Competitiveness Major Focus of 2012 Georgia Chamber Legislative Agenda

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce formally introduced its 2012 Legislative Agenda Tuesday morning during the annual Eggs & Issues Breakfast in Atlanta.  With a focus on making Georgia’s economy more competitive both nationally and globally, the Chamber has identified multiple priorities it will actively advocate for during the 2012 General Assembly.

“Georgia is in an excellent position to expand upon our place as a major economic player in the global marketplace,” said Georgia Chamber President and CEO Chris Clark.  “But we cannot expect that success to continue without taking a hard look at what we as a state can do to make us more competitive for jobs and new investment.  We will be working throughout this legislative session to help the General Assembly protect our business community in a way that allows Georgia’s economy to grow and expand.”

The Georgia Chamber 2012 Legislative Agenda includes:

Georgia Competitiveness Initiative

• Throughout 2011, the Georgia Chamber was a proud partner with Governor Deal and the Georgia Department of Economic Development on the Georgia Competitiveness Initiative, an effort to develop a long-term economic development strategy for our state.  As an organization, we look forward to continuing to support this effort and the legislative and policy recommendations that result. 

Economic Development & Taxation

• Enact regulatory reforms that streamline government and help create an environment that stimulates economic and job growth
• Expand access to venture and seed capital by authorizing use of state employee pension funds for alternative investments and offering other incentives to attract venture capital firms to Georgia
•  Modernize Georgia’s revenue structure by broadening the sales tax base and reducing income tax rates
•  Eliminate the sales tax on energy used for manufacturing, mining and agriculture in order to encourage economic development and reduce the costs of goods produced in Georgia
•  Create an equitable and simplified communications taxing structure through a broad-based excise tax which will incentivize broadband investment throughout Georgia
•  Improve Georgia’s economic competitiveness by expanding state discretionary economic development resources, modifying job incentive and credit programs, reducing inventory taxes, and creating an independent review process to remedy state tax disputes
• Authorize a local-option convention center district program for infrastructure improvements and improve the existing tourism development incentive to encourage increased travel, retail and hospitality investment

Education

• Create a voter referendum to restore state involvement in charter schools and clarify state funding and governance of local school systems
• Enact measures to improve teacher and school quality, including ensuring that tenure and academic degrees are not the sole factors used in hiring and retention
• Identify and assist students needing remediation before high school graduation and ensure both these students and more advanced learners are aware of and prepared for post-secondary options

Environment & Energy

•  Utilizing continued input from the Regional Water Councils, implement the Statewide Water Plan by expanding Georgia’s surface water storage inventory and protecting responsible and currently authorized use of regional interbasin transfers

Health Care

• Support a Georgia-based, free-market health insurance exchange and other reforms that provide workers with a range of affordable, private coverage options
• Defend against cost shifting and the addition of costly health insurance mandates that drive up the cost of delivering care for Georgia businesses and providers

Legal Reform

• Pursue civil justice reforms to provide confidence of equitable and predictable treatment of business in the courts
• Remedy the current economic burden of executing garnishment orders by allowing non-lawyers to process them

Transportation

• Support ballot language that promotes understanding of the 2012 TSPLOST vote and encourages maximum voter participation
• Streamline transit governance to improve connectivity and operational efficiency