Economic Development and Managed Growth

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A Public Forum to Provide Education and Discussion  
On the 2008 Proposed Constitutional Amendments  

The November elections are just six short months away, which means elected officials and grassroots organizations across the state of Georgia will begin to accelerate their campaign efforts over the next few weeks.  In addition to the ongoing political campaigns, there are three proposed constitutional amendments that will be voted on in the November election.  These amendments are fairly complex and will have a significant impact on the way we promote economic development, construct public infrastructure and plan for growth throughout our state.   

You are invited to attend this informative session to learn more about these constitutional amendments that if adopted, will enable your community to use Infrastructure Development Districts (IDDs), Tax Allocation Districts (TADs) and the Georgia Forestland Protection Act.  These new laws may offer our state a unique opportunity to better manage and plan for future infrastructure needs, preserve green space and put our state in line with neighboring states which are already utilizing these tools to help manage their rapid growth.  This session will give local government officials, landowners, developers, builders and citizens more insight into these proposed constitutional changes and how these tools can be used to support quality development while preserving our natural resources.  

This forum may be your best opportunity to get a comprehensive understanding of these proposed constitutional amendments.  As a leader in your community and in your professional organizations, it is important that you have a clear understanding about these amendments in order to inform others in your community.  In fulfilling our civic obligations, we all have a duty to be active, well informed participants.    

Please make plans to attend one of the following open information sessions regarding IDDs held by G.Q.E.D.:

• Albany, Georgia on Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 3:30 in the Dougherty County Administrative Building (222 Pine Avenue)
• Columbus, Georgia on Friday, June 13, 2008 from 9:00-11:00am in Government Center (Council Chambers, Plaza Level; 100 10th Street)  

Georgia Chamber Names Legislators of the Year

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Left to right: Sen. Chip Rogers, Sen. Ross Tolleson, Sen. Eric Johnson, Rep. Jay Shaw, Rep. Earl Ehrhart, and Rep. Larry O'Neal. Not pictured: Reps. Barry Fleming and Richard Royal.

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday honored five lawmakers with its annual Legislator of the Year awards and presented Lifetime Achievement awards to three legislators at its spring Government Affairs Council conference in St. Simons Island.

State Sens. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) and Ross Tolleson (R-Perry) and state Reps. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs), Larry O’Neal (R-Warner Robins) and Jay Shaw (D-Valdosta) were each recognized with the Georgia Chamber’s highest honor for their exceptional efforts to promote the chamber’s 2008 legislative agenda.

In addition, Sen. Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) and outgoing Reps. Barry Fleming (R-Harlem) and Richard Royal (R-Camilla) were given the state chamber’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement award for career support of business at the Gold Dome.

"These lawmakers have helped Georgia become one of the most business-friendly states in the nation," said Georgia Chamber President George Israel. "They work hard to reduce the regulatory burden on Georgia businesses and advance free-market policies that stimulate economic development and create quality jobs for Georgians. We applaud them for their efforts."

Legislators of the Year
Sen. Rogers, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of Georgia’s most pro-business lawmakers. Since moving from the House to the Senate in 2005, he has sponsored numerous bills to cut taxes and curtail the expansion of government. He led debate in the Senate this year on tax reform, which is expected to take center stage once again in 2009. A radio station owner and talk show host, Rogers represents Cobb and Cherokee counties at the capitol.

Sen. Tolleson, chairman of the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee and a longtime supporter of the Georgia Chamber, this year oversaw the development of the first-ever statewide water plan and led on a number of other environmental bills important to business. When not at the Gold Dome, Tolleson works as a tree farmer and financial advisor in Perry - which he has represented in the Senate since 2003 - along with Bleckley, Dodge, Johnson, Laurens, Pulaski and Telfair counties, and parts of Houston and Wilcox counties.

Rep. Ehrhart, chairman of the House Rules Committee, has been a stalwart defender of free enterprise and a staunch opponent of anti-business legislation since his election to the House 20 years ago - even more so since becoming Rules chairman in 2005. As one member of the GAC put it, "The rules committee is a place where bad bills are stopped as often as good bills are moved forward." Ehrhart represents Cobb County and is senior vice president at architectural and engineering firm The Facility Group Inc.

Rep. O’Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has received widespread praise from the business community for his careful analysis of every tax bill introduced at the Gold Dome. He regularly sponsors significant pro-business incentives and provided invaluable insight and guidance during this year’s tax reform debate. A tax attorney and accountant by trade, O’Neal also previously served as a former floor leader for Gov. Sonny Perdue. He has represented Houston County at the capitol since 2001.

Rep. Shaw, now in his seventh term at the General Assembly, has been a reliable and respected advocate of the Georgia Chamber’s legislative agenda for years and an effective supporter of the interests of Peach State employers, especially those in south Georgia. A small business owner, he represents Clinch and Lanier counties, as well as parts of Berrien and Lowndes counties.

Lifetime Achievement
Senate President Pro Tem Johnson has built a record of distinction as a tireless advocate of free-market legislation in his 18 years in the General Assembly. Under his tenure in the Senate, where he became Minority Leader in 1999 and President Pro Tem in 2003, the legislature has passed bills benefiting a wide variety of Georgia industries; lowered the tax and regulatory burden on companies of all sizes; and improved the legal climate for employers. Johnson represents Bryan County and parts of Chatham and Liberty counties, where he is an architect and developer.

House Majority Whip Fleming - who is leaving the state capitol after three terms to run for Congress - has fought for Georgia’s business community on countless occasions. An attorney by trade, he was one of the prime forces behind passage of tort reform in 2005 and a turn-to shepherd for some of the most complex and difficult issues in the General Assembly. Fleming represents Lincoln County and parts of Columbia and Wilkes counties. His departure from the House creates a void that will be difficult to fill.

Rep. Royal, chairman of the House Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee and former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, was for many years the legislator to whom all others turned for guidance and leadership on tax policy. A brilliant and knowledgeable lawmaker whose soft-spoken style won the admiration of all who worked with him, Royal will be greatly missed when he retires from the legislature this year. He represents Mitchell County and part of Colquitt County and is a consultant to the petroleum industry.

Auto Insurance: Price Control v. Free Market Competition

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By Joseph T. Fleming
Senior Vice President
Georgia Chamber of Commerce
May 6, 2008

Lower prices, more competition among auto insurers, and more choices in the marketplace are the benefits consumers will see if Gov. Sonny Perdue signs SB 276 into law.

The bill -- the culmination of 10 years of debate and discussion -- was overwhelmingly passed this year by a bipartisan mega-majority of the Georgia General Assembly. Republicans and Democrats, urban and rural, liberal and conservative -- 184 House and Senate lawmakers cast votes for the bill, with just 13 voting against.

No wonder. The simple notion found in SB 276 is hardly revolutionary: car insurance shoppers benefit by stimulating more competition among insurers and cutting red tape to speed rate cuts to market.

Almost half of all states already have moved to such a system. One state, Illinois, has completely eliminated the need for regulatory approval of auto insurance rates before they take effect. And guess what? Car owners pay less in Illinois than they do in Georgia.

Research and common sense suggest one reason the people of Illinois pay less than we do in Georgia is because insurers save significantly under a system that requires less bureaucratic paperwork.

Insurers’ rate filings, whether reductions or increases, require massive documentation by the department of insurance -- equal in size to a New York City phone book. Even when cutting your rates, your insurance company must file reams of paperwork and wait months for government review and approval.

In 2005, when State Farm (the largest writer of consumer auto policies in Georgia) cut its rates for the second consecutive year -- a total of five percent over two years -- the company’s 1.5 million policyholders had to wait months to see the reduction, because even rate cuts have to await bureaucratic authorization.

The same was true for the state’s fourth-largest carrier when it recently wanted to reduce rates for its policyholders. And again in 1999, when 14 other insurers wanted to reduce their rates. They were all forced to wait, wait, wait, for regulatory approval ... to cut prices.

Critics of SB 276 would have you believe the sky is falling. Frankly, we wish the General Assembly had gone further, much further, and followed the example of Illinois.

For almost 40 years, the state of Illinois has exercised no role -- none, nada, nil -- in the pricing of consumer insurance. It’s a complete competitive, free market. Prior to that, the pricing of insurance was fully regulated by the government.

The result of this sweeping change in Illinois? No, rates did not soar. In fact, today, the average auto insurance rate is lower in Illinois than in Georgia.

When Illinois embraced pure competition, the sky did not fall and private auto insurance was de-politicized. The average cost of auto insurance in Illinois is in the bottom half of the nation, and less than in Georgia. The average Georgian pays $779 a year; the average consumer in Illinois pays $760.

In last week’s front-page story, "Auto insurance may spike," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that New Jersey -- a state where the insurance commissioner has complete authority to set prices -- saw the lowest increases in insurance rates from 1989-2005.

This is true. However, the AJC left out two important facts. The first is that auto insurance rates in over-regulated New Jersey are the highest in the nation at $1,184 annually.

The second is that -- after years of suffering under those high rates -- New Jersey recently began giving insurers more flexibility and moving to a system of less regulation. And you know what? Rates in the Garden State have finally started dropping.

In the same story, the AJC reports that Nebraska -- under a system with more market competition -- had one of the highest increases in consumer auto rates over that same time period.

But again, the newspaper omitted an important detail: Nebraska has the 43rd lowest auto insurance rates in the country ($637 a year on average) under the "less government regulation" policies of that state.

Those who might be scared into believing insurance rates will skyrocket out of control under SB 276 should rest easy, because history proves otherwise. But anyone still not convinced should note that under SB 276, any rate change implemented by an insurer -- reduction or otherwise -- could be reversed by the commissioner of insurance at any time. It’s a relatively modest step toward less regulation.

Want to pay less for your automobile insurance? Set free the powers of competition and cut the bureaucratic, lengthy and costly regulatory labyrinth insurers must now negotiate. Make SB 276 law.  

Post-Session Legislative Bulletin

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Post-Session Legislative Bulletin
 
FROM THE GOLD DOME
Georgia Chamber of Commerce
May 5, 2008  

"To be fired up, (the free market) must be freed up." - George Israel, President of Georgia Chamber, speech at Berry College, Rome, Georgia, April 7, 2008

May 14th is the deadline for Gov. Sonny Perdue to sign, veto or allow to become law legislation that passed during the 2008 legislative session.  It is very likely we will see this week a number of announcements related to bills presently under review by the governor.  For a list of all bills signed into law by the Governor during the past two-year session, visit: http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2007_08/leg/govsign.htm

News, Political Notes and Legislative Updates  

- Dear Georgia, Oops!  We apologize.  We now admit that we released 22 billion gallons of water from Lake Lanier that we should not have.  

Love,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Washington, D.C.  

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports in the time immediately leading up to Georgia's severe drought, a 19-foot drop in the normal level of Lanier and near total ban on non-critical use of water, the Army Corps of Engineers' " blunder raises questions about the stewards of our drinking water as we enter the third year of a drought that is not expected to end anytime soon."  A faulty gauge, which would have cost $138 to replace, meant the Corps released an excess 420 million gallons of water a day (the amount metro Atlanta uses for drinking water during a span of about 120 days) over 52 days to boost water levels for those 30 endangered Apalachicola Bay mussels in Florida and to "to assist fewer than 10 federally protected Gulf sturgeon fish in laying their eggs."  According to the AJC, the lake still stands 13-feet below full.  

SB 342, The Water Conservation and Drought Relief Act of 2008, contains within it a sales tax holiday for water-efficient products: "Purchase of energy efficient products or water efficient products with a sales price of $1,500.00 or less per product purchased for noncommercial home or personal use.  The exemption provided by this paragraph shall apply only to sales occurring during a period commencing at 12:01 A.M. on October 2, 2008, and concluding at 12:00 Midnight on October 5, 2008."  

- Legal Update: Fulton County Superior Court Judge Marvin Arrington judge has struck down as unconstitutional limits on medical malpractice cases awards, a key part of the 2005 tort reform bill, SB 3.  Park v. WellStar.   

Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber's Institute for Legal Reform has ranked Georgia 28th among the states for its legal climate, according to its annual survey of 957 senior attorneys who were asked to evaluate states with which they were "very" or "somewhat familiar."  Georgia jumped up from its 31st ranking in 2007, but is a slot below its 27th ranking in 2006.  For the third year in a row, West Virginia had the worst legal climate, followed by Louisiana and Mississippi. Delaware had the best legal climate, followed by Nebraska and Maine.  States were judged on factors that affect tort liability system, ranging from the overall treatment of tort and contract litigation to judges' competence and impartiality.

- Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine says he will run for governor in 2010.

One bill the insurance department is opposing that is before the governor is SB 276, which would give more choice to Georgians shopping for insurance for their and lower rates - the benefits sparking more competition among insurers in our state.   

- In our last Legislative Bulletin, on April 7, we mentioned that Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has appointed a Senate Study Committee on Employment Contracts to review current Georgia law pertaining to non-compete contracts in Georgia and to develop legislation to address the study committee's finding.  The House, too, we failed to mention, has established it own study committee on non-compete covenants.  House Resolution 1879 by Rep. Levitas of the 82nd, creating the House Study Committee on Restrictive Covenants in the Commercial Arena.  

- CON.  Gov. Perdue signed into law SB 433, "certificate of need" legislation signed off on by the Georgia Hospital Association, the Alliance of Community Hospitals, the Medical Association of Georgia and other interested parties four days after its passage on the final day of the session.  He also signed on April 9 HB 967 to exempt from CON "Infirmaries or facilities operated by, on behalf of, or under contract with the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice for the sole and exclusive purpose of providing health care services in a secure environment to prisoners within a penal institution, penitentiary, prison, detention center, or other secure correctional institution. This shall include correctional institutions operated by private entities in this state which house inmates under the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice."  

Transportation:  Gov. Perdue signed on April 9, HB 1019, "The Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank Act"; to establish a state "to assist in financing qualified projects by providing loans and other financial assistance to government units for constructing and improving highway and transportation facilities." 

Quote of the day: "If you're stuck in traffic, you ought to be mad as hell until something's done." - Sen. Jeff Mullis.

Meanwhile, the chairmen of the House and Senate transportation committees (Chairman Vance Smith and Chairman Jeff Mullis, respectively) told DOT board members recently they will renew the effort next year to find a financial solution for the state's transportation needs.  

Thank goodness: Georgia just ranked #1 - Atlanta in particular - as the most traffic-choked area of the country.

- City of Dunwoody.  The governor has also signed legislation to SB 82, to establish a charter for the city of Dunwoody, Georgia, in DeKalb County, upon approval of the voters in the boundaries described in the bill for the city.  

- Education. Gov. Perdue has also signed HB 1209, to allow local school systems "to request increased flexibility from certain state laws, rules, and regulations in exchange for increased accountability and defined consequences through a contract with the State Board of Education."  

- Alcoholic Beverages.  Also signed into law, HB 1243, to allow "bona fide nonprofit civic organization(s)" or to [auction or] sell wine at retail for off-premises consumption."  

- Healthcare: Associated Press reports: "Two years after the [Massachusetts'] landmark health law was signed, the cracks are starting to show.  Costs are soaring and Massachusetts lawmakers are weighing a dollar-a-pack hike in the state's cigarette tax to help pay for a larger-than-expected enrollment in the law's subsidized insurance plans ... No other state has launched as comprehensive a plan ... Under the law, anyone making less than the federal poverty level is eligible for free care.  Those making up to three times the poverty level can get subsidized plans ... Anyone earning more is required to get health insurance through their employer, on their own, or by purchasing lower-cost plans through the Health Care Connector, the independent state agency overseeing the law.  Businesses are also on the hook. Those with 11 or more full time employees who refuse to offer insurance face $295 annual penalties per employee.  Already, 748 employers have failed to meet that threshold and have paid $6.6 million to the state.  California attempted their own health care expansion, but the $14.7 billion program failed to get out of a key Senate committee."  

- Dick Pettys at InsiderAdvantangeGeorgia reports: "The trend is definitely toward longer [legislative] sessions."  For instance, Pettys notes, the 1984 session adjourned February 29; the 1985 session concluded on March March 8.  Between 1982 and 2001, no legislative session continued past March.

- Manufacturing jobs: Mohawk Industries has announced it must layoff more than 350 workers in Dahlonega, continuing an unfortunate trend in Georgia of a decline in manufacturing jobs that has been occurring in Georgia for the past decade.  In January, Georgia had 423,708 manufacturing jobs, or 10.2 percent of the nonagricultural employment in the state.  Roger Tutterow, a Mercer University economics professor said: "When you go back 20 years, Georgia had a greater percentage of its employment in manufacturing than the national average.  Now, they're pretty well close to even.  Because manufacturing tends to offer higher than average compensation, it's frequently hard for those employees to find comparably compensated positions," he said. "In some cases, they move to other communities where there are manufacturing jobs."

- Energy: From The Macon Telegraph editorial board: "Nuclear power plants are not the bogeymen of years past. Europe and Japan are almost totally dependent upon nuclear-generated electricity. Our Navy's ships routinely are powered with nuclear reactors. Technological advances assure that disasters such as Chernobyl in Ukraine and Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania are no longer a threat.  Returning to nuclear power for electricity generation makes sense now and for the long run; It's a move long overdue."  

Open Seats and Retirements

- In our last end-of-session report, we named at least five Representatives and two Senators that will not return to Atlanta for the 2009 legislative session: Reps. Ben Bridges, Bob Holmes, Jimmy Lord (all to retirement), Rep. Johnny Floyd, who becomes the newest member of the Department of Transportation board, and Rep. Barry Fleming, who is seeking the Republican nomination for Congress in Georgia's 10th Congressional District.  State Sen. Nancy Schaefer, who earlier announced she would challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Broun in the Republican primary for Congress, has withdrawn from the congressional campaign and filed for re-election, though she faces two opponents.  Sen. Michael Meyer von Bremen has announced he will run for the Georgia Court of Appeals seated being vacated by retiring Judge John Ruffin.

Qualifying for statewide, non-partisan judicial seats will be held Monday, June 23 through Friday, June 27, 2008 at noon in the Secretary of State's Elections Division Office.  

A few updates since: State Rep. Freddie Powell Sims has announced she will seek Sen. Meyer von Bremen's seat in the Georgia Senate.  Georgia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors member and Dougherty County Commissioner Bodine Sinyard has stated he will not seek Meyer von Bremen's seat.   Rep. Robbie Mumford has elected not to seek re-election.

Also, state Sen. Regina Thomas, D-Savannah, filed to run against U.S. Rep. John Barrow in the Democratic primary for the 12th Congressional District.  

With qualifying for this fall's legislative elections concluding on Friday, May 2, two incumbents announced they would retire from the General Assembly.  Rep. Richard Royal, R-Camilla, and Ron Forster, R-Ringgold, will not seek re-election to their House seats this November.  

Two seats on the Public Service Commission are up this fall.  In District 4, incumbent Angela Speir is not seeking re-election.  Vying for her seat are: Lauren McDonald, Republican, and Bob Indech, Democrat.  For District 1, incumbent Doug Everette is being challenged by Republican Rick Collum.  

Every member of the Georgia U.S. Congressional delegation drew opposition except Rep. Hank Johnson.  

For a complete list of candidates who filed for state Senate and House districts, and for congressional candidates who filed, visit Secretary of State Karen Handel's web site at: http://www.sos.georgia.gov/cgi-bin/qualifyingindex.asp

Qualifying for congressional, legislative and other races was April 28 - May 2.  Official qualifying for judicial elections will occur in June.  

- Speaking at the Atlanta Press Club, Northrop Grumman vice president Philip Teel said the company would triple its employment presence in Georgia, adding as many as 4,200 jobs to our state, particularly in Atlanta, Chamblee, Dublin, Milledgeville and Vidalia!  

- For local chambers of commerce and business/civic organizations: The Georgia Chamber will be traveling the state for "Post Session Briefings" now that the legislature has adjourned.  This is a great opportunity for your members to get an insider's report on which bills passed or failed and what to expect in the future.  We want to keep you informed and engaged.  Local chambers across Georgia are vital to our economic development efforts and helping to keep our state business friendly.  The government affairs staff of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce is happy to and will be available to visit your chamber of commerce, Rotary Club, or other business-related organizations.  If you would like to schedule a Post Session Briefing at your chamber, please contact Ginger Hathcock at (404) 223-2269.

- State Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, who is also a member of the Air Force Reserve, has been called up to active duty and will be deployed to Iraq by fall.  Collins is a chaplain in the 94th Air Wing at Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta.  Our prayers go with him and all the other men and women of our military serving here and abroad.  

- Condolences to George Israel, president of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, on the loss of his mother, Margaret Hutchins Israel, at age 88.

Editorial: Are we willing to let gridlock choke Atlanta's prosperity?

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By Joe Leonard and Charles Tarbutton
Published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on April 13, 2008

There have been many pivotal moments in metro Atlanta and Georgia history that defined our place as the capital of the Southeast.

In the 1950s, we were roughly equal with Birmingham in population and influence, but Atlanta embraced civil rights and showed we were a progressive city open for business.

The vision of mayors William B. Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson to build a world-class airport gave us a competitive economic advantage like no other. Mayor Ivan Allen's vision to recruit major sports teams made us the sports capital of the Southeast. And House Speaker Tom Murphy's vision to build the World Congress Center secured our place as a major convention destination.

These pivotal moments share a common thread: They did not happen by accident.

Through bold leadership and vision, these historic events made Atlanta and Georgia the economic engine of the Southeast. They led us to become the fastest-growing large metro area in the nation, and the third-fastest-growing state. Today we are home to the third-highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies and the busiest airport in the world, and we are a magnet for the college-educated 25- to 34-year-olds that every state is competing for.

But all this prosperity could come to an end because of one thing -- transportation.

We are now home to the second-worst traffic in the nation. And even though we are one of the fastest-growing states, we invest in transportation infrastructure at the lowest rate in the entire country.

The result is gridlock -- families disconnected because they can't get to ball games and dinner on time, companies losing millions of dollars in productivity.

Metro Atlanta and all of Georgia recently faced another pivotal moment in history.  A measure before Georgia's Legislature, SR 845, would have given voters a voice in addressing their own transportation challenges. Had it passed, voters across the state would have seen a question on their November ballot asking if they wanted the right to hold local votes to raise transportation funds. Then, if regions chose to exercise that option, they would have held local elections to approve a penny sales tax to fund specific regional projects.

This would have meant roads, transit and other updates to our outdated transportation network.

And it could have addressed the shrinking resources at the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Make no mistake -- we support reforms at GDOT and a much-needed forensic audit. But neither is a substitute for funding.

For at least two years, GDOT has predicted a shortfall of $7.7 billion over the next six years alone. That's $1.3 billion a year. So the revelation last week of a $1 billion near-term shortfall shouldn't surprise anyone.

And if we're talking about shortfalls, how could a measure that might have raised $1.5 billion a year be a bad thing? In the 18 to 24 months it would have taken for funding to start coming in after the people voted, GDOT would have been reformed. Furthermore, GDOT alone would not have been making the funding decisions. Citizens in local regions would have picked the projects most important to them.

Instead, we face another year of increasing traffic congestion, less time with families, worsening air quality, continued unsafe roads and lessened economic development across Georgia.

The shame is, all it would have taken to pass this landmark legislation was leadership.

The choice is still before us. We can either seize this opportunity to reaffirm Atlanta and Georgia's place as the capital of the Southeast and a hub of global commerce. Or we can allow up-and-coming regions like Charlotte to take our place.

We applaud the hard work of Senate and House transportation committee chairmen Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) and Vance Smith (R-Pine Mountain), the conferees who reached consensus on SR 845, and the many House and Senate members who demonstrated leadership and vision when they voted yes.

But we need more leaders to get involved. Log on to GetGeorgiaMoving.com to see how your elected officials voted, join the many voices speaking out on transportation, and send a message to your legislators.

Our citizens deserve the mobility and quality of life that brought many of them here in the first place. We must have a solution in the 2009 session. Our economy, our environment and our quality of life depend on it. All it takes is leadership.

Joe Leonard is chair of AirTran Airways and of the transportation policy committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Charles Tarbutton is assistant vice president of Sandersville Railroad Co. and chair of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. They are co-chairs of the Get Georgia Moving Coalition.

Special Legislative Bulletin - sine die

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FROM THE GOLD DOME
By Joe Fleming
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs
Georgia Chamber of Commerce

Sweeping Up Confetti in the Winds of Schadenfreude

Under a tornado watch, perhaps appropriately, the Georgia General Assembly adjourned its two-year legislative session as the clock struck midnight on Friday, April 4.

For the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the session ranks as one of our most successful and productive, far exceeding our hopes and expectations.

Soon we'll read the political pundits' and editorial writers' annual compilation of the session's "winners" and "losers."  No doubt, however, the agenda of the Georgia Chamber was advanced, even in a session with fierce policy disagreements.  Key business objectives were met and critical state chamber-backed legislation passed.  

Lost, unfortunately, in the storms of turmoil, was funding for a meaningful trauma care network and funding solutions for existing and future transportation needs.    

Demonstrable Success for Business  

• Numerous pro-business, pro-jobs tax bills were passed! - many on which the Georgia Chamber has been working for years ... including three critical tax priorities for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce:  

HB 237, the "Integrated Plant Theory" bill - championed by the Georgia Traditional Manufacturers Association (GTMA), the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and many others -  would exempt the sales tax on all machinery and equipment that is necessary and integral to the manufacturing process as well as all water-pollution eliminating machinery;  

HB 272, to cap the tax on energy paid by manufacturers when energy prices soar; and  

HB 1211 and HR 1276, "The Georgia Bona Fide Large Forest Conservation Use Act of 2008," which bring fairness to a tax code that is currently a disincentive to our timber and forestry industries and large forest conservation.  

In addition other priority Georgia Chamber tax legislation adopted included, HB 1129, "The Georgia Tourism Development Act," the top priority of Georgia Chamber affiliate the Tourism Development Alliance of Georgia (TDAG) to provide tax incentives for companies making significant investments in Georgia by building destination/tourist attractions ...  

... the traditional annual "back-to-school" sales tax holiday and the energy-efficient-products sales tax holiday (HB 948), which sets the state sales tax holiday on school supplies for July 31-August 3, 2008, and for energy-efficient products for October 2-5, 2008 ...  

...  House Bill 1100, an economic development tool that boosts the income tax credit for film, video, or digital productions in Georgia, so as to make our state more competitive as a location for these productions.  Production companies and their affiliates that have not had over $30 million in expenditures in Georgia in 2002, 2003, and 2004 are eligible for this credit if their base investment in qualified production activities in Georgia is at least $500,000.  This bill increases the credit from 9 percent of the base investment in Georgia up to 20 percent of the base investment.  This bill also provides for an additional credit of 10 percent of the base investment if there is a qualified Georgia promotion.  

HB 1244 to extend the time period in which companies can use tax credits for allowing employees to telework got bogged down in the disagreements between the House and Senate over elimination of the "car tag tax" and reduction of the personal income tax.  

Neither Speaker Richardson's GREAT Plan nor a proposal by the House to eliminate the personal vehicle ad valorem tax ("car tag tax") nor the Senate's proposal for a 10 percent reduction in the personal income tax passed.  

• HB 89.  What began as legislation to remove a business owner's right to set policies pertaining to the introduction of firearms to the workplace was amended on the final day of the session to allow employers, whether they own the land on which they operate or lease it, to ban guns from their parking accommodations if they so choose.  

As The Atlanta Journal-Constitution stated, HB 89, formerly the "bring your guns to work" legislation, now "allows employees to leave weapons in parking lots as long as it's okay with the company."  

The final adopted bill also de-criminalizes the carry of guns by individuals with Georgia Firearms Licenses (GFLs) into certain restaurants that serve alcohol (the carrier may not drink), state parks, wildlife management areas and "historic sites," and on local mass transit systems.  The bill also speeds up the process for the renewal of gun permits.     

• A statewide, comprehensive water plan, Senate Resolution 701 and House Resolution 1022, was adopted overwhelmingly early in the session, a plan that was developed in close cooperation with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and with the input of our members.  

Legislation was passed to create one statewide standard for water restrictions during a time of drought, HB 1281, which avoids a patchwork maze of hundreds of different local government restrictions.  A city, county or local water authority could petition the director of the state Environmental Protection Division for an exemption.  The bill also would prohibit any restrictions on filling swimming pools unless there is not enough water for humans, farms or industries.  

Georgia Chamber-supported legislation was also agreed to that gets Georgia's reservoir building program jumpstarted.  

And a bill was passed to place the Georgia Environment Protection Division (EPD) under the same legislative oversight process to which every other state agency and department is subject, SB 352; that is, the General Assembly may override any departmental regulation that isn't promulgated in compliance with federal rules or regulations or law.

SB 426, SB 427, SB 428 and HB 548 and HB 1289 - Revitalization of Jekyll Island.
A number of Georgia Chamber members have expressed interest in several bills that would weaken the planned $341 million revitalization of Jekyll Island.   The above-listed bills failed to pass.  Combined, these measures would have prevented additional fulltime residences from being built on the state-owned island, restricted construction near the waterfront, and limited what new hotels could charge overnight guests, many provisions that are already addressed in the revitalization plan approved by the Jekyll Island State Park Authority.   Seventy-five percent of the island CANNOT, by law, be developed and the plan for improvements to Jekyll calls for development of less than that state-mandated ratio.  The plan, supported by the Glynn County Commission, the Brunswick City Council and the Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce, calls for rebuilding the crumbling hotels on the island with the new properties charging daily rates as low as $105 and rebuilding the aging convention center.   Sadly, since 1990, traffic to beautiful, historic Jekyll Island is down by half, tours of the historic district are down 29 percent, golf rounds are down 32 percent and hotel stays on the island are down 24 percent.    

• "The Corporate Good Samaritan Act," to give businesses and non-profits some liability protection when performing "Good Samaritan" acts, in a time of an emergency or crisis, was passed, included in HB 89, mentioned above.  A top priority for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the measure gives some protection for businesses that render aid in times of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, pandemic diseases or other emergencies and encourages non-profits and businesses to assist the state when called upon to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies with private as well as public resources.  

• Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has announced the appointment of a Senate Study Committee on Employment Contracts to review current Georgia law pertaining to non-compete contracts in Georgia and to develop legislation to address the study committee's finding.  Sens. Judson Hill, Bill Cowsert, and David Adelman have been appointed to this committee.  

HR 47 establishes a Legislative Study Committee on Judicial Election Reform.

• SB 359 was passed establishing a "Made in Georgia" marketing and labeling program to promote goods and products manufactured in Georgia; also, study committees were created in both the House and Senate to examine the future of manufacturing in Georgia, SR 1097 and a version of HR 1364 amended on the final day.  

• Trauma care funding - $60-plus million was added to the 2008 budget for trauma care for the rest of this year.  But the House and Senate failed to reach an agreement to provide a dedicated source of funding for a trauma care network to provide immediate, top-tier treatment for victims of serious car accidents, gun shots and other severe, life-threatening trauma cases.

• Budget victory: Medicaid reimbursements for health care providers will go up beginning in 2009, as the Governor, House and Senate found common ground to raise the average reimbursement rate from 80 cents per dollar of cost.  

• Sadly, about the same time trauma care funding was lost, 130 employees at Telfair Regional Hospital in McRae, Georgia, were hit with the news that the county's sixth-largest employer, was closing.  Hospital officials say paying for indigent care was a large part of the financial burden that led to the hospital's closing.  In 2005, the hospital provided almost a million dollars in indigent care to the community.  With the closing of Telfair Regional, the next nearest hospitals are 30 minutes away in Dodge, Wheeler and Jeff Davis counties.  About 15,000 patients annually used the rural McRae hospital.

• CON compromise.  The Georgia Hospital Association, the Alliance of Community Hospitals, the Medical Association of Georgia and other interested parties agreed late in the session to a compromise on Certificate of Need (CON) reform legislation.

• HB 977 to increase availability of health insurance for Georgians passed.  The bill provides tax breaks for the use of high-deductible insurance policies coupled with health savings accounts.  Under 977, small employers would get a $250 tax credit per enrolled worker and individuals would earn a tax deduction.  The legislation's goal is to help insure 500,000 of the state's uninsured.

• Objective met: Slow the growing expansion of government regulation of health and property-casualty insurance.  Two bills to vastly expand government regulation of free-market insurance products were defeated, and one to provide more market competition in automobile insurance was passed.  HB 798 would have expanded the authority of the Department of Insurance to regulate Pharmacy Benefit Managers, potentially costing employers billions of dollars, and HB 923 would have given state regulators more power to regulate private market health insurance plans.  SB 276 to give consumers more choice in auto insurance policies and to provide more competition among auto insurers passed.  

• While on the topic of insurance, and health insurance in particular, our friends at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation (GPPF) have an interesting article in their spring "Georgia Policy Review" newsletter, "What Health Care Crisis?" by Dr. Harold Brown, UGA professor emeritus, which makes a few points worth considering to keep the ever-repeated phrase "heath care crisis" in perspective:  

"The percentage of Americans with health care insurance has hovered around 85 percent since 1987, when the Census Bureau first started asking the question."

"Of those American families who paid any medical expenses in 2004, only 20 percent paid $1,000 or more out-of-pocket.  For the average family, out-of-pocket health care expenses increased only $1,184 from 1990 to 2005.  That's a lot of money, but not out of line with other family expenses.  During those years, families spent 91 cents on entertainment for every dollar spent on health care.  In the meantime, housing expenditures went up five times as much as those for health care and [almost three times as much for] transportation."

• The General Assembly approved a 5 percent pay raise for appellate judges and Superior Court judges, supported by the state chamber. 

As presented in our 2008 Legislative Agenda at the annual Eggs & Issues breakfast in January - five key objectives were identified for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce this year: 

• Protect tort reform ... and ensure a fair and impartial judicial system for all parties.  Check;

• Promote the fairest, most pro-business, job-generating tax code in the country.  Check; 

• Protect the private property rights of all, including employers, and the "right to work" laws of Georgia.  Check; 

• Less government regulation and red tape ... no new mandates, eliminate unnecessary, costly regulatory hurdles.  Check; and 

• Focus on critical "quality of life" issues for all Georgians, especially those that impede economic development, including ... transportation; a job-ready, educated workforce; access to affordable healthcare and a statewide water management plan that balances the needs of a vibrant economy with the protection of our natural resources.  [While the General Assembly failed to adopt transportation funding, the ball was moved down the field to the goal line just before time ran out, and we are optimistic that our elected leaders will work cooperatively to make this a top priority in 2009.  It is too important an economic development issue, too important a quality-of-life issue for our state.]    

Other Legislation Adopted  

• SR 996.  A proposed Constitutional amendment allowing voters to correct problems found by the Georgia Supreme Court with the tax allocation district (TAD) system of financing redevelopment projects passed this session.  If the Constitutional amendment passes in November, SR 996 requires the General Assembly to create new laws during the 2009 session dictating how TADs may be used.  

• SB 399. Reauthorizes the Scrap Tire Management Fee as the funding source for the Solid Waste Trust Fund, in order to aid state and local efforts to reduce solid waste, recycle, and clean up scrap tires.  This issue was included in the 2008 Georgia Chamber Legislative Agenda.    

Defeated or Held Off  

• A mandate bill to require all diesel fuels sold in Georgia contain at least 2 percent biodiesel fuel by volume. 

• Legislation that would have funded the Georgia Assignment Pool Underwriting Authority and provided health insurance for uninsurable Georgians with a tax on business, and only on those businesses that currently offer health insurance. 

• Dismantling of Tort Reform.  Legislation to weaken provisions from 2005's Civil Justice Reform Act (SB 3) - by removing the section requiring plaintiffs' attorneys to prove that emergency room doctors acted with gross negligence - was stalled, although the Georgia Trial Lawyers' Association has already announced that this will be their top priority during the 2009 legislative session. 

• Mandated employee leave.  Legislation that would have mandated that employers with as few as four employees provide an additional 24 hours of leave time per year, which could be broken up into two-hour increments and used for 12 additional days, above and beyond personal days, sick days, vacation days and FMLA (for those employers not covered by the Family Medical Leave Act) failed to pass out of committee.    

Noteworthy News  

• Georgia-China economic development.  Gov. Sonny Perdue and a delegation of Georgia Chamber and business and civic leaders recently returned from China, inaugurating the first daily, non-stop flight between Atlanta and Shanghai, on Delta Airlines.  While in China, Gov. Perdue opened the doors to a new state trade office in Beijing.  It is Georgia's 11th overseas trade office.  The governor reportedly hinted Georgia might consider opening a second economic development office in Shanghai to complement the state's new office in Beijing.  

During the trip, Perdue announced China-based PAX Technology will locate its U.S. headquarters in metro Atlanta as a result of the trip.  "We have found that Georgia is a very friendly place for Chinese companies," PAX Chairman and President Thomas Xu said.  PAX provides secure-card electronic payment systems and sales software.  Last year, three Chinese companies announced plans to open manufacturing operations in Georgia, General Protecht Group, Kingwasong LLC, and Sany Heavy Industry Co. Ltd.  

• Advisory Panel to Study Local Board Governance.  The State Board of Education has asked Georgia's business leaders to work with the education community to study effective methods of school board governance.  The State Board unanimously approved a resolution last week asking the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Chamber affiliate Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE) and AdvancED to put together an advisory panel on the issue of local school board governance.  This panel will work with education advocates and support groups to research best practices and policies for school board operations.  "The State Board of Education members thought it was an appropriate time to ask our business partners to work with us on this issue," said Wanda Barrs, Chair of the State Board. "Businesses understand the clear link between strong boards and success.  Many of those same principles can be applied to school board governance."   The state board is asking for a report within 90 days of when the advisory panel is formed.

State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox praised the state board's decision to start a conversation about school board governance.  "We want Georgia to be a model state for local school board governance, and I'm very pleased that our state's business leaders have stepped up to the plate to offer their assistance and expertise," she said.  "Working together we can pull together proven strategies and effective policies from the business and education worlds that will best serve our students, our educators and the community at large."    

Unfinished Business/Preparing for 2009 Legislative Session   ·

• Transportation Funding.  Despite overwhelming Constitutional majority votes earlier in the session in the House and the Senate to address transportation reform and funding, the General Assembly failed to reach an agreement on final language.  A Senate vote with just minutes left on the clock before the end of the session fell three votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to get a proposed Constitutional amendment on the ballot.  

"How many people are missing a part of their family's lives?  How many people could be home with their family or at the ball game with their son, that are sitting in traffic?" - Speaker Glenn Richardson.  

How long must we wait to address our lack of funding for maintenance, road improvements and new transportation projects? 

• The House failed to take up SB 80, which passed the Georgia Senate last year, and would permit - but NOT require - public retirement systems to invest in private investment funds, such as venture capital funds - and does not include the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia specifically.  The Georgia Chamber of Commerce supports this legislation to bring Georgia in line with a majority of other states to allow investments in venture capital funds in the state's pension retirement funds.  As one of the few states in our nation that denies state pensions from tapping private investments, we send a poor signal to potential investors in our state.  

• Current law in Georgia requires drivers of automobiles to wear seat belts.  Current law also prohibits the introduction of evidence in a trial of the failure of a driver to comply with state law and wear his or her seat belt.  Which, of course, is absurd.  The Georgia Chamber of Commerce will continue to press for passage of legislation that permits the admission into evidence of the failure to wear a seat belt as prima facie evidence of a contributory factor in considering the award of medical and compensatory damages.  

• Sunday sales and Prohibition: Not since Georgia repealed its own Prohibition statutes in 1939 has there been a legislative session that liberalized Georgia's alcoholic beverages law as much this one - ironic in this, the 100th anniversary of Georgia's adoption of statewide "dry" laws in 1908 (Georgia adopted strong temperance laws well before the U.S. Congress adopted the Volstead Act).  In 1885, the state allowed local counties to ban alcohol (by 1907 most counties had voted themselves dry.)  

This session four major alcohol beverage laws were passed: 

• SB 55, also known as the "Merlot To Go" bill, would allow restaurant patrons to have their wine bottles re-corked to take home, even on Sunday. 

• HB 1280 allows the new stadium to be built in Gwinnett County for the relocated Atlanta Braves AAA farm team to sell and served alcohol on Sundays.

• SB 385 allows limo drivers to sell alcohol to customers, even on Sundays. 

• HB 1061 allows online wine purchases to be bought and/or delivered, up to twelve cases, even on Sundays.  

All of the above are fine and good, but the one bill which would give voters a say in the alcohol laws in their community - legislation to allow grocery and convenience stores to sell beer and wine on Sunday - died.  Go figure.  How our state perpetuates this discrimination against retailers is mind boggling.

• Georgia still needs to repeal the remaining parts of the state's inventory ad valorem taxes!  

• REMINDER: The Georgia Department of Insurance has promulgated Emergency Regulation 120-3-24-0.8, "Rules and Regulations for Loss Prevention Due to Combustible Dust Explosions and Fire," which will be in effect for 120 days, until the adoption by regular rulemaking authority.

"Emergency Regulation Chapter 120-3-24-0.8 effective March 7, 2008, requires all new and existing facilities that have operations involving the manufacturing, processing, and/or handling combustible particulate solids including manufacturing processes that create combustible dust to register by electronic means with the Commissioner beginning July 1, 2008.  This must be completed/updated annually.

Before a business license may be issued by the city and/or county jurisdiction to legally operate within the city and/or county jurisdiction after September 1, 2008, each industry is required to receive an annual "Certificate of Registration" from the office of the Safety Fire Commissioner."  

The 57-page regulation can be read at: http://www.gainsurance.org/ANNOUNCEMENTS/1078ER-372008143836.pdf

According to the Department of Insurance in its announcement of the new regulations: "All manufacturers in Georgia will be required to have a designated safety officer.  Monthly reporting will ensure that emergency plans are in place and drills are conducted."  Questions or concerns should be directed to Fred Meyer, Administrative Procedure Attorney, Department of Insurance, at (404) 656-5875.    

Open Seats and Retirements 

• At least five Representatives and two Senators will not return to Atlanta for the 2009 legislative session: Reps. Ben Bridges, Bob Holmes, Jimmy Lord (all to retirement), Rep. Johnny Floyd, who becomes the newest member of the Department of Transportation board, and Rep. Barry Fleming, who is seeking the Republican nomination for Congress in Georgia's 10th Congressional District.  Fleming will be joined in that race by state Sen. Nancy Schaefer.  Sen. Michael Meyer von Bremen has announced he will run for the Georgia Court of Appeals seated being vacated by retiring Judge John Ruffin.    

News and Notes

• Congratulations to Haydon Stanley (Fiveash-Stanley) and Kevin Curtin (AT&T), newly announced chairman and vice-chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce's Government Affairs Council (GAC).  And special thanks to Skin Edge (GeorgiaLink) for five years of exceptional, self-sacrificial, voluntary service as GAC chair.  

• Congratulations to Clint Austin, vice-chairman of the GAC's Federal Affairs Committee, on the birth of his son, John Clinton "Jake" Austin II, 8 lbs, 7 ounces, 22 inches.  

• Congratulations to the Georgia Chamber's own Diana Lee, who was married to First Lt. Gabe Chavarria at the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, on Saturday, April 5.  

• For local chambers of commerce and business/civic organizations:
The Georgia Chamber will be traveling the state for "Post Session Briefings" after adjournment.  This is a great opportunity for your members to get an insider's report on which bills passed or failed and what to expect in the future.  We want to keep you informed and engaged.  Local chambers across Georgia are vital to our economic development efforts and helping to keep our state business friendly.  The government affairs staff of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce is happy to and will be available to visit your chamber of commerce, Rotary Club, or other business-related organizations.  If you would like to schedule a Post Session Briefing at your chamber, please contact Ginger Hathcock at ghathcock(at)gachamber.com or call her at (404) 223-2269.  

Finally, sincere thanks to the government affairs staff at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce for all you do: Ginger Hathcock, Diana Lee Chavarria, Ryan Mahoney, Nick Pearson and Lauren Wilkes.  And thanks to all the members of the GAC and the leadership of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce for a most successful year!    

Legislative Bulletin - March 31

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The Georgia General Assembly will adjourn Friday, April 4.  

There are just four (4) legislative days remaining in this legislative session.  Legislators will be in session today (Monday), Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday for sine die, not to meet again until January 12, 2009 – “the second Monday after the first Tuesday in the year,” unless called into special session.  Go ahead; mark your calendars for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s annual legislative kick-off, the Eggs & Issues Breakfast, for Tuesday, January 13, 2009!  

In this two-year session that will end Friday, almost 5,000 bills and resolutions have been introduced, with all but a few still in play.  Many of these the Georgia Chamber of Commerce has spearheaded to what we hope and believe will be a successful conclusion.  Some successes have already been won: the statewide water management plan, for example, has been signed into law, as has SB 352, to bring all state department and agencies’ rules and regulations under legislative oversight.  

Thousands of bills, of course, never see the light of day, introduced but defeated or amended because they were contrary to our state’s economic development goals, were anti-business, or would have had an unintended and detrimental impact on business.  

For a current, complete list of all bills that the Georgia Chamber of Commerce is tracking – that affect business statewide and our members – please visit:

Compliance Committee »
Economic Development and Tourism Committee »
Education Committee »
Environmental, Energy, Natural Resources and Water Management Committee »
Federal Affairs Committee »
Healthcare Committee »
Judiciary Committee »
Small Business Committee »
Taxation and Business Incentives Committee »
Technology and General Business Committee »
Transportation Committee »
Workers’ Compensation, Labor and Employment Committee »  

Bills are grouped by the committee of the Georgia Chamber’s Government Affairs Council (GAC) to which the measure has been assigned for review, study and recommended action.  Check these pages of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce web site regularly for timely updates on legislation we are following that affects business statewide and our members.  

For local chambers of commerce and business/civic organizations: The Georgia Chamber will be traveling the state for “Post Session Briefings” after adjournment.  This is a great opportunity for your members to get an insider’s report on which bills passed or failed and what to expect in the future.  We want to keep you informed and engaged.  Local chambers across Georgia are vital to our economic development efforts and helping to keep our state business friendly.  The government affairs staff of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce is happy to and will be available to visit your chamber of commerce, Rotary Club, or other business-related organizations.  If you would like to schedule a Post Session Briefing at your chamber, please contact Ginger Hathcock at (404) 223-2269.


The Final Four  

Legislative days, not college basketball teams!  Among the key issues to be resolved in this final week:  

·  The roughly $21+ billion 2009 budget,  

·  Differences between the House and Senate-passed versions of transportation funding,  

·  Reservoir funding and planning legislation,  

·  Senate adoption of the annual “back to school” and “energy efficient” sales tax holidays,  

·  Trauma care funding (the state Senate is expected to vote one proposal on trauma network funding Monday, a $10 fee added to auto registrations.  This proposal would raise about $74 million a year, in addition to the almost $60 million in the budget for trauma care for the rest of this year),  

·  Senate approval and concurrence of two critical tax priorities for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, HB 237, the “Integrated Plant Theory” bill, HB 272, to cap the tax on energy paid by manufacturers when energy prices soar, 
 
·  Resolution of differences between the Senate and House versions of legislation that would allow individuals to “freeze” their credit file.  Each of the three national credit reporting agencies in our country already do this voluntarily and give consumers the opportunity to deny others permission to view their credit file.  However, because the Georgia Chamber of Commerce resists the notion that government should set pricing for businesses and services in a competitive, free-market, we OPPOSE these bills.  

·  Watching to see if opponents’ efforts to derail plans to revitalize Jekyll Island succeed, plans already approved by the Jekyll Island Authority and supported by local business leaders, and  

·  And to see what compromise House and Senate members may be able to reach in their tax reform/tax cut initiatives.  The House version would eliminate the ad valorem tax on personal vehicles ("car tag tax") and the Senate version would cut personal income taxes by 10 percent.  

·  Also the NRA’s “bring your guns to work” has been assigned to a conference committee and could meet this week to iron out differences between the two chambers’ versions.    

GAC Education Committee

Among the bills still pending related to education are HB 1133 to encourage, through tax credits, corporate and individual contributions to scholarship funds and the “BRIDGE” bill [HB 905 – “Building Resourceful Individuals to Develop Georgia’s Economy,” sponsored by Rep. Fran Millar], which directs the State Board of Education to develop programs to improve graduation rates and to improve the preparedness of students for postsecondary education and careers program on time, to provide for model programs for students at risk of dropping out of high school; to train school counselors and graduation coaches to provide for educational counseling.    


GAC Economic Development and Tourism Committee

HB 1129, “The Georgia Tourism Development Act,” would provide tax incentives for companies creating certain high-volume tourism destinations in Georgia.  The bill passed the House unanimously last month, 124-0, and is scheduled to be heard today in the Senate Finance Committee.  The Georgia Chamber of Commerce supports this legislation.  

SB 80, which passed the Georgia Senate last year, would permit – but NOT require – public retirement systems to invest in private investment funds, such as venture capital funds – and does not include the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia specifically.  The Georgia Chamber of Commerce supports this legislation to bring Georgia in line with a majority of other states to allow private investments in venture capital funds by the state pension systems retirement funds.  As one of the few states in our nation that denies state pensions from investing in private investments, we send a poor signal to potential investors in our state.  


GAC Environmental, Energy, Natural Resources and Water Management Committee  

A conference committee to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of HB 1132, “The Uniform Environmental Covenants Act,” is expected to meet and report out a final version of the legislation.  

“The Georgia Water Supply Act of 2008,” or so-called reservoir bill, passed the Senate Natural Resources Committee on March 27, and is expected to be considered by the full Senate early this week.  The Senate Finance Committee made changes to the bill.  Therefore, if HB 1226 passes the Senate, a conference committee of House and Senate members will be needed to agree and recommend a final bill to both chambers.  Another reservoir-related measure, “The Water Conservation and Drought Relief Act,” SB 342, is waiting final action in the House.  Both bills are pro-actively supported by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.  

HB 1281, to encourage one, uniform standard for water restrictions, and which also would prohibit any restrictions on filling swimming pools unless there is not enough water for humans, farms or industries and unless required by the director of the state Environmental Protection Division (EPD), is eligible for a Senate vote this week.  The Georgia Chamber supports this legislation.  

Gov. Perdue has signed into law SB 352, which now includes the Environmental Protection Division under legislative oversight.  As with every other state department, under SB 352, the bill stipulates that if a legislative committee files an objection to an EPD proposed rule, the rule cannot be employed until after the next session, when General Assembly has had a chance to review it.  SB 352 exempts rules that are enacted to enforce federal laws or regulations, but requires departmental demonstration of how the state’s proposed rule would result in the promulgation of federal action.    


GAC Healthcare Committee  

Among bills in this committee which fate will be decided this week:  

HB 798, SB 383, SB 404, and SB 433.  An earlier bill to expand government regulation of health care, HB 923, was defeated the House Insurance Committee, and did not meet the Day-30 crossover deadline.  

We wish to congratulate the people of Americus and Sumter County, whose hospital was destroyed just over a year ago, on March 1, 2007.  Sumter Regional Hospital has re-opened in a brand-new 76-bed facility.  Since the tornado, the hospital has been literally operating out of tents and trailers.  Our friends in southwest Georgia hope to break ground this fall on a permanent hospital that is scheduled to be opened in 2010.  

The Georgia Trial Lawyers’ Association’s director of political affairs, Bill Clark, has announced that his organizations’ top priority for 2009 will be repeal of the liability standard for hospital emergency rooms and their personnel, a part of the 2005 SB 3 tort reform bill.    


GAC Judiciary Committee  

Thursday past, the Senate Judiciary passed HB 1346, to curb organized retail theft rings.  The bill, which passed the House on March 11, is awaiting final Senate approval this week.  The Georgia Chamber of Commerce supports Chairman Larry O’Neal’s bill.

The “Corporate Good Samaritan Act of 2008,” SB 305, introduced by Sen. David Shafer and sponsored in the House by Rep. Burke Day, passed the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, and will hopefully be brought by the Rules Committee to the House floor early this week for a vote.  The Georgia Chamber of Commerce supports legislation that provides “good Samaritan” protections for businesses that render aid in times of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, pandemic diseases or other emergencies. Currently individuals are protected from litigation when trying to help others in emergencies.  This protection should be extended to business and non-profits to enhance, not hinder, our state’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies with private as well as public resources.  

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has announced the appointment of a Senate Study Committee on Employment Contracts: “In my capacity as President of the Senate, I am appointing a Study Committee to examine legal limitations on non-compete contracts in Georgia.  The Committee will be charged with developing and proposing a statutory or Constitutional reform package to better balance the rights of employees with those of employers seeking to bring intellectual property businesses to Georgia.  Sens. Judson Hill, Bill Cowsert, and David Adelman are appointed to serve on this study committee.”  


GAC Small Business Committee

Expecting to see Senate adoption of HB 948, the traditional sales tax holiday for “back-to-school” supplies and energy efficient products.  The dates outlined in the House bill are July 31-August 3, 2008, for school supplies, and October 2-5, 2008, for energy efficient products.  

Will the House vote on SB 454 this week?  A bill to permit public stadiums in unincorporated areas to sell alcoholic beverages on Sundays?  And which was amended the House Regulated Industries Committee to also permit grocery stores to sell on Sundays, if, and only if, approved by local voters?    


GAC Taxation and Business Incentive Committee  

Two key parts of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce “Legislative Agenda” could be up for a vote in the Senate floor, and we urge support for these measures:

HB 237 would exempt the sales tax on all machinery and equipment that is necessary and integral to the manufacturing process and all water-pollution eliminating machinery.  

And HB 272, which would cap the taxes on energy manufacturers pay when energy prices soar.  

The Senate Finance Committee also passed HB 1211 and HR 1276, “The Georgia Bona Fide Large Forest Conservation Use Act of 2008.”  A vote by the full Senate is expected this week.  

We’re gonna avoid a long, drawn-out summary of the Senate and House tax cuts that each passed overwhelmingly in its chamber.  Enough has been written about these tax cuts to paper the Georgia Dome four-times over.  

The Senate and House versions both include caps on property assessments, both on residential and commercial property, the Senate proposal a the rate of “government inflation,” which has been about 5.05% over the last five years; the House at 2 percent for homeowners and three percent for business property owners.  

The major difference between the two: the House version eliminates the ad valorem tax on personal vehicles; the Senate version cuts personal income taxes by 10 percent, dropping the top rate from 6 percent to 5.4 percent.  Both include the Governor’s proposed state’s quarter-mill property tax elimination.  The Senate version also includes language to dedicate to education, the rainy day fund and then to taxpayer refunds any General Treasury dollars in excess of a formula tied to the inflation rate and population growth.  

In compliance with O.C.G.A. Sec. 50-13-4, the Georgia Department of Revenue has given notice that it proposes to amend Chapter 560-7-8 of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia by adopting new Rules 560-7-8-.46, entitled “Definition of Business Enterprise.”  Comments to the Department of Revenue, if any, are due by April 29, 2008.  As an electronic copy is attached here.

HB 1168, promoted by the Tourism Development Alliance of Georgia and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors’ Committee on Tourism, to revise the existing hotel-motel tax to better promote Georgia as a tourism destination, passed the Senate Finance unanimously last Wednesday.

HB 1399 is on the Senate Finance Committee calendar this Monday morning.  The bill adds a $2 fee per room per night to fund sports marketing across Georgia.  

Just two years ago, we were number 1.  But in economist Dr. Arthur Laffer’s 2008 ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, Georgia ranks 8th.  Using a composite of 16 variable factors, from personal income taxes to property tax burden to quality of the state’s legal system, Dr. Laffer gives his rating of the 50 states that spend less, tax less, and generally experience greater growth rates.  His 2008 top ten:  

1. Utah
2. Arizona
3. South Dakota
4. Wyoming
5. Tennessee
6. Virginia
7. Colorado
8. Georgia
9. Idaho
10. Texas  

Other states of interest in the South and Southeast:  

14. Florida
18. Alabama
19. North Carolina
21. Louisiana
23. Mississippi
25. South Carolina  

Full report at
http://www.alec.org/fileadmin/newPDF/ALEC_Competitiveness_Index.pdf

How Georgia fared in specific factors (1=best; 50=worst):  

Top marginal personal income cumulative growth, 1996-2006:
Georgia’s rate: 6 percent; Georgia’s rank: 25th  

Top marginal corporate income tax rate:
Georgia’s rate: 6 percent; Georgia’s rank: 15th  

Property tax burden: (per $1,000 of personal income):
Georgia’s rate: $30.48; Georgia’s rank: 23rd  

Sales tax burden: (per $1,000 of personal income):
Georgia’s rate: $27.59; Georgia’s rank: 31st  

Remaining tax burden: (per $1,000 of personal income):
Georgia’s rate: $12.94; Georgia’s rank: 3rd  

Estate/Inheritance Tax levied?:
Georgia’s rate: NO/0 percent; Georgia’s rank: 1  

Debt service as a percent of total tax revenue:
Georgia’s rate:  6.7%; Georgia’s rank: 6th  

Public employees per 10,000 of population (full-time equivalent):
Georgia’s rate: 540.0; Georgia’s rank: 23rd  

State Liability System Survey: (tort litigation treatment, judicial impartiality, etc.):
Georgia’s rate: 61.2; Georgia’s rank: 31st  

Average Workers’ Compensation Costs: (per $100 of payroll):
Georgia’s rate: $2.02; Georgia’s rank: 11th  


GAC Technology and General Business Committee  

The House passed virtually unanimously Sen. Tim Golden’s legislation, SB 359, to establish a “Made in Georgia” marketing and labeling program to promote good and products manufactured in Georgia.  

The state Senate has created a study committee to look at the future of manufacturing in Georgia, SR 1097.  

The Georgia Department of Insurance has promulgated Emergency Regulation 120-3-24-0.8, “Rules and Regulations for Loss Prevention Due to Combustible Dust Explosions and Fire,” which will be in effect for 120-days, until the adoption by regular rulemaking authority.  

“Emergency Regulation Chapter 120-3-24-0.8 effective March 7, 2008, requires all new and existing facilities that have operations involving the manufacturing, processing, and/or handling combustible particulate solids including manufacturing processes that create combustible dust to register by electronic means with the Commissioner beginning July 1, 2008.  This must be completed/updated annually.

Before a business license may be issued by the city and/or county jurisdiction to legally operate within the city and/or county jurisdiction after September 1, 2008, each industry is required to receive an annual “Certificate of Registration” from the office of the Safety Fire Commissioner.”  

The 57-page regulation can be read at: http://www.gainsurance.org/ANNOUNCEMENTS/1078ER-372008143836.pdf

According to the Department of Insurance in their announcement of the new regulations: “All manufacturers in Georgia will be required to have a designated safety officer.  Monthly reporting will ensure that emergency plans are in place and drills are conducted.”  Questions or concerns should be directed to Fred Meyer, Administrative Procedure Attorney, Department of Insurance, at (404) 656-5875.  


GAC Transportation Committee  

The House of Representatives last week passed SR 845, as amended in the House.  A conference committee of three Senators (Sens. Don Balfour, Jeff Mullis, and Doug Stoner) and three House (Reps. Donna Sheldon, Vance Smith, and Calvin Smyre) members will work on a final proposed Constitutional amendment for voter that would allow voters in a county or a pre-determined region to decide on a one-cent sales tax for transportation projects in their county or region.  The House voted to give local governments the option of levying a one-cent sales tax hike to fund regional transportation projects. The constitutional amendment passed 136 to 35, easily earning the needed two-thirds majority.  Earlier the Senate voted 51-4 for a similar funding mechanism to address the staggering funding Georgia faces in transportation.  Depending on which version prevails, SR 845 will send 90-100 percent of every dollar raised in a given region back to that area to be spent exclusively on projects there, from local roads to highways, transit, commuter rail, ports and airports.   

Thousands of transportation projects are on the chopping block, in every part of the state because of the multi-billion-dollar funding deficit for transportation.  There’s simply not enough money to keep pace even with routine maintenance and repaving, much less to bring new projects to completion.

Georgia is the 4th-fastest-growing state in the country - growing twice as fast as the national average - and yet Georgia spends less on new transportation infrastructure than almost an other state!   In just six years: 84 percent of Georgia’s road pavement will be rated “fair, poor or bad.”  20 percent of all bridges in Georgia show significant deterioration or do not meet current design standards.   Overall construction costs have increased by 28 percent in just one year.  Average cost per “right of way” parcel has jumped by approximately 400 percent over the past ten years.  

As Department of Transportation Commissioner Gena Abraham noted: The department that has the funding to work on about 270 projects a year has 1,470 active projects on the books now, and more than 9,000 planned.  ““We’re going to have to talk about projects coming off our books,” she said. “There’s no other way around it.”  

An issue first brought to the attention of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce two years ago is moving forward to final passage, addressed in the form of  SB 488 (To allow foreign nationals to keep driver’s license from their home country).  Sponsored by Sens. Rogers, Pearson, Orrick, Adelman and Judson Hill, the bill passed the state Senate 50-0 on Friday, February 29, 2008.  SB 488 passed the House Motor Vehicles unanimously Friday, March 28.  This issue was raised with Georgia Chamber of Commerce staff during fall “Listening Sessions” with the international chambers of commerce located here in Georgia.    


Sidebars  

One of our favorites to retire at the end of the year:  Dick Pettys, who has been covering the state Capitol and Georgia politics for almost 40 years, for many years with the Associated Press and more recently as editor of InsiderAdvantageGeorgia, will retire by the end of the year.


* * *  

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce is the unified voice of the business community, aggressively advocating the business viewpoint in the shaping of public policy, encouraging ethical business practices and ensuring the state’s future as economically prosperous, educationally competitive and environmentally responsible.  

233 Peachtree Street, N.E.
Suite 2000
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1564
www.gachamber.com
(404) 223-2264
Toll Free in Georgia: (800) 241-2286    

Special note of thanks!  As this session winds down, we’d like to thank each of the members of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs Council (GAC).  The 450 men and women, government affairs professionals representing the 4,500 business members of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, make a difference and make a genuine sacrifice for the best interest of state and business in Georgia.  They are HOW GEORGIA DOES BUSINESS!

Special appreciation goes to our volunteer leadership, each who each so much of their time, talent and energy to promoting the agenda of the Georgia Chamber and the interests of business across our state:  

Government Affairs Council (GAC)
Chairman: Skin Edge, GeorgiaLink Public Affairs Group
Vice Chairman: Haydon Stanley, Fiveash-Stanley  

Ex-officio: Don Cargill, J.D. Cargill & Associates
Ex-officio: Ric Cobb, Georgia Petroleum Council  

GAC Compliance Committee
Chair: Roy Robinson, The R.B. Robinson Company
Vice Chair: Jean McRae, The Vaquer Firm  

GAC Economic Development and Tourism Committee
Chair: Maria Zack, The Strollo Group
Vice Chair: Steve Allen, Georgia Power Company  

GAC Education Committee  
Chair: Mike Holiman, Cornerstone Communications
Vice Chair: Chandler Haydon, Haydon Consulting  

GAC Environment, Energy, Natural Resources and Water Management Committee
Chair: Bo Moore, McKenna Long & Aldridge
Vice Chair: Allen Richardson, Georgia-Pacific Corp.  

GAC Federal Affairs Committee
Chair: Jay Morgan, J.L. Morgan Company, Inc.
Vice Chair: Clint Austin, ConnectSouth  

GAC Technology and General Business Committee
Chair: Earl Rogers, Georgia Hospital Association
Vice Chair: Brenda Jones, CheckFree Corporation  

GAC Healthcare Committee
Chair: Kevin Curtin, AT&T
Vice Chair: Sheila Humberstone, Troutman Sanders Public Affairs Group  

GAC Judiciary Committee
Chair: Kirk McGhee, Attorney at Law
Vice Chair: Robb Willis, Troutman Sanders Public Affairs Group  

GAC Small Business Committee
Chair: Chuck McMullen, Piedmont Public Affairs
Vice Chair: David Raynor, NFIB Georgia  

GAC Taxation and Business Incentives Committee
Chair: Terry Lawler, CompuCredit Corporation
Vice Chair: Guy Griswold, Griswold Lesser  

GAC Transportation Committee
Chair: Kevin Perry, Georgia Beverage Association
Vice Chair: Michael Wall, Comcast  

GAC Workers’ Compensation, Labor and Employment
Chair: John Poole, Poole & Dunn Management Services
Vice Chair: Craig Camuso, CSX Transportation

Urgent Action Needed: House to vote Thursday on transportation funding

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It’s been more than a month since the Georgia Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve a plan for new regional funding to help combat a multibillion-dollar shortfall at the Georgia Department of Transportation. Now it’s the lower chamber’s turn.  

On Thursday, the House of Representatives is expected to take up its version of Senate Resolution 845. The measure would let voters across Georgia decide this November whether regions should be allowed to implement a penny sales tax for badly needed transportation projects in their area – projects that otherwise have little to no chance of seeing the light of day thanks to the funding shortfall.  

If a majority of Georgia voters answer “Yes,” individual regions could then ask local voters in separate ballot questions as early as 2009 whether they want to approve the extra penny. Each region would then be able to raise tens to hundreds of millions of dollars to fix congestion and jumpstart unfinished projects.  

As currently written, SR 845 guarantees that every dollar raised in a given region would be spent exclusively on projects in that region. Similar to a special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST), a model that has proven popular with voters, it also guarantees that local communities would get to decide how long the tax should run and what projects the money should be spent on – anything from local roads to highways, transit, commuter rail, ports and airports.  

Because SR 845 is a constitutional amendment, it will require a minimum of 120 votes in the House in order to pass (a joint House-Senate committee would then work out any remaining differences).  

We urge you to contact your local delegation today and express your support for this important measure, which is supported by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and hundreds of other business leaders, state and local officials, roadbuilders, transit groups and environmental advocates through the Get Georgia Moving coalition.  

Please feel free to contact me with any questions at rmahoney(at)gachamber.com or visit http://www.getgeorgiamoving.com.  

Ryan Mahoney
Director of Government Affairs
Georgia Chamber of Commerce

Special Legislative Bulletin - Crossover Day

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FROM THE GOLD DOME
By Joe Fleming
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs
Georgia Chamber of Commerce

"Crossover Day" - the 30th day of each legislative session, the day when a bill introduced in one chamber of the General Assembly must have passed that body to be eligible for further consideration - was last Tuesday, March 11.  The House was in session that night until about 11 p.m. to meet the deadline.

Now there are just eight (8) legislative days in Georgia's 40-day legislative session remaining, which, at this point, means we expect adjournment in early April.  The General Assembly returned Tuesday, March 18 for Day 32.  Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 19, will be Day 33.

This two-year session has seen the introduction of 3,110 bills and resolutions in the Georgia House of Representatives, and 1,726 in the state Senate.  Of course, at this point of the session, most are out of play.

For a complete list of all bills in which the Georgia Chamber of Commerce is actively involved at the Capitol during this legislative session, the status of the legislation, and our position on specific bills, please visit:

Compliance Committee »
Economic Development and Tourism Committee »
Education Committee »
Environmental, Energy, Natural Resources and Water Management Committee »
Federal Affairs Committee »
Healthcare Committee »
Judiciary Committee »
Small Business Committee »
Taxation and Business Incentives Committee »
Technology and General Business Committee »
Transportation Committee »
Workers' Compensation, Labor and Employment Committee »

Bills are grouped by the committee of the Georgia Chamber's Government Affairs Council (GAC) to which the measure has been assigned for review, study and recommended action.  Check these pages of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce web site regularly for timely updates on legislation we are following that affects business statewide and our members.

As a member of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce or friend, we appreciate your support and value the critical role you play in our state and the tremendous influence you have with your legislators.  And as always, please contact us if you have any questions about any issue pending before the legislature or any other matter with which we can be of assistance.   

George Israel, President/CEO
(404) 223-2264 - gisrael(at)gachamber.com

Joe Fleming, Senior Vice President, Government Affairs
(404) 223-2267 - jfleming(at)gachamber.com
Committee Responsibilities: Judiciary; Workers' Compensation, Labor and Employment

Nick Pearson, Director, Government Affairs
(404) 223-2270 - npearson(at)gachamber.com
Committee Responsibilities: Environmental, Energy, Natural Resources and Water Management;Federal Affairs; Small Business; Taxation and Business Incentives

Lauren Wilkes, Director, Government Affairs
(404) 223-2479 - lwilkes(at)gachamber.com
Committee Responsibilities: Compliance; Economic Development and Tourism; Education;Technology and General Business

Ryan Mahoney, Director, Government Affairs
(404) 223-2261 - rmahoney(at)gachamber.com
Committee Responsibilities: Healthcare; Transportation

Ginger Hathcock, Director, External Affairs
(404) 223-2269 - ghathcock(at)gachamber.com

Diana Lee, Coordinator, Government Affairs
(404) 223-2491 - dlee(at)gachamber.com


There are several important issues pending in the final nine legislative days of the session that I'd like to bring to your attention, and ask you, your leadership and your government affairs committee to review. 


Transportation

It is being reported that the Georgia Department of Transportation is expected to release a new list of road projects that may soon be delayed, postponed or canceled due to funding shortfalls.

Reportedly this list will be 150 projects, on top of the 510 projects statewide, in every part of our state, that were de-funded one year ago because of the almost $8 billion funding deficit for transportation over the next six years.

That $8 billion transportation shortfall Georgia sees today will soon grow to a transportation-funding gap of well over $200 billion.

There's simply not enough money to keep pace even with routine maintenance and repaving, much less to bring new projects to completion.

It is no exaggeration to call our lack of transportation funding a crisis.  We must fix the problems we have now and plan for the future, with bold, innovative thinking.

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce believes this is a serious economic development concern and a quality-of-life issue for all Georgians - from Dade County to Camden County and from Seminole County to Rabun County - that thankfully our elected representatives in the Georgia General Assembly are working to address.

The state Senate has already passed a proposed Constitutional amendment and the House is expected to vote on its version soon - perhaps as early as this week.  The details of the final proposed Constitutional amendment are still being worked out, but the plans would essentially allow community development districts or counties working together to propose specific transportation improvements projects to voters and ask their approval for a special, time-limited transportation SPLOST to initiate or complete various transportation projects.

This is important to note: In the House version, 100 percent - every dime - of the money raised would be spent in the region from which it came.  In the Senate version, 90 percent would be returned to local communities and areas from which any new revenue was generated.  The common misconception that these bills and proposed Constitutional amendments are designed solely to address Atlanta's congestion problems is simply untrue.

Our state's current transportation problems need to be fixed.  And we must begin now what we should have done 20 years ago: develop a plan for Georgia's statewide transportation needs (aviation, ports, roads, rail and alternative means to get Georgians around).

Key facts:

* Georgia is the 4th-fastest-growing state in the country - growing twice as fast as the national average - and yet Georgia spends less on new transportation infrastructure than all but four states!  

* Our statewide transportation problems will only worsen if we don't act.  As Georgia's population grows from about 9 million today to 13.6 million residents by 2035, the planned transportation infrastructure investment will not nearly be enough.  Commuters and employees suffer; business suffers; our state suffers.  Soon there may not be enough money to maintain our existing transportation system.  

* In just six years: 84 percent of Georgia's road pavement will be rated "fair, poor or bad."  20 percent of all bridges in Georgia show significant deterioration or do not meet current design standards.  

* Overall construction costs have increased by 28 percent in just one year.  Average cost per "right of way" parcel has jumped by approximately 400 percent over the past ten years.

ACTION REQUESTED:  We hope you will tell your local legislators we need to address transportation funding NOW!  


Local Choice, Economic Fairness and Competition

Much has been written in newspapers across the state recently about efforts at the state Capitol to allow local communities to decide for themselves whether or not to permit the Sunday retail sale of alcohol.

Georgia is one of only three states in the country to deny local option for retail sale on Sunday, Connecticut and Indiana the other two.  As a result, Georgia law puts retail businesses at a competitive disadvantage, losing customers to Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Please note: Nothing in this legislation would force any community, city or county that doesn't wish to allow retail sale of alcohol on Sunday to do so.  There are still counties in Georgia that are "dry," that don't permit the sale of alcohol by any business, and nothing in this bill would infringe on that right.  Even in counties that allow liquor-by-the-drink at restaurants on Sundays, nothing in this bill would force a community to allow the sale of alcohol by a supermarket on Sunday.

We recognize and respect that not everyone agrees with the position the Georgia Chamber has taken in support of this legislation.  But for business, it is a simple matter of fairness.

The state of Georgia already allows the Sunday sale of alcoholic beverages; state policy just happens to favor one sector of business (restaurants and entertainment centers) over retail establishments and grocery stores.  That's not fair; government should not play favorites giving preferential treatment to one business over another.

For retailers throughout Georgia, the opportunity for off-premise/retail Sunday sales is about good customer service and basic economic fairness.  "Our customers have been asking for many, many years [for Sunday sales]," said Kathy Kuzava, president of the Georgia Food Industry Association (GFIA), which represents Georgia's grocery stores.

If approved, legislation would allow local governments to put forth a referendum on the ballot asking voters to approve sales at convenience stores and grocery stores between 12:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on Sundays, and only in communities that already allow the sale of beer and wine at restaurants on Sundays (so there is no unfair advantage to either sector).  Communities that allow the sale of beer, wine and distilled spirits could vote to allow the retail sale of all three.

The legislation is immensely popular with most Georgia voters:  A recent The Atlanta Journal Constitution-Mason Dixon poll found 65 percent of Georgia voters in favor of the legislation.

For more information, visit http://www.votesundaysales.com/.

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