Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday that he will unveil a disaster relief package for Georgia victims of Hurricane Helene next month during the first week of the 2025 legislative session.
The initiative will include both budgetary proposals and a legislative component, Kemp told returning and newly elected members of the General Assembly during a luncheon on the University of Georgia campus that wrapped up the 34th Biennial Institute for Georgia Legislators.
Hurricane Helene marched through South Georgia and north through the Augusta area in late September, causing heavy rainfall and widespread flooding as well as extensive power outages. Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp toured 16 counties in the hurricane’s path during the days following the storm.
“We’ve gone through probably the most damaging storm in our history,” Kemp said. “We saw unbelievable damage and communities that will probably never be the same.”
Kemp has asked the Biden administration and Congress to act quickly on his request for $12.2 billion in federal disaster relief for Georgians who suffered losses from Helene. The storm wreaked at least $5.5 billion in damage to the state’s agriculture and timber industries alone.
Not content to wait for the federal government, Kemp has suspended the state sales tax on gasoline and other motor fuels and redirected $100 million from a state capital projects fund to provide financial support for farmers affected by the massive storm and debris cleanup for owners of damaged timberland.
Besides relief to hurricane victims, Kemp said other issues he will prioritize early in the General Assembly include tort reform, strengthening education and the workforce in Georgia, and public safety, including additional steps to combat human trafficking.
“All of these measures are doable if we work together,” he said. “The (election) races have been run. … Now, it’s time for us to work together for the state.”
Newly elected and returning lawmakers gather in Athens for three days every other December following the elections for a preview of issues the legislature is likely to take up during the upcoming session.