The Pew Charitable Trusts - State and Consumer Initiatives from Georgia

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Incentives for companies in Georgia sometimes don’t deliver promised jobs

Hungry for jobs, Georgia has spent hundreds of millions of public dollars in the last decade on grants to recruit and retain businesses.

Public Safety in Georgia

With unanimous votes in the legislature, Georgia in May 2012 enacted a comprehensive set of sentencing and corrections reforms designed to improve public safety and curb rapid growth in the size and cost of its prison population.

Pew and Casey Applaud Georgia Leaders for Comprehensive Juvenile Justice Reform

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed into law today comprehensive legislation that will improve the state’s juvenile justice system by reducing youth recidivism rates and cutting costs to taxpayers.

NFL Plays Offense to Get Public Money for Stadiums

Why are so many teams asking taxpayers to build new pro football stadiums this year?

Sequester Cuts at Justice Department Threaten Local Drug Investigations

The partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C. threatens to curb drug investigations in rural communities.

Public Attitudes on the Juvenile Justice System in Georgia

This January 2013 issue brief contains information on a survey on public attitudes on the juvenile justice system in Georgia.

30 Cities: An Introductory Snapshot

Pew recently updated its 30-city snapshot interactive, with new data on population, home values, income and unemployment. Pew's American Cities Project focuses on the biggest city in the nation's 30 largest metro areas.

Georgia State of the State Address 2013

ATLANTA, Georgia -- Jan. 17 -- Following is the prepared text of Gov. Nathan Deal's (R) 2013 State of the State Address:

Transit Repair Backlog Will Get Renewed Focus

The condition of bus and train transit systems will soon draw more attention because of a new federal law. The extra scrutiny could put pressure on state lawmakers to address their share of a $78 billion national backlog of transit repairs and upgrades.

Falling Short on Dental Sealants: Georgia

How well is Georgia protecting kids from tooth decay?

Tax Breaks for Sale: Transferable Tax Credits Explained

States offer billions of dollars of tax incentives that businesses can sell to other businesses. Here’s why they do it and how it works.

U.S. Senate Committee Probes “School-to-Prison Pipeline”

Education, civil rights and public safety leaders discussed ways to dismantle the “school-to-prison pipeline” on Capitol Hill this week.

Best of #StateReads: California Leads U.S. Pay Giveaway

This week’s extraordinary journalism about state government, tagged to #StateReads on Twitter.

State Legislators on Sentencing and Corrections Reforms

Six state legislative leaders reflect on how they successfully enacted comprehensive sentencing and corrections reforms using a bipartisan, interbranch working group and focusing on data and research to craft policies that met their unique challenges.

The Impact of the Fiscal Cliff: Georgia

Federal and state finances are closely intertwined, and the fiscal cliff’s tax and spending provisions will have consequences for states.

Best of #StateReads: “State Faces Major Doctor Shortage”

This week’s extraordinary journalism about state government, tagged to #StateReads on Twitter.

Still Risky: Checking Accounts in Georgia

Checking accounts, the most widely used financial product in America, contain hidden risks that can harm consumers. Six of the 12 largest banks nationwide offer checking accounts in Georgia and hold 56 percent of all deposits in the state. Here’s what consumers in Georgia may be paying.

Dam Inspectors Fear the Deluge

Each year, more dams in the United States show signs of disrepair. Meanwhile, the money to fix them grows harder to find.

Best of #StateReads: Michigan Confronts Crime by Parolees and Probationers

This week’s extraordinary journalism about state government, tagged to #StateReads on Twitter.

State Scholarship Changes Could Cost Students

Legislators in Arkansas are considering tying scholarship levels to academic progress.

Best of #StateReads: Kentucky Judges Review Child-Abuse List

This week’s extraordinary journalism about state government, tagged to #StateReads on Twitter.

Best of #StateReads: On Further Review, Georgia Dropout Rate Doubles

This week’s extraordinary journalism about state government, tagged to #StateReads on Twitter.

Federal Court Blocks Parts of Anti-Immigration Law in Alabama, Georgia

A federal appeals court on Monday blocked several provisions of anti-immigration laws in Alabama and Georgia, while leaving intact each state’s so-called “so me your papers” policies.

Transportation Tax Fails in Atlanta, Much of Georgia

Metro Atlanta voters soundly rejected a $7.2 billion plan that supporters said was needed to “untie” the region’s gridlocked transportation system and attract a wealth of young talent. Voters in most other Georgia districts followed suit.

Gov. Deal to Reform Commission: Look at All Aspects of Juvenile Justice

Gov. Nathan Deal urged the judges, prosecutors, sheriffs and legislators serving on a criminal-justice reform commission Monday to consider every part of the juvenile justice system for possible overhaul. I want to charge you to look at that from the inception, and you will have the assistance of state officials," he said.

Campus Mergers Bring Big Changes but Questionable Savings

Georgia and New Jersey are hoping to build major public research universities through mergers. Will they work?

Gov. Deal Wants Review of Juvenile Justice System

Gov. Nathan Deal urged judges, prosecutors, sheriffs and legislators serving on a criminal-justice reform commission Monday to consider every part of the juvenile justice system for overhaul.

Panel Begins Work on Slowing Prison Growth

Gov. Nathan Deal's criminal justice reform council on Monday began its work to find money-saving ways to sentence and manage the state's criminal population.

2012 Georgia Public Safety Reform

In May 2012, Georgia's General Assembly unanimously passed legislation, House Bill 1176, enacting a comprehensive package of sentencing and corrections reforms that will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over the next five years while improving public safety.

Georgia Ponders Spending Billions on Roads and Rails

Voters will decide July 31 whether to pay more sales taxes to pay for dozens of road and rail improvements aimed at reducing congestion.

Questions Swirl Around Nuclear Cost Recovery

Charging ratepayers for nuclear plant construction made sense to many legislatures a few years ago. Attitudes have shifted since then.

Best of #StateReads: Dangerous Times in New Jersey Halfway Houses

This week’s extraordinary journalism about state government, tagged to #StateReads on Twitter.

Widening Gap Update: Georgia

Georgia consistently paid its full annual pension contribution from 2005 to 2010, but the system was 85 percent funded in fiscal year 2010 and faced a $12 billion funding gap.

Public School Alternatives Gather Steam in States

Louisiana gave advocates of charter schools, vouchers and other publicly funded education alternatives everything they could have asked for, but opposition remained fierce elsewhere.

Squeezing Local Governments

Cities, counties and school districts are facing a one-two punch: simultaneous drops in property tax revenue and state aid. The blows come even as demand for services is growing. This fiscal squeeze—not seen since 1980—has resulted in painful choices for local governments large and small.

Time Served in Georgia

The average offender in Georgia released in 2009 served 3.2 years in custody, 75% more than the average offender released in 1990.

Troubled Times at the State Fair

State Fairs are facing a budget crunch, and one solution is to turn them over to private ownership.

Voter ID and the Battle Over Data

As the debate over requiring photo IDs at the polls continues, so does the conversation over how to use data to measure the impact of such policies.

Best of #StateReads: Inside Deals for Louisiana Oil Leases Last Decades

This week’s extraordinary journalism about state government, tagged to #StateReads on Twitter.

Gov. Deal Signs Criminal Justice System Overhaul

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed legislation Wednesday that will overhaul the state's criminal justice system to provide alternative sentences for nonviolent offenders and reduce soaring prison costs.

Georgia Passes Public Safety Bill

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed a set of public safety reforms into law that will make communities safer and cut corrections costs.The new bill and accompanying budget measures will help reduce Georgia's prison population and prisoner return rates.

Pew Applauds Georgia Leaders for Enacting Comprehensive Public Safety Reform

The far-reaching package of reforms Governor Nathan Deal signed into law today places Georgia among a growing number of states leading the way towards data-driven, fiscally sound criminal justice systems.

Deal Signs Bill Revamping Many Criminal Sentences

Calling it a historic day for Georgia, an emotional Gov. Nathan Deal on Wednesday signed into law major changes to how the state punishes non-violent criminals.

Deals Signs Criminal Justice Reform Bill

Georgia's criminal justice system faces some big changes. Gov. Nathan Deal signed into law HB 1176, which seeks alternative treatments for punishing nonviolent crimes and frees up prison space for offenders who pose a danger to society, according to the governor's office.

Pew Applauds Georgia Leaders for Enacting Comprehensive Public Safety Reform

Bipartisan legislation will reduce recidivism and cut costs. The far-reaching package of reforms Governor Nathan Deal signed into law today places Georgia among a growing number of states leading the way towards data-driven, fiscally sound criminal justice systems. House Bill 1176 and accompanying budget measures were the product of an intensive bipartisan, inter-branch working group process and received unanimous support in both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly.

Governor Deal Expected to Sign Criminal Justice Overhaul

Governor Nathan Deal is expected to sign into law today a statewide criminal justice overhaul. The legislation aims to reduce the number of nonviolent offenders in Georgia prisons.

Deal to Sign Overhaul of Criminal Justice System

Gov. Nathan Deal is set to sign legislation that will bring sweeping changes to the state's criminal justice system, a priority he set early in his administration.

Pushing Beyond Prisons: Governor to Sign Sweeping Justice Reform Bill

The way Georgia punishes thousands of nonviolent offenders will forever change when Gov. Nathan Deal signs landmark legislation Wednesday. It represents a first step in the governor's long-term plan to reserve prison beds for the state's most violent criminals.

What the Georgia Legislature Got Right in 2012

The single most important accomplishment of the 2012 General Assembly will probably prove to be its far-reaching reform of the Georgia criminal justice system.

Our Views: Vying for Votes

Georgia passed a bill that will reform the state’s criminal justice system by seeking to defer more nonviolent offenders into rehabilitation and accountability courts.