A two-year effort to tackle food insecurity in Georgia may be coming to fruition. The General Assembly is now moving on SB 177, a bill to create a Food Security Advisory Council that would find ways to get more healthy food to economically disadvantaged people in underserved areas. It began in early 2021, when Sen. Harold …

Tyler Harper makes no apologies for vigorously preserving and guarding Georgia’s farmland. “Agriculture at the end of the day is national security,” Georgia’s newest agriculture commissioner told State Affairs. “We’ve got to ensure that we’re protecting our food supply and providing the food, the fiber, the shelter for ourselves right here at home.” Harper became …

When Bruce Thompson says he has an open-door policy, he means it. Literally. The badge-only elevator access to his sixth-floor executive suite in downtown Atlanta is gone, removed shortly after his arrival in January as Georgia labor commissioner. “We’re treating it like any other floor now. The doors are wide open,” Thompson told State Affairs. …

Editor’s note: The New Leaders Association (NLA), formerly the American Society of News Editors, created Sunshine Week 17 years ago to promote open government. NLA and the Society of Professional Journalists host the national celebration of access to public information and what it means to citizens across the country. We asked Rohan Movva, a high …