Georgia Declares a State of Emergency Over Supply Chain Shortages

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By the author of The Faithful Prepper and  The Prepper’s Guide to Post-Disaster Communications.

Things have apparently gotten so bad in Georgia that the governor has now declared that the state is living under a state of emergency due to supply chain shortages.

Republican Brian Kemp decreed this executive order on April 14, stating that covid was the reason for all economic distress and supply chain issues within the state of Georgia. Kemp locked down Georgia at the beginning of 2020, and Georgians received another notification in November 2020 that they would be locked down again for another two months.

The unconstitutional lockdowns aren’t mentioned within the executive order as being the cause of the economic woes of the people of Georgia.

Does Kemp now have unlimited powers?

From the wording of his executive order, it appears so.

As he cites within the order, Code Section 38-3-28 says that “all orders, rules, and regulations promulgated by the Governor” have the force and effect of law. This gives the appearance that Georgia is no longer ruled by law but instead by decree.

The order cites Code Section 38-3-51, saying that Kemp now gets to “assume direct operational control of all civil forces and helpers in the state” and that he can do whatever is “necessary to promote and secure the safety and protection of the civilian population.”

At the moment, do the three branches of government exist within the state of Georgia? From the wording of this executive order, it appears as if there is the executive branch, and that is it.

Price gouging is now considered to be illegal.

No specific rate of markup is defined to delineate what exactly price gouging is. I suppose that this is left up to the discretion of whoever shows up to enforce this new order? Will the shop owner have to prove how much he paid for an item to avoid being fined and/or being sent to jail? Will shop owners be forced to accept lower profit margins than they are used to in order to avoid being labeled a price gouger? What will this do for businesses?

To help with the supply chain problems, it was apparently thought that there needed to be longer hours for truckers. Part 395 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations – the part that dictates how many hours a semi-truck driver can operate his rig has now been removed from Georgia as well. A clause was added to explicitly state that no carrier could force any of their truck drivers to work when they were either ill or fatigued as well.

At the very bottom of this executive order, Kemp added that if any part of the order is found to be “in violation of the Georgia Constitution, in violation of Georgia law, or unenforceable in any respect, such invalidity, violation, or unenforceability shall not affect any other provisions of this Order, but, in such case, this Order shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal, or unenforceable provision had never been contained within the Order.”

As things stand, this state of emergency is slated to last for the next 30 days unless things magically get better in Georgia before then, in which case, the order will be lifted early.

The full executive order can be read HERE.  

(Sounds like a good time to read our free QUICKSTART Guide to emergency evacuations, if you ask me.)

This is likely the first domino to fall.

There is no reason to believe that there won’t be more states to make similar proclamations in the near future. There’s no reason to believe that just by extending the number of hours that a trucker can drive that there will be an easing of the supply chain issues within Georgia within the next 30 days either.

The current supply chain issues are multi-factorial, and there’s no reason to believe that squeezing three to five extra hours per week will just cause things to get better. If there’s no product, to begin with, there’s nothing to ship.

Let Georgia serve as the canary in the coal mine for you.

Being in the middle of the South, Georgia is typically considered to be a relatively conservative area (minus the city of Atlanta). If the governor there is willing to give an executive order that appears to drastically expand his powers and seemingly shutter the other branches of government, what could happen in your state?

If supply chain problems can lead to a state of emergency being declared that dictates how much you can charge for an item, how long will it be before further measures are taken in Georgia? Once it is realized that extended trucker hours don’t help when inflation has wrecked the economy, what next steps will be taken to “solve” the crisis? Will confiscation of privately-owned food from “hoarders” be used to fight the crisis? Will further powers be granted to Georgia’s governor? Perhaps gas rations will come into place? What do you expect to see?

Whatever comes next, I can tell you one thing: I don’t think you’re going to like it.

(I mean, I like cream cheese as much as the next guy, but drafting an entire executive order for supply chain issues? It just seems a bit excessive to me.)

About Aden

Aden Tate is a regular contributor to TheOrganicPrepper.com and TheFrugalite.com. Aden runs a micro-farm where he raises dairy goats, a pig, honeybees, meat chickens, laying chickens, tomatoes, mushrooms, and greens. Aden has three published books, The Faithful Prepper The Prepper’s Guide to Post-Disaster Communications, and Zombie Choices. You can find his podcast The Last American on Preppers’ Broadcasting Network.

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Aden Tate

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  • As someone from south Carolina & only an hour from the state line with family much closer to GA & in GA this is something I have been and will continue to follow closely

    • Voting for sometime has been a farce, since both parties are corrupt to the core. There are not enough people in the sytem to stop corruption or have integrity to fix anything, incl Trump. There is no accountability as politicians are bought off to follow globalist agendas.

  • Kemp will have to sanction the WEF and White House to have any real effect, this statewide mandate is about controlling the denizens that live in Atlanta…

  • Trudeau did it in Canada so that he could use force against peaceful protesters. And the first order of business was to freeze the bank accounts of anybody that donated to the protest. He actually gave the banks the power to seize accounts that they determined had “suspicious” activity, and decreed that they couldn’t be held legally liable for their actions. The only thing that reversed his decision was the fact that it caused a mini-run on the banks.

    Call it a test run if you like. Georgia will probably be your test run. If he is allowed to do it, expect other governors, especially in blue states, to follow suit. They’ve had their taste of absolute power thanks to Covid, and now they want more. If you can declare a state of emergency over supply chain issues, you have now lowered the bar for what constitutes an “emergency”, and from this point forward you can pretty much declare one and take control whenever you want – or whenever something happens that you don’t like.

  • So, who decides what fuel price is “gouging” or not? Enacting arbitrary price controls on goods and services will further shortages, as you are overriding market economics. Is that the governor’s intent?

    • “who decides what fuel price is ‘gouging’ or not?”

      you misunderstand. whoever is working for the ones behind all this will be deemed legitimate no matter what they charge, and anyone who is not working for the ones behind all this will be deemed to be “gouging” no matter what they charge.

  • What are you talking about? I live in Georgia and don’t remember the first two lockdowns you mentioned or this latest executive order. We’ve never worn masks or even self-distanced. We still have idiots wearing face-diapers and getting clot shots but the majority of us just ignore them and await their death or injury from the bioweapon injection. Kemp as well as our two communist senators disgust us but play no part in our daily lives. We just passed and signed into law constitutional carry and most of us are armed to the teeth. I would rather live in rural Georgia than most other states. Atlanta is a hell hole which we avoid as if it were NY, commiefornia or the Nazi republic of Illinois. America is over and soon to become a banana republic but until then we prefer our once great state over any other.

    • You are right that most of Georgia never really locked down, at least outside of the larger cities. The government probably did order lockdowns, but we just ignored this and did not comply. Our rural schools, churches, and restaurants have mostly stayed open, at least outside the urban areas, and we have not been as affected by the lockdowns as have a lot of the states. Most rural Georgians refuse to be vaccinated and have not given in to the mask wearing craze. A lot of us had mild covid and recovered within a week, without the immune system ruining vaccines. We are well armed as you stated, and we resist any government mandates. We do have inflation and supply chain problems, many stemming from people not wanting to work in warehouses or in trucking. For those of us who are prepared, those problems are an inconvenience but not a dire emergency. We rural people are supplying a lot of our own food and helping our neighbors do the same.

    • I live in the North GA mtns and like 99% of rural Georgians wish the great cesspool (Atlanta) would just disappear (Sherman where are you when we need you), maybe Putin will help us out. Kemp’s EO is directed at the sewer cities of Atlanta, Columbus, Maconga, Albany and Augusta which, due to the demographics, will become even bigger war zones if there is a food crisis and that wouldn’t bother me in the least.

    • My niece lives near Atlanta and apparently it’s a totally different story around there. Kinda like I live in IL but nowhere near Chicago (thank goodness) but they ruin it for the whole state.

  • I live in the state just South of Georgia, the Free-State of Florida. The thought of a mostly conservative state like Georgia doing a SOE is very scary and something every state need to keep an eye on. I’m surprised Marxist-run states haven’t already done SOEs.

  • I lived in GA during the lockdowns, I must say Kemp and the mayor of Atlanta had different ideas and GA was kept freer than what I heard was happening in other states. We only wore masks if a store required it and sometimes we just walked right on in and nothing was ever said. No one chased us down. I moved away in February so will have to ask local friends what their take is on this state of emergency. Two things comes to mind, homicides in Atlanta have gone up 60% since this show started and well, whenever there is a hint of snow/ice in the forecast, people panic. The grocery store shelves are wiped clean. Is this a way to warn people without actually coming out and saying that the shortages are getting really dicey? Saw a video the other day where an ex-CEO of Google said if food production stopped there was only 90 days of food for the entire world in the system. This is where we are at it seems.

    • ‘Saw a video the other day where an ex-CEO of Google said if food production stopped there was only 90 days of food for the entire world in the system.”

      in every consideration of grid down, the single biggest active problem is how to deal with all the people who cannot be saved but who will try to save themselves. if the video is true this puts the first delimiter on that issue that I’ve seen anywhere.

  • I have another question for you. I live in the Savannah GA area and if there is a supply chain issue and shortages and all that, why are they steadily building warehouses? Huge warehouses, like 1M sq ft and bigger. I have been asking this question for a few months, but keep getting told that “they” need places to store stuff. What stuff?

    • Sandra, see if you can find out more about those facilities and pass the information along. If there is any government involvement, either local, county, or state, you can file a freedom of information act request under your state’s laws to request information. Every one of the 50 states has an equivalent of the FOIA act. Use it. I do.

    • “keep getting told that ‘they’ need places to store stuff. What stuff?”

      easy. stuff that’s for “them”, not you.

    • Savannah is becoming a large port. There are planed commercial only highway lanes from Savannah into Atlanta. I assume its for the coming automated trucking system currently being planed out.

  • “Will confiscation of privately-owned food from “hoarders” be used to fight the crisis?”

    yes, though by the time it comes to this they’ll be unable to enforce it officially.
    you might then see “purge” laws legalizing private theft – already see that in california with shoplifting less than $1000 being decriminalized, probably see it applied generally.

    “Perhaps gas rations will come into place?”

    more likely price controls. they always work temporarily.

    • Private theft could be stopped by store owners using a good shotgun backed up by an AR-15. But some states don’t allow those tools to be used in businesses! You should see the large numbers of the store owners in communities near my location that have pistols strapped to their hips and a shotgun behind the counter.
      We may indeed see gas rationing and laws against hoarding, but there are ways around those potential problems.

      • “But some states don’t allow those tools to be used in businesses!”

        “some states” covers about .9 of the population. and if their goods for sale are subject to sanctioned theft, the shippers will stop shipping the goods – and that means you won’t get them either, unless you pay 10x, and maybe not even then.

  • I live in a very rural area in West Central Georgia. Kemp is a globalist who has gotten money from China by adding hundreds of Chinese students to the University of Georgia and getting investments into Atlanta. He is up for re-election and may not make it through the May 28 primary, as he is not really liked by conservative rural people. He was only elected as the lesser of two evils, to keep dangerous Stacy Abrams from becoming governor. That said, this new executive order is a ploy to give the impression that he is doing something to help Georgians cope with inflation, as well as giving himself a more powerful position to influence the Republican Primary. Outside of the six county Atlanta area, controlled by Democrats, most Georgians are relatively poor and over a third of the people depend upon the Government for their sustenance.
    While a lot of people in the very rural areas are more prepared and produce a portion of their own food, most of the inhabitants of the small towns and cities are poorly prepared. The majority of the Georgia population probably has no more than a few days-supply of food, very little stored water, and is deeply affected by supply chain problems. The Democrats are promising to improve everyone’s lives by better managing the economy, so it seems that this measure by Kemp is intended to blunt their attempts to get small town Georgians to vote for Abrams in November. The few neighbors that I have, scattered along a several of miles of rural road, mostly seem to be increasing their agricultural outputs, raising more livestock, and preserving more food. The people along this rural backroad are also well armed with plenty of ammo to protect their stockpiles of food, their livestock, and their families. We are also working more closely together to better enable us to weather the economic and social collapse that seems to be upon us.

    • Fr. Bob, and other Georgia posters,
      Thank you for your comments.
      I do find it interesting the differences between what you are commenting on in the urban areas and your personal experiences outside those areas.

    • “The few neighbors that I have, scattered along a several of miles of rural road, mostly seem to be increasing their agricultural outputs, raising more livestock, and preserving more food.”

      in the past farmers everywhere did this entirely on their own, but in the last century they have become dependent on outside supplies to provide the tools and materials to do this – fuel, lumber, fertilizer, feed, pesticides, tools, etc. can you viably function alone with no outside input?

        • patrols to deal with bandits, manual crop recovery and food storage year by year, cobbler, some level of medical care, space and forage for adequate work animals, leather working to replace worn out equipment, fiber crops for clothing – you’ve got all that covered? I’m impressed.

          • Why would I need fiber crops when I have wool, can brain tan leather and have bolts of denim, fleece, linen and flannel?

            • ~Jim,
              Runt7 is a perfect example of the lack of outside of the box thinking. Comes from lack of real world experience.
              As preppers, based off your posts, you have thought through the problem and adjusted accordingly. While current events seem distant, we are seeing a serious change in the global economy in which, as I previously mention, second and third order effects can and are currently impacting each and every single one of us. Some were in denial about this, until they went to fill up at the pump, or looked at their grocery bill.
              I am seeing message traffic of companies re-thinking long logistical trains and considering near-shoring or on-shoring of their manufacturing facilities. It is not lost on me Intel is opening a semi-conductor facility in Columbus OH.
              Some countries (e.g. Hungry) are also rethinking their dependency on food imports.
              Other countries assumed that the JIT/BAU paradigm would continue on and on, as many did, and import cheap food forever. That system is coming to an end. Unfortunately, 45 countries that are dependent on the Ukraine and Russian wheat and other food commodities are going to feel it in their citizens going hungry or worse.
              Another trend I am seeing is farmers looking for alternatives to fertilizer. Some are looking to the pre-modern agriculture practices. Note: Gene Logsgon (RIP) wrote a book called Holy Sh!t: Managing Manure to Save Mankind. If you dont have it, I highly recommend it.
              Some have posit we are seeing the end of globalism. Time will tell. As preppers, we need to look back to the past for possible solutions, and stop thinking globally. Think locally.

      • It would be difficult to function without the outside products that you mention, but a lot of us could do so by working together and sharing resources within a small community. It would not be easy, and it would not be something that any of us want to see happen, but some of us are preparing to try to make it. What is the alternative? Do we give up? No, we may not have a good solution but at least a few of us working together (maybe only two dozen households in our case) are going to do the best we can and hope that our preparations help us to survive. Trying to survive without some sort of community might be impossible. That is why some of us are stockpiling fertilizer, tools, and other supplies, in addition to stored foods. That is why my neighbors are growing corn for cattle feed and others are raising cattle. That is why a couple of us are putting in greenhouses and plowing each other’s gardens. That is why we are cooperating in firearms training, and why one neighbor has opened a small engine repair shop. Those things are taking place in a very small section, along a few miles of rural roadway, but I believe they are also happening in other rural communities as well.

  • Although it may be somewhat troubling that an executive order was used to do this blame the dysfunctional state houses and congress and the political parties for not addressing problems and offering solutions.
    True Leaders actually lead and do something, not just talk about it.

    As for extending truckers hours not stopping the supply problems, you are right it won’t fix it, but it is a start. It is better to do something rather than nothing.

    If a person is hungry. one small meal will not fix their hunger forever, but it is a good start and it should be well appreciated, rather than being derided as not being enough.

    • NO!! “doing something” is NOT better than nothing! That is what is happening all over the world today! “Something” is being done and this knee-jerk, un-thought outness is what is killing us! No one stops & considers the consequences of these decisions… they “do something” and release more hell into our lives when the consequences of these decisions follow! Hence, covid and all it brought. They were “doing something”.

  • Living just a stones throw from south Georgia, this scares me. Very much. More and more I feel that our government has decided that freedom is the enemy. Reminds me of the CCP drones outside the windows of highrises, loudspeakers going “Control your souls desire for freedom!”

    Basic civil rights, enumerated by the constitution, gone at the whim of one person who has an agenda. We have moved into that dystopian culture Orwell predicted. I wish I believed we can stop this. I’m typing to remain hopeful.

    • “I wish I believed we can stop this”

      do you mean you think you can’t, or that you’re unwilling to pay the cost?

  • Do you even read your own sources? The November 2020 lock-down article was for the NATION of Georgia, not the STATE of Georgia. Kemp lifted the lock-down after a month, to much criticism. Florida was in lock-down longer than us. As to the lock-down, there were so many exempted businesses that it was hardly a lock-down at all. For me, the kids staying home from school and less traffic on my daily commute was all I noticed of it.

  • Could the Governor of GA, already knows about or anticipates some future catastrophe that is definitely or ‘likely’ to happen in or around the next 30 days or so? So, he wants to get ahead of this ‘happening’ and have circumstances, people, law enforcement, and so forth, in place ahead of time to manage the situation?

    • as the national systems fail, some states will attempt their own actions to stand independently, sure. though how focusing on trucking would advance that is not clear.

  • But also look at it this way. We’ve been spoiled rotten; what with this woke, multi-fluid-gender, faux social-justice crap. Nature knows what it’s doing and this predictable great hardship is her way of forcing us to reset our priorities. And that’s good for all. I mean, if you’re concerned about your starving kids wearing Covid masks, you’re insane!

  • Kemp is a wanna be dictator. He certified the election results for Joe Bi-Dung. Paid by China. Good Luck with whatever you have planned, vermin!

  • No state of emergency here but at the local building supply there is no plywood or OSB to be had……..and they re not able to re-supply for some weeks.
    Grocery store has adequate food, but limited choices.

  • I’m curious…..what items are unavailable or in limited supply due to ‘ongoing severe disruptions to the State’s supply chain and economy’ as stated on Page 2 of Kemp’s EO?

    Or is it as has been noted in an earlier posting in this thread – is a supply disruption and shortage of certain items going to occur in the relatively near future, and the State is preparing because they know what these items are?

    • There are going to be big-time shortages over the next few months. The globalists have locked down much of China and are preparing another “variation of Covid” for the rest of the world. They are using the “Bird Flu” and the Ukraine War to further limit the food supply and change the world economy. I am advising people to buy what you might need over the next year now, to stockpile as much food and other supplies as can be afforded, and to stock up on any fertilizer and building supplies that can be found at an affordable price. I am telling people to fill the freezers, start a seed bank, enlarge gardens, and start working with neighbors to build stronger cooperative relationships.

  • Nursing homes are having supply chain issues with certain medical supplies needed for the immediate treatment of their residents. The problem is nationwide, their suppliers cannot obtain certain medications which are on backorder. I know this from personal experience.

  • Witmer in MI tried this same thing, but was beaten back, at least for now. Keep up the good fight.

  • Kemp is facing re-election in November. Trump has endorsed his opponent. I seems to me that Kemp taking this unwarranted action will further hurt his chances at re-election. Nothing in his emergency action that I can see solves anything about shortages. So, whats up? Just another little tyrant assuming authority that is unwarranted, effectively impotent at solving any problems, and vague enough that any state bureaucrat potentially can enforce however they please. Sad day for Georgia.

    • The answer is…. he’s “doing something”. He’ll point to his little charade and the idiots who never think through anything will nod their heads in unison and smile.

  • As a Georgia resident, I can say that Kemp has done a pretty ok job throughout the plannedemic. Indeed, he didn’t do enough to keep Stacey Abrams and Biden from stealing the 2020 presidential and 2021 Senate contests in the state (and for that alone he should be condemned forever along with Raffensperger), but he imposed no mask mandates and whatever “lockdowns” you are talking about went unnoticed by my family. He was actually begged by Atlanta businesses to step in and stop the insanity imposed by the Atlanta mayor, and he did to the extent possible. He recently signed Constitutional Carry law in the state, and has generally worked to make things better. The GA legislature only meets for 45 active days a year. Those are passed. From what I read in this executive order, he is giving himself leeway to step in and ease barriers if they show up. I’m a libertarian, so my preference would be for no government whatsoever, and I absolutely am appalled by any individual claiming dictatorial powers for any reason. I am also against any and ALL price controls, “gouging” restrictions, etc. Prices are the ONLY signal to the market that more supply or less supply is needed. Capping prices will only mean that short supplies will NEVER be addressed by anyone any distance away. Indeed it is a thing to watch, and sets a bad precedent for the petty dictators throughout the nation. But as a Georgian that has watched Kemp’s other actions, I am not seriously worried. Now if Stacey Abrams was governor, I’d already be packing up the car.

  • “Will shop owners be forced to accept lower profit margins than they are used to in order to avoid being labeled a price gouger? What will this do for businesses?” When this question came up in Venezuela, in regard as to how basic necessities could be put within reach of the multitudes of eating-out-of-trash-cans-poor, Maduro put a ceiling on profits for certain items. Not everything, and not no profit, just a small profit on some items. The rich Capitalists responded by with holding everything, to force the People to elect a government that would allow them to charge what they want. 8 million trash scavengers and beggars walked across the border to more affluent Colombia. WIN for Maduro, now they’re Colombia’s problem. WIN for Capitalist Colombia, point finger at Failure of Socialism, lower price of labor for Capitalist Employers. And here they are, can’t go in the center of town after dark without being robbed, begging at all the intersections, digging through trash cans… better pickings, one supposes. When the Rich of Georgia with hold goods in protest, where will Georgians go? Alabama? North Carolina? Will low laying Florida sink under their combined weight?

  • Shurely, with Stacy Abrams in-state, there will always be someone to watch over us and feed us.

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