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May 5, 2008
Post-Session Legislative Bulletin
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.
April 8, 2008
Special Legislative Bulletin - sine die
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!
March 31, 2008
Legislative Bulletin - March 31
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
March 18, 2008
Special Legislative Bulletin - Crossover Day
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/.
ACTION REQUESTED: If you agree, please let your Senators and House members know immediately.
Tax Reform and Business Incentives
Where to start on taxes? Much of this session has been dominated by various legislative proposals to cut taxes and reform Georgia's current tax system.
Perhaps the proposal drawing the most attention was Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson's proposal, the GREAT Plan (Georgia's Repeal of Every Ad Valorem Tax). What began as an ambitious plan to repeal all property taxes and ad valorem taxes and make up lost revenue through the introduction of new service sales taxes passed but in a form significantly different from that which was introduced on March 11, 166-5, as HR 1246.
In short, the package that passed the House, and which must still be agreed to by the Senate, eliminates personal vehicle ad valorem taxes ("car tag taxes") and the state part of the ad valorem tax on tangible property, and freezes local tax assessments for both residential and business property. The reform measures, while relieving individuals of the "car tag tax," includes a $10 fee on license plate registrations to help pay for a statewide medical trauma care network.
An earlier version, which would have capped local government spending and millage increases, and institute a statewide, four-percent tax on groceries and lottery tickets and a statewide, four-percent tax on consumers' use of 175 different business services failed to receive the 2/3rds super-majority vote needed for a proposed Constitutional amendment to pass.
Like SR 796 passed earlier and overwhelmingly by the Senate, the House-approved measure would freeze all property assessments at present levels, but would allow for maximum annual increases of no more than 2 percent for residential property and 3 percent for commercial, until such time as the property is sold, at which time it may be re-assessed at fair market value. Unlike other proposals introduced this session, SR 796 and HR 1246 give protection to all taxpayers from soaring property assessments. States that have introduced and enacted measures to freeze only residential assessments have seen dramatic and costly spikes in valuations on business property.
Expect a new tax reform package to be announced today by Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. More details as available.
There are dozens and dozens of other tax and business incentive bills that the Georgia Chamber is supporting, among them:
* "The Georgia Forest Land Protection Act of 2008," HB 1211 and HR 1276,
* A number of bills to reduce or eliminate inventory taxes, including HR 1037 and HR 1038, for example,
* HB 1129, "The Georgia Tourism Development Act," to provide tax incentives for companies making significant investments in Georgia by building certain 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. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce is also supporting legislation to create a sales tax holiday for water efficient products,
* HB 272 - a long-standing objective of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and our manufacturing members - to provide a cap on the sales tax on energy used in the manufacturing process - passed the House of Representatives unanimously 161-0, on March 11,
* HB 237, "The Integrated Plant Theory" bill, to exempt the sales tax on all machinery and equipment that is necessary and integral to the manufacturing process, passed the House of Representatives unanimously 154-0, on Friday, February 29, 2008, and, among others,
* SB 359 to allow the Georgia Department of Economic Development to establish a "Made in Georgia" marketing program for products manufactured in Georgia and and SR 1097 to create a study committee to look at the future of manufacturing in Georgia.
Update on the NRA's "Bring Your Guns to Work" Legislation
Private Property Rights and the Right of Business Owners
To Set Policies Regarding Firearms At Their Worksites Under Attack
Much has been written of HB 89, the National Rifle Association's legislation to take away from business owners the right to permit or allow firearms on their premises. With only a few days remaining in the 2008 legislative session, please be advised that this bill has been placed in a conference committee and is still eligible for further consideration.
Conference committees are appointed to resolve differences between the House and Senate in versions of the same bill when it was amended and changed in one chamber.
The conference committee could meet at any time before adjournment and report out a bill for consideration by the full membership of the House and Senate. The House conferees are: Reps. Tim Bearden, Sean Jerguson, and David Ralston; the Senate conferees are Sens. Don Balfour, Joseph Carter and Ronnie Chance.
As amended by the Senate, the section of the legislation that would interfere with the rights of business owners and property owners to determine whether or not to allow guns on their premises was severely watered-down, over the objections of the NRA. That said, the Georgia Chamber continues to OPPOSE this legislation as unnecessary and potentially troublesome for future legislative sessions should it be codified. A single word change in a future legislative session could very well completely change the meaning of the present language.
The Senate added a number of "gun rights" amendments to the bill unrelated to whether an employer can have a policy restricting firearms from his or her business, including the right for those with Georgia Firearms Licenses (GFLs) to carry firearms in state parks and at "historic sites" - like a county courthouse or Capitol? - among other things. The bill then passed and was transmitted to the House of Representatives for an "agree/disagree" vote on January 31, at which time the bill was further amended to allow those with GFLs (concealed weapons permits) to carry at churches, restaurants that serve beer and wine, on mass transportation, and in other areas presently off-limits to firearms under Georgia's "public gathering" laws. The Senate insisted on its version; the bill, therefore, was referred to a conference committee to hammer out the differences.
Georgia Chamber Position: OPPOSE. The bill is an unnecessary intrusion in the affairs of private property owners. Much of the language in the bill is vague, its meaning contradictory, and it is in conflict with federal law. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce opposes any legislation that interferes with private, voluntarily agreed upon contracts between entities.
ACTION REQUESTED: In the final days of this session, it is important to continue to remind your legislators of businesses' strong opposition Section 6 of the "parking lot" bill.
Water
One key priority of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce established by our Board of Directors early last year was the adoption of a statewide, common-sense water management plan that balances the needs of existing and future growth with the goal to protect our environment.
The plan recommended by the State Water Council passed both chambers of the General Assembly in January with overwhelming, bi-partisan support and has already been signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue. The Georgia Chamber believes this plan is a fair, comprehensive, statewide approach that will well serve the state's interest in developing a meaningful water management plan. We recognize that there are geographic concerns that somehow this plan would allow Atlanta to "stick a giant straw" in the south Georgia aquifer or river basins outside the metro Atlanta area. The plan does no such thing, and in fact, maintains existing moratoriums on inter-basin transfers. The Georgia Farm Bureau and the Georgia Agri-Business Council were among other groups joining the state chamber in supporting this plan.
On March 4, the House of Representatives passed HB 1281, which is intended to create one, statewide standard for water restrictions during a time of drought. The bill limits local governments from adopting water use restrictions more strict than the state has adopted, unless the director of the state Environmental Protection Division gives her approval, and also would prohibit any restrictions on filling swimming pools unless there is not enough water for human use, farms or industries.
Insurance and Healthcare
A few other bills have made headlines recently: HB 923 and SB 276. The former, since defeated in the House, would have significantly expanded government regulation of health insurance rates and the latter will bring more market competition to automobile insurance.
March 10, 2008
Legislative Bulletin - March 10, 2008
Welcome to Week 7 of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Legislative Bulletin. The Senate and House each met Tuesday through Thursday of this past week to finish out the 29th day of the 2008 session. Both chambers return tomorrow - Tuesday, March 11 - for the 30th day of session. Day 30 is crossover day, which is the last day that a bill can pass out of the chamber that it originated in and still be considered during this session.
Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the 2nd annual “Georgia Chamber Business Day at the Capitol” a success. We would like to thank our sponsors – Capital Centre Atlanta, The Coca-Cola Company, CompuCredit, Eurest Dining Services, Georgia EMC, GeorgiaLink Public Affairs Group, Georgia McDonald’s Owner Operators Association, and Verizon Wireless – for all of their support.
Below are some of the bills that the Georgia Chamber is working on. Those below have changed status in the past week or were heard in committee or expected to be acted on this coming week. Legislation is listed under the Government Affairs Council (GAC) committee to which the bill has been assigned. For a complete list of all the bills the Georgia Chamber of Commerce is actively tracking, please visit: http://www.gachamber.com/Hot-Issues.65.0.html.
GAC Economic Development and Tourism Committee
Chair: Maria Zack
Vice-Chair: Steve Allen
Staff contact: Lauren Wilkes
SB 256 – Outdoor Advertising Signs
Sponsors: Sens. Mullis, Heath, Pearson, Thomas, Rogers and Balfour
This bill would allow outdoor advertisers to lower the height of signs on the interstate and highways.
Status: The bill favorably passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday, March 5.
Georgia Chamber Position: SUPPORT.
SB 449 – Landowners Protection Act of 2008
Sponsors: Sens. Heath, Carter, Tolleson, Hooks, Jack Hill and Bulloch
This bill establishes a standard of liability protection for landowner's who allow individuals to hunt on their property or who operate an agri-tourism venue.
Status: The bill favorably passed the Senate on Thursday, March 6. The bill was amended on the Senate floor to exempt children 16 and under from the bill's provisions.
Georgia Chamber Position: SUPPORT.
GAC Education Committee
Chair: Mike Holiman
Vice-Chair: Chandler Haydon
Staff contact: Lauren Wilkes
HB 905 - "Building Resourceful Individuals to Develop Georgia's Economy", BRIDGE
Sponsors: Reps. Millar, Richardson, Lindsey, Holmes, Everson and Pruett This bill is to create a system in which each student selects a focused area of study and receives support throughout the high school years to ensure he or she completes their high school graduation program on time.
Status: The bill favorably passed the House Education Committee on Wednesday, March 5. It will be on the House floor for a vote on Tuesday, March 11.
Georgia Chamber Position: Under Consideration.
GAC Environmental, Energy, Natural Resources and Water Management Committee
Chair: Bo Moore
Vice-Chair: Allen Richardson
Staff contact: Nick Pearson
HB 1125 – Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Construction Act of 2008
Sponsors: Reps. Horne, Ehrhart, Greene and J. Lewis
This bill clarifies standards used on state-funded facility projects and the use of Georgia manufactured products.
Status: Recommended Do Pass by House State Institutions and Property Committee on Wednesday, March 5.
Georgia Chamber Position: SUPPORT.
HB 1132 – “The Uniform Environmental Covenants Act”
Sponsors: Reps. Lindsey, Tumlin, Ashe, Teilhet, Willard and Wilkinson
"The Uniform Environmental Covenants Act,” to provide for the contents of an environmental covenant and for the relationship between environmental covenants and other land use laws.
Status: Adopted unanimously by the House of Representatives 151-0 on Tuesday, March 4.
Georgia Chamber Position: SUPPORT.
HB 1226 – “The Georgia Water Supply Act of 2008”
Sponsors: Reps. Coan, L. Smith, McCall, Hanner, Rogers and R. Smith
Would create a Water Supply Division in the Georgia Environmental Facilities Agency (GEFA) tasked with implementing the Water Supply Act. Creates a Georgia Reservoir Fund. Also encourages a focus on private contracting to speed the permitting process and provides tax credits for water-saving technology.
Status: Adopted by the House of Representatives 166-3 on Tuesday, March 4th. Georgia Chamber Position: SUPPORT.
HB 1281 – Prohibits local governments from adopting more restrictive water regulations than the state
Sponsors: Reps. England, McCall, Roberts, Hanner, Ehrhart and Jerguson
The bill prohibits local governments from adopting water use restrictions more strict than the state has adopted, unless the Director of the state Environmental Protection Division gives approval, and also would prohibit any restrictions on filling swimming pools unless there is not enough water for humans, farms or industries.
Status: Adopted by the House of Representatives 124-38 on Tuesday, March 4.
Georgia Chamber Position: SUPPORT.
GAC Federal Affairs Committee
Chair: Jay Morgan
Vice-Chair: Clint Austin
Staff contact: Nick Pearson
SR 1007 - Urge the GA Congressional Delegation to oppose changes by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Sponsors: Sens. Staton, Douglas, D. Thomas, Grant and Harp
This resolution urges the entire Georgia Congressional delegation to oppose proposed rules by the EPA revising the NAAQS for ozone.
Status: Recommended Do Pass by the Senate Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, March 5.
Georgia Chamber Position: SUPPORT. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce has a standing position regarding changes in the U.S. EPA regulations on NAAQS standards 2008 Legislative Agenda: "The Georgia Chamber of Commerce is aware of the Environmental Protection Agency's Proposed Rule revising the NAAQS for ozone and strongly opposes revising the primary or secondary ozone standard to any level below the current standard."
SR 1052 - Urge the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 to be amended
Sponsors: Sens. Hawkins, Murphy, Unterman, Pearson, Tolleson and Grant
Introduced on Friday, February 29, 2008, SR 1052 urges Congress to adopt U.S. House Resolution 3847, sponsored by Georgia U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal and co-sponsored by every other member of the Georgia Congressional delegation. HR 3847 allows states suffering from droughts to be exempt temporarily from the federal Endangered Species Act.
Status: Recommended Do Pass by the Senate Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, March 5.
Georgia Chamber Position: SUPPORT. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce has a standing position regarding the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973. 2008 Legislative Agenda: “The Georgia Chamber of Commerce supports a comprehensive review of the federal Endangered Species Act and the amendment of the existing law to require a cost/benefit analysis and “peer reviewed science.”
GAC Healthcare Committee
Chair: Kevin Curtin
Vice-Chair: Sheila Humberstone
Staff contact: Ryan Mahoney
HB 923 - Insurance; filing requirements; provisions
Sponsors: Reps. Rogers, Harbin, Burkhalter, Shaw and T. Smith
This bill would give the state insurance commissioner more power to regulate health insurance rates.
Status: Second read in the House in Thursday, January 17.
Georgia Chamber Position: OPPOSE.
HB 973 - “The Georgia Trauma Hospital Support Act”
Sponsors: Reps. Geisinger, Cooper, Willard, A. Scott, Porter and Stephens
This bill would add a $1 monthly surcharge to phone bills to increase funding for trauma care across Georgia.
Status: Failed to pass a House Governmental Affairs subcommittee on Wednesday, February 27.
Georgia Chamber Position: OPPOSE. The Georgia Chamber testified against this legislation. While the chamber strongly supports funding for a meaningful statewide trauma care network, our members prefer a funding mechanism that does not saddle one sector of the economy for the public good.
HB 1042 - Prescription drugs; pharmacists; provisions
Sponsors: Reps. Cooper, Wilkinson, Rynders, Maddox, Dickson and Collins
This bill would prohibit substitution for immunosuppressive therapy medications. Status: Passed the full House by a vote of 161-0 on March 5.
Georgia Chamber Position: OPPOSE.
HB 1158 - Tag Fee for Statewide Trauma Care Network
Sponsors: Reps. Stephens, A. Scott, Cooper, Channell, Oliver and O’Neal
This bill would place a new $10 fee on automobile license tags to fund a new trauma network across Georgia. Also incorporate in Speaker’s tax reform measures (see GAC Taxation and Business Incentives C
