Blog Featured Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice New Overtime Rules a Win for Georgia’s Middle Class May 20, 2016 / January 16, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe As many as half a million Georgia workers stand to gain from a long-overdue update to the nation’s system for overtime pay announced by the U.S. Department of Labor this week. The new benchmark nearly doubles the annual pay salaried workers can earn and still be eligible for overtime pay, extending new protections to millions […] Read more »
Blog Budget and Taxes Featured Timothy Sweeney More Needed for Schools, Health Care After $23.7B Budget Kicks in July 1 May 10, 2016 / January 16, 2020 by Timothy Sweeney Gov. Nathan Deal just signed the state’s budget for the 2017 fiscal year that kicks in this July and once again we heard that the $23.7 billion spending plan represents a “record budget.” While the recently signed budget promises to move the state forward in many ways, it is important to remember that Georgia is […] Read more » FY2017 State Budget
Blog Budget and Taxes Featured Health Justice Timothy Sweeney Georgia Misses Big Opportunity to Help Struggling Rural Hospitals April 22, 2016 / January 16, 2020 by Timothy Sweeney First published in the SW Georgia Health Beat on page 23. The good news is Georgia lawmakers understand something must be done to help the state’s struggling rural hospitals. Calhoun Memorial Hospital closed in Arlington in recent years, as did Flint River Hospital in Macon County and too many others serving Georgia’s rural communities. The not […] Read more » medicaid Rural hospitals State Taxes Tim Sweeney
Blog Budget and Taxes Wesley Tharpe Georgia Work Credit Could Get Families a Better Deal at Tax Time April 18, 2016 / January 16, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe As Georgians put the finishing touches on their returns to meet today’s income tax filing deadline, one benefit many are missing out on is a tax credit that states can offer to help average families get a fair deal. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia provide taxpayers with a state-level match for the Earned […] Read more » EITC State Taxes Wesley Tharpe
Blog Inclusive Economy for Immigrants Melissa Johnson Worker Justice Georgia’s Tuition Equity Opportunity Will Survive U.S. Supreme Court Case April 15, 2016 / April 2, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 1 Comment on Georgia’s Tuition Equity Opportunity Will Survive U.S. Supreme Court Case Georgia leaders debated for years whether the state should allow young immigrants to pay in-state college tuition if they are eligible to work without threat of deportation. Monday the U.S Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in an important immigration case that could bring new clarity to the extent of executive authority. The case […] Read more » daca immigration Tuition Equity
Blog Cash and Safety Net Health Justice Taifa Smith Butler Lawmakers Made Small Progress, Avoided Big Budget Mistakes April 11, 2016 / January 17, 2020 by Taifa Smith Butler As Published in the AJC Former drug offenders and their families who struggle financially could get better access to nutrition assistance to help them on a path to a lawful, productive life. Some financially struggling rural hospitals stand to get a cash infusion, although the remedy that emerged from the 2016 General Assembly amounts to […] Read more » Atlanta Journal-Constitution Budget & Taxes Income Tax Legislature Medicaid Expansion Rural hospitals
Blog Budget and Taxes Health Justice Timothy Sweeney Lawmakers Miss on Health Care, Education, but Leave Flawed Tax Plan Behind April 1, 2016 / January 15, 2020 by Timothy Sweeney | 1 Comment on Lawmakers Miss on Health Care, Education, but Leave Flawed Tax Plan Behind Soon after the traditional paper storm settled on the 2016 legislative session Gov. Nathan Deal’s swift veto of the so-called religious liberty bill grabbed the headlines. It’s understandable if you lost track of the fate of other important legislation at the end of the whirlwind 2016 session. While social issues seemed to dominate this year’s […] Read more » Budget & Taxes Income Tax Sine Die State Taxes
Author Blog Budget and Taxes Policy Areas Wesley Tharpe Lawmakers Wise to Reject Reckless Income Tax Measures March 25, 2016 / January 15, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe | 1 Comment on Lawmakers Wise to Reject Reckless Income Tax Measures This year’s General Assembly produced no shortage of big debates, with subjects from religious exemptions to rape kits grabbing statewide and even national headlines. But beneath the surface lurked a serious threat to Georgia’s well-being that didn’t make it onto many front pages or the late night shows. A pair of tax-slashing proposals, House Bill […] Read more » Bond rating Budget & Taxes Income Tax State Budget State Taxes
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Policy Areas TANF Time Limits Undercut Workforce Development March 17, 2016 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson This week Georgia legislators in the House Health and Human Services Committee moved to rend the state’s frayed safety net, narrowly approving a measure to cut lifetime eligibility for cash assistance 25 percent. If Senate Bill 389 passes, Georgia parents could only receive cash aid from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program for […] Read more » TANF Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Workforce Development
Blog Budget and Taxes Policy Areas Income Tax Legislation Threatens Georgia’s Stellar Bond Rating March 14, 2016 / January 15, 2020 by Russell Hinton | 5 Comments on Income Tax Legislation Threatens Georgia’s Stellar Bond Rating Managing Georgia’s finances in a responsible way is one of the most sober and sacred responsibilities of state lawmakers. Families and businesses in Georgia’s largest cities and smallest towns can’t thrive unless lawmakers are able to raise sufficient tax revenue, or to borrow money at decent rates. Our elected state officials need financial flexibility to […] Read more » Bond rating State Budget Tax cut
