James Salzer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta, GA, United States
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Past articles by James:
Georgia taxpayer cost to protect Duncan on Euro trip: Almost $10K
The state Department of Public Safety spent almost $10,000 to protect outgoing Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan on his end-of-term European economic development trip last fall, records show. That brings the total taxpayer tab on the trip Duncan and then-Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller led to Germany and the United Kingdom after the 2022 elections to about $110,000. → Read More
Georgia lawmakers debate small boost in cigarette taxes
Georgia hasn’t raised taxes on cigarettes in nearly 20 years and has the second-lowest levy in the country. But a Capitol subcommittee hearing Wednesday on a bill to increase the tax from 37 cents to 57 cents per pack made it clear even a relatively small hike will be a tough sell in the General Assembly. → Read More
Georgia among the states where filers may want to wait to file taxes
The income tax rebates the state sent out last spring may wind up being subject to federal taxes, at least for some Georgians. → Read More
Capitol interests play key role in funding Kemp’s inaugural shindig
Gov. Brian Kemp’s inaugural ball in January at State Farm Arena was a star-studded, tux-and-gown political event. But, as was the case in 2019, his ai → Read More
Georgia Senate leaders call for probe of Duncan Euro trip funding
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Senate President Pro Tem John Kennedy on Monday called for an investigation into how taxpayers wound up paying for a European trip for their predecessors two months before they left office. → Read More
Audit: Retiree tax break saves Georgia seniors $1.37 billion in 2023
A tax break on pensions and other retirement income for Georgia seniors will cost the state — and save retirees — about $1.37 billion this year, according to a new state audit report. → Read More
Duncan, Miller led state delegation to Europe just before leaving office
Two months before leaving office and after their replacements had been elected, then-Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Georgia Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller led a state delegation on a taxpayer-funded economic development trip to Europe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned. → Read More
Pay raises help boost salaries of lower-paid Georgia employees the most
After years of giving out raises that often provided the biggest boost to top brass, the state has been trying something different in hopes of holding onto frontline workers who have been fleeing government work in droves for more than a decade. → Read More
Georgia economy doing well, but stock market drop will hurt state revenue
Last year’s drop in the stock market is about to have a huge impact on state finances. → Read More
Georgia lawmakers begin work on Kemp’s $32.5 billion budget this week
This is called “budget week” at the state Capitol and with good reason: The Legislature all but shuts down while Appropriations committees start work reviewing Gov. Brian Kemp’s $32.5 billion spending proposal for the upcoming year. → Read More
Kemp budget: Good times roll for state with huge funding boost for schools
Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday released budget plans that call for an increase of more than $1 billion in school funding, $567 million in pay raises, a bump in HOPE scholarship spending and big money to train workers for jobs in the electric-vehicle industry. → Read More
Georgia tax collections rebound, but state officials cautious about future
A month after state tax collections dipped for the first time in more than a year, they rebounded in December. → Read More
Kemp will call for teacher, state worker raises and tax rebates
Gov. Brian Kemp’s budget proposal is expected to include another round of pay raises for more than 200,000 teachers, education staffers and state employees in the coming year. → Read More
Election-year spending spree gives way to more conservative approach this year
With talk of a possible recession this year, and despite continued growth in income and sales tax collections, the Kemp administration and legislative leaders say they expect more conservative budgeting when the General Assembly reconvenes Jan. 9. → Read More
David Ralston, speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, dies
Gov. Brian Kemp said, “Speaker Ralston was a pioneer in the growth of Georgia’s Republican leadership and leaves an indelible mark on this state.” Sen. Burt Jones, R-Jackson, who was elected lieutenant governor last week, said, “Speaker Ralston embodied the true essence of what it meant to be a public servant.” Ralston took up the speaker’s gavel and brought a sense of moderation after some of… → Read More
Georgia governor’s race sees Abrams, Kemp rake in big out-of-state money
With a well-honed national fundraising machine and big-donor connections, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams took in about nine of every 10 campaign dollars she collected over the past three months from outside the state she hopes to run. → Read More
State of Georgia ran nearly a $6.6 billion tax surplus in fiscal 2022
A new report says the state took in billions more in tax revenue than it spent during the recently completed fiscal year, making it likely that Georgians will be seeing another rebate in the spring as lawmakers seek to give back some of the excess money paid into the treasury. → Read More
Kemp commits $100 million more in federal COVID-19 money to law enforcement
Gov. Brian Kemp announced Thursday that he is committing another $100 million in federal COVID-19 relief money for grants to law enforcement agencies to address violent crime and offset staffing shortages. → Read More
Kemp slammed federal stimulus, but he’s using it now to help win reelection
Gov. Brian Kemp called the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill congressional Democrats passed in March 2021 a wasteful measure that didn’t give Georgia its fair share. → Read More
Georgia teacher pension fund dropped $15 billion in rough year for stocks
As the nation was coming to grips with the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, officials with Georgia’s massive teacher pension fund watched assets plummet $15 billion in a few months when the stock market tanked. → Read More