Inauguration Day: Gov. Brian Kemp to be sworn in for second term today

ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp is preparing to be sworn in for his second term on Thursday. Kemp defeated Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams in November to win a second and final term.

A full day of events is planned for Thursday for the governor’s Inauguration Day.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach is at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Buckhead, where Kemp will start the day with a private prayer service. From there, Kemp and his family will go downtown to Georgia State University’s Convocation Center.

The inauguration starts at 9:30 a.m., followed by a review of the troops and a march up Capitol Avenue to the Georgia state capitol. Pollard Street and Capitol Avenue will be closed from Fulton Street to Martin Luther King. Jr. Blvd.

You can watch Gov. Kemp’s inauguration speech streaming live on WSB Now and WSB-TV breaking news app.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Brief tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, heavy rain possible with Level 3 out of 5 storm risk today
• Family of 12-year-old boy killed during high-speed chase demands action against trooper involved
• Over 70 people indicted on drug trafficking charges, one of the largest-ever indictments in Georgia

Kemp spent Wednesday morning talking to Georgia’s economic leaders about his plans for the coming year.

Among his plans is $1 billion in income tax rebates to Georgians over what he calls inflation relief. He also wants to give another $1 billion in property tax relief grants, as rising inflation can also inflate property taxes.

“We’ve got to move the needle on workforce housing,” Kemp said. “Not all local governments are rolling back the millage rate to completely offset the property tax increases, and, as you know, 60% of Americans right now are living paycheck to paycheck.”

House Democratic minority leader James Beverly told Channel 2′s Richard Elliot that he’ll listen to the governor’s proposals -- especially on housing --. Still, he believes the governor should use the enormous budget surplus to expand Medicaid fully rather than using it to give homeowners a one-time $500 property tax relief grant.

During his inauguration speech, he is expected to propose another round of pay raises for state employees.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Gov. says he wants to give you an income tax refund again… and homeowners a break too Kemp worries that businesses will stop moving to Georgia if there’s no place for their employees to live.

©2022 Cox Media Group