Last week, the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics, part of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) hosted the Georgia Logistics Summit. The summit featured experts discussing the impact of Covid-19 on supply chains and logistics, trucking in Georgia and other transportation issues.
“Whether you needed a vaccine, a Peloton Bike, or toilet paper in 2020, logistics was front and center. I applaud Georgia’s investment in the Center of Innovation as they help grow logistics expertise in Georgia companies and facilitate the connections that bring the products you need to your local store or front door,” said Alan Amling, Ph.D., an executive advisory board member at Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI) and a Distinguished Fellow at the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee.
Rebecca Brewster, president and COO of the Marietta-based American Transportation Research Institute, noted that thanks to the diversity of the state’s economy, the drop-off in truck activity thanks to Covid did not hit Georgia the way it did in other states. Georgia’s drop in truck activity was 20 percent less than it was in in Michigan, where manufacturing is a higher portion of the state’s economy.
Gov. Brian Kemp appeared via video and thanked the “hardworking Georgians across industries who keep Georgia products moving through our state and around the world – our truckers, logistics engineers, equipment operators, and transportation managers.”
Over at the capitol the last few months, the legislature has been working on a number of bills to send to Governor Kemp’s desk related to items under discussion at the summit.
HB 511 has been passed by both chambers and establishes trust funds to ensure fees collected for a purpose go towards that purpose. One of those is the $.50/ride fees on for-hire ground transportation, those fees will now go toward capital transit projects.
In the budget, thanks to federal aid, the legislature was able to move $92 million from transportation maintenance to construction because the aid will cover transportation. This allows projects to move quicker because state dollars become available and are able to be spent easier.
Citizen’s Arrest Overhaul
The nearly 150-year old citizen’s arrest law in Georgia may officially come off the books soon, presuming the signature of Gov. Kemp.
The Senate passed a repeal of the law, sponsored by Rep. Bert Reeves (R-34 Marietta), following outcry from the death of Ahmaud Arbery in Glynn County last year. The three men charged in the killing of Arbery had argued they were trying to make a citizen’s arrest on Arbery – before shooting him in a Brunswick-area neighborhood.
The law does allow for some exceptions, such as business owners like retail or restaurants detaining shoplifters on their premises. The law states those persons must be handed over to police officers “within a reasonable time.” The law does not impact self-defense or stand-your-ground laws as they exist in Georgia.
The law had previously passed the House by a unanimous vote on March 4 and was passed in the Senate 52-1.
