GBPI In The News ‘Enough is Enough’ rally in Forsyth Park draws hundreds of diverse community members June 7, 2020 / June 26, 2020 by Caitlin Highland Hundreds of diverse community members gathered in Savannahs Forsyth Park for the Enough is Enough rally aiming to transform recent protests into a movement with speeches by varied local leaders on Saturday, June 6. [Nick Robertson/SavannahNow.com] […] Amanda Hollowell with the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute speaks before hundreds of diverse community members who gathered […] Read more » Amanda Hollowell racial equity
GBPI In The News State Rep. McLaurin joins push for tobacco tax hike to offset $3.5B budget shortfall May 29, 2020 / June 26, 2020 by Alex Welch A state representative from Sandy Springs joined a colleague in suggesting Georgia should increase the cigarette tax to help cover a $3.5 billion budget shortfall that could cause at least 1,000 layoffs and an equal number of furloughed workers. Rep. Josh McLaurin (D-Sandy Springs) joined Rep. Angelika Kausche (D-Johns Creek) in a virtual town hall […] Read more » Budget Budget Cuts danny kanso Tobacco Tax
GBPI In The News Georgia health care facilities opening up, with some COVID-19 guidelines here to stay May 28, 2020 / June 26, 2020 by Caitlin Highland Like the rest of Athens, the health care industry is opening up after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. […] But it’s not business as usual and won’t look the same again, say healthcare authorities. “The impact of COVID-19 will be with us far into the future, and we won’t be returning to a pre-COVID-19 […] Read more » COVID-19 health-care Laura Harker
GBPI In The News ‘Cautiously optimistic but realistically pessimistic’: Georgia colleges prepare for unknowns of fall semester May 28, 2020 / June 26, 2020 by Alex Welch Colleges across Georgia have assembled planning teams for what they say will be a return to in-person classes this fall after an abrupt switch to distance education in March to limit the novel coronavirus pandemic. Faced with changing data and guidance, and the many known factors about the future of the pandemic, they’re planning for […] Read more » Budget Cuts COVID-19 Higher Education Jennifer Lee Tobacco Tax
GBPI In The News First look at how Georgia lawmakers will try to cut 14% from coronavirus-depleted state budget May 22, 2020 / June 26, 2020 by Alex Welch Georgia lawmakers will get their first look next week at how deep state agencies must cut their budgets to comply with spending reductions the legislature’s leading budget writers ordered in the wake of coronavirus. Revised fiscal 2021 budget proposals the agencies submitted this week would freeze vacant positions, furlough workers and scale back vital programs […] Read more » Budget Budget Cuts COVID-20 danny kanso
GBPI In The News Georgia public health agency among those proposing to furlough staff May 21, 2020 / June 26, 2020 by Caitlin Highland While Georgia’s Department of Public Health is battling the coronavirus pandemic, its leaders say it will have to furlough staffers — including those working in infectious disease control and epidemiology — one day a month to meet state-mandated spending cuts. The agency would also slash grants to county health departments by almost $18 million and […] Read more » Budget Budget Cuts danny kanso health Tobacco Tax
GBPI In The News Unemployment rate in Georgia reaches all-time high May 21, 2020 / June 26, 2020 by Caitlin Highland Georgia’s unemployment rate for April was the highest rate the state has ever seen, the state’s top labor official said Thursday. The unemployment rate was 11.9 percent in April, jumping 7.3 percentage points from March. The month-to-month increase also was highest one-month increase ever recorded in the state, Georgia Department of Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said. […] Read more » COVID-19 Unemployment unemployment rate
GBPI In The News Reopening reality check: Georgia’s jobs aren’t flooding back May 21, 2020 / June 26, 2020 by Alex Welch Georgia’s early move to start easing stay-at-home restrictions nearly a month ago has done little to stem the state’s flood of unemployment claims — illustrating how hard it is to bring jobs back while consumers are still afraid to go outside. Weekly applications for jobless benefits have remained so elevated that Georgia now leads the […] Read more » Alex Camardelle COVID-19 Unemployment
GBPI In The News Furloughs likely, again, as part of Georgia agencies’ budget cut plans May 20, 2020 / June 30, 2020 by Caitlin Highland The economic shutdown brought on by the pandemic has led to mass unemployment, and some businesses remain closed. Many of those that have opened are doing limited business. […] The massive University System of Georgia has already announced likely furloughs to its employees. Child welfare worker furloughs were mentioned during a Department of Human Services board meeting […] Read more » Alex Camardelle Budget Budget Cuts COVID-19
GBPI In The News Georgia won’t thrive if the people do not survive May 13, 2020 / June 26, 2020 by Alex Welch Since the coronavirus arrived in the United States, Georgia has seen some of the highest numbers of infections and deaths. Elected officials have attempted to mitigate the ongoing health and economic impact, but it’s clear our state must do more to put people first. […] Before COVID-19, many Georgians already endured poverty, limited economic mobility […] Read more » Budget Budget Cuts COVID-19 Taifa Smith Butler