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Georgia House public health chair pushes for insuring earlier cancer screening, biomarker testing
Jaymie Knox didn’t even know what biomarker testing was before it was done as part of a biopsy of her lung. But after it helped pinpoint the type of cancer she has – stage-four ALK-positive lung cancer – and the exact treatment she needs to keep it at bay, she wants everyone who would benefit […]
Georgia workers who care for people with disabilities in line for pay hike, but advocates say more needed
Workers who assist people with disabilities would receive about a $5-per-hour salary increase if decision-makers heed the recommendations packed into an ongoing wage review. The increase would cost the state about $91 million and lift the hourly wage of caregivers to $15.18, up from $10.63, according to cost estimates released Thursday by the state Department […]
Bill to raise Georgia’s tax on tobacco products gets bipartisan push intended to tamp down smoking
A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including several who work in health care, has lined up behind a proposal to raise the tax rate on cigarettes and vaping products in the name of public health. Georgia’s 37-cents-per-pack tax is one of the lowest rates in the country – second only to Missouri – but efforts to […]
Georgia Senate votes to permanently bar local officials from requiring proof of COVID shot to enter public buildings
The state Senate has voted to make permanent a pandemic-era law that temporarily banned local governments from requiring residents to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to receive a service or access public buildings. The GOP proposal passed the chamber Tuesday with a 31-to-21 vote that fell along party lines and dredged up debate over how […]
Rural Georgia lawmaker wants Legislature to settle stink raised by casting sludge upon the soil
Tankers hauling mystery sludge have been a common – and unwelcome – sight in rural Wilkes County for more than a decade, regularly filling the country air with a putrid aroma. But those haulers have been skipping past Wilkes County lately. That probably has something to do with a fish kill last summer that attracted […]
Mental health advocates descend on Georgia Capitol to rally for continued service improvements
When last year’s behavioral health parity bill was signed into law, Janet Norris was sitting in a Bartow County jail cell. A lot has changed for her since then. After struggling with addiction for 27 years, the Cartersville resident found recovery through mental health court. She says the program saved her life, reunited her family, […]
Georgia lawmakers renew push to devote hazardous waste fees to cleaning dangerous sites
More than two years ago, Georgia voters overwhelmingly backed a ballot question that constitutionally dedicated the revenues from certain taxes and fees to the programs lawmakers originally claimed they were needed to fund. Proponents pressed hard for the change, branding their decade-long campaign as a push for “truth in fees” or “anti-bait and switch” or […]
Georgia GOP lawmaker pushes bill to protect ‘vital and precious’ Okefenokee from new mining proposals
While an Alabama-based company’s controversial mining proposal moves through the permitting process, a south Georgia Republican lawmaker is again attempting to head off any future attempt to mine an important site near the Okefenokee Swamp. Rep. Darlene Taylor, a Thomasville Republican, has revived the legislative effort just days after the state Environmental Protection Division started […]
Health advocates push for more resources for moms in a post-Roe Georgia
Advocates for maternal health gathered outside the state Capitol Monday to rally for more resources to support Georgia’s mothers. “We’ve made some strides over the last several years – and I don’t want to discount that – but we have a lot more work to do. Our goal cannot just be, ‘Don’t die,’” said Ky […]
Georgia’s six-week ban not enough for anti-abortion activists pressing for more restrictions at Roe’s 50th anniversary
Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, the Supreme Court case guaranteeing the right to an abortion that was overturned last year. Since the landmark ruling fell last summer, Georgia’s six-week abortion ban has been on and off and now back on as a legal challenge moves its way through the courts. “It’s […]
New Georgia House speaker says state tobacco tax hike is possible, dims hopes for Medicaid expansion
This story was updated at 2:15 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, 2023 with additional comment. If anyone was harboring hope that a new House speaker might want to take a fresh look at full Medicaid expansion in Georgia, House Speaker Jon Burns dumped cold water on that Thursday. Burns is only the second speaker since the […]
Kemp trumpets Georgia economy overseas as state economist warns tax collections will slow
State lawmakers have started digging into Gov. Brian Kemp’s $32.5 billion spending proposal for next year. The second-term governor’s budget includes initiatives he promised on the campaign trail – like a one-time property tax break and another bonus tax refund – as well as $2,000 pay raises for educators and state workers, $130 million for […]