexing pay for state supreme court justices, appeals court judges and a statewide business judge to what federal judges make.
House Bill 161: this law expands the authority of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to secure subpoenas without asking a court. With the attorney general’s approval, the GBI will be able to compel telecommunications companies to turn over customer information, including name, address and connection records, such as service usage times and durations. The types of investigations that will warrant these extrajudicial subpoenas include crimes against children, crimes facilitated by a computer and, crucially when it came to securing lawmaker support, the crime known as swatting, which, according to testimony, is happening more frequently against politicians; swatting is when someone calls police to an address on false pretenses.
FOOD
House Bill 398: home bakers and other makers, it’s time to go to market. This new “cottage food” law will allow home cooks to sell their goods online, by mail, in grocery stores and at restaurants. The food must be stable without temperature control, so refrigerated items are not included. But breads, cakes, cereals, jams, jellies, preserves, pasta, produce, dried fruits, herbs, nuts, seasonings, vinegar, dill pickles, dry soup mixes and roasted coffee beans generally are included.
Senate Bill 144: any pesticide with a federally-approved label shall be deemed adequately labeled in Georgia and will satisfy the state law duty to label the substance.
DEATH and TAXES
Senate Bill 241: this is another one that passed with big bipartisan majorities. It allows the composting of human corpses and inspired gallows humor at the Capitol that eased discomfort about the topic. The new law offers grieving families some measure of comfort, proponents noted: it will let them plant flowers in soil that came from a departed loved one.
House Bills 111 and 112: the former is a tax cut and the latter is a taxpayer rebate. The cut will reduce the state income tax rate from 5.39% to 5.19% retroactive to the beginning of the current tax year. The rebate will give taxpayers a one-time bonus: $250 for single income tax filers, $375 for single filer heads of household and $500 for married couples filing jointly.
Money and Taxes
Lower state income tax rate: The flat income tax rate drops from 5.39% to 5.19%, with future plans to reduce it further to 4.99%.
Boosted child tax credit: The child and dependent care tax credit increases, providing a new $250 credit for e[ach child under age 6.]
Although most of the laws reflect a focus on public safety, education and financial relief, you still should educate yourself on any changes or updates because “ignorance of the law excuses no one.”
End to subminimum wages for disabled workers: Paying subminimum wages to workers with disabilities is now prohibited, promoting equal pay.
Law and crime
Stricter penalties for fentanyl trafficking: Harsher sentences and fines for trafficking fentanyl, even in small amounts, to combat the opioid crisis.
Compensation for wrongful convictions: Individuals wrongfully convicted can seek compensation. If prosecutor misconduct is proven, defendants can recover attorney fees.
Survivor Justice Act: Survivors of domestic violence or trafficking who committed crimes under duress can petition for reduced sentences.
Harm-reduction measures: It is no longer illegal to carry tools that test drugs for fentanyl, helping prevent overdoses.
Education and child safety
Mobile device restrictions in schools: K–8 students must store mobile phones and electronic devices away during school hours.
Panic alert systems: All public K–12 schools must install mobile panic alert systems that connect directly to emergency services (“Ricky and Alyssa’s Law”).
Sports team designation: School sports teams must be categorized by sex assigned at birth, not preferred identity (“Riley Gaines Act”).
Standardized testing for home-study students: Home-study students are guaranteed access to standardized testing at local schools.
Chronic absenteeism intervention: Schools cannot expel students solely for chronic absenteeism; instead, they must provide supportive interventions.
Transparency for foreign funding: Public colleges must disclose any funding from sources linked to China. Stricter background checks for childcare: Daycare and Head Start staff face stricter fingerprinting and registry checks.
Other notable laws
Specialty license plates: New specialty license plates are available, including for state parks, black bass conservation and the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation. Disabled veterans can now apply for two additional free license plates.
Electronic driver’s licenses: Provisions allow for driver’s licenses to be presented in electronic format.
Safety for the severely ill: Improved access to medical treatments for severely ill individuals and updates to health insurance provisions.
Legislative updates to current laws
Eviction and rental laws: New provisions for eviction services and requirements for landlords to have in-state staff for tenant communications.
Insurance and consumer protections: Updates to insurance requirements, including increased notice for homeowners’ insurance nonrenewal and new warranty protections for HVAC systems. Local tax exemptions: Numerous local homestead and school district tax exemptions are expanded or revised across various counties and municipalities.
Police Blotter: Former Camden County Assistant Magistrate Judge William Ashe was arrested on burglary charges, according to The Brunswick News.
Ashe and [Melinda] Watson were charged with one count of burglary, and Cox was charged with one count of burglary and one count of second-degree criminal damage to property.
The GBI was asked to investigate an incident on March 11, where Cox allegedly entered a property illegally after presenting altered documents to a Camden County Sheriff’s Office deputy. Cox allegedly took several items and caused damage to the property while he was there, according to a GBI report.
Watson, one of Ashe’s employees, created the altered documents, which Ashe gave to Cox, according to the report. After Cox entered the property, Ashe was contacted and confirmed the legality of the documents to the Camden County Sheriff’s deputy.
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King (R) spoke about his campaign for Governor with the AJC:
With the United States now peering over the edge of yet another war in the Middle East, King’s military background has become suddenly relevant in the race to challenge Ossoff. That experience, hard fought with scars to show, also factors heavily into the way King thinks about war and peace.
“There’s a whole cottage industry of both Republicans and Democrats that want to continue conflict, and it makes the world more insecure,” he said in an interview this week.
“As somebody that’s had to suffer as a result of an unclear foreign policy for a good portion of my adult life, I like clarity … if we deploy Americans, we need to understand the task and the purpose before we put young Georgians and lives at stake.”
For his part, King said he thinks Trump is not just doing his job well, but that he might be the person best positioned to achieve Middle East peace.
“President Trump has been the first president in seven presidents who has taken decisive action to change the status quo of waiting for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon and drop it on either Israel or one of the one of those countries in the region,” King said. “He’s changed that dynamic in 20 minutes, and now we have an opportunity to have a real conversation about how we provide a stability in the region.”
The United States has a pattern of sending troops into countries it started off bombing. Could King ever envision American troops being sent into Iran, too?
“No, not at all,” he said, “That is not in our interest … We never knew what the goal was in Afghanistan and we spent 20-plus years there. So there’s no appetite for anybody that seriously looks at this to go into Iran.”
How about “regime change” since that term has been tossed around, too, including once by Trump, who later backed off.
“I think it’s preposterous. I think it’s ridiculous,” he said. “As an Afghan veteran, as an Iraqi veteran, we don’t do regime change as well.” The future of Iran belongs to the Iranian people, he said.
For every question about what the United States’ role should be in the region, King said it should meet America’s national interests.
State Senate President Pro Tem John F. Kennedy (R-Macon) discussed his campaign for Lieutenant Governor with the AJC.
“In serving for the last three years, what I have learned is that if you’re respectful of people and their opinions and give them a chance to be heard, they’re far more likely to then listen to others,” Kennedy said of his leadership experience.
He enters a crowded GOP race. His Senate colleagues Majority Leader Steve Gooch, of Dahlonega, and Blake Tillery, of Vidalia, are also running.
State Sen. Josh McLaurin, of Atlanta, is running for the Democratic nomination.
The Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today Act or “PERMIT Act” by U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson) passed out of Committee, according to AccessWDUN.
The Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today Act, or the PERMIT Act, passed the House’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday.
The act looks to amend the Clean Water Act of 1972 by excluding certain bodies of water from its protection.
Collins said in a press release on Wednesday that this is to ease the burden of permit seekers and holders.
“The PERMIT Act delivers much-needed reform to the Clean Water Act that will overhaul permitting processes and reduce burdens on permit seekers. As we enter a new era with a renewed focus on domestic energy production and growth, this legislation delivers the tools that our country needs to build faster, smarter, and safer,” Collins said.
The specific amendment is to exclude waste treatment systems, including treatment ponds or lagoons; short streams that only flow in response to precipitation; prior converted cropland; groundwater and “any other features determined to be excluded by the Administrator or the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers.”
Currently, the term navigable waters in the Clean Water Act is “the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.”
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) also released a statement regarding the PERMIT act.
“This bill will unleash America’s power to build by cutting red tape, streamlining permitting processes, and providing regulatory certainty, all while continuing to protect clean water,” Graves said in the release. “The legislation does not overhaul or roll back the Clean Water Act; it instead makes targeted reforms to the law informed by on-the-ground feedback. I want to thank Chairman Collins and my other Committee members for their excellent work and contributions to this legislation.”
The PERMIT Act, or House Resolution 3898, will now go to the House floor for a vote after passing the committee 34-30.
Hall County will execute a cost-sharing agreement with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to keep some Lake Lanier parks open, according to AccessWDUN.
Hall County commissioners approved a resolution to get additional parks open on Lake Lanier ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.
The challenge cost-sharing management agreement and partner operations plan will reopen three currently closed parks and ensure six others remain open on the lake.
This comes after the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced that 21 boat ramp access parks on the lake would close in May due to staffing shortages, before being reduced to 11 after pushback from state and U.S. legislators.
As of May 30, AccessWDUN reported that nine parks remained closed. Hall County Parks and Leisure Director Brent Holloway noted at Thursday’s board meeting that some of those had trickled back open, but this agreement will allow all parks to reopen regardless of what USACE does.
“This will make sure that regardless of what happens with the Corps of Engineers, they stay open and then we’ll reopen the other ones they closed,” Holloway said.
Holloway did add the contract is for a maximum of one year before they can reassess and figure it out after that.
Hall County will assume short-term operational and management for the facilities in exchange for retaining 100% of all user fees collected.
Holloway said that the agreement has not been finalized with USACE as of Thursday, but that he wanted to get the item before the board before the holiday. The length and scope of the agreement is not finalized, but will be before the Fourth of July.
The University System of Georgia will join five other states in a new higher education accrediting agency, according to the Associated Press via WJBF.
The Texas A&M System is partnering with university systems from five other Republican-led states to create a new agency to set quality standards for their schools.
The move comes amid Republican criticism of higher education accrediting agencies, which they say are partly responsible for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and reinforcing liberal bias in the country’s colleges and universities.
Officials with Texas A&M, State University System of Florida, University System of Georgia, University of Tennessee System, University of North Carolina System and University of South Carolina System said they will create a new agency to accredit them. They are calling the new body the Commission for Public Higher Education.
Texas A&M and most other public, four-year universities in Texas are currently accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Jim Suydam, Texas A&M University System’s director of media relations, said the university is not planning on leaving SACSCOC right now.
“In recent legislative sessions, our top state officials have sought a more reasonable and transparent pathway toward accreditation. And now, the leadership of the Texas A&M University System is pleased to announce that the System has joined an alliance of some of the nation’s top university systems to provide a new, less cumbersome and more objective option for accreditation,” said Glenn Hegar, who will become the Texas A&M Chancellor on July 1.
Accreditors assess higher education institutions’ quality by reviewing their programs, curricula and graduation rates, among other metrics. Colleges and universities need to be accredited if they want their students to qualify for federal financial aid.
Texas law requires the state’s public universities to be accredited by one of seven federally recognized agencies. It’s unclear if the five university systems have begun the process of getting the new agency recognized by the federal or state government. Suydam said it will likely be a two-year process.
Johns Creek City Council voted to place a $40 million dollar bond referendum on the ballot, according to Appen Media.
Tempers flared June 26 as the Johns Creek City Council passed a measure calling for a referendum on a $40 million bond to help fund creating a performing arts center.
The vote was 4-3.
A referendum could go to Johns Creek voters in November.
Mayor John Bradberry and council members Dilip Tunki, Chris Coughlin and Erin Elwood voted in favor. Stacy Skinner, Bob Erramilli and Larry DiBiase voted opposed.
The bond, along with $20 million in cash reserves, would create an 800-seat performance hall, lobby, back-of-house stage and multipurpose room in the walkable Town Center area along Medlock Bridge Road.
At a June 9 work session, council members discussed funding options, settling on a $40 million general obligation bond, with a majority favoring a 20-year term.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said Atlanta’s rising population may require a property tax rate hike, according to the AJC.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens boasted a small property tax cut for residents this past budget cycle, despite a projected $33 million deficit that required departments to cut at least 5% — including employee layoffs and leaving positions unfilled.
But last week the mayor, who is seeking reelection, said a property tax hike is almost unavoidable, as Atlanta’s leaders work to keep up with population growth that brings increased demand for city services.
Our friends at the Saporta Report wrote that Dickens told members of the Atlanta Committee for Progress at the organization’s quarterly board meeting Friday that the city will likely need to approve a higher property tax in the next few years.
“I can’t see a scenario where four more years go by without a millage rate increase of some portion,” Dickens is quoted as saying in the Saporta Report.
The city hasn’t seen a property tax increase since 2009 under Mayor Shirley Franklin’s administration, when residents saw a 3-mill increase.
“I don’t know if it’s this year or next year, but within four years, it will happen,” Dickens said, according to the Saporta Report. “For last year’s budget, we said no to a millage rate increase. … We haven’t charged more for the services, and we have done magical work with budgets.”
Columbia County Commissioners are expected to vote on a comprehensive restructure of their library system, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
A resolution on the agenda for the July 1 meeting of the county’s Board of Commissioners calls for dissolving the Columbia County Library Advisory Board; withdrawing from the Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System effective Dec. 31; and creating a Columbia County Regional Library System “tailored to the specific requirements of Columbia County,” according to the resolution’s wording.
Commissioners voted in May to approve the actions as enumerated in the resolution after public challenges to the Columbia County Library Advisory Board’s decision in 2024 to change how books are classified and where they’re shelved.
The board said the county library manager will have the final say in where books are shelved – or even shelved at all.
Instead of placing the library decisions of one county in the hands of other counties, Columbia County started pursuing its current plan for a one-county library board.
When the Columbia County Regional Library System is established, a new five-member board will be appointed by county commissioners. The system will be composed of the three libraries in Evans, Grovetown and Harlem.
Whitfield County Commissioners voted to tentatively adopt a property tax millage rate lower than last year’s, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.
The Whitfield County Board of Commissioners set a tentative 2025 property tax rate some 10% lower than the 2024 tax rate at a called meeting Friday. By a 3-0 vote, commissioners set the tentative tax rate at 5.0 mills, down from 5.556 mills in 2024.
Bulloch County Commissioners adopted an FY 2026 budget, according to the Statesboro Herald.
After two failed amendments and one successful amendment that simply required a roll call vote, the Bulloch County commissioners by a 5-1 decision Thursday approved a county budget that will not require a tax millage increase but also provides no millage rate rollback to offset for real estate inflation.
However, for homeowners who live in their own homes and are either already enrolled for any homestead exemption or – if that isn’t the case – apply at the Bulloch County Board of Tax Assessors office or online at bullochtaxassessors.org by a July 7 deadline, a new state law will hold their 2025 assessment at the 2024 value. For future years, the assessed values of homesteads with the exemption will be held to the national inflation rate determined by the Consumer Price Index whenever the county’s inflation in real estate values is greater.
The newly approved budget is for the county’s 2025-2026 fiscal year, also known as “FY ’26,” which begins this Tuesday, July 1.
Later, probably in August, the commissioners will set the millage rate and can now expect to hold a series of three tax increase hearings, because they won’t be adopting the fully offsetting rollback rate.
“My bigger concern was, hey, we could have made it to do a rollback this year, but that would have put us so much further behind next year that not only would we have not been able to do a rollback, but we probably would have had to do a millage increase,” Chairman David Bennett said after the meeting. “As our county continues to grow, just like it’s been doing for the last 20 years, a thousand people per year, we have to continue to expand services. If we grow and we don’t expand our services, we’re decreasing our services.”
Chatham County Commissioners adopted a project list for a proposed Special Purpose Local Option Sale Tax renewal referendum, according to the Savannah Morning News.
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners approved its $282 million project list Friday, with priority one funding for major countywide projects with a heavy emphasis on road infrastructure.
The county is expected to call for a new SPLOST referendum in coming weeks, where voters will choose in November to continue the penny-sales tax currently in place for capital projects across Chatham. The upcoming referendum will be the eighth in the county’s history as collections for the current SPLOST 7 end next year.
Projected revenues for a SPLOST 8 collection are $700 million, which matches that of the recently approved Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. For the regular SPLOST, revenues are allocated between the county and its municipalities.
Chatham County Commissioners raised the property tax millage rate for unincorporated Chatham County, according to WSAV.
If you live in unincorporated Chatham County, your property taxes are going up.
County Commissioners voted 5-4 to raise the “special service district millage rate” by 2 mills, to fund the Chatham County Fire Department.
That money will replace the fire fee, which a judge recently ruled an illegal tax.
Under the new rate, a $100,000 home will see an $80 increase in annual taxes. For a $200,000 home, it’s about $160 more a year.
The county’s overall maintenance and operations budget did rise more than 4%, but commissioners did not raise that millage rate.
Glascock County received a check from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for Hurricane Helene damage, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
If you put three zeroes behind a decimal point and add a three and that’s where Glascock County fits in the size of Georgia’s other 159 counties, Glascock County Commission Ant Griswell said at recent work session. Glascock is the third smallest county in the state but size does not deter the public servants and elected officials from providing their constituents with same dedication to service that any bigger county may provide.
Griswell and Emergency Management Director Mike Lyons recently traveled to GEMA headquarters in Forsyth to pick up a $3.5 million check from FEMA that will help the county pay off all of bills remaining from the clean up from Hurricane Helene.
“Right now I’m ready to jump over the fence I’m so excited,” Griswell said. “It was my pleasure with Mike to be able to pick up that check but this is a total team effort. There have been so many people from the previous administration that have worked so hard in the past and a lot of background. I’m really proud of how we came together. I want to add also that FEMA sometimes gets a bad wrap in the media but in every way we have worked with them FEMA and GEMA have been accommodating and willing to help.”
Ironically, the check comes just as Georgia enters hurricane season once again, the commission knows it’s not a question of if, but when.
“One thing that we really learned about Hurricane Helene, during the preparation, actual storm, and clean up is you have to understand the chain of command and most important is communication. Communication is the key,” Griswell said.
Some Georgians expecting state tax rebate checks worry they haven’t received theirs, according to Atlanta News First via WALB.
Note to Gov. Brian Kemp: your state’s residents are getting restless.
But be patient, everyone. The state Department of Revenue (DOR) said Friday that most of qualified Georgians’ surplus tax refunds will be issued by mid August.
The governor said Friday, “In less than a month, we’ve returned over $488 million” to taxpayers.
But in the same post, in which Kemp was touting his commitment that “taxpayer money ultimately belongs to hardworking Georgians, not the government,” he revealed, “By the time we’re done, we’ll return $1.2 BILLION to the people of our state.”
Kemp’s math indicates less than half of the state’s taxpayers have so far gotten their rebates.
“We anticipate that for those who filed their 2024 return timely, the vast majority of refunds will be issued by the second week of August,” the department said.
On June 2, Kemp said eligible taxpayers would begin receiving their checks during the first week of the month.
The Georgia Department of Revenue said its issuing the checks in batches to avoid any technical snafus.
“The Department is issuing surplus refunds in batches, and the number of refunds issued per batch will increase week over week,” said Joe Snowden, the department’s director of external affairs and communications. “This gradual rollout allows us to carefully monitor the process and ensure there are no issues on the IT side with the deposits or checks. It’s a precautionary step to help avoid errors and make sure everything runs smoothly.”
State lawmakers approved the refunds earlier this year. It’s one way they’re spending the state’s accumulated $16.5 billion in budget surplus and reserves.
For people who filed their 2024 tax returns by May 1, the Department of Revenue expects to issue most of the refunds by early August. The state expects to issue about $1.2 billion in total refunds.
If you want to check your eligibility or the status of your refund, visit https://dor.georgia.gov/2024-hb-112-surplus-tax-refund-faqs.
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