Georgia senators began examining on Tuesday whether the state should still require permits to build health care facilities. The review comes after a push to loosen the rules mushroomed into a House-Senate standoff during this year’s legislative session. The first meeting made clear that many committee members appointed by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones want a full or partial repeal of Georgia’s certificate of need rules. Opponents say the permits prevent needed competition and prop up existing health care facilities’ revenues. The Georgia Hospital Association argues the law is needed to ensure other providers don’t skim a hospital’s most profitable procedures. A separate House panel will also consider the issue.
ATLANTA (AP) Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was elected to chair the influential Southern Regional Education Board, a 16-state body that gives policy advice to states from Delaware to Texas. The Republican Kemp was elected Sunday to lead the body for the next 12 months.
ATLANTA (AP) Ronald Acuña Jr. has every intention of taking the Washington Nationals seriously. The Atlanta Braves' three-time All-Star says he gets just as excited playing a last-place team as he does against a contender.
More changes could be coming to voting districts in some states. The 2022 elections marked the first using new districts for Congress and state capitols that were drawn from updated census data. But they could be short-lived in some places. That's because court challenges could force some states to redraw districts again before the 2024 elections. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a ruling that Alabama's congressional districts should be redrawn to enhance Black voting strength. That ruling also could lead to new House districts in Louisiana, and potentially Georgia. Some other places in line for new districts include New York, North Carolina and Ohio.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) A Georgia man has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to accusations that he conspired to smuggle people from Mexico across the U.S.-Canada border into and through North Dakota.