Brian Kemp

Brian Kemp teams up with Monica Kaufman Pearson to encourage vaccines

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp have teamed up with beloved Georgia broadcaster, WSB-TV’s Monica Kaufman Pearson, for an important video announcement about the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine. For more information about the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine and where the vaccines are currently available, visit the Georgia Department of Public Health's website. Below is the video released by Kemp's office. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h5i0iCMVIY According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, 46% of Georgians are fully vaccinated and 53% of Georgians have gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Fightin’ Words: Kemp and Biden spar over vaccine mandates

The war of words between President Joe Biden and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp over new White House COVID mandates continued Friday afternoon, with Kemp accusing the administration of playing “pandemic politics.”“Look, the public already doesn’t trust the federal government because of the mixed messages about the coronavirus,” Kemp told Capitol Beat. “This is pandemic politics from a president who promised to unite the country, but instead is dividing us.”On Thursday, the Biden White House issued a new, six-pronged series of COVID mandates, including a requirement for all employers with more than 100 workers to mandate either vaccinations or weekly tests. “This…

As Biden mandates COVID vaccines, Kemp threatens to sue

Gov. Brian Kemp quickly vowed to go to court and other Georgia Republicans responded with angry charges of government overreach after President Joe Biden outlined a plan of expansive new federal vaccine requirements to attack the surge of COVID-19. More than 80 million employees of private businesses in the U.S. will be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing as part of the Biden administration’s latest strategy for combating the still-surging coronavirus pandemic. The upcoming vaccine rule for companies with at least 100 employees is one plank of an increasingly aggressive effort by the White House to ensure…

Kemp to send more troops to hospitals amid coronavirus surge

Gov. Brian Kemp committed up to 2,500 Georgia National Guard troops Monday to fighting the surge of COVID-19 cases across the state. While the 105 Guard members Kemp deployed to 10 hard-hit hospitals last week were medically trained, the newly assigned troops will be given non-medical assignments, the governor said. He said hospital executives have told him they need help with such tasks as directing traffic, staffing cafeterias and cleaning rooms. “It’s a real morale booster to let the people working in the hospitals know we’re listening to them,” Kemp said. The additional commitment came as COVID-19 cases continued to…

Georgia National Guard deployed to hospitals as COVID-19 surges

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is calling in the National Guard to help ease the strain of a COIVD-19 surge and a nursing shortage on Georgia's ailing hospitals. Kemp will deploy 105 personnel to hospitals throughout the state. These trained medical personnel will assist staff at the following hospitals: ▪ Southeast Georgia Health System, Brunswick▪ Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Gainesville▪ Wellstar Kennestone, Marietta▪ Piedmont Henry, Stockbridge▪ Phoebe Putney, Albany▪ Memorial Health University Medical Center, Savannah▪ Navicent Health, Macon▪ Grady Hospital, Atlanta▪ Piedmont Fayette, Fayetteville▪ Houston Medical Center, Warner Robins “These guardsmen will assist our frontline healthcare workers as they provide quality…

Democratic lawmakers to Kemp: ‘Start invalidating anti-vaccine rhetoric’

Nine Georgia House of Representatives democrats penned a letter to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and State School Superintendent Richard Woods urging them to "come off the sidelines" with regard to masks and the coronavirus vaccine. Kemp has been an outspoken supporter of both wearing masks and the COVID-19 vaccine, but has pushed back on all efforts to mandate either. House democrats are asking him to both mandate masks and stop pushing back against vaccine verification. “The most powerful step the governor can take to prevent illness and deaths is to start being active rather than passive,” said these members of…

Four Georgia mayors challenge Kemp on mask mandates

The Democratic mayors of four Georgia cities are asking Gov. Brian Kemp to impose a mask mandate inside state buildings to show he is interested in the health of Georgians as well as the economy. An open letter sent to the Republican governor Friday by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson and Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz came one day after Kemp issued an executive order prohibiting local governments from imposing any restrictions related to COVID-19. Kemp cited the need to protect small businesses from government interference. “As mayors representing nearly 10% of Georgia’s…

Kemp halts mask mandates by local governments

Gov. Brian Kemp issued an executive order Thursday prohibiting local governments in Georgia from imposing mask mandates to discourage the spread of COVID-19. The cities of Atlanta and Savannah reinstated mask mandates late last month for public indoor spaces, citing a rise in cases of the virus driven by the highly contagious delta variant. Some school districts in Georgia also are requiring students and teachers to wear masks inside school buildings. While Kemp has supported letting individual school systems make those decisions, he said his executive order is aimed at businesses. “Small businesses across our state should not be punished…

Kemp says he won’t mandate or prohibit masks in schools

Gov. Brian Kemp Friday defended his decision not to impose mask-wearing or vaccination mandates on Georgians to stem the latest surge in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths. “I don’t believe we need to have a dictatorship in government telling what local school systems need to do, what private businesses need to do, what nonprofits need to do, or what individuals should do,” Kemp said during an appearance at Ball Ground Elementary School in Cherokee County to mark the start of a new school year. “Individuals need to make the best decision they can.” Kemp said Georgians seem to be getting…

Atlanta now has a mask mandate in all public places

ATLANTA -- If you live, work or play in the city of Atlanta, you'll need to do so while wearing a mask. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued an executive order requiring everyone in a public place, including private businesses and establishments, to wear a mask or a cloth face covering over their nose and mouth when indoors. City officials say the order is in response to the rising number of COVID-19 infections, the impact of the Delta variant and new CDC guidance. “Public health experts overwhelmingly agree, and data has proved, that wearing a face covering helps slow the spread of…

Kemp to spend $2 million fighting crime

Gov. Brian Kemp is committing up to $2 million from the Governor’s Emergency Fund to the state Department of Public Safety’s Crime Suppression Unit. Kemp’s announcement Wednesday is the latest initiative he and other Georgia Republican leaders have taken this spring and summer aimed at rising crime across the state but particularly in Atlanta. “In April of this year, I asked Colonel Chris Wright and the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to develop and execute a plan to tackle crime and reckless street racing across the metro-Atlanta region,” Kemp said. “Colonel Wright made a request of additional funds – up…

Here’s how much Georgia candidates have raised in statewide races

The slow drip of campaign fundraising reports culminated Thursday with a few surprises as state-level politicking begins to ramp up again with Georgia poised for a return to the national spotlight. It’s still early to draw many conclusions, and some races – most notably, the governor’s race – are not even fully set. But Thursday’s campaign fundraising deadline gave some candidates a chance to flex their fundraising muscle as the 2022 matchups begin to take shape. Governor’s race: Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s is socking away millions in anticipation of a hard-fought reelection bid. He reported raising $3.9 million during the last…

Justice Department sues Georgia over voting restrictions

The U.S. Justice Department announced today that it plans to sue the state of Georgia over the state's new voting laws, which opponents of the law have called restrictive. The lawsuit is the latest chapter in the fight between Republicans and Democrats over voting laws and voting rights in Georgia. While Georgia's Republican Governor and Republican Secretary of State have stood behind the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, both have been ardent supporters of election reforms made by Republican lawmakers on the heels of the election. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp have…

Around Georgia: Overturned car rescue in Vinings

The Cobb County Fire Department rescued someone from an overturned car yesterday in Vinings. The patient was taken to the hospital in stable condition after being evacuated from the car, which had fallen down a slope. Here are some pictures of the car and the rescue. Blood Drive in Dade The Dade County Sheriff's Office would like you to consider donating with Blood Assurance. Your efforts will be rewarded. Donors may choose between a $10.00 Chipotle Gift Card or Blood Assurance Cooler Bag. The blood drive is Tuesday, July 6th at the Sheriff's Office Justice Building. More information is below.…

Biden administration puts brakes on Georgia’s plan to ditch healthcare.gov

The Biden administration is sending a key component of Gov. Brian Kemp’s health-insurance reform plan back to the drawing board. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is directing the state to revisit the data supporting a waiver Georgia is seeking from the Affordable Care Act that would substitute a private-sector alternative to the federal government’s healthcare.gov insurance exchange. The waiver won approval from then-President Donald Trump’s HHS last November. But in a letter to Kemp dated Thursday, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of HHS’ Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), pointed to changes in both policy and federal…