Latest news with #Petrea
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Multi-count gang indictment brought in Chatham County, 2 new gang prosecutors approved by lawmakers
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – State prosecutors are set to increase the crack down on gang related crimes in the Savannah area, an effort that's already begun with three people indicted in a major, gang case Wednesday. Over $250,000 of Georgia's state budget has been appropriated by lawmakers to the Attorney General's office to add two positions that will expand the state's Gang Prosecution Unit to Savannah. 'Most violent crime is gang related. A lot of people don't realize that,' State Rep. Jesse Petrea, (R) District 166, said. Wednesday's indictment names three individuals who have been charged with violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act for their involvement with the Rock Out Gang (ROG) in Chatham County. The 19-count indictment brought by the Attorney General's office includes crimes like aggravated assault, armed robbery and carjacking. 'We need somebody aggressively going after gang members,' Petrea said. 'It makes the community safer wherever you do it, and we're going to do it in a bigger and bolder way here in Savannah, I hope. You're going to see more.' However, the Fiscal Year 2026 budget that's been approved by the state House and Senate must be signed by Governor Brian Kemp for the money to come through. Then, the Attorney General's Gang Prosecution Unit will officially include the Savannah region. The unit is based in Atlanta, and, right now, it has regional prosecutors in Albany, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, and the Middle Judicial Circuit. 'A lot of drugs move through Atlanta,' Petrea said. 'So, that tends to be a center, but we're right at 95. So, a lot of drugs and a lot of trafficking come up and down the interstate, and we're right next to the interstate. So, Savannah, we need these resources.' Petrea said the state is working with law enforcement to mitigate what elected officials anticipate will be a larger influx of criminals to the local jails under the new prosecuters. 'We had to make sure that they had the resources to pay more to retain staff. We did a pretty big increase on the per diem for holding state prisoners,' he said. 'We pay them a per diem and that's about $30/day and we're increasing it by $6/day. So, we're trying to help in that regard.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Local lawmakers, others launch ‘pro-enforcement immigration caucus'
ATLANTA (WSAV) — Georgia lawmakers officially launched a new group that's working to advance immigration enforcement efforts, a Georgia House of Representative press release said Friday. The Pro-Enforcement Immigration Caucus was founded by local State Representative Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah). 'This caucus is dedicated to strengthening immigration enforcement and ensuring the rule of law is upheld throughout Georgia,' said Petrea. 'Our focus will remain on making certain that the safety, security and well-being of our communities are always a top priority.' Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge for Georgia and Alabama, Steven Schrank, spoke about House Bill 1105, which he said has facilitated unprecedented cooperation between immigration enforcement and local law enforcement agencies. He also reportedly discussed workforce and human rights violations by employers violating the law to include recent arrests in Cartersville and Savannah, the press release said. The caucus was founded by House Human Relations and Aging Committee Chairman Petrea and includes 10 other members, Houston Gaines (R-Athens), Ron Stephens (R-Savannah), Steven Sainz (R-St. Marys), Gary Richardson (R-Evans), Kimberly New (R-Villa Rica), Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins), Rey Martinez (R-Loganville), Rob Clifton (R-Evans), Mike Cameron (R-Rossville) and State Senator Rick Williams (R-Milledgeville). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shrimp bill amendments to include beef, chicken removed
ATLANTA, Ga. (WSAV) — House Bill (HB) 117, which requires restaurants to disclose whether their shrimp is local or imported, almost hit a roadblock on its way to likely passage. An amendment was added on in the Senate Rules Committee after it passed overwhelmingly in the House in February, requiring the same rule be applied to beef and chicken. Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah), who authored the bill, said the amendment would have killed it. 'It would make it really cumbersome in managing menus and updating menus,' said Rep. Petrea, 'My job is simply to get my intention passed, and that addition would have encouraged the Restaurant Association to push back strongly, and that is what I'm trying to avoid.' The amendment has since been removed, and the bill now looks identical as it did to when it originally passed through the House with a vote of 165-7. 'My intention was to focus it on one particular item, 94% of which is imported; that is not the situation with chicken and beef,' said Petrea. With the support of the Georgia Restaurant Association (GRA) and local shrimpers, who Petrea said are hurt by the large amount of imports, the bill is now very likely to pass all chambers and head to the governor's desk. 'We need transparency in our restaurants, and the awareness that we're bringing to this issue has already had a benefit to our fishery,' said Petrea. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Snag could stop shrimp bill, substitute proposed
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Georgia lawmakers have been working on passing a new bill to support local shrimpers, but with a little over a week before adjournment the bill was hit with a change. House Bill 117 would require all restaurants in Georgia to disclose, in writing on their menu, if their shrimp is foreign imported. It was introduced by State Representative Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) and co-sponsored by Al Williams (D-Midway), Rick Townsend (R-Brunswick), Buddy DeLoach (R-Townsend) and Lehman Franklin (R-Statesboro) back in January. In February, the bill passed 165-7 in the House and moved on to the Senate, where an amendment was added in the Senate Committee on Interstate Cooperation. Committee chairman Senator Colton Moore (R-Trenton) proposed an amendment that would require imported chicken and beef to be disclosed alongside shrimp. It passed with the amendment. When WSAV reached out to Sen. Moore, he said that he amended HB 117 to include chicken and beef for the same reasons that Rep. Petrea wanted a bill for shrimp. 'Georgia is the chicken capitol of the world and our beef taste better than foreign beef,' Moore said. Rep. Petrea told WSAV that he has a substitute going to the Senate Rules Committee and it will pass including shrimp only. The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah). Petrea previously spoke with WSAV about HB 177 and said that in his opinion, the shrimp industry locally is suffering from unfair trade practices. The state legislative session adjourns on April 4. You can read the amendment here: 20252026-234239Download You can read the original bill here: 232197Download Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
