Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday that he will use $1.5 billion that Georgia got from the federal COVID-19 relief to bail out the state’s indebted unemployment system, deciding against passing the money to local governments that could have then used it to give grants to businesses and train workers.
The Republican governor said Wednesday that using the biggest remaining chunk of federal relief money this way would shield businesses from a possible increase in state unemployment taxes to repay the debt.
“Today’s announcement will save Georgia employers millions of dollars in state and federal unemployment taxes, prevent significant layoffs, and save the state millions of dollars in interest payments,” Kemp said in a statement.
Read this story now for free
To continue reading, sign up for our newsletter and get unlimited access to WABE.org
You can select your preferences for news and local content. We will never share your email address. Learn how your newsletter sign-up will support WABE and Public Media
